A framework by Sean Cheng (Swarthmore ‘24 / Oxford ‘23)

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Step 1: Get Smart

1. Do some background research via YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. just to get a general idea of the topic
2. Who is this person? What is the history? What is this topic about?

Step 2: Understand the question

1. Investigate the essay question and understand what you need to know to answer it. Rip through the question. Understand every word within the questions and what it means. Ask why, why, why!!!
   1. This handout breaks down how to analyze different prompts based on keywords.
2. Think like a toddler, don’t take anything for granted.
3. Sometimes it may be helpful to rewrite or rephrase the question in your own words to better understand the question being asked or reframe it in a different light.

Step 3: Start Reading

1. Mindset before reading.
   1. Go into reading with an initial hypothesis based on what we know from the question. This way you can evaluate your readings against this hypothesis. This focuses your reading and research.
2. How to read.

   1. Skim through the abstract, introduction, and conclusion to get an overview and find relevant content and prime your brain.

      1. Control find on the laptop through the readings and the table of contents based on keywords in the questions.

   2. Take notes and track page numbers on things that are especially relevant to the essay question and definitions in a Reading Notes Spreadsheet

      

   3. Understand the key themes in each reading and how they relate to each other

Step 4: Start Planning the Essay

1. Principles of a good essay
   1. The essay must be logical. You need to figure out the “hook” word in the question/define it and use it to segment your argument into sections.
      1. Ex: Are humans ruining the Earth?
         1. Intro: Answer the question, outline the structure, and define ruining.
         2. Ruining Part 1: Undermine all that we value most about Earth
         3. Ruining Part 2: Specifically making the Earth less habitable for humans
         4. Ruining Part 3: Make the earth less habitable for plants and animals
         5. Counter arguments
         6. Conclusion
   2. Be original in your essays.
      1. Do this by looking into the question/topic with more detail or from a different perspective.
      2. You can also be a contrarian and a constructive critic. Think against received wisdom.
   3. To avoid a shopping list of different points in your essay think about how all the body paragraphs relate to a greater theme and put that in the intro. Think about what all the different arguments in the body paragraphs share.
2. How to plan an essay
   1. Organize your reading
      1. Create Mindmap ONE on paper [organize points from readings]
         1. Write the question in the center
         2. Draw out lines for key texts from the center and put the key points from each text next to it
      2. Create Mindmap TWO on paper [aggregate points and form arguments]
         1. Write the question in the center
         2. Draw out lines for your essay key points from the center and put the key texts you’ll use as evidence for each key point next to it
   2. Consider adding counterarguments
   3. Create a table consolidating your points [Essentially these are the paragraphs and their evidence. Basically the outline.]

Step 5: Write an Essay

1. Part 1: Introduction
   1. The first sentence should answer the question. This is the thesis.
      1. When answering the question, consider limiting the scope of the question if it is too broad.
      2. Also, be mindful of inherent assumptions in your argument. Make these clear if they are present.
         1. E.g., In US-China relations, the US should do X and China should do Y. In your analysis, do you implicitly want one of these countries to do better? Do you assume that democracy and capitalism are always better?
   2. The rest of the intro is the roadmap. How will you justify your thesis? You want one sentence for every body paragraph in your essay.
   3. The next part is where you define the terms in the question.
      1. Create non-stipulative definitions for the words in the question. The way you address this is almost certainly part of your argument.
         1. What is a non-stipulative definition? In essence, don’t discuss what the word itself means (i.e. dictionary definition), but how will I define the word in the context of the essay. Anything you say goes.
         2. Ex 1 [Application]: “There are broadly three definitions of populism. I have chosen X b/c of Y.”
            1. Try to have at least one sentence justifying your definitions if necessary.
         3. Ex 2 [Identifying Key Words]: What do we mean by major contributions?
            1. You would need to establish criteria for “major.”
         4. Ex 3 [Identifying Key Words]: What does it mean to have a coherent policy?”
            1. You would need to establish criteria for “coherent.”
2. Part 2: Body Paragraphs
   1. Structure paragraphs like this:
      1. Make the key point
      2. Add evidence backing up the key point
      3. Critically analyze the evidence. Talk about how good the evidence is and how reliable it is.
      4. Relate the paragraph back to the essay question.
   2. The first sentence of each paragraph should have an argument and should flow from the previous paragraph.
3. Part 3: Conclusion
   1. It's your introduction in reverse minus the definitions.
   2. In this essay, I have the first point, second point, and third point, so therefore and you repeat your thesis.