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It is usually about 5-10% of the word count (100-200 words long for a 2000 word essay). Do avoid rewriting the question! It wastes words and does not say.
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How to structure an essay This guide will give you the basics of how to organise and structure an essay. But remember that how the essay is organised and presented does not necessarily reflect the process that you go through in writing the essay. For example, many experienced writers prefer to write the introduction after they have written the main body of the essay. Similarly, many writers will write a very rough draft of a section and then move on to the next before the first one is perfect. This process is explained more fully in the ‘Writing an Assignment’ guide. Above all, remember that while you might be able to make a rough outline immediately, you will probably change your mind after you do your reading and research. In this guide, we will explain what the end product should look like in general terms. Introduction It may be useful to think of the introduction as a signpost to what is coming up next in the essay; with this in mind, it is often written last. It is usually about 5-10% of the word count (100-200 words long for a 2000 word essay). Do avoid rewriting the question! It wastes words and does not say anything new. Here are some of the things you might do in an introduction. It’s unlikely you will always need to
do all of them and depends on the length of the essay and its purpose (check your brief). But these might offer you a place to start - try doing each and then you can delete the parts which seem repetitive or irrelevant.
Conclusion The conclusion summarises the findings that have been presented without introducing new material. It is about the same size as the introduction.
Example essay outline: Title: Compare and contrast authoritarian leadership style with democratic leadership style, in the context of organisational change. Introduction: ● Context: introduce concept of leadership styles ● Importance: show evidence about the impact that effective leadership has on an organisation ● Main argument: While the democratic leadership style is more likely to encourage positive employee engagement, in situations of rapid organisational change or crisis, an authoritarian leadership style may be more effective. Section 1: motivation, engagement and discipline ● Paragraph 1: how do both styles motivate? which one engages teams more? ● Paragraph 2: how do both styles discipline? ● Give examples in different situations (i.e. relating to organisation change and stability) throughout ● Reach a conclusion e.g. that teams are more motivated, engaged and need less discipline when using a democratic style Section 2: communication and teamwork ● As above Section 3: developing ideas - where does the vision and the content come from? ● As above Section 4: micromanagement and delegation ● As above Conclusion: ● Sum up ● Draw all parts together ● Reiterate main argument ● Explain why this is a useful conclusion