Written expression | Open University

Think about your own writing habits. You can consider the following questions: 

• What is my relationship with writing in general? 
• How much do I write different types of text (opinion texts, stories, descriptions, analyses, instructions, social media posts, blogs)? 
• What is my first reaction when I get a writing assignment (interested, curious, indifferent, scared, etc.)? 
• Is my writing fast or slow? 
• What gives me pleasure in writing? 
• What is difficult for me in writing?

University students have to face a large number of different types of text in their studies. So how do you deal with these types? How do you process what you have learned into writing? Most commonly, the student makes referrals, i.e. explains, analyses, interprets, reflects on and compares what they have learned. 

Summary 

Making a summary means explaining what you have heard or read. The most important aspects of a text are selected for the summary, from which a new, meaningful entity is built, without compromising the original meaning. 

The purpose of a summary is also to shorten the original text to be explained, so making a summary also includes picking the essential aspects of the text. The central idea of the original text should be retained, but a good summary often breaks the chronological order of the text. The summary is like a news item about the text: the summary must highlight the relevant and interesting themes and aspects.  

Before writing a summary, it is necessary to find out who the author of the text is, where and when the text was published and what its purpose is. All of these affect the way the text is summarised. It is necessary to take a different view of a text, for example, depending on whether it was published in the 1920s or the 1990s. Similarly, the ambiguity of a text increases, the further it distances itself from the subject matter. A skilled summariser also recognises the possible polyphony of the text. Does the text only include the voice of the author or are others represented as well, and if so, how?   

A summary cannot be made without the source text, which is why there is no shortcut to preparing one. Therefore, before writing a summary, it is necessary to make an overall interpretation of the text: What is the central idea of the text? What arguments and examples does the author provide?   

Both preparing and reading a summary is easier with the use of metatext, which is the part of the text that explains and organises other parts of the text, such as: "Let us now turn to the summary" or: "The previous chapter dealt with the summary and the next chapter will be about the essay." The metatext can also present the author's view on a particular issue, for example, "It is obvious that the summary is prepared in this way" or indicate the source of the information, for example, "The author of the study indicates that the summary should be prepared in this way." In particular, the latter example of metatext, which indicates the source of the information, helps in preparing a summary as it is likely to remind the author of the summary’s descriptive role. 

Content  

• Does the summary retain the central idea of the original text?
• Are the key concepts the same as in the original text? 
• Is the most important content of the text emphasised? 

Structure  

• Do the introduction, elaboration and conclusions form a coherent whole? 
• Is the transition from one chapter to another sensible? 

Style and spelling   

• Are the sentence structures clear and unambiguous? 
• Is the layout of the text appropriate? 
• Does the summary exceed or fall below the required length? Is my spelling correct?  For example, do I separate sentences from each other with commas correctly?   

In addition to an exam answer, an essay is the most common way to find out how thoroughly a student has understood what they have learned. An essay is a fairly extensive written test written on the basis of given reference works and which should deal with the given topic in a sufficiently broad manner in accordance with the assignment. The author of an essay must therefore combine the requirements of the assignment, referencing the source texts and their own thoughts into a seamless whole. 

The author of an essay describes, analyses and evaluates the concepts, theory and conclusions of the texts they have read. The requirements set for the author of an essay often include comparison of the texts and the contextualisation of these texts, i.e. their assessment in the context of their publication. 

The author of an essay is not always given a title to suggest the approach of the essay. If the assignment "Read these texts and write an essay based on them" seems difficult to complete, you should start by making a summary of the material to be read. You can start to assess what you have read with the summary. Reflect on the key concepts and their definitions, what the texts aim at, the theoretical basis, the underlying values, the main arguments and their justifications. If the assignment is more specific than “Write an essay”, consider the type of reading the assignment requires. 

Since personal thoughts and one’s own arguments are required from the author of an essay, the source material of the essay must be read carefully and critically. Not everything presented in the source texts is necessarily relevant to the essay and not everything that is printed in the exam material is necessarily correct and up to date. However, the assessment of the reliability of the information requires general knowledge and basic understanding of the subject. 

The structure of the essay must be clear and consistent. It should be divided into three parts, starting with the introduction followed by elaboration and ending with conclusions. 

The introduction must contain an interesting start for the reader as well as a description of the subject and how the text progresses. The elaboration is where the topic of the title is actually discussed through descriptions, analysis, comparison and assessment. If the title needs a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, the question should be viewed in a dialectical way, both from a positive and a negative point of view, so that the second option can justifiably be ruled out. These claims should be supported by arguments and illustrative examples. If the title of the essay is a question, the conclusions should provide a reasoned answer that has been elaborated in the middle section. 

A good way to assess the content and structure of an essay is to read it through one paragraph at a time and ask yourself what the main point of each paragraph is. You can test how valid a paragraph is by trying to summarise it in one sentence. By doing so, you will find out what you have actually written. It may be surprisingly different from what your intentions were. Another effective means of self-assessment is to read aloud the text that you have written. Reading aloud often reveals what needs to be improved; a quick glance at your own text will tempt you to ignore any shortcomings and illogicalities. 

An exam answer is usually a shorter written assignment than an essay, the result of systematically reviewing the course material. A successful exam answer is directly dependent on the student's ability to write clear and well-founded essays. Therefore, everything presented above about writing an essay also applies to writing an exam answer. 

The titles of exam questions are similar to those of essay assignments, although they do not require the same extensive and diligent treatment as essays do due to the limited writing time. In exam questions, students are encouraged to, for example, list, describe, analyse, compare, define, explain, evaluate, criticise or deduce. An essential part of an exam answer is the insightful and evaluative summarisation of the texts included in the exam material. 

To succeed in an exam, students must also have so-called metacognitive skills, i.e. the ability to understand their own information processing process. Like writing an essay, preparing for an exam and writing an exam answer require the ability to evaluate your own way of working and the results of work at each stage. You can learn something useful for the future from each exam you take. You can ask yourself the following questions: 

• How well did I learn and remember the things I read in the exam books? 
• What kind of notes did I take and how detailed were they? 
• How much time did I spend analysing the question and planning the answer to the question? 
• How much time did I spend writing my exam answer? 

Taking an exam is therefore a process with multiple stages that must be assessed after the exam, both as a whole and in parts. That's the only way to find out if something should be done differently next time. 

• Have you answered the question in the title? (Have you answered the whole question? Have you answered something other than the question?) 
• Have you explained different concepts in detail? Are the references in order, i.e. does each pronoun you used (e.g. this, that, these, those, them) refer clearly to a correlate? 
• Is the structure of the text logical, i.e. are the paragraphs linked to each other in a natural way? 
• Are the introduction and conclusions clear and effective? Have you kept their functions in mind? 
• Is the exam answer’s language, style and spelling fluent and impeccable? For example, basic typos do not give a very convincing picture of the author. 
• Learn more about learning journals: Helsingin yliopiston Kielijelpin ohjeistus oppimispäiväkirjasta (in Finnish) 

Writing is not a single event, but a series of events in which careful planning and in-depth feedback at different stages are key. Writing is hard work and creative problem-solving: what, why and to whom I write and in what order. Therefore, this enormous mental workload should be divided into smaller phases. 

1. Read the task assigned to you carefully so you can understand what you are expected to do.
2. Come up with some ideas for the content of your text. You can plan your text using a mind map or by listing things in the order they come to your mind, for example. Ensure that the focus of your plan is precisely what the assignment asks you to address.
3. Even if you keep the assignment clear in your mind, do not hold back your thoughts but try to extensively recall what you have seen, heard and read.
4. Write a draft of your text, i.e. the first version. Let your pen run as freely as possible without self-criticism. The time for editing is later. After writing the draft, ask for feedback on your text. If you cannot get anyone to read your text, leave it for a few days.
5. Once you have received feedback on your text, plan the order in which you will process different themes. Link the related themes with each other and think about which order of progress would be best: chronological, priority or thematic order. At this point, in order to understand the overall picture of your text, you can create a mind map in which you write down all the things that you intend to deal with in your text.
6. As the content and structure of the text begin to take shape, you can start to plan the structure of individual paragraphs and the beginning and end of the text.
7. The purpose of the beginning of the text is to get the reader interested. You can start by going straight to the point, defining the main concept or presenting a case example or a quotation, a proverb, a prominent argument or a rhetorical question. 
8. The ending is the crown of the text. Design it as a natural part of your text. A good way is to link it into either the title or the beginning of the text.
9. The title encourages the reader to take a peek at the text. Limit it according to the scope of the text and do not make false promises.
10. Use correct spelling. Review the spelling and punctuation of the text. Delete any possible repetitions, empty words and officialese. Clearly written is clearly thought. Try to put yourself in the position of the reader and consider whether you are able to guide the reader through your text without difficulty.  

Problem: “I don’t know how to get started.”  

For many writers, getting started is the hardest part. There are writers who stay for hours on end polishing a great opening paragraph and never get past it. 

Possible solution:  

Write the starting paragraph as quickly as possible to get it "out of the way" to start the actual discussion of the topic. Let this first paragraph be just a practice version to get you started on writing and to help you find out what you are going to write about. The final introductory paragraph should only be written when the text is otherwise ready; only then will you know where you intend to lead the reader. 

Problem: "I got off to a good start, but I got stuck."  

In many cases, it can be easy to get started with writing, but after a while, you get completely stuck. You run out of things to say. Or there are things in your mind, but there is no link between them. 

Possible solutions:  

a) Take a break. Have a cup of coffee, take a walk in fresh air or read about something completely different. 

b) Discuss the subject with someone. In many cases, simply telling someone about your problem is a quick fix: that is how it should be dealt with. 

c) Get more background information on the topic: go over your notes or search for more references. You always need to know a lot more about the subject than you are going to write. There must be enough information to select the most important things. 

d) Examine the material that you have already rejected once. When writing on a computer, you should save different versions of your text because, at some point, rejected ideas can suddenly become valuable. 

e) Return to the planning phase and draw a mind map of the issues you intend to address in your text. Arrange your notes so that the examples, arguments and quotes you need can be easily found. 

Problem: "I fall in love with my own writing. I cannot see anything that needs to be corrected."  

It is very common to become blind to the weaknesses of your own text and fall in love with what you write so that you cannot see anything that needs to be corrected. It is even more difficult to abandon good ideas than your phrasing. However, editing is an important part of writing. If no external feedback provider is available, you can try the methods below. 

Possible solution:  

a) Leave the text for a while. In a couple of days, you will be able to see what you have written with completely different eyes. 

b) Read the text aloud to yourself. Things sound different when you say them out loud. The weaknesses of the text may go unnoticed if you take a quick glance. 

c) Change the environment where you work for a moment. For example, you can print out the text and read it in another room, making it easier to imagine how it is to read the text with the eyes of someone else. 

This paragraph is available only in Finnish. For more information, please change the language of this page to Finnish.

You should learn to take notes so that you can get the most out of lectures. Notes are also an important learning aid. Clear and structured notes and mind maps help to recall the most important points of long series of lectures. Notes taken from literature are also helpful in reading for an exam.

Taking notes

Notes make it easier to establish an overall picture of the subject to be studied and help with reading. Lecture notes help recall issues raised during long series of lectures. Notes taken from literature, on the other hand, are helpful when you are reviewing things for an exam.

When listening to a lecture, you may not have the time to—and you do not have to—write complete sentences. Usually, the lecturer emphasises important things in their speech with their tone, repeats them or presents them on a slide film, making it easier to understand the main issue.

Lecture notes can be made in several ways, traditionally as bullet points or as a mind map, i.e. taking notes in a visual format.

The ABCs of taking notes

A. If you know the subject of the lecture in advance, you can prepare for the lecture by thinking about what you know about the subject and what you would like to know.

B. Have suitable equipment available for taking notes. Use a sufficiently large notebook or a pad and a pen that leaves a clear mark.

C. Focus on listening actively. Do not write so much that you do not have time to think.

D. Write succinct bullet points about the main key concepts emphasised by the lecturer. Do not write long, verbose sentences directly from the lecturer's speech.

E. Write down things as separate themes and sort the main themes and subdivisions in a clear way so that you can easily perceive the relationships and hierarchies. Leave space around your writing so you can add information later. Try to keep your handwriting legible.

F. Symbols and abbreviations can also be used to save time and illustrate certain things:

-> which leads to ...

picture of a lighting bolt (↯): criticism

>< as opposed to the previous

(<-) compare with what was written previously

E1: example case 1

G. Make up your own symbols! Your notes are only for you, so they can be personal.

H. You can also write down your own questions and reflections briefly. However, make it clear what notes are from the lecturer's speech and what is your own reflection.

I. Do not attempt to copy the charts or diagrams presented by the lecturer into your notes but write down the relevant information in a few words.

J. If you are unsure about the title of a topic or if something remains unclear, ask the lecturer immediately.

K. If possible, go over your notes immediately after the lecture. That way, it is easier to add missing things or edit your notes—it is much more difficult later. See if you can go over the key points of the lecture with your notes.

Mind map

A mind map is a drawing of key concepts that are linked with different lines, colours or patterns. It is a one-page hierarchical map, and by following it, the main theme becomes a series of subsections. It is basically a way for you to replace multiple pages of notes or use it alongside your traditional notes as a map to help you remember the overall picture and context.

The ABCs of mind maps

A. Ensure that you have a sufficiently large piece of paper (e.g. A3) and pens of different sizes and colours.

B. Start from the middle of the paper, i.e. write the subject (the key concept) in the middle of the paper in a large and distinctive way and draw a circle or a box around it.

C. Draw or describe the topic more extensively above or below the key concept in the middle or use the whole piece of paper to write things around the key concept.

D. Draw lines from outwards from the key concept in the middle. Do not use too large a scale in order to fit all the essential points on the paper.

E. Each line you draw must be linked to the pattern in the centre or another line.

F. Write key words or draw pictures or clarifying symbols on the lines. Do not use whole sentences. Instead, favour short words.

G. If you need to include more details on a certain theme, you can, for example, write them on the edge of the map and mark them with an arrow or a reference to that point.

H. Use different lines and colours to emphasise important issues, links or order of priorities.

These instructions are available only in Finnish. For more information, please change the language of this page to Finnish.

These instructions are available only in Finnish. For more information, please change the language of this page to Finnish.