as a tube.
If you are using a particular definition or interpretation, perhaps from a choice of many, you will need to use longer structures to explain this, and may need to include a justification of your choice. Some examples are:
Using definitions
For the purposes of this essay, I will be using Kotler’s definition of societal marketing, because of its focus on the organization’s task to meet the need of the clients and to ‘… deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors, in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and the society’s well-being.’
Although many different definitions of marketing have been suggested over the years, I will be using the one by Kotler (1994), because of.…
Throughout this essay, I will be using the word ‘cognitive’ to refer to the different types of intellectual behaviour.
In this essay, the term ‘reliability’ is used to mean …
Indicating the importance of the topic
Superlatives can be useful to indicate that the topic is a relevant one:
The following adjective and noun combinations can also be useful:
Adjective and noun combinations
an important part, a key role/factor, a great/major problem, a central area of, a common problem, an increasing need/concern, heightened awareness, rapid development, a dramatic increase, renewed/unprecedented interest, a serious effect/impact on, increasing concern
You can also use the following combinations with adverbs:
is becoming increasingly important, has been extensively researched
Introducing the aim and the organization of the essay
You could use the following patterns:
| This essay | will attempts to | examine whether …determine whether … |
| The aims of this essay | are to |
| This essay | examines whether …determines whether …argues that … |
| In this essay | I argue that …I will discuss …it will be argued that … |
Notice how ‘will’ and present tenses are used (will examine). ‘Will’ is used to announce what is to come. Present forms are used (examines) to state a fact about the organization of the essay.
There is a choice between passive forms (it will be argued that) or active forms with ‘I’ (I will argue that).
When you announce the structure of the essay, the form with ‘I’ is common. For example:
I will first discuss the reasons why Galen originally became popular. In the second section, I will offer explanations for his enduring popularity, after which I will explain the part that was played by the church and the state.
The main body: Organizational patterns
Essays can be organized in a variety of ways. Some examples of organizational patterns are: comparing/contrasting, problem/solution, chronological, description, exemplifying, classifying, themes, definition, process, cause/effect, advantages/disadvantages, strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT).
Glossary
chronological ADJ If things are described or shown in chronological order, they are described or shown in the order in which they happened
In shorter essays, it is more likely that a pattern is used throughout the whole essay. In longer essays, you are more likely to use a combination. For example, if you are writing an essay about the Cadbury Company, you could use a chronological pattern, in which you write events in the order in which they occurred. Within the different periods, you might use cause and effect, you could include extended definitions of different business models, you could recount a SWOT analysis that was carried out, etc.
Exercise 3
Match the language on the left with the functions on the right.
| 1 A good illustration of this is the study carried out by De Carvalho (2012). | listing/classifying |
| 2 There are three factors that can explain why the practice has not become more widespread. Firstly, … | giving cause/effect |
| 3 This demonstrated that a different perspective on the problem can give rise to alternative decisions being taken. | exemplifying |
| 4 Whereas in Western societies this is the most important factor in deciding attractiveness, in Eastern societies this is less so. | comparing/contrasting |
Glossary
figure (figures) N-COUNT In books, journal articles, and essays, the diagrams which help to show or explain information are referred to as figures.
Using visuals
In your essays, you may not always need to include visuals, but when you do they will be in the main body. You always need to introduce the visual in your text before showing it. After the visual, you need to describe the most important information contained in it. This may be done by comparing or contrasting, describing change over time, interpreting statistics, etc.
The visuals could be either tables or figures. The title (also sometimes called ‘caption’ or ‘figure legend’) of a table needs to be put above the table, but it needs to be put underneath the information for a figure. You will need to indicate the source of the table or figure. If you have designed or compiled it yourself, then you need to indicate this in the text. For example:
Glossary
compile (compiles, compiling, compiled) VERB When you compile something such as a report, book, or table, you produce it by collecting and putting together many pieces of information.
The following figure shows an overview of the different opinions expressed in both studies. I have put the negative ones on the left and the positive ones on the right.
The language of conclusions
Look at the following conclusion:
The institute for health improvement has identified that an open visiting