Study Advice & Maths Support
Moving up to higher education
Exercises to help you prepare for higher education study
Studying independently: Writing academically
Exercise 11: Structuring an essay
Essays read better when they are structured thoughtfully and simply, using three or four sections in the main body in
addition to an introduction and conclusion. You are likely to have more than three or four things to say, so you will
need to group ideas together: by theme, text, or the point they support, for instance. You may also have to decide which
of your ideas has to be left out. This exercise gives you practice in grouping ideas together to structure your essay. Here
is an example:
Question:
Discuss the idea of blindness in a critical examination of Oedipus Rex.
Ideas to include
1. Oedipus blinds himself
2. Jocasta is ‘blind’ to the truth
3. Oedipus refuses to listen to the truth
4. The seer Tiresias is blind
5. Use of light and dark as metaphor for knowledge/ignorance
6. Chorus discuss blindness and sight
Grouped in three
sections
Imposed physical
blindness
4. Tiresias is made blind by the gods because he has acquired dangerous
knowledge, but can still ‘see’ things others cannot.
Self-imposed
blindness
1. Oedipus blinds himself. 3. But he has already made a conscious
decision to shut his eyes to knowledge about his origins. 6. The chorus
discussion could be included here.
Involuntary
blindness
2. Jocasta cannot ‘see’ the truth, until her eyes are forced open by the
messenger’s speech.
To be left out
5. Use of light and dark as metaphor.
Now try it with this:
Question:
It is often said that the British are a nation of animal-lovers. How far do you agree?
Ideas to include
Grouped in three
sections
To be left out
These resources were developed by Study Advice & Maths Support, University of Reading (2010), made possible by funding from the VetNet
Lifelong Learning Network. Educators are welcome to freely use and adapt the resources for their students: please acknowledge the original authors.
More at www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/NewtoUniversity/sta-newtouniversity.aspx.