Instructions for students that are written for academic purposes differ from others in their structure, as well as in the style of writing (the so-called academic style) and purpose. The purpose of the essay is to show that its author:

a) can formulate and “defend” the argument he / she presents

b) knows the relevant literature and has the ability to critically use literature to formulate his / her argument (including the ability to distinguish relevant from irrelevant in existing literature)

c) that he has successfully learned (or learned) to write in an academic style

d) that he can complete the essay on time (given the deadline for submission of essays), and within the given limits (number of words, adherence to the framework topic, etc.).

An excellent essay is one that:

• Presents a clear argument - one, not more;

• Connects this argument with the literature - and in the way that is usual in academic writing: quoting, citing sources, correctly marking footnotes, etc.;

• Has a clear focus and clearly states what exactly the essay deals with (and thus at the same time: what it does not deal with, i.e. which subtopics it will not touch on);

• Answer the essay question - therefore, look at what is being asked, not the environment, and do not jump from topic to topic, bypassing the actual essay question;

• Demonstrates the student's ability to either: a) be critical of other possible arguments (those with which he disagrees) or b) to present some addition to an argument with which he agrees in principle, but thinks that other authors who have written on the same topic, have not so far “seen” (or taken seriously) any particular case that this essay draws attention to

• Demonstrates the student’s ability to actively engage in academic discussion in a manner appropriate to such discussion - politely, with much respect for all who participate in that discussion, and especially when those others make an argument different from his (or hers).

An excellent essay has a clear and logical structure, which consists of:

• Title

• Essay question

• Summary in which it is clearly stated which argument the author presents

• Introduction. Three or four sections (smaller units)

• Conclusion

• References and relevant references

• Print the exact number of words in the essay

The title of the essay must not go beyond the framework defined by the essay question (listed in the syllabus). But that doesn’t mean the title itself has to be exactly the same as the essay question. The author is allowed to "narrow down" the question and focus on some aspect of the question, and not on all possible aspects, if he thinks it is better. For example: if the question is “do you think that Kosovo Albanians were treated fair in socialist Yugoslavia?”, The author may choose to focus only on a certain period and not on all forty years of socialist Yugoslavia. Thus, the title can be "narrowed" to: "The position of Albanians in Yugoslavia from 1974 to 1986", or: "Comparison of the position of Albanians in socialist Yugoslavia with the position of Turks in socialist Bulgaria" or similar. This is perfectly fine, as long as it is a matter of narrowing or focusing the existing topic. It is not permissible, however, to come up with a completely different topic - one that has nothing to do with the essay question, nor to write about Kosovo Albanians in general, or about the national question in Yugoslavia in general. A student who is in a dilemma whether the focus he or she suggests is acceptable or not will do best if - before starting to write an essay - he or she asks the subject teacher. However, the title must be completely clear, and it must be completely clear in relation to which essay question the essay was created. Also, already in the first sentence of the introduction, the student should clearly state what the essay actually deals with, i.e. how he narrowed (or narrowed) the question — if the question was narrowed. The abstract should not be longer than one paragraph of, say, five sentences. In it, the author should clearly state his main conclusion - in the shortest possible form. Imagine you only have 30 seconds of television time, and that in those 30 seconds you have to explain what you actually said in your essay. Write exactly that in the summary.

The introduction must answer three questions, and in case the student wants the highest grade - then four. All essays must answer the following questions in the introduction:

a) What does this essay deal with (and - if the author wishes - what does it not deal with)

b) What is the main argument in this essay?

c) What is the structure of the essay? How many "sections" are there and what is it about in each of them.

The best essays are those that clearly answer these three questions in the first three sentences of the introduction. The author must take care that it would be best for the one who reads the essay to see immediately what he can expect in it, and not to leave it to chance. It would be best, therefore, for the first three sentences of the essay to begin as follows:

a) This essay deals with ...

b) The essay argues that ...

c) To show the justification of this conclusion, we will do the following: first part) X, then (in the second part of the essay) Y and finally (in the third part) W ...

How different is the argument presented in this essay - and why is it more convincing - from the arguments already put forward by other relevant authors who have written on this or a similar topic? The best are those essays that go a step further than what is already known, and thus contribute to the world of knowledge and ideas, provoking intellectual liveliness in us. Progress can only be achieved by a constant desire to take such a step forward, to move forward in communication with what is already known. In case you decide to take this bold step, in the fourth sentence of the introduction you can say, say: “Although author XY in his work Tom and Tom claims that Richard Nixon was the worst American president in the 20th century, I think it should still be taken in considering also facts A, B and C, so I will therefore conclude that Nixon was nevertheless somewhat more successful than is usually thought”. With such a sentence, you will show what your personal contribution is to the already existing discussion on the topic, and what you add to it in relation to what is already known. You do not have to reject the conclusion of another author. You can say, e.g. “I agree with XY that Richard Nixon was the weakest president. In this essay, however, I will draw this conclusion by analyzing his policy towards Romania, which XY himself did not do, and therefore this is my contribution to his theory”. By the way, in the essay it is quite permissible to use the first person singular ("I") - if you want. It is better to leave the "royal" plural ("we" when "I" is actually meant) to kings and queens.

The introduction is a very important part of the essay, not only for the one who reads it (and who expects to read right at the beginning what to expect later in the text) but also for you as the author of the essay. Before you start writing argumentative essay or order it on https://pro-papers.com/argumentative-essay-writing, ask yourself exactly these three or four questions - it will help you sort out your thoughts, so your essay will be much better. The main part of the essay must be logically and substantively divided into several sections. This does not necessarily mean that you have to put subtitles for each of them, nor that you have to visibly separate individual parts of the text from other parts (in fact, it is better that the essay has no subtitles). But you will present the argument best if you develop some logical structure. Writing an essay is like building a house - you can’t lay attic bricks if you haven’t gone in some order, or you haven’t finished the ground floor. When it comes to the argument itself, I would like to emphasize that students in all my subjects have full freedom of reasoning and argumentation, and that I never rate essays on whether or not I agree with the argument they present in the essay (or exam, or oral presentations). The principle of pluralism and freedom, and the encouragement of critical thinking, should be introduced into the academy - perhaps especially the academy - once and for all, and monism, authoritarianism and the principle of rewarding mere repetition of what teachers, textbook writers and other authors say should be expelled. Successful student is not one who necessarily agrees with the teacher or who repeats (even if correctly quoting) what he has read in the literature written by some authority in the profession - but one who is able to formulate, explain and defend his argument, and that especially when he disagrees with someone who is in a position of authority. The reason the authorities should be appreciated is precisely that they were bold and successful enough in making their argument, not just in conveying and continuing what their predecessors concluded. If the real authorities are in the profession (and at the same time they are not unbearably vain), they will also encourage you to think critically about their argument. My starting position in evaluating arguments is therefore pluralistic - so every essay question says: "do you agree or not", to emphasize that it is up to you to choose whether you agree or not, and to avoid any suggestiveness in just asking questions. Students who have completely different arguments on the same topic (or in relation to my argument) can get an equally good grade, no matter what they claim differently - as long as it is a well-executed argument, which is the result of serious work and reading relevant literature, and which is presented in an academically appropriate manner. For example - to the essay question: “Liberalism as a theory of international relations starts from an overly optimistic picture of human nature. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?”, One student may develop an argument that is ultimately affirmative, and another a completely opposite argument — arguing that liberals are not over-optimistic but have described human nature well. Both arguments - provided they are well executed - have the same chance of a good grade. I am primarily interested in the ability to create and articulate an argument, rather than the ability to merely and uncritically reproduce what you have read. Seminar literature and exam literature have just that purpose: to help you construct your own argument, not to try to memorize it and then repeat it in the essay and on the exam.

The conclusion is the "crown" of the essay. In it, you will repeat the main argument and remind the reader of how you came to that conclusion. Don't be too extensive. Keep in mind that the reader of the essay has already received the main information in the summary and in the introduction, so that here you only remind him of the main idea and thus "close the circle", i.e. you create a whole. The conclusion states what was announced in the introduction. The difference is that in the conclusion it must be clear that you achieved that in the essay itself. A list of references should be provided at the end of the essay. It includes only those papers that you have explicitly quoted or referred to in the text, and not all papers that have anything to do with the topic. A good essay has in the bibliography between seven and ten serious academic units (books, articles from serious journals or book chapters). Although it is permissible to cite newspaper articles or the Internet, they cannot be treated as serious academic literature. And they must, of course, be cited as additional sources - but that is then on top of (and not instead of) these main sources. Of course, if you cite an online edition of an academic journal, it is considered a serious academic unit. Quoting lectures as well as lecture notes published by the teacher on the course website is not common and is not considered a serious academic source.

When it comes to quoting - the two most common forms are the so-called. Harvard and the so-called Chicago style. In Britain, the so-called oxford style, but it is only in detail different from Chicago.