ESSAY

ACADEMIC ESSAY
Writing an academic essay is an integral part of any university English course.
The aim of essay writing in this course is to develop the skill of expressing one’s ideas on a given topic coherently (logically) using a particular format.
These ideas are supposed to be the result of a mini research, analysis, critical examination and evaluation of the ideas put forward by other researchers and writers. Hence, the effort students are expected to make will develop professionally relevant skills.

The types of essay to write in this course:
— an argumentative essay expressing opinion
— a ‘for-and-against’ essay
— a compare-and-contrast essay
— a cause-and-effect essay
The type of essay to write depends on the claim the writer intends to make.
Types of Claim & Types of Essay
■ a claim of value → an argumentative essay expressing opinion
e.g. The institution of monarchy is an outdated relic incompatible with the 21st century democracy.
■ a claim of solution (policy) → an argumentative essay expressing opinion
e.g. For BRICS to become a true global player, it needs a coherent policy on a number of issues.
■ a claim of fact → a ‘for-and-against’ essay
e.g. Developing tourist destinations in remote areas of Russia has significant benefits along with formidable challenges.
■ a claim of comparison OR contrast → a compare-and-contrast essay
e.g. Overpopulaion and underpopulation have different causes and pose different challenges to national development.
■ a claim of cause and effect → a cause-and-effect essay
e.g. Financial and political instability exacerbates brain drain.

■ Sample Introduction
Vladimir Putin says he is a religious man. If so, he may well go to bed each night, say his prayers and ask God: “Why didn’t you put some mountains in Ukraine?” If God had built mountains in Ukraine, then the great expanse of flatland that is the North European Plain would not be such encouraging
territory from which to attack Russia repeatedly. As it is Putin has no choice: he must at least attempt to control the flatlands to the west. So it is with all nations, big or small. The landscape imprisons their leaders, giving them fewer choices and less room to manoeuvre than you might think.
■ Sample Conclusion
Geography has always been a prison of sorts — one that defines what a nation is or can be, and one from which our world leaders have often struggled to break. Russia is probably the clearest example, naturally expanding from the small region of flatland it controlled until its heartland covered a huge space ringed mostly by mountains and the sea — with just one vulnerable point across the North European Plain. If the Russian leaders wanted to create a great nation, which they did, then they had little choice
as to what to do about this weak spot.

NOTE

These two samples come from the Introduction and Conclusion chapters of the book Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshal. There are about 280 pages between them, filled with a thorough examination of the claim (thesis statement) made in Introduction; yet the author does not fail to make a restatement in Conclusion (both are italicized in the samples above).

Main Body: Logical Tools
Deduction: Claim supported by logical reasoning and facts (recommended).
(tip: start with a topic sentence)
e.g. Throughout the Cold War, an alliance with the Unites States was always more profitable than with the Soviet Union. The Soviets could offer arms, political support, some technology, and a host of other things. But the Americans could offer access to their international trading system and the right to sell into the American economy. This dwarfed (= caused to seem insignificant) everything else in importance. Exclusion from the system meant impoverishment; inclusion in the system meant wealth. Consider, as an example, the different fates of North and South Korea, West and East Germany. /from The Next 100 Years/

Induction: Evidence supported by analysis leading to a logical conclusion.
(tip: conclude the paragraph with a topic sentence)
e.g. In the last hundred years or so, Westerners have shipped armies to Asia, not the other way around. East Asian governments have struggled with Western capitalist and Communist theories, but no Western governments have tried to rule on Confucian or Daoist lines. Easterners often communicate across linguistic barriers in English; Europeans rarely do so in Mandarin or Japanese. As a Malaysian lawyer bluntly told the British journalist Martin Jacques, “I am wearing your clothes, I speak your language, I watch your films, and today is whatever date it is because you say so.” So it appears obvious that the West rules — at least for now.
/based on Why the West Rules — For Now/

Nuances of essay types
Argumentative essay expressing opinion
— An important component of its Main Body is a paragraph expressing an opposing point of view.
— This paragraph is added after the writer has put forward arguments to support their opinion expressed in the thesis statement.
— The paragraph is meant to show that the writer is aware of views contrary to their own. ‘Giving the floor’ to opponents makes one’s essay more objective, which strengthens the writer’s position. However, the writer should be careful to choose an opposing argument which is not more
convincing than their own.
— This paragraph should contain a refutation, or, alternatively, be followed by a refutation paragraph.
— A refutation must counter the opposing argument(s). The writer may acknowledge that there is some truth in it (them) but counter the argument(s) they must!
— By acknowledging that some of the opposing claim may be valid the writer strengthens their own claim.
— The writer may also point out that the opponent’s claim is 1) incorrect or 2) irrelevant to the issue.
/from 22 steps to Effective Writing. Book 2/

e.g. Some critics would question whether the death penalty should really be seen as a human rights issue. If treaties that outlaw the death penalty remain unsigned, and elected legislators choose to keep this form of punishment, then the grounds for saying that it is universally prohibited are thin. The simple response to these arguments is that the death penalty violates the right to life and is therefore wrong, and that, furthermore, if we are convinced that torture and inhuman punishment are prohibited, then the ultimate irrevocable punishment of execution should also be prohibited.
/from Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction/

For-and-against essay & compare-and-contrast essay
■ Both types aim at giving an objective analysis of the chosen subject.
■ In both the writer relies heavily on evidence to arrive at a balanced conclusion.
■ In both the writer is not supposed to give their personal opinion.
Yet, there are specific features.
■ With a compare-and-contrast essay, the writer is to decide what to focus on:
— similarities
— differences
— both

■ The author must be clear what their basis for comparison and / or contrast is. This is to be included in the claim. Start with a focused research question.
e.g. In what way are India and Pakistan, which share much in history and culture, different?
OR
What makes India and Pakistan, which share much in history and culture, so different?
Basis for comparison: history, culture, population, economy, political system.
A possible claim: The partition of Raj in 1947 gave India a head start, both demographically and economically; in becoming a secular democracy it gained another advantage.
Main body can be structured in different ways. The writer can:
a) analyse one subject, then the other;
e.g.
para. 1. India: population, economy, benefits of its political system
para. 2. Pakistan: population, economy, drawbacks of its political system
b) deal with both in the same paragraph(s), i.e. analyse similarities or differences between the two subjects aspect by aspect;
e.g.
para. 1. Population: India vs Pakistan
para. 2. Economy: India vs Pakistan
para. 3. Political system and its impact: India vs Pakistan
c) write one paragraph on similarities and the other on differences
(not appropriate for the claim made, unless you change it to focus on similar history and culture).

Cause-and-effect essay
Claim: Financial and political instability exacerbates brain drain.
Main Body
para. 1. Why financial instability leads to brain drain. Driving force — greed, quest for a better life or self-fulfillment. Evidence from developing countries.
para. 2. How political instability contributes to brain drain. Driving force — fear, uncertainty about one’s future, ‘brains down the drain’ syndrome.

For-and-against’ essay
It may be useful to add a purpose statement to the thesis.
e.g. The government’s plan envisages a number of benefits for single parents but it also has certain drawbacks for two-parent families with young kids. This essay aims to find out what are the possible gains and losses for society if the government goes ahead with the plan.