Ex. 4.17. Study the following comments on Academic Writing:
Stages of Writing Essays
1) First, the topic, subject or question should be thought about carefully: what is required in the essay should be understood.
2) Then a note should be made of ideas, perhaps from knowledge or experience.
3) After this, any books, journals, etc., should be noted that have been recommended, perhaps from a reading list or a bibliography. Then to the list should be added any other books, articles, etc. that are discovered while the recommended books are being found. Now is the time for the books, chapters, articles, etc. to be read, with a purpose, by appropriate questions being asked that are related to the essay topic or title.
4) Clear notes should be written from the reading. In addition, a record of the sources should be kept so that a bibliography or list of references can be compiled at the end of the essay. Any quotations should be accurately acknowledged: author's surname and initials, year of publication, edition, publisher, place of publication, and page numbers of quotations.
5) When the notes have been finished they should be looked through in order for an overview of the subject to be obtained.
6) Then the content of the essay should be decided on and how it is to be organized or planned.
7) The material should be carefully selected: there may be too much and some may not be very relevant to the question. The material, or ideas, should be divided into three main sections for the essay: the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion.
8) An outline of the essay should be written, with use being made of headings or subheadings, if they are appropriate. The first draft should be written in a suitably formal or academic style. While doing this, the use of colloquial expressions and personal references should be avoided.
9) When it has been completed, the draft should be read critically, and in particular, the organization, cohesion, and language should be checked. Several questions should be asked about it, for example: Is it clear? Is it concise? Is it comprehensive? Then the draft should be revised and the final draft written - legibly! It should be remembered that first impressions are important.
10) Finally, the bibliography should be compiled, using the conventional format: the references should be in strict alphabetical order. Then the bibliography should be added to the end of the essay.
(From: Jordan, R. R. (1999). Academic writing course: Study skills in English (3rd ed.). Harlow, MA: Pearson Education. P.22-24)