Topic Four (0.4): Successful Essay Writing – Style Tip 1: Writing Well

Introduction

Now that you understand the different kinds of questions you will be facing and how these will be marked, we will turn our attention to the key skills needed for writing AS and A Level English Literature essays. Being able to write a strong essay is a vital skill for English Literature. It is not only the vehicle by which you will convey your ideas, but the essay itself is also proof of how well you can use language. Your ideas may be very good, but if they don’t come across clearly to an examiner, you won’t pick up the marks you deserve.

You don’t need to be writing perfect essays at the start of the course, but you should to be willing to build on your writing skills with every new piece of written work. If you spend the time on this, you will reap the rewards throughout the course and in the final exams.

Always pay close attention to the comments your tutor makes about your writing skills in the feedback on each assignment and keep this in mind as you work on the next one, carefully addressing any areas that need improvement. If you are unsure of anything, check these documents and, if you still have questions, let us know.

Tasks

  • Writing in ‘good English’ is a very important skill in this subject, but it’s not always easy to know exactly what that means. You will have learnt some rules for essay writing at (I)GCSE, but at AS and A Level it is more important than ever to write clearlyand in a suitable, academic register so you can do justice to your ideas.
  • The following document contains a series of tips for writing well. Print this out and read it very carefully:

Download PRINT OUT & READ – Style Tip 1: Writing Well

  • Highlight any of the tips which you already know you need to focus on in your own writing.
  • Make these a priority in your written work and always check for them when completing your assignments.
  • The following resource gives advice to students writing university essays and contains some useful tips and links you may find helpful:

READ – Academic Writing in English: Register and Style (Lund University) Links to an external site.

Additional Support

  • If you feel that you need to recap on any (I)GCSE writing skills before starting the course, the following document goes over the basics and is a helpful starting point, butplease note that you do need to go beyond these skills in terms of detail and sophistication to score higher marks at AS and A Level.

Download READ – Writing Essays: What You Need to Know – Recap of (I)GCSE Skills

  • If you know you need to improve your punctuation and grammar, you may also find the following links useful:

EXPLORE – Punctuation Resources (BBC Bitesize) Links to an external site.

EXPLORE – Punctuation (Lexico) Links to an external site.

Download READ – What is a Complete Sentence? PDF (University of Leicester)

  • Remember: good punctuation is helpful in any kind of writing you do, in any subject you study, and for the rest of your life. It’s a skill worth learning.