How to write a business essay
When writing a business essay in fields such as Management, Marketing, Finance or any other business related topic, adherence to specific guidelines is essential in developing a piece of work that is insightful, well-structured and fascinating.
Guidelines are also essential in coming up with an essay that is coherent, perceptive and credible. The most noteworthy deliberations regarding writing a business essay are that it offers related content as well as its concepts and ideas being backed by qualified references or examples. Other essential factors to be considered when coming up with a business essay include use of appropriate language, design and presentation.
The following sections offer fundamental guidelines on how to write a business essay.
Before writing commences
1. Scrutinise the essay question
Ascertain precisely what the essay title/question is asking you to discuss. Examine the exact wording to work out the methodology you need to adopt. Key words which are frequently used in business essay questions include ‘interpret’, ‘analyse’, ‘review’, ‘illustrate’, ‘criticise’, ‘compare’, ‘examine’, ‘describe’, ‘compare’ or ‘explain’. If you are formulating your own essay question, choose a topic that interests you, for this will make the process of essay writing more entertaining. Then narrow it down so that only one point or central idea is debated in association to that topic.
2. Research the material to be used for your business essay
In formulating an outstanding essay paper, carrying out good research is critical. Whether you search for research material using the internet or at the library, always choose information from academic sources that are reputable. These sources may include case studies or articles from official journals such as the Journal of Management, or books noted by professionals, researchers or scholars on the same topic or subject matter. Academic sites such as http://questia.com, http://scholar.google.com and https://emeraldinsight.com offer abundant resources for a wide range of business topics. As you write your essay, remember to note the specifics of your information sources (such as title, publisher, author, page numbers, place and date of publication) so that you can offer credit to them.
3. Come up with an outline plan for your business essay
Creating an outline plan or a business plan for your essay will help you organise your main ideas and arguments so that they can be represented in a coherent sequence once you come to write the essay. Note down the major points you’d like to include in the essay’s introduction, main body and conclusion.
Writing your Business Essay
Learning how to write a business essay is not just about writing the essay. You need to come up with a first draft of your essay as per the structure of your outline plan. Try to use a precise, clear language and business terminology which is constructive in putting your points across. On every account avoid the use of jargon. To present your work logically, the following essay format is recommended. It may not be necessary to include all the components discussed; only those that add value to the essay are recommended.
To start with, in the introduction part of your essay, outline your comprehension of the essay question and state how you’re going to tackle it. Make sure that you clearly define the objectives of the essay. Objectives determine the scope of your essay setting out precisely what you are reaching a conclusion for. In this section, you may want to include definitions of relevant business terms.
In the background part of the essay, offer some ground theory on the essay topic or company to be discussed if working on a case study. Further, in the findings part of the essay, (in reference to the sources you’ve collected), carry out a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Make sure that you critically evaluate viewpoints from a number of authors in order to offer a rational discussion and tackle reasons for and against the argument presented. Examine correspondences and approaches that conflict and exhibit independence of thought by offering your own outlook. Correctly structure your ideas and link paragraphs in order to make the presented information seamlessly flow from one idea to another. Throughout this section always remember to reference your citations as per the referencing method recommended in the university guidelines such as footnotes or Harvard. Quotation marks are used to indicate an exact phrase as taken from an information source. If you are paraphrasing, give the reference at the end of the sentence/s paraphrased. The number of references that can be used often depends on the nature and length of your essay. Ten references for every 1000 words is an effective rule.
Finally, in the conclusion part of your essay you should reach your final conclusion by logical reasoning. Discussions undertaken in the main body of the essay should be pulled together concisely. Unequivocally state your outlook as the final result, making sure that you answer the question presented in the introduction section as fully as possible. This final part should also be regarded as a chance to express any recommendations for future action or further investigation on the topic.
Besides, if you adopted the Harvard referencing method, give a list of all used references in alphabetical order. Also, this part constitutes of any supportive content (such as charts, graphs, or written text) that is too enormous to include in the main body.
Proofreading and Editing your Business Essay
Make sure you print a copy of your first draft and read through it. Use a checklist to aid you in marking up any stylistic or grammatical errors, improvement areas and weak arguments. A checklist example could include the questions such as: Is your content put forward in a logical order? Is the essay question answered? Is the essay content relevant and accurate? Is the language precise and clear? Is the punctuation and spelling up to standard? Have you backed your major points with examples and arguments? Are your sources all properly referenced?
Modify the parts of the essay that do not please you and correct any spelling errors or punctuation. Continue to edit and proofread your essay up to the point where you can’t add any value to it.
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