Essay Papers

Chances are if you are in college or university you are focusing on either sciences or humanities based courses. Either way you will be faced with having to write essay papers, and lots of them, for the next few years. English essay papers are quite different in tone and style from science essay papers and so it helps to know the best qualities of each.

English Essay Papers

It is understood that correct grammar, spelling and syntax are critical aspects of a good English essay papers. Other subjects may allow students a little leeway in these writing components but no English professor will; often the marks for grammar are significantly higher than in other essay paper types. English essay papers are therefore well edited works following rules of micro and macro editing to make sure every grammatical writing component is perfected, and that includes consistency and style.

Even when presenting factual data, English essay papers should be creatively written. Creative non-fiction is a fundamental skill of the English student and expectations with regard to writing style will be significant. A good topic choice will allow for greater creative freedom and enable the author to choose a familiar or intriguing subject, which in turn will infuse the essay papers with a greater understanding and passion.

English essay papers must adhere strictly to the required writing style and professional standards of formatting. That is, great English essay papers will state the idea or thesis in the opening paragraph clearly and concisely. For non-fiction, this will be followed by comprehensive arguments and evidence in favor of the thesis, as well as opposing arguments and evidence. For fiction writing, the opening paragraph will begin character and plot development that then grows the story to a height of suspense. Great fiction essay papers include a well-rounded sense of place and purpose. Both fiction and non-fiction should wrap up with a conclusion that ties up all loose ends and offers closure to the reader.

Science Essay Papers

All essay papers, all writing in fact, should be written for the audience. The audience for science essay papers is the professor or tutor who will mark the paper and possibly an academic peer group for peer review. In both cases, science essay paper audiences are generally people who are reading, and have read, quite a few papers.

Put yourself in their shoes and a few things are immediately obvious. These people want to know what they are reading about straight off the bat. Science essay papers are NOT the place for rhetoric. The next thing they want to know is how they are going to be convinced of the authors’ argument. Science essay paper arguments should be clearly stated in the opening paragraphs and in the writing style required by the course. An excellent way to achieve this is to plan an argument before you begin writing; define for yourself what your argument is, what the literature says about the problem, how you intend to tackle the issues and how you intend to implement a solution.

The opening paragraphs should provide the reader with exactly what the essay papers statement is, and precisely what scientific methods or tools are used to present that argument. The following paragraphs, chapters and sections must deliver what was promised and should do so for both the arguments in favor of the author’s essay paper, and for any dissenting arguments. Research methods must be credible and proven throughout, don’t expect the reader to go searching for information or to understand unclear statements. Scientists are expected to know their subject and present it clearly using data, graphs, charts and results.

As with every essay paper the conclusion must restate the argument, recap the methods and evidence presented and then leave the reader with a lasting impression – and maybe, hopefully even, the desire to know more about your ideas.