Learn how you can improve your writing process to write academic essays
Sep 25, 2023 |
17 Mins Read
In academia, where ideas and knowledge converge, the written word is a powerful tool for conveying research and arguments. However, the journey from a blank page to a polished essay involves more than inspiration; it demands a systematic and strategic approach. The steps involved in the writing process are considered the building blocks of an essay, the academic writing style itself provides a deep knowledge of the subject matter and helps writers construct evidence-based arguments within their respective fields. This blog post explores the essential steps, techniques, and insights to improve your writing process and gear the approach towards academic essays.
Essay Writing Basics
The purpose of academic essays is to advance ideas and exchange discourse amongst scholars while also teaching the writer to think critically and analyse various areas of research. When structuring and writing an academic essay, it is essential to plan the flow of information to complement one another strategically; the research points contained in each paragraph have to be simple to absorb and not overbearing.
An academic essay has 3 key components: introduction, body paragraph and conclusion.
Pre-Writing Phase
Before writing the essay, having several brainstorming sessions will help writers understand the topic, scope, and arguments within the academic essay. Brainstorming allows writers to build enthusiasm and commitment towards the essay, as the topic becomes clearer with research, discussion and planning. Listed below are a few effective brainstorming techniques:
- Mind Mapping
A mind map is essential for brainstorming as it tracks related concepts. The first step is to write down the larger subject and then write down anything that is relevant to that, this helps writers and researchers visualise all the information related to the topic. It can be used to either break down a larger subject or focus on a certain component of a subject, this is beneficial for academic writers as it helps generate new ideas, foster collaboration and organise information.
- Clustering
The cluster analysis is a great method to club or “cluster” information and data together over certain similarities. This learning technique can be adapted to a brainstorming method to allow academic writers to structure their essays strategically which would allow information and ideas to flow smoothly.
- Free Writing
Free writing is a brainstorming method geared towards writers, it allows writers to write about a topic with no rules, guidelines or structure. The aim is to write as the thoughts come so that the writer can establish how much information they have on a topic. There are 3 simple rules to get this method right: don’t pause to read anything you have written, don’t cross out or erase anything as that is editing and not writing, and finally, don’t worry about spelling or grammar. This method allows writers to generate their ideas and polish them later, rather than having a thought and letting it go.
After having productive brainstorming sessions, the next step is to start the research. Certain institutions have guidelines as to what they consider reputable resources, for example, Wikipedia is not considered an academic source of information as the pages can be edited and written by anyone. Access reputable academic databases and libraries to conduct your research, We have listed a few below:
Once the research phase is done, you will have gathered a good amount of resources and information on your essay topic. The next crucial step is to develop a thesis statement, an essay has to have a thesis statement to serve as a guide for the reader and develop the author’s argument. Furthermore, formulating the thesis statement allows authors to see how their ideas are perceived in a sentence or two. A strong thesis statement specifies one main idea and asserts the author’s conclusions on the essay question or topic.
For example, if your essay is about the implementation of sustainable practices in the transport sector, your thesis statement can be: In recent years, there has been a rise in sustainable initiatives, this essay highlights and argues that sustainability in transportation is beneficial for human advancement and slowing climate change.
Writing The Essay
Once the initial stages of brainstorming, research, and the formulation of a thesis statement are done, the writing process is equipped with a clear roadmap. Each paragraph in an academic essay serves as a building block, cementing the foundation of the thesis while allowing room to explore other perspectives.
- Introduction
The introductory paragraph of an academic essay sets the tone and outlines the map of the essay. It should give the reader a clear idea of the points, arguments and methods the essay will highlight and discuss. There are 4 main components of a good essay introduction paragraph; the hook, context, thesis statement and a clear structure of the essay.
Example: The rise of sustainable practices in the transport sector is imperative to its advancement (Hook). In recent years, the world has witnessed electric cars, alternative routes, carpooling applications, and improvements in public transport; these enhancements have encouraged the general population to utilise alternative methods of transport rather than driving their personal vehicles daily (Context). This essay states that sustainable practices in the transport sector are beneficial for human advancement and slowing climate change (Thesis). The essay discusses the development and implementation of sustainable aviation fuel in recent flights while acknowledging key drawbacks. Furthermore, the essay assesses how carpooling alternatives are valuable for the safety of the environment; and finally, the accessibility and affordability of public transport (Structure).
- Developing Arguments
To effectively develop the arguments that support the thesis statement, the writer should deconstruct the topic and map all possible aspects of the topic. Based on available research, literature and evidence; create a stance that has appropriate citations. Each body paragraph should break down the argument and end with an explanation as to why the essay’s stance is convincing.
- Structuring Body Paragraphs
In an academic essay, each body paragraph is dedicated to a specific point or argument; this paragraph would consist of a topic sentence, evidence, opposing research, context and explanation. Each developed argument should flow and serve the research paper’s positioning in the subject area. The best practice for structuring effective body paragraphs is to follow the P.E.E method which stands for point, evidence and explanation.
Example: The usage of sustainable aviation fuel is key to maintaining the same amount of weekly flights while reducing its effects on climate change (Point). In recent studies, Smith (2021) found that the components required to produce sustainable aviation fuel not only source environmentally friendly ingredients but also practice eco-friendly processes during the production and manufacturing phases (Evidence). The approach to creating sustainability in transport starts by examining the processes by which the vehicles are manufactured as the environmental output of those factories is significant, utilising sustainable aviation fuel eliminates harmful production practices and decreases pollution caused by aeroplanes (Explanation).
- Writing the Conclusion
The conclusion of an academic essay should be an impactful recap of the essay, which should include supporting evidence for the arguments presented; by this paragraph in the essay, the reader should be drawn to supporting the thesis statement.
Editing and Polishing
During the editing stage, it is common for authors to look for grammatical errors; while this is important, it’s also beneficial to keep an eye out for clarity issues. In academic writing, structuring clear and concise sentences is imperative so that all readers can efficiently comprehend the material.
Here is a check-list of what you should look out for while editing an academic essay:
- Correct running sentences with too many subordinate clauses
- Sentences should be written in active voice
- Assess whether a sentence is written in an academic and formal tone
- Assess whether the essay is structured for the intended audience and purpose
Finalising the Essay
Once the essay has reached the finalising phase, it’s important to refer to your institutional formatting guidelines and ensure that all the requirements have been met. Once that is done, the bibliography has to be double-checked to ensure the references are in the correct style without grammar and formatting mistakes. The bibliography is an essential part of an academic essay as it helps readers, professors, and researchers understand where the evidence was retrieved from and how the arguments were constructed; having an accurate bibliography also gives the essay credibility. The final step is to give the essay one last proofread to ensure that it is free of errors.
FAQs
How long should an essay be?
Ideally, an essay should be about 5-7 pages which should contain about 1500-2000 words. However, a detailed essay can range from anywhere between 8-10 pages containing about 2500-3000 words.
What are the key elements of a perfect essay?
Great essays have a clear and concise introduction, thesis and conclusion. The body paragraphs within a good essay flow and connect back to the thesis statement, creating cohesive arguments as the academic paper progresses.
How can I improve my essay-writing skills?
Improving your essay writing skills lies in the planning and proofreading phases rather than the writing itself. Before beginning your essay, plan out the paragraphs, and arguments, and follow the structures to create uniformed paragraphs. In the proofreading stage, keep an eye out for grammatical errors as well as clarity-related errors.
Are there any online resources to assist with essay writing?
The most useful essay-writing tool is Grammarly, it offers multiple suggestions and corrections as you write so that the corrections can be made simultaneously, further simplifying the proofreading stage.
How important is the thesis statement in an essay?
The thesis statement gives the essay direction and provides a clear roadmap to the writer. Every other component of the essay should support or explain the thesis statement.
How do I avoid plagiarism in my essay?
The most effective way to avoid plagiarism is to keep a record of all the sources you will utilise in your essay and then paraphrase the points, you will then have to cite the original author using in-text citations.
ZAIA vs DeepSeek: Which AI Tool is Better For Researchers
AI tools have made handling complex tasks easier, but not all of them are created equal. While DeepSeek is widely known and accessible, it is a general-purpose AI tool, available to the public and easily understood by many. In contrast, ZAIA, an AI assistant for researchers developed by Zendy, takes a more specialised approach. Designed specifically for researchers and academics, ZAIA easily integrates into academic workflows with customised tools. Let’s take a closer look at how these two AI tools compare. What is DeepSeek DeepSeek AI is a Chinese conversational AI chat created by Liang Wenfeng, mostly used as a general-purpose AI tool that can assist with writing, brainstorming, coding, and more. It’s a Swiss Army knife, good for a lot of things but not customised to a specific need. This makes it a great option for users who need an all-in-one AI assistant rather than a highly specialised tool. What is ZAIA ZAIA, Zendy’s AI assistant, is built with researchers in mind. You can ask any research-related question, and ZAIA will analyse millions of academic papers to provide credible, reference-backed answers. In addition, It’s integrated into Zendy to give you access to over 40 million academic research papers and offers AI tools that make chatting, summarising, analysing, and extracting insights from research papers much simpler. ZAIA and DeepSeek Data & Knowledge Sources One of the key differences between ZAIA and DeepSeek is how they access and process information. ZAIA is designed by researchers for researchers, providing direct access to a vast collection of 40 million scholarly publications through Zendy’s massive digital library. This means researchers retrieve precise insights for their research, summarise it, and chat with it, all from credible, peer-reviewed sources. DeepSeek, on the other hand, is trained on a broad dataset covering various topics but lacks integration with academic databases like Zendy, PubMed or even SpringerLink, and cannot verify sources with citations. While it can generate general information, it lacks the ability to pull insights directly from academic literature, with a high possibility of predatory journals in the outputs. So, what does DeepSeek do better? As we mentioned above, it helps you in answering questions, brainstorming ideas, helping with writing, summarising information, and providing explanations on complex topics in a clear, understandable way. A Smarter, Lower Energy Consumption Choice Since AI became available to the public, concerns about energy consumption have begun to rise. For instance, DeepSeek-V3 required 2,788,000 GPU hours for training, equivalent to 836,400 kWh of energy. According to NDTV News, this consumes less energy compared to the current leading U.S. AI model, ChatGPT. According to RW Digital, the annual energy consumption for ChatGPT is expected to hit 226.8 GWh. To give you an idea of how much energy that is: It could fully charge 3.13 million electric vehicles, which is nearly 95% of all electric vehicles in the United States. It could power around 21,602 U.S. homes for a whole year. It would be enough to run the entire countries of Finland or Belgium for one day. On the other hand, ZAIA was developed to minimise energy usage even more, consuming as little as several kilowatts (kW) per server in data centres ZAIA’s focus on academic tasks means it requires fewer resources. This makes it an environmentally friendly choice for researchers who value sustainability. Who Should Use Which? If you’re looking for a general-purpose assistant to handle a variety of tasks, DeepSeek is a good option. But if you’re a student, researcher, or academic professional who works with research papers regularly, ZAIA is a better fit. It’s built to simplify the research process and provide you with the necessary AI tools and access to your academic needs, integrating AI in scientific research for enhanced productivity and quicker discoveries. Conclusion DeepSeek is a great all-around tool, but ZAIA’s focus on the academic field makes it the smarter choice for researchers. It’s affordable, consumes less energy and time, and is designed to make your academic journey smoother. That’s why, when it comes to AI tools, personalisation is the key. .wp-block-image img { max-width: 85% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }
What is Synthesis in Research? Synthesis vs. Analysis vs. Summarising
Going through mountains of papers, studies, and data is a common task when working on a research project. Finding a logical approach to combine all of this information is the hard part. This process is called synthesis, a skill that can help make your research be clearer, more insightful, and more impactful. In simple terms, synthesis in research means combining ideas from different sources to create a new understanding. But here’s the thing: synthesis is often confused with summarising or analysing, which can lead to unclear or incomplete results. In this blog, we’ll break down what synthesis really means, how it’s different from other processes, and how you can do it well. Let’s get started. What is Synthesis in Research? It's about connecting ideas, data, and findings from multiple sources to generate a new perspective. It’s not just repeating what others have said—it’s about connecting the dots to see the bigger picture and how sources relate to your main idea For instance, suppose you are researching the effects of exercise on mental health. One study may indicate that yoga enhances mood, another suggests jogging lowers anxiety and a third that emphasises the advantages of team sports for social well-being. In order to conclude that different kinds of exercise have different positive effects on mental health, synthesis in research involves connecting these studies together. How is Synthesis in Research Different from Summarising and Analysing? A lot of researchers mix up synthesis with summarising or analysing. Here’s how they’re different: Synthesis vs. Summarising Summarising Summarising means condensing the key points of a source or multiple sources without adding new insights. Example: If three studies say that exercise improves mental health, a summary would list those findings without connecting them. Synthesis goes a step further. It combines ideas from multiple sources to create a new understanding. Example: Connecting findings about running, yoga, and team sports to show how different types of exercise benefit mental health in unique ways. Synthesis vs. Analysis Analysis involves breaking down a single source or idea to examine its parts, strengths, or weaknesses. It’s about looking closely at one piece of information. Example: Analysing a study on exercise and mental health might involve critiquing its methods or interpreting its results in detail. Synthesis does not just connect ideas but constructs a new argument or framework from them. It’s about seeing how different pieces of information relate to each other. Example: Synthesising multiple studies on exercise and mental health might reveal patterns, like how different types of exercise affect different aspects of mental health. Why Is Synthesis in Research Important? Because it helps you: See Connections: By combining insights, you can understand a topic more fully. Find Gaps: It helps you spot what’s missing in the existing research. Build Stronger Arguments: When you connect ideas from multiple sources, your conclusions become more convincing. Make Research Useful: In fields like policy or healthcare, synthesis helps turn research into practical solutions. Without synthesis, research can feel scattered or repetitive. It’s what ties everything together. How to Do Synthesis in Research: A Step-by-Step Guide Here’s a simple way to approach synthesis in research: 1. Start with a Clear Question Before diving into your sources, ask yourself: What am I trying to learn or answer? A clear question will help you stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed. 2. Gather Your Sources Look for reliable, relevant studies, articles, and data. Use tools like Zendy to find the latest articles in one place and EndNote to keep everything organised. 3. Look for Patterns and Connections As you read, take notes on common themes, differences, or trends. For example, do multiple studies point to the same conclusion? Are there conflicting results? A table or chart can help you visualise these patterns. 4. Bring It All Together Combine the insights you’ve gathered into a cohesive narrative. Explain how the ideas relate to each other and to your research question. 5. Draw Your Conclusions Summarise what you’ve learned and explain why it matters. Be honest about any limitations and suggest areas for further study. How can you improve your synthesis skills? Read your sources multiple times. Make well-organised notes on each one. Find relevant ideas and evidence for them. Rearrange your notes based on concepts. Put ideas into an outline. Conclusion Synthesis in research is more than just combining information—it’s about creating new knowledge and understanding. By following the steps above, you can effectively bring together ideas, spot patterns, and produce work that’s clear, insightful, and useful. Whether you're a student, academic, or professional, synthesis can help you take your research to the next level. Struggling to make sense of your research? AI tools can assist with synthesis by identifying key themes and connections across multiple papers, check out our AI tools to simplify the process and get better results. Let’s make your research work for you! .wp-block-image img { max-width: 85% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }
JIF vs. SJR Ranking: What's The Difference?
Two of the most common journal rankings are the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR). They both measure journal impact but in different ways. Knowing how they work can help you choose the right journal to publish in. If you're deciding where to publish your research or assessing the significance of journals in your field, understanding these metrics can guide your choices. While both JIF and SJR aim to measure journal impact, they approach it differently. Depending on your needs, you might prefer one over the other or consider both for a well-rounded view. What Is SJR? Developed by SCImago using Scopus's database, SJR ranking evaluates the scientific impact of journals on their citations. Unlike a simple citation count, SJR assigns a higher value to citations from prestigious journals, meaning that not all citations carry the same weight. Key Features of SJR Ranking: Citation Quality Is Important: A journal's SJR ranking is influenced more by citations from reputable publications. Three-Year Citation Window: Citations are taken into account by SJR ranking for a duration of three years. Field-Normalised: SJR ranking takes into consideration variations among disciplines, which facilitates the comparison of publications from various fields of study. Open Access Inclusion: By incorporating open-access journals, SJR ranking provides a more comprehensive understanding of journal impact. What Is JIF? The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) provides one of the most well-known indicators of a journal, run by Clarivate and based on Web of Science database. Unlike SJR ranking, JIF is calculated by a straightforward ratio: the number of citations a journal receives in a given year divided by the number of citable articles published in the previous two years. Key Features of JIF: Two-Year Citation Window – Focuses on recent citations. Straightforward Calculation – It is simple to understand because it uses a simple average. Exclusive to Web of Science – Only Web of Science-indexed journals are included. Heavily Used in Academic Promotion – JIF is often a deciding factor in funding applications and tenure evaluations. Which Ranking Should You Use? It depends on what you're looking for. If you need a broader view of journal impact that considers citation prestige, SJR ranking may be more useful. If you're in a field where the Journal Impact Factor is commonly used for assessments (e.g., life sciences, medicine), JIF might be the better choice. If you're working with open-access journals, SJR provides a more inclusive perspective. In Conclusion While each ranking system has advantages, none of them is a perfect measurement of journal ranking quality. To have a better view of a journal's influence, think about examining a variety of classifications rather than depending solely on SJR ranking or JIF ranking. Knowing these distinctions will help you make well-informed choices, whether choosing a journal for publication or assessing a research paper. Sources: Clarivate Analytics Impact Factor SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) .wp-block-image img { max-width: 85% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }