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Study Skills Essay Writing
What is an academic essay?
What an academic essay is not
Why do we write essays?
Recommended procedure for essay writing
Academic writing practices
Essay checklist
Your responsibilities

What is an academic essay?
The English word 'essay' comes from the Old French word 'assaier', meaning 'to test' or 'to try'. We can compare it to the English word 'assay' - geologists and metallurgists perform assays on mineral ores. This means that they test the ores; they perform geological trials to find out how much valuable material is in them - how much gold, how much nickel, and so on. Writing an academic essay involves the same kind of process of evaluating, of weighing up a topic - you examine a statement, or a concept, or a situation to test its value, to find its strengths and weaknesses. When you have weighed up the facts you should come to some conclusion on what you've found. This conclusion is called a thesis.
What an academic essay is not.
An academic essay is not a regurgitation of facts. Of course, the facts have to be in the essay and they have to be correct, but the facts are only the first step in essay-writing.
If, in giving the facts, you want to quote from a textbook, use the quote only to support or to illustrate the point you're making. It should be a supplement to your words and ideas, not a substitute of them.
Why do we write essays?
They allow you"