I graduated from Warwick Uni with a 2.2 degree in French and Italian. I’ll let you into a secret… I really wasn’t good at essay writing when I was at uni.
Even though I “knew” HOW to write an essay in theory, I just couldn’t seem to figure out that magic formula that translated my ideas, theory and blood sweat and tears into a really good essay. Consequently, despite a lot of hard work and what my tutors would call “all the potential”, I graduated with an average mark for my essays at a mid 2.2. Naturally, my goal was a 2.1 at least. Not knowing what the seemingly “magic formula” for essay writing was frustrated me so much. Add the pressure and stress that I put on myself, times were difficult.
It was only after graduating, when I had some breathing space and was under a lot less pressure, when I put my mind to working out the process of writing great essays. I couldn’t believe in the idea that some people just aren’t cut out for essay writing. I’ve become a writer since graduation, and I’ve built a community to help students learn how to write amazing, high-class essays. The good news is that it can be done.
What Makes a Good Essay Writer?
I kept in touch with one of my former student friends, Jess Stubbs, who studied Italian with me at Warwick. I remembered Jess doing really well in almost every essay we did as part of our degree. She also won the Giving To Warwick non-finalist academic award and got a first in her dissertation.
Jess got in touch with me when she found out I was starting Confident Living Uni and wanted to help people to write essays.
We started to work together as we helped many students to improve their essays and writing style, and then to jump up the grade ladder.
We started to work together as we helped many students to improve their essays and writing style, and then to jump up the grade ladder.
As soon as Jess and I started to see many of our students jump whole grades...
from 2.2s to 2.1s, from 2.1.s to 1sts, we knew that we were creating something that could really help students to improve their essays!
from 2.2s to 2.1s, from 2.1.s to 1sts, we knew that we were creating something that could really help students to improve their essays!
Together, we’ve created a kick-ass blog series to help students. From freshers to finalists, from home students to international students, we're helping students to drastically improve their essay writing skills.
Before we started the series, I was really keen to ask Jess a few questions about what we thought goes into writing great essays…
Can Anyone Write Great Essays?
Jess: I definitely believe that everyone is capable of improving their marks. No matter how good or bad you are at writing essays, more often than not there are simple tricks you can use to take your writing to the next level. This was really what I wanted to achieve with the blog posts: maybe you're already excellent at reading primary and secondary material, but need help to build your argument; or maybe you love writing too much and struggle to stay within the word limit - whatever the problem is, there's a solution.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes People Make When Essay Writing?
Jess: I think one of the biggest traps that people fall into is thinking that everything can be done the night before. This just means that everything's rushed: your research is full of gaps, your critical thinking skills are almost non-existent and your writing is shoddy. All these things come through really clearly in an essay. Markers want to see that you've taken pride in your work, and the best way you can do this is to give yourself enough time to finish it.
When Should Someone Get Help From a Tutor or Confident Living Mentor?
Jess: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Honestly, I cannot emphasise this one enough. What might have been a small question at the beginning of the essay writing period can mean the difference between a pass or a fail if you discover just before the deadline that you haven't interpreted the question correctly, or have missed out a key area. Tutors are there to make sure that you understand the assignment, not to give you one-on-one draft feedback... so get your questions in early.
Kirsty: it can also just help to discuss your worries with a mentor! Sometimes just a brief Skype chat can help take the edge of the stress (which trust me, I know all about!)
What Should Students Do Right Now to Prepare for the Essay Writing Season?
Jess: First of all, subscribe to the blog. We'll be sharing practical tips each week in the build up to essay deadlines.
Then, make sure your lecture notes are up-to-date: they can help massively with essay writing.
Also, make sure you've done all the required reading for lectures, and also start to look to see if there's any titles that might help with your question if you have it already.
Invest in a new USB stick and make sure you've got printer credits: there's nothing worse than a hard drive crash the night before the deadline.
What Will We Cover in the Blog Series?
We'll be covering many of the different pitfalls and challenges that students have to overcome to write well. From practical tips in planning, time management and proofreading, to how to not let stress affect your essay and cutting the waffle, we've got lots covered.
Make sure that you like us on Facebook (click here)
Or subscribe to the blog series (right here) RIGHT now!
Don't procrastinate ;) Why not do it right now...? Done? :)
Have you got any specific questions or worries ahead of writing your first or next summative essay?
Send us any questions or worries you have about essay writing or uni by writing a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook. We may write a blog post for you, to answer your questions.
DON'T MISS OUT on our "Essay Writing" series! Don't delay: LIKE us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, and we'll make sure you get all of our free support and advice (hey, it's not even classed as procrastination). :)
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