Welcome to the RGO Library's guide to writing academic essays. This guide presents tips, methods, and strategies for writing a good research paper or essay with a 5 step process:

1. Develop a topic by understanding the assignment requirements, exploring background information, and forming a working thesis

2. Conduct research using scholarly sources, taking critical notes and reading closely

3. Create a thesis statement and outline of arguments that will form the essay

4. Write the essay and integrate research evidence with properly formatted citations and references

5. Edit, review and revise your thesis, outline, and writing for grammatical errors and common structural and stylistic mistakes

6. An essay is a "short formal piece of writing..dealing with a single subject" ("Essay," 2001). It is typically written to try to persuade the reader using selected research evidence ("Essay," 1997). In general, an academic essay has three parts:

7. An introduction that gives the reader an idea of what they are about to learn and presents an argument in the form of a thesis statemen

8. A body, or middle section, that provides evidence used to prove and persuade the reader to accept the writer's particular point of vie

9. A conclusion that summarizes the content and findings of the essay

10. References

11. Describe the role of the introduction and conclusion in a formal essay. (2010). In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com.

12. Essay. (2001). In Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com

13. Essay, The. (1997). In The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com

14. Galli, K. (2013). "What is an essay?" lecture [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PXdHB2fbrM 

15. Massey University (2010). Essay writing [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bkk3PVjDMI