The UVic Writer's Guide

Essay Writing: An Introduction

Writing As A Process

Types of Essays

• The Expository Essay
  
• The Persuasive Essay
  
• The Informal Essay
  
• The Review
  
• The Research Essay
  
• The Literary Essay
  

Writing Your Essay: Getting Started

• Narrowing Your Topic
• The Thesis
• Brainstorming
• The Statement Of Your Thesis
• When You Don't Know Enough About A Subject To Form A Thesis

Writing Your Essay: Organizing It

• Methods Of Organization
  
• The Outline
  
• The Structure Of The Outline
  

Writing Your Essay: Getting It Down

• Audience And Tone
• The First Draft
• Revising
• Introductions
• The Structure Of An Introduction
• The Length Of The Introduction
• The Body Of The Essay
• Conclusions

Proofreading and Presenting Your Essay

• Proofreading
• Presentation
• A Sample Title Page

Doing A Research Essay

• Evidence
  
• Working Bibliography
  
• Evaluating Sources
  
• Taking Notes
  
• Handling Contradictory Evidence
  
• Drawing Conclusions
  

Doing Exam Essays

• Before You Write

Common Problems Writing Essays

• Summary Of Common Problems

Some Sample Essays To Look At

• An Expository Essay
• A Literary Essay