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Long Essays, Business Reports, and Theses
Writing at Home is EASIER than Writing in Class, RELAX!
Writing at home is much easier than writing in class, during an exam, or under pressure.
Writing at home is different than taking an exam and you are expected to present the material in a more organized way, with better vocabulary.
BUT you have many tools at hand to help you succeed, organize your thoughts, research, and writing that are not available during an exam.
You can improve your writing through grammar checks, dictionaries and thesauruses, and more!
Writing longer pieces is NOT harder than writing a 5-paragraph essay.
Do not be intimidated by the length of reports and long essays.
If you know your topic, you will have lots to say.
After making a mindmap and general outline, think of each section, topic, theme, issue, event or book as a separate essay to be woven together later.
Write longer reports in sections and sew them together later
Think of each section like a 3-5 paragraph essay.
Create a short beginning or introduction
Write paragraphs with topic sentences followed by evidence or examples.
Headers and sections will help you tie it together and guide your reader
Create an outline, but write in ANY order that works for you
Unlike an exam, reports can be written in any order and cut and pasted later
Write the Introduction and Conclusion LAST
Write the sections you know best FIRST
Write topic sentences whenever the idea comes to you, add the evidence later
Writing the Paper in Separate Sections, Pieces, and Parts
Non-Linear Writing
is
Common and Helpful
Some people are more LINEAR than others.
Many creative people have great ideas and good writing skills, but often have difficulty writing in a linear way.
Follow the strategy that works best for you.
"Linear is for Boomers"
American author Jack Kerouac wrote his 1957 novel On the Road on a 120-foot long scroll made from long rolls of paper he taped together. Not much editing and no moving of text. It was very creative, but not a style that works for academic papers.
"Computers have set us free."
Suggestions for Non-Linear Writing
or Writing Out of Order
Tying one's paper to an original Outline and writing in order
often leads to writer's block.
can inhibit creativity.
can lead to important avenues not being explored
make it much more difficult to rearrange later if the order/outline did not work well.
be overwhelming to imagine.
lead to being rushed to finish on time, often writing weak conclusions.
Write the long essay in parts.
Sew it together later.
Writing the Paper Backwards, Forwards, and Upside Down
The PROCESS of writing informational reports and long academic works does not usually happen in the final order it appears in the report or paper.
In many cases, linear writing is not possible.
For instance, in group reports each author only writes a section or just the beginning or middle of multiple sections (ie. the Introduction to each section, or the Evidence section).
This is common in group reports in Business Schools, whereby one student might describe all the charts in various sections.
Quarterly reports for a company might be written by different people/groups of people across the globe.
Scientists writing together might similarly divide the work in a non-linear way.
Group writing
In the business world and in scientific fields working together, possibly across a big distance, is common and a highly valued skill. Writing sections in a consistent style with commonly shared rules is common in some jobs. Many schools/teachers/subjects require such projects in class in order to prepare students for these fields.
Writing for a multi-authored paper presents its own challenges.
Here is a comprehensive website from the University of New South Wales, Sydney that covers many aspects of group writing: https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/group-work
The University of Vermont offers tips on how to organize the group writing of a report: https://www.uvm.edu/wid/writingcenter/tutortips/buswrite.html
Also, linear writing is often not recommended for many reasons even for papers written by a single individual.
Introductions are often better when written at or near the end of writing the entire paper.
The Conclusion can be written in steps in order not to forget ideas that come while writing.
Students often suffer from "Writer's Block" and get stuck with linear writing.
Non-linear writing allows the student to:
move on to other sections without stress or feeling inept.
write the easiest parts first.
write spontaneously when an idea comes.
write immediately after conducting some research or reading a portion of a book while it is fresh in the mind.
The FINAL version must be presented in a LINEAR way, however.
The advent of computers, document sharing, change trackers and the like make this all appear seamless at the end.
Mindmaps and Outlines are TOOLS not RULES
Sometimes writing takes the author in new, unanticipated directions.
Creative ideas should be explored, don't let the outline stop you.
It might take more paragraphs than originally thought to properly explain or debate a point.
Sometimes while writing one realizes that more evidence or examples are needed or that the issue is far more complex than originally imagined.
Organizing sections into different FILES can help to manage long papers/reports
Nobody can imagine 20, 35 or 50 paragraphs in their head.
Write each theme as a separate paper and save as separate files.
Consider making folders for each separate section of the paper and/or each theme and place your notes in the appropriate folders
Once a section is completed, copy it and add it to your MASTER DRAFT
Flexibility is good, but proofreading the final version is VERY important
If you move paragraphs or sections around, be sure to check or change the transitions.
Since transitional topic sentences are very important and since paragraphs or sections might be moved, do not waste too much time or agonize over the transition during the initial writing.
Check all the topic sentences when the paper is finished to add transitions or to make sure it flows.
The Structure of the Report or Long Essay
The Final Version must be logically structured
Structures vary according to academic discipline or school requirements.
Follow the rules of your school or subject area
Treat each section like a separate short essay with its own introduction, middle, and conclusion
Use headings, followed by brief introductions to the section
Try to have the same length in each section
Be consistent, the most important thing is for the reader to see the organization and follow the arguments/paper
A General Report or Thesis Structure:
The Introduction
The Introduction of a Report or Long Essay is usually more than one paragraph.
Here is a CHECKLIST:
Begin with a Catchy Opening - write this last or when you feel creative
Let the reader know what the Motivation is for writing and the Thesis Statement
Give a general Conclusion that lets the reader know where the paper is headed
The Methodology that will be followed - how did you conduct the research or what tools did you use?
A brief Outline of what will follow - how is the paper organized?
The Sources Used - how do your sources address your thesis and/or methodology?
The Readership - who are you writing this for? what will you assume they know?
The Body
Literature Review
The Body of your paper might be begin with a Literature Review.
A Literature Review is a section of the paper where you describe the books, works, ideas that specialists in the field have already written about your topic.
It is usually, although not always, presented in order from the oldest ideas on the subject to the newest research/current acceptable interpretation.
Sometimes this section is neutral and primarily a summary.
Depending on your topic or field, this section may be presented by you in an analytical, comparative, argumentative style with you choosing the position that has most influenced your own ideas, paper, methodology and/or evidence.
Themes or Chapters
Each theme or chapter is like a short essay and may contain
sub-themes that are also like a short essay.
Because your paper will have many discreet sections, think of them as little separate essays. This means you can write them in different order - when the research is fresh in your mind or when you have a creative burst. You can put them in order later. When team-writing a paper for a group report, this makes it easy to divide the tasks.
Topic Sentences
Topic Sentences are the brains of your paper, they convey all the ideas or points you want to make.
Consider writing most of them FIRST before writing the paragraphs.
Turn the themes from your Mindmap and Outline into topic sentences that state the points you want to make.
Write summary statements about the evidence that will be topic sentences introducing the examples.
Jot them down whenever you think of them to use later.
Put them into the correct sections and then build them into paragraphs using evidence or examples.
Transitions between Paragraphs and Topics
Transitions between Paragraphs
are VERY important, but can be fixed later
Transitions between Sections
use Headings to organize your thoughts and to alert the reader to a new theme or section.
sometimes the Headings are enough for the reader and other forms of transitions are not necessary.
this is commonly true in business and science reports
some disciplines require that a section end with a concluding transition that connects the section with the following one.
this is usually true in history, literature, and philosophy
The Conclusion
Academic CONCLUSIONS are VERY IMPORTANT
The conclusion is not a "goodbye." It is a GRAND FINALE.
It is the LAST IMPRESSION that your reader and assessor will have of your work.
Do NOT wait until the END to write the CONCLUSION!
After writing a section of the paper, one can write a conclusion for that section while the ideas are still fresh in the mind and place the conclusion at the end of the entire paper (not at the end of each section).
Write sentences before or during writing the body that you want to be part of your conclusion. Many people forget all the smaller conclusions that need to be made at the end.
Write a DRAFT of the Conclusion THEN read the entire paper from the beginning (noting what needs to be said at the end) and then compare to your DRAFT Conclusion and RE-WRITE the final Conclusion.
Why Conclusions are Important
You can save a paper that went off course, got boring, or was uneven in its writing or evidence by a strong conclusion.
Academics often SKIM papers: they read the Introduction first, the Conclusion second, and the Topic Sentences in between. Then they read the entire paper, if interested or needed.
Students often begin running out of time and write short conclusions that do not add meaning or tie everything together. This is a HUGE MISTAKE because the CONCLUSION is extremely important and is the last impression the reader and grader will have of your long work.
What is IN a Conclusion?
Conclusions of long reports and papers usually are several paragraphs long.
Conclusions sum up the work, remind the reader of the important points, explain how the thesis holds up (or not), and adds additional insight that brings all the material together.
A clever last sentence, especially one that hearkens back to the opening sentence will create a strong, positive, and lasting impression.
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