Tips & Tricks to surviving the transition from high school to uni.
Going from high school level essays (which probably seem like small undertakings now) to university level essay writing is a huge transition. Basic three paragraphed essays will no longer cut it, and substance can no longer subsist on one-line quote analysis. You’re in the big leagues now.
So how will your essay language change?
Sure, you’ll use fancier words and impart more articulate sentences. But there’s so much more to it than that. You’ll keep up with political, social, and cultural changes in language. You’ll have fun with colloquialisms and learn to use them in essays, and even invent your own terms. Ultimately, you’ll dive into a higher level of understanding language and the impact it has on yourself, your professors & tutors, and on the larger scale of modern society.
First, let's look into the transferable skills to improve upon at uni. The essay formats from high school are still valid, with the introduction, body, and conclusion. Moreover, the paragraph techniques can still be used.
Now, I’m not sure what different schools taught in this subject, but I was taught the TEEL format:
T - Topic sentence
E - Provide Evidence
E - Explain evidence
L - Link back to topic sentence
This is a basic structural guide. So, while it provides a relevant format, it will need to be enhanced to the standards expected from your uni assessors.
You will need to make sure that your input is the focus of your paragraphs; this is what your tutors want to read! Don’t frame your ideas on quotes from other sources - let those sources frame your ideas. Each assessor is different, so make sure you ask what they expect from you.
Some actually enjoy personal pronouns, so don't be afraid to ask if you can use phrases such as:
“I believe...”
“Personally…”
“My interpretation is…”
Now, let’s see how these skills can be improved.
Providing evidence to support your ideas is paramount to receiving good marks on your essays. Similar to the way we debate about more menial topics in daily conversation, you must have reasons for your opinions, and you may have many views on the matter.
For example, let’s say a fellow member of an amazing Literature Club at your uni poses the popular question of “What’s your favourite book?” Most, if not all, of the time, a one-word answer is not accepted, and is often met with the follow-up question of “Why?”.
When formulating an opinion or personal analysis on a topic in your essay, you need to apply the same formula. Pose your opinion, then provide the “why” in the form of a quote from the primary source or a secondary source. Further your point by expressly explaining why that piece of evidence proves your point. Engage with your sources. Analyse, confer, disagree, question. (And yes, you can disagree with your sources, and even your prompt, as long as you explain why).
Be productive with your language.
Make sure everything in your final draft of an essay achieves the purpose of responding to the prompt. Have a checklist prepared when you’re editing your essay:
Have I answered, analysed, and interpreted the prompt?
Are all of the secondary sources relevant and linked to my contention?
Have I engaged with each piece of evidence critically?
Is my contention, opinions, interpretations overt and consistent throughout my essay?
Use sentence structure effectively.
Each sentence should be ripe with information. Be careful of long-winded sentences; they can confuse your assessors and weaken your articulation. That said, don’t use too many short sentences. You need to find a balance. This balance will differ from student to student, so take some time, write many drafts, until you’ve found a writing method that suits you. I personally tend to write 2 or 3 versions of the same paragraph before I pick which one will make it to my final draft.
Don’t be intimidated by university jargon or the academic buffs.
And don’t think you have to relearn essay writing. Use the skills you learnt in high school, use the structure and the abilities to breakdown a prompt. All you have to do now is expand.
Most importantly, have fun (and I don’t mean watching Netflix or playing sport instead of writing). Find a topic or source that you find interesting, and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the process of writing. When you enjoy something, you try harder and do better.
One last tip:
Keep track of every source you use in your research and writing of essays. Most (if not all), essays require a Reference List at the bottom of the assignment to show where you have retrieved quotes, paraphrases, and other data.
Collect quotes and complete the referencing, then colour-code. This will make it easy to keep track of which quotes and sources you have used when editing your final drafts.
Now. Write.
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