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Slides accompanying Library lunchtime workshop
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Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Essay Writing
Isabelle Pottinger
Effective Learning Advisor/Academic Counsellor
Effective Learning Service
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391 careers@hw.ac.uk
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Definition of ‘Essay’
• A short piece of prose writing on a specific topic.
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Essay Writing
• Research Topic
• Plan
• Draft
• Review
• Revise
• Edit
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Getting started
• Clarify the task - seek guidance, if required.
• Clarify the word length and completion date.
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Researching the Topic
• Make a start on the background reading required.
• Consider taking bullet point notes of technical content to reduce the risk of plagiarism.
• Record full references for all the books/ journals/ websites etc. that you use.
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Planning the essay
• Plan the whole essay before you begin to write it.
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Planning the essay
• Start to arrange your thoughts and ideas in a logical, sensible order that answers the question.
• Order and re-order your bullet point notes to match this essay plan.
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Planning the essay
• Ask yourself:– How and where within your essay might you
use the information you have so far collected?– Are there still gaps in information?– Is further research necessary?
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Planning the essay
• You may need to go around this Researching-and-Planning loop more than once to collect enough relevant information.
Careers Advisory Service
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Using Library Resources
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
HWU Library
• Home page:
http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
HWU Library – Subject Librarians
• http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/faculty.libs.
html
Civil and Structural Engineering:
• Subject librarian: Sarah Kelly
• E-mail: S.Kelly@hw.ac.uk
• Tel: 0131 451 3574
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
References
• Use a suitable referencing system
e.g. the Harvard system
http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/howtobuilding.html#REFERENCES
http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/howtobuilding.html
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Reference style - Book
The correct reference for a book includes author, initials, title, edition (if not first), place of publication, publisher and year of publication. e.g.
• Sime, J.D. Safety in the built environment. London: Spon, 2005.
Careers Advisory Service
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- Journal/ Periodical
• The correct reference for a periodical article includes author and title of article, periodical title, volume and part number, year and pages, e.g.
• Stamp, G. Clouded vision. Architects Journal V.177(9), 1999, 25-31.
Careers Advisory Service
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- Website
• The author or editor
• Date of ‘publication’(in brackets)
• Title (in italics or underlined)
• The type of resource (in square brackets)
• The URL
• The date the resource was accessed (in square brackets)
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Referencing websites
• University of Bradford, (1999). Making the most of presentations [online]. Available: http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/stedev/pres.html [accessed 12 August 2004]
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Essay Writing
• Now let’s turn our attention to writing the essay.
Careers Advisory Service
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Essay Writing
• Essay has three main sections:
• Introduction: 5% of length
• Main body: 80% of length
• Conclusion: 15% of length
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Introduction
• Tells the reader how you will answer the question
• 5% of length of essay
• Written last
Careers Advisory Service
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Body of Essay
• Answers the question
• In a chain of linked paragraphs that build and present a case.
Careers Advisory Service
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Each paragraph:
• One big idea
• Introduce
• Define
• Offer Argument
• Offer evidence and discuss
• Make final point
Careers Advisory Service
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Your writing should answer:
• What is this paragraph about?• What exactly is that?• What is your argument on this (in relation
to the question)?• What is your evidence? What does it
mean?• What is the final point (in relation to the
question)?
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Linking and signposting
• Use link words and phrases– However; nevertheless; not only…but also
• Signposting– In short; as we have seen; to summarise
• Paragraphs are part of the signposting
• Vary sentence length (max 40 words)
Careers Advisory Service
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Conclusion = 15% length
• Re-state arguments
• Re-state points
• Show that you have answered the whole question
• Could make recommendation
• NB: No new evidence introduced
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Take-home message
• Allow adequate time to research and write the essay
• Follow the guidelines given
• Write in own words
• Acknowledge all sources of information
• Check that you have answered the question
Careers Advisory Service
451 3391/6 careers@hw.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/careers
Contact Details
• Isabelle Pottinger
• Effective Learning Advisor/
Academic Counsellor
• Effective Learning Service
• Ext: 3062
• E-mail: I.Pottinger@hw.ac.uk
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