Writing an anthropology essay: A comprehensive guide to writing a standard 2:1 university essay
When you are choosing a subject for writing an anthropology essay, always opt for the subject where you have reasonable awareness and knowledge. Awareness about a given topic makes it easier to raise content for it. However, where it is not permissible to choose a subject of your own liking, you should place an extra ounce of importance for that essay's research phase. Always initiate the essay from a position of solid comprehension than one of ignorance.
Fashioning a good anthropology essay requires that you understand the subject's underlying question carefully. Fully understanding the question allows you to prepare well for the essay. Emphasising this point would seem obvious and menial to repeat at this level of education. However, it must be remembered that small things make a big difference. Often, students fail to deliver because they hastily misread the topic in eagerness, for example, they overlook a furtive comma and decipher a completely different meaning.
Snappy title!
After understanding the title, an important element for a good essay is to place the title in its relevant context. Your professors, lecturers and teachers do not set essay topics or titles randomly; rather they carefully select the topics to judge your academic standing through a given prism or context. These essay titles or topics are devised to examine the knowledge of the course being taught. In this regard the essay titles aim to cover the entire spectrum of the course. Therefore you should be able to extract the exact context from your course books and lecture notes in which to write about the essay. Your essay should present a meaningful contextual discussion with varied opinions and arguments. By asking yourself questions such as “What anthropological position does the title represent” or “Which arguments support and counter it”, you can identify the notes and academic text to help you with research.
Quite often, the anthropology essays have a meagre word limit. 2000-2500 words may seem a lot to you, however, it is not. Therefore it becomes imperative that you conduct a thorough and meaningful research. Do not waste your precious time in researching irrelevant items. With the context already established you should be able to write the essay with relative focus. A smaller word limit means that you have to be precise, factual and informative in what you mean to deliver in the essay. Use the suggested reading materials provided in the course guides or recommended by your instructor.
Read read and read some more!
It is always advisable to read extensively and you should try to do so. However, you must manage your time smartly when researching. You should bear in mind that you have to meet a deadline for the essay and you will probably have other courses and commitments to look after. Design a schedule and follow it closely. You should always let your brain relax to let it perform in the best way. An early start on your research essay can help you in avoiding late night stints and caffeine blasts.
The reading and research that you perform would enable you to determine the differing opinions and arguments required for your anthropology essay. Always bear in mind that instructors, professors, examiners or whoever is marking your essay is looking for a well constructed discussion that leads to an informed conclusion. When you are reading and researching for your anthropology essay, you should simultaneously plan the content and flow of the essay. Some individuals like to do this in diagrams or writing, others just have mental sketch. Whatever you do, devise an essay plan, stick to it or alter it as better ideas emerge. By making such a plan, it becomes easier for you to manage your essay, as you can now divide the essay into manageable chunks and narrow your focus to important details, allowing a higher quality of work.
Adding quotes to your anthropology essay can help you in proving your point of view. However, you must remember that examiners of your essay are more interested in what content and discussion you have to provide than a list of quotes. Only use quotations to support or disprove an argument and do not use them repetitively, for example, do not use more than two quotations to make a point. This is often cited by the institution's academic policies so watch out for them. Once you have made your assertion by using a quotation, you should move on to another assertion.
Constructing an anthropology essay can be a difficult task to accomplish. You will need to do a lot of thinking and rethinking. In the beginning, fear and lethargy might creep up; nevertheless, you should maintain your mental stature and stay positive and focused. You have a reason to stay positive; you have understood the essay title, what it's asking, the academic context it dwells into, you have researched relevantly and read enough pieces to be knowledgeable for the essay.
Putting pen to paper!
All you need to do is write it up smoothly; never be let down if you have to rewrite stuff, it is part of the process that makes your paper stand out. It is rare to find individuals who write their pieces in a single stroke of consciousness. Therefore, drafting your essay is essential and in this regard your editing skills will come in handy. It is recommended that you keep your essay's structure a simple one; introduction, body and conclusion. Keep a good focus on your introduction and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone for the rest of the essay and show the direction in which it will be moving. The conclusion should let the reader grasp clearly the intention of the paper.
You must bear in mind that an anthropology essay is like a story. And every story has an underlying theme or a message along with a beginning and an end. Every idea you write or every quote you present should serve that theme in a meaningful way.
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