4 Fundamental Features of a High Quality Accounting Essay

There are 4 precise features unique to an accounting essay, and which define its quality rating. Inclusion of analytical Calculations is only one of them. Here are the rest!

Few students ever realize that an essay is primarily characterized by its discipline of focus. An essay is not just an essay, and the structure of flow that may attain high-quality marks in nursing, will attain a fail in accounting. So what makes an accounting essay stand out? What should the student focus on when creating that essay for the accounting course? Here are the five things that an essay in accounting should never miss!

Fundamental Features at the Heart of an Accounting Essay

• Structural Layout

The first requirement when writing any essay, in accounting or any other discipline, is a 3-tier structure. To begin with, an essay must always be launched from a solid introductory paragraph. As part of the introduction, the essay must (a) introduce the topic, issue or subject under discussion otherwise called objectives, (b) provide an overview of what the essay contains, (c) offer the thematic statement otherwise called the thesis statement, and finally (d) a lead sentence to the body of the essay. The following example provides a guideline to the four components of an essay introduction:

• The discussion that follows exclusively focused on … (Topic)
• In the paragraphs that follow, the discussion will … (Overview)
• It is evident that, any economic stimulus by a national government can … (Thesis)
• In the next paragraph, the discussion will first evaluate the significance of a national economic stimulus on … (Lead)

Once the introduction segment is accomplished, the essay then develops into the second tier of its structural layout, namely the body. The body of an accounting essay captivates the main component of the discussion, argument, and or review. This section can complement theory and research, where each argument is accompanied by relevant calculations or statistical analysis. As a mandate, the body of an accounting essay should provide:

• Proposal and validation for an argument for each paragraph
• Comprehensive response to the essay requirements or directives  
• Accompanying calculations or statistical calculations
• Connected logic into the overall thesis of the essay
• Figures and tables to complement the textual arguments given (if required)

Once the body is comprehensively delivered, the accounting essay should then progress to a conclusion, as the third tier of the layout. This section provides an overview of the entire essay, leading to a conclusion that meets the requirements or directives for the essay. In many ways, the conclusion does exactly the opposite of what an introduction does for an essay. The conclusion should however not be a rewording of the introduction, and its quality determines the overall quality of the essay. A good conclusion should:

• Draw the argument or discussion towards a mature end (conclusion)
• Sum up the key elements of the body
• Restate the thesis statement by drawing from the body of the essay
• Make a conclusive statement of the topic/concern/issue in focus (based on the requirements or directives for the essay)

• Typology of Content

The present article has concentrated so much on the structural layout of an accounting essay (the foregoing section), mainly because it is the layout that defines the final quality of the assay. For instance, the layout defines the typology of the content included in the essay. A good essay in accounting however, is unique in the type of content required, whether for the introduction, body, or conclusion.

A good essay in accounting should be informative, accurate, fact-based, and in congruence with an accountancy audience. The use of statistical analysis and calculations as the basis of all arguments or deductions, fiscal or otherwise, is mandatory,. Other unique features of an essay in accounting include:  

• No opinion or opinionated statement  
• Relevant and correct in-text citations fort all statements
• Accurate derivations from theory, calculations, or statistical analysis
• Formulaic consistency with standard mathematical conventions
• Solid backing for all arguments towards the conclusion as required by the essay guidelines     

• Specificity and Accuracy

Again, it is important to reiterate that accounting essays are uniquely fact-based and specific. The discussions and arguments otherwise present in other types of essays are replaced with logical and statistical derivations for any essay in accounting. As noted in the foregoing section on content typology, any essay in accounting must necessarily have formulaic consistency, be based on accurate derivations, and have a firm/solid backing of theory, calculations, or statistical analysis.

As such, besides using correct in-text citations, the essay can only use standard mathematical conventions that can be confirmed by the reader with accuracy. The statements must not only be precise, but also accurate, thus building a logical flow of what leads to what, and why. On the overall, the essay should not leave any room for variations, double-meanings, and abstract statements.

• Language and Presentation

Finally, accountants have a unique usage of language. The accountancy jargon relies on being specific, accurate, fact-based, and statistically fluent. Of concern here is not the numbers of words used, but the (a) fact/theory/calculation from which the argument is drawn, (b) the argument or statement, (c) derivative logic of the why, (d) new proposal based on the derivations, and (d) implications of the proposed fact. Common derivative statements in an accounting essay include:

• By virtue of …
• On the grounds that …
• Given that…
• This implies that …
• Based on … etc.

The language must however attain logical flow. The essay should be connected from one point to the next, and then retain congruence with essay instructions or requirements. Accountancy is about statistical accuracy and specificity, and so should be the language used. Always remember that the target audience is most predictably specialised in accounting, and the language used should therefore much the accountancy lingua. When the layout, content type, accuracy, and language of the essay are perfected, the result is a stellar accounting essay.