Oxbridge Essays » Essay Tips

Custom Essays: ‘For and Against’

Ed — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:37:59 +0000

In the latest of our 'custom essays' blog series, we bring you a custom essay format for those common 'For and Against' style essay questions. With tips on all you need to include and a carefully designed essay structure, arm yourself for typical exam questions in advance!

Custom Essays: ‘How does the Writer…?’

Ed — Fri, 13 May 2011 12:20:09 +0000

Our third custom essay blog looks at the ideal essay format for answering 'How does the writer...?' style exam questions. We look at what information should be included and how it should be structured for top exam grades every time.

10 Essay writing tips

Elly — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:10:36 +0000

Writing an essay is a central part of the academic career of every student, yet many people find essay writing difficult and frustrating. Here are 10 top essay writing tips to get you on track, with advise on essay writing structure, essay format, essay style and more. Read our top tips to make sure your essays and writing assignments measure up, and find great advice on how you can instantly improve your marks with just a few quick changes. Let us know your top essay writing tips too!

Essay format top tips

Elly — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:33:20 +0000

Writing a strong essay format is the most important fundamental essay writing skill to learn, as it allows you to structure and present your ideas in the best possible light, in any essay and at any level. This article explains how to achieve a clear, academic essay format and earn the top grades your ideas deserve! Writing yourself a clear essay outline before you begin to essay write is an essential part of a strong format.

How to write an extended essay

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:01:38 +0000

Even the most experienced essay writers, who are well in command of structure and effective essay technique, can be uncertain and confused when asked to write an extended essay. This format, not frequently required and seldom discussed, is one of the least available in essay examples, and can be perplexing to those who have not attempted it before. Read on to banish your queries with our top tips to writing an extended essay.

Writing to explain

Elly — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:04:27 +0000

Writing to explain may seem a simpler task to tackle than some of the other writing styles you may be asked to adopt, such as writing to argue, persuade and advise. However it is sometimes the essay writing styles which sound the simplest that require the most technique to get them just right and score maximum points, whether you are writing to explain GCSE or explaining a theory as part of an undergraduate dissertation. So read on below for our top tips on writing to explain!

Essay guide: types of essay

Ed — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:14:26 +0000

Essays can be divided into different types and each type requires a particular skill in approach. Some styles of descriptive essay writing (such as narrative) are less useful in an academic environment since they do not encourage the student to display critical thinking. However, you might use pieces of all these essay styles within the confines of one essay or a dissertation, for example, the overall essay may be a discussion, but you may need a section of definition to explain terms. Here’s a brief overview of the sorts of essay you might come across during your studies.

Punctuation rules: using commas, apostrophes and quotation marks correctly

Elly — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:12:52 +0000

As an editor, I see the same simple punctuation mistakes time and again costing students valuable marks when the overall quality of their work deserves a much higher grade. Whether it is everyday essay writing or an undergraduate dissertation, correct grammar punctuation is the quickest way to see a huge improvement in the quality of your work (not to mention better grades!) The good news is that help is at hand! Listed below are examples and explanations of the most common errors in using punctuation marks, along with some simple tricks to help you remember how to correct them.

Best essay advice: write my essay with style!

Ed — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:13:46 +0000

This blog often focuses on the practical side of essay composition, but what about the style of your writing? How can you make sure that the way you write and your choice of words isn’t letting you down? Follow these top essay writing pointers to make sure your writing style isn’t letting you down.

Essay Writing Tips – Using ‘signals’ in essays

Ed — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:34:34 +0000

As you write essays, you need to be very clear about where you are going next with your argument. Using signalling words tells the reader what you intend to do, where you have been with your argument so far and where you intend to take it next.

To get a better understanding of any of the signalling words for essay writing, you can look at the essay examples from the Oxbridge Essays website.

Dissertation Essay Writing Tips

bruno — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:15:44 +0000

Your dissertation stands for your personal academic position, so it helps to believe what you write and write what you believe. Be well informed and secure in your position, then take confidence in your intellect and take a stand

UK Essays Structuring Tips

bruno — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:00:02 +0000

Think ahead clearly, before you begin, about how you want to put your essay together, what you want to say, and the nature of the relevant material. Strict deadlines can tempt you to put something on the page as soon as possible, but thorough planning will save you time by making the writing phase that much smoother.

UK Essay Writing Originality

bruno — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:30:25 +0000

It can be rather daunting to set about heavily critiquing authoritative texts, and takes some courage to put out fresh ideas of your own. As long as you are comfortable with the basic requirements of essay writing and academic conventions, you should be assured in your intellectual abilities and have the confidence to take a risk.

Top 10 Essay Referencing Tips

bruno — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:00:32 +0000

Familiarise yourself with the most popular referencing systems, notably Oxford (footnotes) and Harvard (parenthetical). Plenty of internet sources provide helpful assistance in gaining a thorough understanding of the notation of the major systems, and how and when to use them.

Top 10 Tips: How to Write a 2.1 Essay

bruno — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:30:57 +0000

A solid 2.1 grade requires the ability to keep on topic and make all of the text of your essay ultimately relevant to the question. Context and background information is often an important part of academic writing, but should not be detailed at the expense of focus. Limit even the most interesting digressions. A solid 2.1 grade requires the ability to keep on topic and make all of the text of your essay ultimately relevant to the question. Context and background information is often an important part of academic writing, but should not be detailed at the expense of focus. Limit even the most interesting digressions.

Top 10 Nursing Essay Tips

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:09:24 +0000

Awareness. Try to show your understanding of the important values, issues and debates in nursing today by letting these inform your approach to essay writing. This can be seen as a guide as much as an added requirement; when stuck with how to introduce an idea or set up a discussion, consider current issues as providing a way in.

Masters Essay Writing Tips

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:53:09 +0000

Delineate the scope of your paper. Positioning the issues you intend presently to discuss within the broader field of your subject area will demonstrate not only your understanding of the breadth of the academic landscape but your ability to focus on a particular part of it. It is not enough to analyse certain ideas, you must recognise their place in the whole.

Top 10 Tips: Essay Writing Mistakes to Avoid

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:20:13 +0000

1. Misreading the question. Disregard for the precise wording of the question, or poor comprehension of its meaning, can waste hours of work. Avoid this occasional but catastrophic slip by making a habit of breaking down and studying the question before you begin.

2. Beginning too late. There is nothing worse than a desperate rush to meet a deadline, especially if hours of good research are to be squandered through poor execution. Plan your time in advance and save yourself from the horror.