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Writing Short Essays: A Guide
SCIE1001 Sydney Science 2050: Towards the Future


One of the aims of this Unit of Study is to stimulate students to read critically and
analytically, to formulate their own arguments, and to present these arguments in a
convincing way. These skills are eminently useful both within and outside the university. In
the short papers you write you can demonstrate these skills. Course assignments assumes
the following:
a) you have read the course readings and have formed a critical understanding of them;
b) you have developed a critical understanding of the topics discussed in this class
based the readings, the lectures, and the class discussions;
c) you are able to apply the central arguments to new situations, events, and episodes;
d) that you are able to conduct independent research to shape and support your
argument; and
e) that you are able to communicate your argument convincingly and effectively.
Writing a short essay is, first of all, an exercise in communication: how to present your
ideas and arguments in such a way that they are comprehensible, interesting, and
convincing to a reader who does not know the fine details of your topic but who has the
same general knowledge as the fellow students in your Unit of Study. In other words: your
paper needs to be audience-focused rather than author-focused.
Always ask yourself: who is going to read this essay? How to I need to present my
arguments in order to convince that (general) reader?
In this essay guide, a few pointers for writing interesting and convincing papers are
provided.

Step 1. Define a Topic
Before you start writing, you will have a clear idea what your paper is about and which
message you want it to convey. Making an essay outline can help.
The prime characteristics of a good short essay are: it has one main topic, it makes one
central point, addresses one main issue, and only makes one or two additional points.
Less is more! A paper should always be an answer to a specific question. A paper should
have a message.
A good paper is not a collection of trees, but a forest!
A good paper is not a number of notes put together, but a melody!
The main topic of the paper should be expressed in a thesis paragraph, which is the
very first paragraph of the paper. In the thesis paragraph, you indicate your main
conclusion and outline your argument.
The following therefore are not good essays: summaries or lists.
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You can summarise the readings you have done, but you need to go beyond the
arguments in these readings by placing them in your own context, either by criticising
those arguments or by building on them. In other words: in every paper, it should be
clear what your voice is and what your opinion is. When we read your paper, we are
most interested in finding out your thoughts, arguments and ideas.
Consider the following when you are contemplating the topic of your paper:
 The point you are going to argue should be interesting, novel, and surprising.
Nobody is waiting to read a paper about the facts that books fall on the floor if
you drop them or about the fact that the sun rises every morning and sets every
evening. If your topic is counter-intuitive, has some novelty, or argues a point
that is somewhat novel, it will be much more interesting to read (and write). Put
yourself in the position of an editor for a newspaper. Is your paper newsworthy?
Does it add anything to existing debates? Does it make the reader interested or
excited?
 The point you are going to argue should be specific, well-defined, and well
circumscribed. In a paper you can only provide a limited number of arguments.
Most of the time, less is more. The more specific your topic and the point you
are arguing, the easier it is to find sources and define your arguments. Bad
topics are: “Science in the Western world.” “What scientist have to say about
evolution” (too broad; it would be impossible to cover this point in a book-length
manuscript, let alone a single paper). Good topics: “The controversy over cold
fusion.” “Australian scientists address evolution, 1860-1890.” Specific is
beautiful.
 Do not start your essay with “For eons, human beings have ….” Or “Since the
beginning of time …”
TEST: State the topic and main conclusions in a few sentences (that is three maximum).
If you cannot do this, you first need to formulate the main topic and conclusions of your
paper.

Step 2. Make an Outline
Organisation is of paramount importance in papers. A well-organised paper is a pleasure
to read. A paper without organisation is very hard to read. At no point in the paper
should the reader be left guessing as to what the paper is about, what you are arguing,
and where the argument is going. The purpose of the paper is to convince the reader of
your particular point of view by presenting convincing arguments. In a paper outline,
you develop the “skeleton” of the paper. At this point, you decide which arguments you
are going to use, and in which order you are going to present them.
After finishing your paper outline, you can write your opening or thesis paragraph. You
often need to rewrite the opening paragraph and the conclusion after your paper is
finished to make sure they accurately reflect the main body of the paper.
2.1. Locate Sources
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Explore the Canvas site. Do a few Google searches. Go to the readings for the weeks that are
most closely related to the topic you are interested in and see what sources are quoted in
these articles.
Not all sources are equal! Many webpages are just crazy! You need to critically
evaluate your sources!

Step 3. Write the Paper
A good short essay has the following elements:
a) a title
b) a thesis paragraph
c) main body
d) conclusion
e) references
The title should be concise and informative, and give the reader a good impression of
what the paper is about.
Bad titles:
“The Origin of Spices: Different Ideas”
“Experiments: Random Thoughts”
“Assignment 4”
Good titles:
“Theological Arguments in Favour of Evolutionary Theory.”
“The Scientific Nature of Parapsychological Experimentation.”
“The Political Motivations of the Critics of Parapsychology.”
“The Nature of Experimentation in Homeopathic Medicine.”
The thesis paragraph contains the thesis statement (or thesis statements) of your
paper, which indicates what the main conclusion of the paper will be. The opening
paragraph also provides a road map for the reader for the rest of the paper.
Examples: “In this paper, I will argue that parapsychological research does not adhere to
the basic rules of the scientific method.” “In this paper, I will argue that, within
Traditional Chinese medicine, various forms of experimentation exist.”
After the thesis statement, the opening paragraph gives an indication of how you are
going about answering your main question, problem or issue. (“In this paper, I will
explore three issues in relation to my main topic”). Here you provide a road-map for the
reader for the rest of the paper. The opening paragraph should give the reader a clear
idea of what the paper is about, what the point is that you are going to argue, why the
topic you cover in this paper is relevant and important. You do not present your
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arguments or quotations in this paragraph. After reading your opening paragraph, the
reader should no longer have any questions about the topic of your paper, your main
arguments, and the conclusions you are going to draw.
The last sentence of your thesis paragraph should indicate your expected conclusion.
The main body of the text contains the arguments you can present in favour of your
thesis statement. You can also cover possible counterarguments and argue why they do
not apply in your case of why they do not weaken your argument. If you have written a
paragraph which does not argue for the main conclusion of the paper, consider deleting
it.
Each paragraph in the main body of the text is a building block or a stepping stone. They
follow the structure of the paper as outlined in the opening paragraph. At the end of
every paragraph or group of paragraphs you should remind the reader what the main
topic was about and what the relevance of the preceding paragraph(s) was to your main
argument. You should take the reader by the hand and always explain what you are
doing and why you are doing it. Ideally, you link your paragraphs by showing how they
are related to the main theme, how your they are building on previous paragraphs, and
how the following paragraphs represents a progression in your argument. You can do
this through linking sentences. Providing such sentences is also called signposting. It
prevents the reader from getting lost.
Make sure that you give about equal attention to the sub-themes or sub-topics in your
paper. You do not want to overemphasise one and under-emphasise another theme. Your
paper should appear balanced.
A good paper is like a river. The reader (the water) can only go in one direction.
Citations and quotations
Use quotations sparingly in the main body of the text. When you use a citation or cite
articles, make the evidence, quotations, and references work for your narrative. You
should not use citations and quotations to tell the main story; instead, you should use
quotations to reinforce the points you are making in the paper.
When you use a quote, always indicate why you use that specific quotation and what it
demonstrates. Quotes never demonstrate what they are about; you need to interpret the
quote for the reader. After your quote, you will have to emphasise its importance and
how it is related to your main argument.
When you cite or quote an author, indicate why the person you are quoting is important for
your argument. Just mentioning names does very little to further your argument.
Not so good: “According to Charles Rosenberg, malaria epidemics have become much
more frequent in recent years.”
Right: “According to the influential historian of medicine Charles Rosenberg, malaria
epidemics etc. etc.”
Right: “According to the epidemiologist Charles Rosenberg, etc. etc.
The source of the reference has to appear either in a endnote or the citation has to follow
the author-date format (i.e. According to Rosenberg (1992), malaria … ).
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In the conclusion, you draw all arguments together in a short summary and bring the
most important point of your paper home. Your conclusion should reflect what you said
in your thesis statement. The conclusion demonstrates why we have been on reading
your paper thus far and what we have discovered by joining you in the journey of your
paper.
Do not present any new evidence, arguments, or quotations in the conclusion.
You could indicate why your conclusion is relevant in cases not covered in this paper or
suggest further applications. This can include further thoughts and considerations that are
not backed up by evidence in your paper which are thought-provoking and suggestions
for future research. Of course, these suggestions and further considerations are directly
relevant to the topic of your paper.
References. Throughout your essay, provide citations and references that support
your argument. You can place these references in endnotes, or use the author-date
system in the text and a bibliography at the end of your essay (see the second part of this
paper guide).

About Quoting, Citing, Paraphrasing, and Plagiarism
Isaac Newton once famously stated: “By standing on the shoulders of giants, I have been
able to see farther.” When you are writing your paper, you do not have to invent the
wheel again. A lot has been written, there are lots of sources available for your use.
You can demonstrate your insight and creativity by making skilful, creative and
appropriate use of all the writings that are available. But, of course, the content of the
paper has to be your own. Your paper has to be written in your own words, presenting
your own analysis and arguments.
Using quotations and references demonstrates you have done your research and that you
relate the points in your paper to previous work. It strengthens your paper.
Quotations.
When you use quotations, they should be used to reinforce your points. Quotations
should never be used to tell the story or save you time from writing it. The famous “cut
and paste” type of essay does not constitute acceptable work. Only use quotations if they
are directly relevant and fit appropriately in your line of argument. When you quote,
you use somebody’s exact phrasing. To indicate this, you use “quotation marks.”
Example: In my opinion, essays should contain clearly and succinctly express ed ideas.
As Hans Pols, author of a guide to writing course papers in the history and philosophy of
science states, the ideal paper “has one major topic, addresses one main issue, and only
makes one or two major points.”1
Alternately: .... As Hans Pols (2004), author of ...

1 Hans Pols, Guide to Writing Short Essays (Sydney: Pols Press, 2021), 1.
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Paraphrasing. Rather than repeating what other authors have said, you can put their ideas
in your own words. Nevertheless, you need to put in a reference to the original source.
Plagiarism is the use of someone’s exact wording without providing a source, or closely
paraphrasing someone’s words without acknowledgement. Using quotations, citations, and
references strengthens your paper. Not providing appropriate references weakens your
paper tremendously. A paper in which plagiarism is detected results in an automatic grade
for that paper of zero (0). This mark cannot be made up. We use software to detect
plagiarism.

References
References allow you to indicate the sources you have used in writing an essay or thesis.
They contain essential information that backs up the arguments in your essay and they
provide further information for the curious reader. When you read articles and want to
know more, the first thing you do is checking the footnotes or the bibliography, because
these provide valuable further resources that could be useful for your own research.
Similarly, indicating your own sources in your essays provides information to the reader
on the sources you have used. By using references, you can demonstrate that you have
conducted research for your paper.
Be specific in your references. When you refer to an article or a book chapter, you need
to provide the number of the page from which the information you are using. When you
quote from a source, you also need to indicate the page number of the citation you use in
your paper.
There are basically ways to include references in your text; which method you use depends
on your preference and style. Whichever style you choose, it is important to use it
consistently.
You can use whichever writing style you prefer, as long as you do it consistently.
A great way to get your references right is to use Endnote. This software package is available
for free for all students. You can download it from the Library home page.
1. Footnotes / Endnotes
This system of referencing is standard within the humanities. At the end of the sentence,
you place a note, and within the note, you provide further information. Using footnotes or
endnotes allows you to make additional points, to comment on the sources, or to present
arguments that are subsidiary to the main text.
2. Author-date, with bibliography
This system of referencing is standard in the sciences. It situates the references within the
text. Full information is provided in the bibliography at the end of the text.

1. Footnotes or Endnotes (Chicago A)
For more details see here: https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=5426978.
You place a footnote or endnote in the text at the end of the sentence for which you want
to provide a reference is made or about which you want to provide more information. In
the footnote or endnote, you provide the full details of the reference. Please note: in
footnotes and endnotes, the first name of the author comes first, followed by the last name.
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The elements of a reference in a footnote or endnote are separated by commas.
Your footnotes or endnotes would look as follows:
Book
1. Ian Hacking, The Taming of Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
2. Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1962).
Article
8. Evelleen Richards, “The Politics of the Therapeutic Evaluation: The Vitamin C and
Cancer Controversy,” Social Studies of Science 18, no. 4 (1988), 653-703.
Web Pages
David Crow, “Narrow majority of voters wants lockdowns phased out as vaccination rate
grows,” Sydney Morning Herald, 21 July 2021.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/narrow-majority-of-voters-wants-lockdowns-
phased-out-as-vaccination-rate-grows-20210720-p58bbs.html, accessed 21 July 2021.
Bibliography
When you place your references in footnotes or endnotes, you do not need to provide a
bibliography.

2. Author-date system of citation (APA Style)
For more details see here: https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/citation/apa7
With this system of citation, you place the name of the author and the year of publication
in the text (with a specific page number if required). At the end of your paper, you
provide a bibliography with all details. Please note: in bibliographies, the last name of
the author appears first. Bibliographies are organised alphabetically. The elements of a
bibliography are separated by periods.
In the text:
The work of Kuhn (1962) has had a tremendous influence on scholarship in the history
and philosophy of science, although many of his arguments have been anticipated by
others (Fleck 1979). In their path-breaking work on science in the early modern period,
Daston and Park (2001) argue that the generally accepted view on this period is incorrect.
Similar arguments have been made elsewhere (see Chandler, Davidson, and Harootunian
(1994)).
To indicate the page number: As has been argued by Shea (1980, p. 45), the origins of the
public health movement are obscure. Other authors concur (Richards 1988, p. 660).
Specific page numbers are indicated in the text, never in the bibliography.
In the Reference List, you list all your sources.
Books:
Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.

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Articles
Richards, E. (1988). The politics of the therapeutic evaluation: The vitamin C and cancer
controversy. Social Studies of Science, 18(4), 653-703.

Web pages
Crow, D. (2021). “Narrow majority of voters wants lockdowns phased out as vaccination rate
grows,” Sydney Morning Herald, 21 July 2021.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/narrow-majority-of-voters-wants-lockdowns-
phased-out-as-vaccination-rate-grows-20210720-p58bbs.html, accessed 21 July 2021.

Many web pages do not have a date. Just use (n.d.).