It was my very first university English class in first year: ENGL 1080. My professor had assigned a short essay, and before she went on to explain the instructions, she somehow managed to look the entire class right in the eye and say “Forget everything you learned about essays in high school. Forget that ‘sandwich’ or ‘burger’ that they taught you.” I was both appalled and excited. My mother always told me that university was different from high school, and that in university you were encouraged to think and to be creative. I was terrified because it was then and there that I realized that I had absolutely no idea how to write an essay, and I was about to learn the real thing.
University papers, especially if you are majoring in the arts, are very different than what is taught in high school. Typically, high school teachers teach you the “burger” or “sandwich” method—introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It is a very strict layout, and does not leave much room for flexibility.
The best essay-writing skill that I learned in high school and carried over into university was how to make outlines. Making outlines is so important. Seriously, I planned out every essay I wrote in bullet points before I wrote it, and it made things 10 times easier. Learn how to make an outline that caters to you—it doesn’t need to be the outline that your teachers taught you in high school. It could be in your own made-up language for all anyone cares. As long as it speaks to you and you can understand whatever it is you wrote down, it is perfect. It’s the same way that everyone needs to find their own way of studying, regardless of what we are told to do by teachers.
Use the resources found in the first floor of the library—there are so many helpful printouts of essay-writing tips and guides for basically any essay you will be asked to write in university. I discovered these tips and guides in my second-year and used them the rest of the way through. There are also people there that can help—you can easily sign up for essay help with a real human being either at the front desk or online. Use these resources! Students already pay so much in tuition costs, we might as well use all of the resources the university has to offer.
The absolute best way to figure out how to write an essay for a specific class is by asking the professor. Professors are there to help you, so they want you to ask them for help. While taking English, I learned that every English professor looks for something different. Basically, every time I started a new class I had to start over. I had to adjust my writing-style to the professor, and I did this by attending office hours and asking exactly what it is they are looking for in their students’ papers. Some professors like introductory paragraphs, while some just want a thesis statement, while others like cheesy concluding paragraphs. Some professors don’t want a conclusion at all. It all depends on the instructor. For me, unless I’d had the professor before and already knew what they wanted, I usually bombed the first paper of every English class, which would force me to talk to my professors and find out what I did wrong. It would be smooth sailing the rest of the course. So, talk to your professors!
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.