How to plan an essay: Essay Planning
- What's in this guide
- Essay Planning
- Additional resources
How to plan an essay
Essay planning is an important step in academic essay writing.
Proper planning helps you write your essay faster, and focus more on the exact question. As you draft and write your essay, record any changes on the plan as well as in the essay itself, so they develop side by side.
One way to start planning an essay is with a ‘box plan’.
First, decide how many stages you want in your argument – how many important points do you want to make? Then, divide a box into an introduction + one paragraph for each stage + a conclusion.
Next, figure out how many words per paragraph you'll need.
Usually, the introduction and conclusion are each about 10% of the word count. This leaves about 80% of the word count for the body - for your real argument. Find how many words that is, and divide it by the number of body paragraphs you want. That tells you about how many words each paragraph can have.
Remember, each body paragraph discusses one main point, so make sure each paragraph's long enough to discuss the point properly (flexible, but usually at least 150 words).
For example, say the assignment is
Fill in the table as follows:
Next, record each paragraph's main argument, as either a heading or topic sentence (a sentence to start that paragraph, to immediately make its point clear).
Finally, use dot points to list useful information or ideas from your research notes for each paragraph. Remember to include references so you can connect each point to your reading.
The other useful document for essay planning is the marking rubric .
This indicates what the lecturer is looking for, and helps you make sure all the necessary elements are there.
Pathways and Academic Learning Support
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- Last Updated: Feb 15, 2024 1:23 PM
- URL: https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/essay_planning
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