Introduction 1
About This book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 2
How This Book is Organised 3
Part I: Navigating a World of Information 3
Part II: Researching, Recording and Reformulating 3
Part III: Mastering Language and Style 3
Part IV: Tightening Your Structure and Organisation 4
Part V: Finishing with a Flourish: The Final Touches 4
Part VI: The Part of Tens 4
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part I: Navigating a World of Information 7
Chapter 1: Mapping Your Way: Starting to Write Essays 9
Transitioning to University-level Writing 9
Writing at school 10
Writing at undergraduate level 10
Writing at postgraduate level 11
Getting the Genre Right 12
Writing an essay, not creative prose 12
Writing an essay, not a newspaper article 13
Writing an essay, not a report 15
Crafting Your Essay: Stages in the Writing Process 17
Stage 1: Analysing the title 17
Stage 2: Making a timetable 18
Stage 3: Gathering data 19
Stage 4: Brainstorming and planning 20
Stage 5: Writing the first draft 21
Stage 6: Revising your draft 22
Stage 7: Checking and polishing 22
The final hurdle: Handing in 23
Becoming a Successful Essay Writer 23
Just write, write, write 24
Giving yourself enough time 25
Changing your mindset 25
Chapter 2: Getting Going and Keeping Going 27
Getting Ready to Write 27
Finding out what helps you to work 27
Organising yourself 30
Overcoming Writer’s Block 32
Challenging your fears 32
Writing something – anything – and rewording it 32
Talking before you write 33
Visualising the final product 34
Forgetting about the essay for a while 34
Sleeping on it 35
Reading something different 35
Getting your blood flowing 36
Doing something that makes you feel good 36
Keeping Yourself on Track 37
Planning large scale 37
Planning small scale 39
Thinking half hours not whole hours 41
Dividing work into manageable chunks 42
Rewarding yourself 42
Getting Help: Using Other Students as a Sounding Board 42
Recognising What Helps You to Write 44
Chapter 3: Working Out the Essay Type 45
Finding Out What to Write About 46
Unpicking keywords 46
Looking for function words 47
Identifying Different Frameworks 51
Knowing what you do for all frameworks 52
Examining types of essay 53
Making your story flow 61
Planning Around Your Framework 61
Part II: Researching, Recording and Reformulating 63
Chapter 4: Eyes Down: Academic Reading 65
Reading Academically: How It Differs 66
Using Your Reading List 67
Knowing which books to read 67
Finding the books on your list 68
Moving Beyond the Reading List: Searching for Literature 70
Using the library catalogue 70
Calling on the experts 71
Using Articles from Journals 72
Brushing Up Your Reading Techniques 75
Reading smartly 75
Reading online 78
Reading faster 79
Putting it all together: The SQ3R technique 82
Reading critically 83
Chapter 5: Researching Online 85
Exercising Caution as You Surf 85
Getting Started: Using Popular Websites 86
Checking out key websites 86
Broadening the Net 87
Working with Wikipedia or not? 87
Finding Academically Acceptable Websites 89
Recognising scholarly sites 90
Determining sources and authors 90
Scoping the scope 93
Being wary of bias 94
Assuring accuracy 94
Checking currency 94
Completing your checklist 95
Searching with keywords and other terms 96
Chapter 6: Note Taking and Organising Your Material 97
Preparing to Take Notes 98
Stocking up on supplies 98
Creating a filing system 98
Working with index cards 99
Annotating: Marking Up Texts in a Useful Manner 100
Writing in your books 100
Working with PowerPoint handouts 101
Finding your own mark-up system 102
Colour coding 102
Making a Page of Notes 103
Selecting what’s important for you 104
Laying out your notes 105
Drawing and making diagrams 105
Creating your own shorthand 108
Stopping the Notes and Starting to Write 110
Knowing when to move on 111
Turning your notes into a plan 111
Chapter 7: Avoiding Plagiarism 115
Understanding Plagiarism 115
Falling into the copycat trap 116
Seeing how tutors catch you out 117
Considering the consequences 118
Keeping on the Straight and Narrow 118
Writing in Your Own Words 121
Paraphrasing 121
Summarising 124
Part III: Mastering Language and Style 129
Chapter 8: Writing with Confidence: Brushing Up Your Grammar 131
Punctuating Properly 132
Capitalising Correctly 137
Using Different Parts of Speech 138
Verbs 138
Nouns 139
Pronouns 140
Adjectives 142
Adverbs 143
Prepositions and conjunctions 143
Interjections 145
Chapter 9: Penning the Perfect Paragraph 147
Understanding Paragraphs 147
Thinking about types of paragraph 147
Looking at the dos and don’ts 148
Structuring a Paragraph 150
Following the process 150
Penning a topic sentence 152
Writing supporting sentences 153
Considering sentence length 154
Ensuring Coherence and Logical Flow 157
Ordering sentences within the paragraph for coherence 157
Making the language flow 159
Signposting your sentences and paragraphs 159
Checking for coherence and flow 160
Chapter 10: Writing in the Academic Style 163
Adopting the Right Tone of Voice 163
Remembering your audience 164
Being modest 164
Being cautious 164
Be careful with your attitude 165
Writing in a Formal Style 166
Using ‘I’ in your essay 166
Active or passive? 167
Avoiding overstatements 169
Expanding contractions 169
Keeping your eyes peeled for cliches 170
Steering clear of slang 172
Using a wide range of language 173
Using the right specialist words 174
Minimising your use of long words 175
Substituting phrasal verbs 176
Never using formatting or punctuation for effect 177
Remaining Objective 178
Avoiding Biased Language 178
Being Clear, Concise and Precise 179
Being specific 180
Cutting out unnecessary fluff 180
Steering clear of complicated sentences 185
Writing statements not questions 185
Finding Your Own Voice 186
Seeing your writing as part of a process 187
Working with feedback 187
Taking it at your own pace 188
Part IV: Tightening Your Structure and Organisation 189
Chapter 11: Preparing the Aperitif: The Introduction 191
Understanding the Aims of Your Introduction 191
Knowing What to Include 192
Covering the conventions of intros 192
Defining keywords and terms 194
Writing a thesis statement 195
Exploring alternative openings 197
Coming Back to the Introduction at the End 198
Avoiding Common Mistakes 199
Chapter 12: Serving the Main Course: The Essay’s Body 201
Developing a Position 201
Using Different Types of Writing 203
Descriptive writing 203
Analytical writing 204
Reflective writing 206
Keeping a Balanced View 208
Knowing what counts as evidence 209
Reading with critical eyes 209
Stating your opinion 210
Incorporating Quotations 210
Using Visuals 211
Presenting visual information 212
Interpreting visual information 212
Summarising information in charts 213
Chapter 13: Dishing Up Dessert: The Conclusion 215
Knowing How to Conclude 215
Understanding what a conclusion does 215
Getting the content right 217
Writing the Conclusion 218
Drawing all the threads together 218
Pointing forward 220
Striking the right tone 220
Getting the length right 222
Realising that writing your conclusion can change your essay 223
Evaluating Your Conclusion 223
Checking your work. 224
Asking yourself ‘So what?’ 225
Making the final check 225
Chapter 14: Acknowledging Sources of Information 227
Understanding the Importance of Referencing 227
Bearing in Mind Some Basics 228
Getting to Grips with the Jargon 229
Pinning Down Your Referencing Style 231
Using Harvard (a.k.a. author/date) 232
Working with footnotes 232
Quoting within Your Essay 233
Citing the author in the text 233
Quoting directly 235
Quoting indirectly 236
Slotting a short quotation into your sentence 236
Dealing with longer quotations 237
Listing References at the End of Your Work 238
Part V: Finishing with a Flourish: The Final Touches 243
Chapter 15: Editing and Proofreading: It’s All in the Detail 245
Knowing the Difference between Editing and Proofreading 245
Editing: Casting a Critical Eye over What
You’re Saying 246
Considering content 246
Examining structure 247
Addressing style 248
Ensuring that your essay’s the correct length 249
Proofreading: Dotting the is and crossing the Ts 252
Knowing what to look for 252
Using different proofreading techniques 256
Chapter 16: Perfecting Your Presentation 259
Looking Good: First Impressions 260
Picking paper 260
Perfecting pages 261
Binding 261
Creating a cover sheet 262
Looking Good: On Closer Inspection 262
Choosing the right font and font size 262
Styling headings and subheadings 263
Using italics 263
Spacing adequately 264
Incorporating data into your essay 265
Finishing Off 267
Running through your checklist 267
Kissing the essay goodbye 268
Chapter 17: Moving On: Results and Feedback 269
Congratulating Yourself on What You Achieve 270
Noting what you’ve done well 270
Focusing on positive feedback 272
Understanding What the Marks Mean 272
Coping with Getting a Lower Mark than You Hoped For 273
Dealing with disappointment 274
Talking to your tutor 275
Taking action to improve 275
Taking advantage of other support 276
Moving On to the Next Essay 277
Part VI: The Part of Tens 279
Chapter 18: Ten Troubleshooting Tips 281
Oops! I’ve Written Too Many Words 281
Uh-oh . My Essay is Too Short 282
Eeek! I’ll Never Finish On Time! 282
I’m Having Technological Torments 283
My Writing is Just Appalling 284
I’m Not Sure I’ve Answered the Question 285
I Think My References are All Wrong 285
I Don’t Really Understand the Reading 286
I Hate My Course and Can’t Be Bothered 286
I Can’t Find Any Mistakes – is That Really Okay? 287
Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Writing Essays in Exams .289
Planning for Exams from the Start 289
Managing Your Time 290
Trying Different Revision Techniques 291
Using What’s Gone Before 292
Being Good to Yourself 294
Gearing Up 294
Writing by Hand 295
Dealing with Exam Nerves 296
Answering the Question 297
Presenting the Examiner with a Polished Product 300
Index 301
