Brilliant Essays

by Ursula Hackett

Overview

Ursula Hackett's tried-and-tested approach for essay success helps students to create brilliant, original, high-scoring essays that are enjoyable to write – and read. With dozens of hands-on exercises and clear examples, Brilliant Essays begins with students' everyday experience of using language, arguing a case, reading, thinking, and communicating with other people. Chapters help students to examine – and dispel – assumptions, build and control their arguments and use evidence effectively, in written assignments and timed exams. The final chapter provides clear, no-nonsense answers to frequently asked questions raised by Ursula's students at Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Oxford and via her YouTube channel and website.

Whichever subject your students study, Brilliant Essays will take them beyond the basics and give them the tools to reach their academic potential.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350315464
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/17/2020
Series:	Bloomsbury Study Skills
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	202
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ursula Hackett is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she writes and teaches on American politics, federalism, religion, and education. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2020 she won the national Political Studies Association's Sir Bernard Crick Prize for Outstanding Teaching and a Royal Holloway Excellence Teaching Award. Her Brilliant Essays website, YouTube channel and @Dr_Essays tweets help thousands of ambitious students to generate critical analysis, original thinking, and beautiful writing.
Ursula Hackett is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The challenge of writing brilliant essays
1. Examining assumptions in questions
2. Finding comparator classes in questions
3. Interrogating tensions in questions
4. The introduction scale
5. Controlling your argument
6. Writing elegantly
7. Using empirical evidence effectively
8. Syllogisms and summaries
9. Losing the training wheels
10. Reading critically
11. Examination preparation
12. Frequently asked questions
Conclusion: Techniques for writing brilliant essays
Answers
References
Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Brilliant Essays gives students of all levels and disciplines the practical tools needed to decode essay questions and to really understand what their tutors are looking for. – Mark Field, University of Portsmouth, UK

This is a book for which I've long been waiting. Brilliant Essays is the answer to every student who asks 'How do I get a first?'. The book pushes students to be critically minded and intellectually ambitious, while sharpening key writing and analytical skills along the way. This is a book for high-aiming students, who have the potential to do really well but do not always know how to get there. The chapters are short, concise and easily digestible. I never thought I'd be chuckling to myself reading a book about essay writing! Hackett is a talented writer and academic who writes from experience - as a past student and current educator who has written and read thousands of essays. The common pitfalls she identifies are spot on. I found myself nodding along as I read Brilliant Essays. This book will help students set aside old school habits and write not only good but 'brilliant' essays. – Richard Johnson, Queen Mary University of London, UK

With humour and verve, Ursula Hackett provides a penetrating analysis of what goes wrong in student writing, paired with effective techniques for avoiding common problems and writing incisively. I can't wait to get this thoughtful book into my students' hands. – Andrea Louise Campbell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

This book won’t just improve your writing – it will help you think more clearly and incisively too. – Tom Cutterham, University of Birmingham, UK

I highly recommend Brilliant Essays to any students wanting to improve their writing and boost the clarity and persuasiveness of their arguments in essays. – Nick Dickinson, University of Oxford, UK

Editorial Reviews

Brilliant Essays gives students of all levels and disciplines the practical tools needed to decode essay questions and to really understand what their tutors are looking for.” —Mark Field, University of Portsmouth, UK

“This is a book for which I've long been waiting. Brilliant Essays is the answer to every student who asks 'How do I get a first?'. The book pushes students to be critically minded and intellectually ambitious, while sharpening key writing and analytical skills along the way. This is a book for high-aiming students, who have the potential to do really well but do not always know how to get there. The chapters are short, concise and easily digestible. I never thought I'd be chuckling to myself reading a book about essay writing! Hackett is a talented writer and academic who writes from experience - as a past student and current educator who has written and read thousands of essays. The common pitfalls she identifies are spot on. I found myself nodding along as I read Brilliant Essays. This book will help students set aside old school habits and write not only good but 'brilliant' essays.” —Richard Johnson, Queen Mary University of London, UK

“With humour and verve, Ursula Hackett provides a penetrating analysis of what goes wrong in student writing, paired with effective techniques for avoiding common problems and writing incisively. I can't wait to get this thoughtful book into my students' hands.” —Andrea Louise Campbell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

“This book won't just improve your writing – it will help you think more clearly and incisively too.” —Tom Cutterham, University of Birmingham, UK

“I highly recommend Brilliant Essays to any students wanting to improve their writing and boost the clarity and persuasiveness of their arguments in essays.” —Nick Dickinson, University of Oxford, UK

From the Publisher