i)  Structure – Begin your essay with a thesis statement – one or two sentences that condense the argument or analysis to follow. (e.g. Lobbying created benefits for businesses for X reasons, specifically … Or e.g. In retrospect, it was not in the best interest for Eastern European member states to join the EU because …). The thesis statement is then followed by an introduction, which outlines both the essay’s structure and the main points for discussion. The body of the essay is where arguments should be developed, and proved or disproved according to the evidence. Be sure the discussion here is relevant to the topic at hand. Finally, summarize key points made throughout the essay and highlight any conclusions to be drawn. . ii)  Argument and Content – The argument refers to the ‘point of view’ to be discussed. It should be captured by the thesis statement. The argument or point of view should be clearly developed throughout the essay, and supported by the evidence and analyses. . iii)  Supportive Evidence – You must use evidence – relevant and reliable information, figures and/or examples (e.g. pertaining to countries, industries or businesses) – to support your argument and the claims made. . iv)  Referencing – Use the appropriate reading materials – articles (academic and non-academic articles), books, reports etc. – to back up your argument(s). Regardless of whether or not a work is quoted from directly or indirectly, all work cited in the BODY of the submitted piece of work must have the author’s name and date published in parentheses following the citation (e.g. Jones and Smith, 2005; or Johnson, 2010). If the work is quoted from directly, page numbers must also be included. Work cited must be listed at the end of the essay in a section titled ‘References’. Please use the Harvard Style of referencing here. References must be listed in alphabetical order, and written up consistently and accurately. Also, the essay must be an original piece of work and students should not be working together. Plagiarising the work of others, or work produced by the individual student for another project, will result in a mark of ZERO. . v)  Style and Presentation – Essays should be double-spaced (or at least 1.5). Be sure the essay is well structured and contains accurate spelling and grammar. Sections of the essay should be highlighted with the appropriate headings. Headings should describe the issue(s) to be discussed. Also, please note that signposting is very important. In essays this is where you signal to the reader, at the beginning of each section, the direction you will take (the structure you will adopt – e.g. this section discusses three key reasons why lobbying is beneficial for European business, including …).