The word essay comes from the French word ‘essayer’ meaning ‘to try’ or ‘to attempt’. A French writer called Michel de Montaigne invented the essay in Europe as his ‘attempt’ to ...

Effective writing is readable — that is, clear, accurate, and concise. When you are writing a paper, try to get your ideas across in such a way that the audience will understand them ...

Academic writing is defined by conventions rather than rules and so its style varies. The point is not for you and your peers to produce identical pieces of writing , but to provide a shared framework ...