ABSTRACT
Student Introduction The Elements of Writing are the various skills that are needed for most types of academic writing, whether a short report, a longer essay or a dissertation. Many essays, for example, begin by defining a term in the title (Unit 4), then make some generalisations about the subject (Unit 7), before going on to provide examples of the main areas the writer wishes to examine (Unit 6). Throughout the essay the writer needs to provide references to sources used (Unit 9) and to employ an appropriate academic style (Unit 10). Most academic subjects also require discussion of numbers (Unit 8), and graphs and charts (Unit 12). The model essays in Part 4 provide examples of how these various elements are employed in one text (Part 4 Unit 4). In the case of Units 3 and 5 (Comparisons and Discussion), students should note that the comparison or discussion might apply to the overall pattern of the essay or to just one section. It is common, for instance, for longer essays to have a discussion section before the conclusion. In either case similar structures can be used. There is no fixed order for working on the units in Elements of Writing. They are organised alphabetically for easy access, but most students will have their own priorities. Business students, for example, might choose to begin by working on Visual Information (Unit 12).
