In planning your writing, the instruction (see Understanding the question: The components of a question) helps you with deciding which genre (report, essay, case-study, etc) and text-type (discussion, explanation, etc.) you should be writing.
The topic (with its restriction or expansion if there is one) determines the overall range of the subject matter but the aspect determines the particular content.
The viewpoint dictates which arguments, for or against, to use.
The interaction between instruction and aspect will lead to decisions about the organisation of the piece of work.
Most of the writing that you do will be several paragraphs long written about one topic. The aim of the pice of writing should be deduced strictly from the wording of the title or question, and needs to be defined at the beginning. The idea of a piece of academic writing is for you to say something for yourself using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you have learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on working with other people’s ideas, rather than reproducing their words. The ideas and people that you refer to need to made explicit by a system of referencing.
Your work should have the following main sections:
Preliminaries Title page Main text Introduction Main body Conclusion End matter References
English academic writing is linear:
- it starts at the beginning and finishes at the end, with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or repetition. Writers are responsible for making their line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow. Each of the paragraphs discusses one major point and each paragraph should lead directly to the next. The paragraphs are tied together with an introduction and a conclusion.
See: Academic writing: Genres in academic writing for more details on organising your writing.
Plan answers for some of the questions in Understanding the question: Examples of questions.