Introducing the essay x-ray writing tool

What is Essay X-ray?

Essay X-ray is an online tool that helps you build academic sentences and essay paragraphs. It guides you through the kinds of sentences you need to include in essay introductions, main body paragraphs and conclusions. Select example sentences from each section and copy them into a text editor to create skeleton paragraphs (or ‘X-rays’). Then, develop your sentences further by completing the missing information.

The tool is the result of a collaboration between a Senior Lecturer (Dr Chris Till, Sociology), an Academic Skills Tutor (Dr Laura Key, Library Academic Support), a Digital Learning Designer (Joe Maxwell, Library Academic Support) and student partners, and was funded by the Centre for Learning and Teaching’s Teaching Excellence Project initiative.

Laura says: ‘The tool will guide its user through all the stages of writing an essay, from the introduction, through the main body, to the conclusion. It’s very simple to use, and also you can move very simply from one stage to the next.’

Chris adds: ‘One benefit is that students can take it away and use it whenever they like’.

Can I use the tool for any essay I’m writing?

In short, yes. You can use the tool as inspiration for any essay-based assignment. You will choose from several options for each type of sentence, so there’s little danger of you repeating yourself, as long as you select the most suitable option each time (for variety, don’t just choose the first example from each section!). Remember, though, that they are only sentence outlines – you will still need to add lots of extra information to ensure you are meeting your assignment learning outcomes and writing in full sentences and paragraphs.

NB: Essay X-ray is a useful tool for essay-type assignments. It may not be suitable for use if you are completing a different kind of assignment, like a report or a reflective journal.

What can’t I do with Essay X-ray?

While you can build skeleton paragraphs with the Essay X-ray tool, it won’t copy the information into a word processor for you. Before you close the tool, you need to copy your work and paste and save it into a word document. If you close the tool without copying your outputs, then you’ll lose the X-rays you have put together.

How do I access the tool?

Simply visit the Skills for Learning website and find the link under the Essay Writing section, or follow this direct link to Essay X-ray.

Can I get more help with writing essays?

Yes, visit the Skills for Learning Essay writing guide, book on to an Essay writing workshop or arrange a one-to-one appointment with an Academic Skills Tutor. You can also get more tips for in our writing Excellent Essays blog.