Writing an Academic Essay
The essay is an extremely common type of writing in academic English. Essays are viewed as having a crucial role in developing critical thinking and writing skills. Its organization and structure are different from that of other common types of writing such as reports. Additionally, it has features which are different from those expected in academic writing in other languages. If you are being asked to write an essay, it is important that you understand what a reader of academic English expects.
Writing an Academic Essay
Luke Bailey, lecturer in English, Karlstad University
This film lectures explains the fundamentals of writing an English academic essay. It is divided into four related segments. Since each segment is connected to the others, it is best to view all first, and then go back to a specific section you may want to review.
Overview (05:10)
The introduction and thesis statements (12:07)
The body of the essay: Paragraphs and topic sentences (10:40)
You'll need a cover sheet for your essay and you can find it here.
More on Academic Writing
Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing (Massey University)
A complete guide that provides an in-depth discussion of essay writing and, additionally, an excellent overview of the differences between academic writing and writing in other contexts as well as a detailed discussion of report writing.