Writing University Essays

Examination techniques

What is expected?

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 What is expected?
1. Analyse the question carefully and follow
instructions
2. Develop a relevant, logical, coherent, well
structured argument
3. Express ideas clearly and concisely
4. Use a wide range of resources examined critically
5. Support arguments with evidence
6. Reference your sources
7. Provide an accurate reference list or bibliography
8. Edit work carefully and present professionally

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 1. Analyse the question

All topics contain

1. A general subject area
2. Limiting or controlling words which
narrow and limit the question focus
3. Direction words which tell how to
approach the task

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 The thesis statement
 After analysing the question you must
adopt a position, a point of view in
relation to the question which will be
developed and explored in the essay.
 This will be expressed in your
introduction as the thesis statement.

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2. Develop a relevant, logical,
coherent, well structured
argument
 There is a logical progression of argument
from introduction,to development of ideas in
the body, to conclusion
 Each argument follows the previous one and
has a connection to it
 The relationship between ideas and the topic
is clear
 One major point is developed per paragraph;
introduced, explained and substantiated
 An outline structures the response p.108 text

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 The essay structure
Introduction –introduces the topic of essay
and contains
 general background

 overview of the essay

 general statements that relate to the

question
 thesis statement which narrows down the

topic and identifies the focus of the

essay
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The essay structure
Body
 A number of paragraphs each

developing the argument

 One idea per paragraph

 Transition words used between

paragraphs
 Follow paragraph structure rules

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The essay structure

Conclusion
 Begin with a concluding signal eg. “In

conclusion” or “finally”
 A summary of the main points or

restatement of thesis in different words

 Final comments on the topic

 No new information

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3. Express ideas clearly and
concisely
 Use technical language only when
necessary and define terms you think
may be unfamiliar to your reader
 Avoid long and complex sentences
 Avoid lengthy paragraphs
 Check understanding by careful editing
and proofreading

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4. Use a wide range of resources
examined critically

 You are expected to read widely.

 Research a variety of sources eg. books,
articles in journals, electronic resources
eg databases, newspapers etc
 Examine the material carefully for
relevance to your topic and credibility
and reliability eg. Who wrote it? What
qualifications /credentials do they have?

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5. Support arguments with
evidence
 Quotations, direct and indirect
 Paraphrases
 Summaries
 Statistics
 Examples
 Comparisons/analogies

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Examine research critically
A critical thinker
 Assesses the reliability of information

 Reads objectively and thoroughly

 Gathers evidence to support their

arguments
 Sees patterns or relationships in what they

have read
 Connects readings to their own experience

 Reaches conclusions carefully

 Keeps an open mind

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6.Reference your sources-
plagiarism
Remember
 Plagiarism refers to the practice of

borrowing ideas from the work of

another without acknowledging the
source of the information
 Plagiarism is a very serious offence as it

is theft of intellectual property

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Why acknowledge your sources?
-to show that you have read widely in the
area you are researching
-to give authority to your work;
-to make your argument more convincing;
-to substantiate your own ideas;
-to provide details or background
-to add interest
-to avoid plagiarism.

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Techniques to avoid plagiarism
 Identify quotations ( direct and indirect)
by using quotation marks then provide
a citation
 Paraphrase the idea ( rewrite in your
own words) then provide a citation
 Summarise the idea and provide a
citation

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 Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Quotations
Direct quotations –using the exact words of
another person
Quoting takes words from their original
context and places them in your essay . You
must make sure the quotation fits properly
into this new context. This means that
1) it must relate to your argument
2) it must join neatly with what comes before
and after
3) it must make logical and grammatical sense
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Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Quotations
 Do not overuse direct quotations
 Only use them when a paraphrase would
not capture the author’s exact meaning or
the author’s ideas would suffer.
 Quotations support your own ideas, they
should not be used indiscriminately
 As a guide, no more than one tenth of an
assignment should be in direct quotations.

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 Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Quotations
 Place a direct quotation in quotation
marks;inverted commas
 Introduce the quotation with your own words.
It should flow smoothly into the context of
your paragraph. Introduce the quotation by
using the present tense eg. Brown writes
“……………”
 Quotations longer than two lines are separated
from the rest of the paragraph, use a smaller
size font, indented on left and right and use no
quotation marks
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Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Indirect quotations
An indirect quotation
 changes the exact words slightly so as

to fit into the context of your sentence

and paragraph.
 Must have the source acknowledged

 Often uses the conjunction “that”eg.

Brown believes that……………

 Does not use quotation marks

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Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Paraphrase
Remember
 A paraphrase is an expression of
another’s ideas in your own words. It
must be acknowledged by a citation
 It shows that you have read and
understood the idea as you are
rewriting it in your own words
 A paraphrase keeps the same meaning
as the original passage
 Does not use quotation marks

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 Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Paraphrase
REMEMBER
 Try to understand the passage as a whole

and how it relates to your assignment. Do

not copy down endless quotations.
 Rewrite the information in your own words

checking your understanding of it.

 Select the most important information only

and express it in your own individual way.

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Techniques to avoid plagiarism
Summary
REMEMBER
A summary
 provides an outline of the main ideas

of a passage, omits details and examples

 reduces a text to its most important

ideas and is from ¼ to 1/3 of the original

 must be acknowledged

 does not use quotation marks

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 Techniques to avoid plagiarism
 Once you have used the ideas of another
you need to give the details of the source in
two ways:-
1. Next to your quote or paraphrase or summary
you must provide an in-text citation of
author, date of publication and page number
2. At the end of your assignment you must
provide a reference list or bibliography of all
sources used.

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7.Reference list and bibliography
 A reference list is an alphabetical listing
of sources referred to in your
assignment which includes the
bibliographical details of each source
 A bibliography includes the same
sources as a reference list plus sources
which you used in readings for the
assignment that were not directly
referred to in the assignment

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 Bibliographical details
 Author’s name ( family name and initial)
 Title (including edition or volume /issue)

 Year of publication

 Place of publication

 Publisher

 Pages used are needed for in text citations

How to reference your sources is covered in

detail in another lecture

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8. Edit work carefully and
present work professionally
Check
 grammar

 spelling

 punctuation

 referencing

 submission details eg assignment cover

sheet
 instructions have been followed

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Tutorial

Discussion and analysis of the individual essay

assignment questions

If time permits, a variety of exercises and

discussion
 Direct/indirect quotations

 Essay outlines

 Thesis statements

 Introductory and concluding paragraphs

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