2.1 How to structure a 2000-word assignment

Start by bullet pointing your ideas, or creating a visual on how the structure will work. Here’s how to approach this:

• Use an essay planner to plan your assignment in a big picture, rather than a linear way where you start at the beginning and finish at the end.
• Write your assignment title in the middle of the page – this will help your writing stay relevant to the central idea.
• Make a 2000-word assignment less intimidating. A rule of thumb is that 10% of the word count should be reserved for the introduction and conclusion. With that in mind, by taking out 10% of the word count for the introduction and 10% for the conclusion (you don’t need to write them now – you can leave them to the end if you wish), you are left with 1600 words.
• Distribute 1600 words between four or five big paragraphs.

Figure 2 Planning your assignment visually

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This is a web diagram with ‘2000 word assignment’ written in the centre. Arranged around the centre there are six boxes, with an arrow leading from the centre to each box. The boxes are: introduction, paragraph 1, paragraph 2, paragraph 3, paragraph 4, conclusion. Each box has ‘topic’, ‘main body’, ‘link’ around it.

Figure 2 Planning your assignment visually

Here’s an outline document that you can download – you might find something like this helpful as you plan and write.

Essay structural planner

But how do you brainstorm and organise? The following section will explore a popular technique that’s widely reported as successful.