Guidelines for Essays
According to Webster's 10th Edition (1994), an essay is ". . . an analytical or interpretive literary
composition usu. dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view. . ." written about a
specific topic. An essay should include an introduction, a body (or story), and a conclusion. One might
choose to divide the paper into more sections but these are the minimum requirements. However it is
prudent to caution that with short essay papers (typically less than 10 pages) it is often best to limit the
number of sections in the paper.
The purpose of the introduction is to tell the reader what the essay is about, i.e., the topic covered and to
tell the reader what to expect. The introduction also should alert the reader to the nature of the essay, i.e.,
whether it is research on a particular topic formulated after a literature review, a paper about a program or
service, or an essay that takes a position on the topic. The body of the paper should take the reader on a
well thought out journey. This includes reviewing other works, the literature, and making observations
based on these findings. Think of the body of the essay as an opportunity to tell the reader a story about
the topic. The conclusion is an opportunity to bring your thoughts together in some way that provides
closure for the reader. The conclusion should state what the essay accomplished, did it do what it set out to
do? Did the essay ask questions in the introduction that were addressed in the body of the essay and were
answers found to these questions? If the essay was intended to inform the reader about something, the
conclusion is where the author can briefly restate some of the main points made in the body of the paper
and organize them in a sort of short hand format.
Write your essays in accordance with the "Written Assignments Guidelines." It is
important to credit other authors when you use their work. Not citing others' work is plagiarism.
Use the" Publication Manual: of the American Psychological Association
, (4th ed.)" for formatting your work. Each essay should include a reference section. The reference section
should include the appropriate bibliographical citation for each book, journal, magazine, interview, web
site, or other reference used in the essay. The reference section only includes the literature you cited in
your paper not all of the literature you reviewed. Avoid using footnotes as much as possible. It is usually
better to include this information in the body of the paper. However, if you choose to use footnotes they
should occur on the page where they are referenced not at the end of the paper.
References
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). (1994). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Merriam Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1994). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated.
Thank You
Dr. Charles H. Kime
