Research skills
Essay writing skills
The essay question
Plan your essayWrite an essay plan
It's hard to start essays early but the more time you have to plan, research and write, the better your essay will be.
A good essay plan helps you arrange your ideas logically and stay on track during the writing process.
Your plan should state how you're going to prove your argument, including the evidence you're going to use. Structure your plan around the different parts of an essay. To do this:
- Write
your argument in one sentence at the top of the page – you'll flesh this
out into your introduction.
- Write three or four key points that you think will support your argument. Try to write each
point in one sentence. These will become your topic sentences.
- Under
each point, write down one or two examples from your research that support
your point. These can be quotes, paraphrased text from reliable authors,
etc. Remember to reference your examples when you write up your
essay.
- Finally, write the main point you want to leave in your reader's mind – that's your conclusion.
For example
'Port Phillip was a free settlement.' Discuss.
If your argument is that Port Phillip had more free settlers than Sydney and Hobart, but that convicts still played a part, you could plan your first paragraph like this:
- Statement – Port Phillip was set up to be a 'free' settlement
- Example – quote from John Pascoe Fawkner's constitution etc.
- Explanation – how the constitution illustrates that Melbourne's founders wanted a 'free' settlement.
James Riley
Burke, Wills & Aboriginal guides
Douglas Mawson
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