If you are looking for precise information about what an academic essay is or you have to do some research, you came to the right place. In this article, we are going to explain the main characteristics of this type of university writing so that you can put it into practice.
Definition of the academic essay: what is it
In the first place, an academic essay is defined as a text where the author must present a series of ideas and concepts related to a certain area of study. This set of ideas must start from the writer's position or point of view. It should be noted that it is not a mere personal opinion but must be based on theoretical foundations that allow it to sustain its arguments.
This type of writing is highly requested in the university environment since it requires its students to deepen theoretical and literary knowledge on a certain subject of their career. From this deepening, the essayist will be able to achieve the necessary knowledge to reflect on the subject and throw a new point of view on it.
The structure of the academic essay
Writers and expert writing online say that To achieve a degree of academic rigor, the essay must have its own structure divided into clear and differentiated sections. Each of them must include pertinent information to maintain an order that allows readers to understand the reading and each of its parts. In addition, this structure is what will give the essay a formal character typical of any university work. Below we explain what the sections of an academic essay are and what content belongs to each one.
1. Introduction
The introduction is the introductory part of an essay. In it, the author must be able to capture the main ideas that he will address throughout the development of the writing. In addition, you have to include the main hypothesis on which the entire essay will revolve.
Now, to carry out this first section correctly, we recommend that you, first of all, have a well-defined subject of study. You must be clear about what you want to know about the problem that you are going to delve into in your essay. To achieve this you have to leave the generality of the subject and concentrate on a specific point of it. For example, if you want to inquire about children's behavior, you can define a hypothesis that cuts the theme. An example of a clear hypothesis within the introduction could be the following statement:
As you can see, the hypothesis clearly introduces the problem that will be developed throughout the essay. Making a clipping will make it easier for you to gather information since you will have to look for those publications that refer to the behavior of a certain age group. In addition, it can simplify the task of having to do a face-to-face investigation, if you need it since you will only have to concentrate on a certain space.
2. Development
The next section of an academic essay is its development. In this part, you must gather the main theoretical concepts of other authors who have investigated a similar topic. In this sense, you have to properly cite each publication, generating a space for exposition and confrontation of the different theories that you have previously selected.
It should be noted that the purpose of this section is to show readers that your thoughts and conclusions are based on an in-depth reading of enriching theories for your work. In this way, you will be able to account for your capacity for research and articulation of theory with observable phenomena in objective reality.
3. Conclusions
This is one of the last sections of the essay where you will have to remember the main hypothesis of the introduction. From this, you will have to confront it with the results obtained throughout the learning process. In addition, you will have to introduce some conclusions that invite readers to reflect on what is established. The latter is important in cases where established theories are out of date with observable phenomena that can change according to time and context.
4. Bibliography
Finally, the bibliography section appears where you must correctly cite each author and source used in your work. For this, you will have to be guided by the rules corresponding to your home of studies. In general, the citations of this type of writing adhere to the APA universal standards, but you can still check with your professors to be sure.
Differences between essays and other academic writing
Although an academic essay can be confused with the characteristics of other types of writing, there are some qualities that differentiate it. The most notable discrepancy is that the essay requires the author to adopt a position of their own when addressing a topic. In other writings such as summaries or reviews, the writer is limited to reporting other people's ideas in summary form.
Another big difference is that the essay can address one or more issues that are related to each other, while summaries or reviews are limited to a single topic. Unlike a thesis, the essay requires a less detailed theorization of the problem. In addition, you can dispense with a research methodology that requires face-to-face or field investigative techniques.
At last writing, an essay is not easy so if you need a Business Ethics Assignment Help essay ask for someone to help you if you just can't.
