7.2 Preparing the ground: what to do before you start writing
7.2.1 Different kinds of essay questions
It is essential to start your essay writing by not writing anything at all. Your first step must always be just reading the question. Read the question you have been set. Read it for the first time. Then read it again. Then read it several more times. Go away and do something else for a while, then come back and read it again. And read it once more for luck. Then, while writing your essay, read the question repeatedly and several times again after you have finished writing. Reading – and understanding – the question is fundamentally important. Many students get off on the wrong foot when answering an essay question because they do not take the time to read the question carefully and understand exactly what is being asked of them (and what is not being asked).
There are many kinds of essay question, and this book does not purport to offer any comprehensive or definitive guide to them. However, one important thing to focus on is often a key directive or command in the question. Generic terms and phrases such as ‘analyse’, ‘discuss’, ‘critique’, ‘evaluate, ‘do you agree?’ and ‘explain’, among many others, are often key to understanding the kind of task you have been set. A sampling of these terms is provided and briefly explained below.
ESSAY QUESTION DIRECTIVES AND EXAMPLES
Analyse: Break the issue or problem down into its component parts in order to show in depth and in detail what the issue or problem is and how it arises. Go beyond mere surface description or summary. Depending on the context, there may be no call for you to reach a final position of your own on the issues.
Analyse Justice Schneider’s argument against the Australian Constitution having any substantive implied freedom of political communication.
Explain: This can mean either ‘identify the cause(s) of something’ or ‘explicate the significance of something’. In the first sense, you are being asked to give a kind historical or causal explanation of how something (e.g. an event, an issue or problem, a position or statement) arose. In the second sense, you are being asked to interpret, or lay out, or elucidate the meaning or importance of some event, issue or position. These tasks can be a matter for expository writing in simpler cases, but where things are more complex or it is contentious as to what the causes or significance of something is, then this can be a matter for persuasive writing.
Explain the impasse the High Court has reached on the interpretation of s 80 of the Constitution.
Explain the significance of the recent reforms to the fault element of stalking.
Evaluate, critically evaluate or critique: Assess the different aspects of some position, statement or claim in order to reach a judgment or decision on whether it is itself persuasive. Examine arguments for and against the position, statement or claim. Assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Critically evaluate Professor Leon’s proposal to create a third chamber in the Australian Parliament to represent Indigenous peoples.
Do you agree or disagree? This asks you directly to state your position in relation to some stated position. It is asking for a yes or no answer, but, of course, that will not be enough. You must provide reasons for your answer, which may involve analysis, explanation or critical evaluation.
‘Decriminalisation of personal drug use is vital if we are to stem the tide of avoidable deaths from drug use.’ Do you agree or disagree?
Discuss: This remains a popular, if rather vague, essay directive. It could be asking you to do any or all of the above tasks of analysis, explanation, critical evaluation or arguing for your own position. The context should make it clear what is being asked of you.
Discuss Justice Schneider’s argument against the Australian Constitution having any substantive implied freedom of political communication.
The High Court has reached an impasse on the interpretation of s 80 of the Constitution. Discuss.
‘Decriminalisation of personal drug use is vital if we are to stem the tide of avoidable deaths from drug use.’ Discuss.
Direct questions: Often an essay question will simply be a direct question, without a directive word such as ‘discuss’ or ‘analyse’. Instead, the question just asks you directly why, who, what or where something is or whether something ought to be the case.
Is there a substantial implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution of Victoria?
Why has the High Court reached an impasse on recognising a tort of invasion of privacy?
To what extent is the freedom of religion protected under the Australian Constitution?
Should Parliament have a third chamber for Indigenous Australians?
Ought the use of a drug of dependence be decriminalised?
When reading the question you have been set, examine it closely and identify its key terms. The key terms are the words that indicate the essential content of the question and will help to determine what you need to do to answer it. This way you can interpret the question in a way that enables you to frame your answer. This can be especially important when the question is broad and can be interpreted in different ways. When reviewing the draft of your essay, re-read the question to make sure that you have indeed answered it.
7.2.2 Planning your essay
Having thought carefully about what the question requires of you, take some time to think carefully about how you will go about answering the question. Students who take the time to plan their essay almost always deliver a better product.
Plan what you want to say, how you will say it and what research you may need to do in order to be able to say it persuasively. Often you will need to do the research first, in order to work out what you think and what you want to say. But even that initial research needs planning.
When working out what your essay should cover, pay close attention to the terms of the question. This includes the particular directives or commands in the question (as discussed above), but it also involves focusing on the key terms used in the question. Use those terms in planning your essay. In some cases it is safe to consider these terms to be the ‘elements’ of the essay question, allowing you to break them down as you would a legal principle. The terms are also useful in developing your research strategy and the search terms you will use.
Your plan should include working out a structure for your essay. But, as always, be prepared to review and revise your plan and your structure as you work on your essay. It is rare (and usually a matter of luck, not intelligence) that a good essay will look exactly like the one you originally planned. That is why it is a good idea to treat your initial essay plan as a working plan. It is something that you work with, but which is open to revision as you go.
TIP: PLAN YOUR ESSAY APPROACH
The first steps you should take when approaching an essay are:
- read the question several times before doing anything else
- ascertain what the question is specifically asking you to do
- identify the specific terms, or elements, of the question
- draft a plan – both of research strategy and of essay structure.
