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Contents
INTRODUCTION
[top]
University
work involves writing. Writing is important not only because
it is one of the main methods by which you will be assessed
but also because writing is an excellent way of promoting
active learning. Most of the writing tasks you will be
given will be designed to make you think carefully about the
material you are dealing with and will not usually allow you
to regurgitate your knowledge in exactly the form in which
you acquired it. You are expected to demonstrate your mastery
of the material by re-formulating it or by applying it in
different contexts. So, writing should not be seen as a chore
which is important only for assessment purposes: it is
a vital part of learning at university. What follows is
not all you need to know in order to write well but it is
a good start. XXXXXXXXX
Using QUOTATIONS in Essays and ASSIGNMENTS
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Many problems in presenting assignments are related to the
misuse of quotations from secondary sources (that is material
presenting critical interpretations of primary texts). It
is acceptable to refer to secondary material to gain knowledge
or find different interpretations that may stimulate your
own thinking and, sometimes, confirm ideas you already hold.
Whether you quote your source directly or simply paraphrase
the idea, you must always acknowledge the source you used.
Keep in mind that the total word count in an assignment
refers not only to your own words but usually includes direct
quotations and paraphrasing. (See below.)
Therefore, don't overuse quotations, use them only to support
your argument or thesis.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
is taking and using someone else's thoughts, writings or inventions
and representing them as your own; for example downloading
an essay from a cheat site, copying another student's work
or using an author's words or ideas without citing the source.
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. It is a University offence
punishable by a range of penalties including a fine or deduction/cancellation
of marks and, in the most serious of cases, exclusion from
a unit, a course, or the University. When in doubt consult
your lecturer or tutor. Details of penalties that can
be imposed are available in the Ordinance of Student Discipline
or from here
.
How
to Use Quotations
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If
a quotation is short, from a couple of words to approximately
three lines, it should be marked by single quotation
marks and incorporated as part of the sentence. For
example:
Dennis
Lawton (1994: 90) argues that these proposals 'have much
in common with John White's idea of a friendly interface'.
When
you need to show a quote within a quote, use double quotation
marks inside the single ones.
A
quotation over three lines in length should be separated
from the sentence that supports it by indenting the
quoted passage. Indent quotations about 3 cm from the margin.
Introduce indented quotes so that they follow on from the
preceding sentences, for example:
Developments
have been rapid or as Ed Krol (1992: xix) says:
the
information resources that visionaries talked about in
the early 80s are not just "research realities"
that a few advanced thinkers can play with in some lab-they're
"real life" realities that you can tap into
from your home. Once you're connected to the Internet,
you have instant access to an almost indescribable wealth
of information
If
you leave out a word or words from a quote you must ensure
that the meaning of the quoted passage stays the same. You
should always indicate that a word or words have been left
out by inserting three trailing dots instead of the omitted
words.
If
you leave out words at the end of the quote remember to
put a full-stop after the three trailing dots and close
with single quote marks. Trailing dots at the end of a quoted
passage should look like this:
that
'such assumptions have long been accepted by most universities...'.
If
you leave out a whole sentence or more within your quotation,
you should indicate this by using four trailing dots instead
of three. If you change a quote or adjust it to make it
read sensibly in the context of your sentence you should
use square brackets, [ ], to designate the alteration.
Some COMMENTS on Writing STYLE
[top]
Use formal language. Avoid the use of personal and colloquial
language; conventions of essay writing require that your
language is impersonal and formal. Avoid first person pronouns
(e.g. I and me).
If
you can cut out words without losing meaning, cut them.
Do
not use long words if a short one will do.
Avoid
cliches. Popular management writing is full of them - for
example "walking the talk". Use of them does not
indicate command over theory, it actually hides any command
you do have.
Each
paragraph should cover only one set of closely connected
ideas.
There is no perfect writing style. Ideally yours should
be fluent, precise, elegant, and informed. Practice is,
as we have said, the only way to develop this sort of style.
In the meantime some useful observations:
Make
sure your spelling and punctuation are correct. Do not
rely solely on a spell checker which is unable to distinguish
the context in which you might be using the words principal
(le), their (there), advice (advise) etc.
Do
not use long sentences. Anything more than two lines is
hard to control. One idea per sentence is a good guide.
Answer
the question.
Remain
relevant to the question.
Produce
evidence to back up your generalisation/opinions. This could
be:
-
statistical
-
from other authorities.
Be
logical. Make sure the plan flows.
PRESENTATION
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Assignments must exhibit minimum presentation standards.
Students are informed that technical and presentation deficiencies
can inhibit understanding and make it difficult for assessors
to award marks for analyses and discussions. If text cannot
be readily understood because of poor presentation or technical
deficiencies, that text is unlikely to be well-rewarded.
Word
Limit -- The word limit includes such items as headings,
in-text references, quotes and executive summaries. It does
not included the reference list at the end of the assignment.
Referencing
-- Assignments must follow the School of Management referencing
style, available from here.
Note
that poor referencing and inappropriate word count will
be reflected in the mark awarded.
In
general, coursework must:
- use
the School of Management Title Page (available as a PDF
here) which gives your name and states the topic, unit
name, and number of words (the word count excludes title
page, abstract/executive summary, references and appendices),
the name of your tutor and tutorial time, and your
lecturer, as well as your campus.
-
use the School of Management Assignment Cover Sheet (available
as a PDF here). You
must use it: it is a record of the School having received
your assignment.
- not
exceed the specified number of words.
- contain
a list of references, cited correctly with a consistent
format.
Coursework
must be word processed in a 12 point font, use double-line
spacing and should avoid using inferior-quality dot-matrix
printing. You should provide generous margins in your assignment
to allow for comments; use one side only of quality A4 paper;
number every page; and staple the pages in the top left
hand corner. Please do not use folders or plastic pockets
for your assignment. These will not add to your marks,
they will be discarded, and it would be a waste of your
money to use them.
Finally,
always keep a copy of the assignment. This covers
you in the event of your submitted assignment going astray.
Some COMMON Reasons for FAILURE
[top]
Like
all skilled activities, essay writing requires much practice,
much thinking and much hard work if you are to master the
art. It is probably not surprising, then, that many people
have developed some common reasons for failure to excuse themselves
from the work involved. Among the most widespread are the
following.
"Good
writers are especially talented people."
If
you believe this, then you have the perfect excuse for not
trying to improve your writing. You can say to others (and
yourself), "It's not my fault that I can't write an essay.
I can't help it if I wasn't born a genius". But you would
be deluding yourself. The most important assets are determination
and perseverance.
"Good
writers are born, not made."
If
you believe this, then it is easy to persuade yourself that
there is no point in trying to develop your writing skills.
It is not your fault - you were just born that way. The fact
is, as every professional writer knows, that writing is
a skill that can be developed, and must be worked at
if ever you are to be successful at it. Most people who
write for a living can tell you of the years they spent perfecting
their skill. There is no way to obtain proficiency as a writer
except through practice and hard work. The great French writer
Stendhal wrote:
As late as 1806, I was waiting for genius to set upon me
so that I might write... If I had spoken around 1795 of
my plans to write, some sensible man would have told me
to write every day for an hour or so. Genius or no genius.
That advice would have made me use profitably ten years
of my life that I wasted stupidly waiting for genius to
descend.
Now
that you are thoroughly depressed about writing we will offer
a few important points before you put this handbook down and
never open it again!
- While
learning to write requires effort it does get easier with
practice.
- Writing
well will improve your examination results.
- Good
writers are highly sought after by employers.
- Senior
executives are often chosen for their communication skills
and good writing is a vital part of communication.
- Writing
is a good way to learn.
On the IMPORTANCE of RE-WRITING
[top]
Before
getting into the stages involved in writing an essay a couple
of remarks about the effort involved should be made.
You will not produce a good essay by sitting down and just
writing it. Mozart allegedly produced great music by simply
writing it, no revisions, no second thoughts. Unless you
are his equivalent in essay writing, you will need to re-write,
redraft and re-order before you produce a good product.
The importance of re-writing and drafting to good writing
can not be understated. Several drafts of an essay are usually
necessary to achieve a polished final version. Another excellent
reason for drafting is that the drafting process breaks
the writing into separate stages, allowing you to concentrate
on one activity at a time. If the writing is left to the
night before the essay is due you will have to do many things
at once. You must clarify your thoughts, organise the necessary
materials (particularly when reserved books are unavailable
and the library is about to close) and find a structure
to address the question. You must then write the essay,
making sure that your ideas are clearly expressed and have
a degree of continuity as well as conforming to the conventions
of the department and being grammatically correct. There
are simply too many things to do them all well and so it
is far better to divide them up and concentrate on one or
two tasks at a time. It is painfully obvious to the reader
when an essay has been whipped up at the last minute. If
you submit a last minute essay, expect an equivalent mark!
The converse is that a well planned and carefully considered
essay is usually a pleasure to read and will receive an
appropriate grade.
Another reason to avoid the "night before, all at once"
performance is that it is one of the best ways to cause
writer's block. The more pressure there is to write presentable
copy the worse the blank page panic can be. Breaking the
writing down into a series of tasks over time relieves the
stress of getting everything right at once.
Scheduling YOUR Time
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Writing and revising drafts requires time. To allow for
this prepare a schedule which breaks the process into stages.
For example:
| Stage |
Completion Date |
| 1)
Read the question, define the key terms |
|
| 2)
Paraphrase the question |
|
| 3)
Research |
|
| 4)
Brainstorming |
|
| 5)
Plan a structure |
|
| 6)
First draft |
|
| 7)
First revision |
|
| 8)
Second draft |
|
| 9)
Second revision and proofreading |
|
| 10)
Submission copy |
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When
you schedule your essay make sure that you allow plenty
of time for the writing phase (parts 6-10). Most students
appear to spend 90% of their time and effort on the planning
and research stages where they gather the material for the
content of the essay, leaving only 10% for the writing.
Generally this is not enough time to write a convincing
essay. Remember that the way the essay is written is just
as important as the content. Academics place a high value
on the way you structure your writing and express your ideas.
You should allocate at least 30% of the total time available
to the writing phase. This will give you enough time
for at least one major revision and re-write to concentrate
on structure and expression.
We
now discuss each step in turn.
The ESSAY Writing PROCESS
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1. Read the Question, Define the Terms
[top]
For
the purpose of discussion we will use the following question
as an example:
Evaluate
the role of creativity in decision making. What techniques
can be used to improve the level of this decision making?
At
first glance the key words may appear to be "creativity",
"decision" and "techniques". Some definition
here is certainly important. For example, what is creativity?
What is a decision and what types of decision are there?
Beyond this we also need to be aware of key phrases such
as "evaluate the role of creativity" and "improve
the level (of creativity in) decision making". There
are some key terms that occur regularly in essay questions
which direct you in the kind of answer expected of you:
Compare.
Discuss both the similarities and the differences between
two sets of material. Sometimes expressed as Compare and
Contrast. Contrast. Similar to the above, except that you
are now required to concentrate on the differences between
the two sets. Define. Give the precise meaning of a word
or a phrase. Show how the term is used in a given area of
activity. Discuss. Look at all aspects of an issue; debate
an issue, giving reasons and evidence for and against an
argument being proposed. Evaluate. Consider the worth
of something, in the light of its truth and/or its usefulness.
Illustrate. Use a figure or diagram to explain or
clarify something; make an idea or argument clearer by using
concrete examples. Outline. Give the main feature
or general principles of a topic. Concentrate on the essential
elements to bring out the structure.
2.
Paraphrase the Question
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The
real point of defining your terms is to ensure that you
know what they mean. After looking carefully at the definitions
involved in the topic, you need to put it together in your
mind in a way that will ensure that you understand what
the question is asking you to do. One of the best techniques
for ensuring that you have control of the topic is to write
a simplified paraphrase of itto write it out in such a way
that an eight-year-old child would understand what the question
means, and would know what would have to be done to answer
it adequately. For example: Creativity can play an important
role in some forms of decision making. When a decision requires
an innovative solution then a creative decision maker can
be extremely useful. A range of techniques is available
to enhance creativity when innovative solutions are required.
The question asks "How useful is creativity in decision
making" and "what techniques are available to
improve creative decision making".
Paraphrasing
may seem a clumsy and time consuming operation at first.
But it is one of those techniques which, if practised regularly,
has a great deal to offer the student. Once you can do it
quickly and efficiently, you will be able to confidently
and precisely answer a question, even under exam conditions.
The most "deadly sin" of essay writing is not
answering the question. There is nothing more disheartening
than having your well written essay failed because you did
not answer the question. Competent paraphrasing and essay
planning will help you avoid this potential tragedy. When
you are paraphrasing try to think "why" the lecturer/tutor
has set the essay topic. What is he/she looking for? Listen
for clues in lectures and tutorials and if you are not sure
then ask the lecturer for clarification.
3.
Research
[top]
Thorough
research of an essay topic is probably the biggest difference
between Secondary School writing and writing at University
level. Researching information for your essays may involve
using various encyclopedias, reference books, course textbooks,
yearbooks and searching for serial articles in journals
or abstracts. These various sources provide different types
of information. The previous stages "read the question,
define" and "paraphrase" will indicate to
you what types of information you will need. Figure 1 shows
the different steps in researching your topic and will help
you identify the type of information you need.
The
key to successful research lies in:
- Understanding
what the question is really about.
- Knowing
what resources are best suited to provide the answers.
- Knowing
how to find them.
- Knowing
how to use them.
Figure
1 - Where to Find Information
(Courtesy
of University of Tasmania Library)
The
University library is an excellent resource for students.
The staff is friendly and helpful so if you have problems
do not hesitate to ask the information desk for help. The
library also has resource guides that are specific for each
school. The Management resource guide can be found at: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/subj/management.html
Electronic
database searches can be a very useful way to find recent
journal articles on the topic you are interested in. The library
provides access to a number of indexing databases -- the Management
resource guide provides information on which ones will be
most useful. You can access the databases from any computer
lab on campus, and in some cases from home or work. See the
library for details.
The
library provides training sessions for class groups and individuals
in using the library catalogue and the indexing databases.
These are a worthy investment of time and an excellent introduction
to the cutting edge of electronic information.
It
is important to be disciplined in the way that you research
your essay topic. Many students use information collecting
as a form of procrastination. These people can often be
seen standing for hours in front of a photocopier, hypnotised
by the reassuring flash of the copier, collecting armfuls
of photocopied books and articles. In most cases very little
of this material is actually used. If you have organised
your time properly very little photocopying is necessary.
If you make notes thoughtfully, in the light of the purpose
of the essay, you will find that a structure to the essay
will begin to appear and suggest itself. This is the real
value of good research! Try to organise your notes systematically
(e.g. having noted the main points from each of your sources,
you might re-arrange them by topic in folders, on cards,
or in separate files on your computer).
4.
Brainstorming
[top]
The
purpose of brainstorming at this stage is to bring all of
your research to mind so you can arrange it into a logical
order later. Let your mind run free, don't worry if connections
are not immediately obvious, just write it all down as quickly
as you can. Brainstorming is an excellent bridge between
researching and writing the essay. This bridge is probably
the most difficult step in writing an essay.
Having
scribbled down all that you can think of, try to find a
way to link and organise your material. Often other ideas
will occur to you as you do this so include them as well.
5.
Plan a Structure
[top]
Your
essay should have a logical structure, including:
- an
introduction,
- a
body-a series of main points in logical order,
- a
conclusion, and
- a
list of references.
The
introduction says what the essay is about. It describes
the purpose of the essay, and what it will or will not include.
The argument or thesis of the essay can be explained in
the introduction. It is probably wise to leave writing the
introduction until you have finished the body of the essay.
The
body of the essay consists of a series of main points
in logical order. Write up each point in a paragraph. The
order in which you write up the points does not matter at
first, but as you write you will decide that one point flows
naturally from another. As the essay develops you can move
the paragraphs about to connect the points more logically.
If
you have established a plan you may prefer to write up your
points in order. However, it is important to be flexible.
As you get more deeply into the topic you may discover that
an alternative arrangement seems better. A good paragraph
will have a key sentence, which is supported by other sentences
in the paragraph. Various writers talk about "key"
sentences, "control" sentences or "topic"
sentences. In each case this is the major and possibly the
first sentence of a paragraph. The key sentence can provide
a link to the main theme and to the previous or following
paragraphs.
The
conclusion summarises what you have said in the essay.
For example, main points, the argument or thesis, and the
conclusions you have drawn from the evidence. It is not
a place to introduce new points. Rather, it is your final
word. It reiterates your main points and provides impact
for your essay.
6.
First Draft
[top]
When
writing the first draft remember that it is exactly that,
a first attempt which need never be seen by anyone else.
Although you need to have a feel for the ultimate audience
of your essay (the lecturer or tutor), the first draft is
for your eyes only. The sole objective of the first draft
is to get your ideas flowing and on to paper. Do not
worry about anything else at this stage. Neither grammar,
nor spelling, nor topic sentences matter at this point:
mistakes can be attended to later on.
Be
prepared for the fact that no matter how carefully you might
have thought out your ideas before writing, they may well
change during the drafting stages. Leaving plenty of time
for drafting will give you the opportunity to accommodate
changes and refinements to improve your final version.
7/8.
First Revision and Second Draft
[top]
Reviewing
and editing your work is an essential part of writing. You
need to reflect on what you have written and see whether
there might be a better way of expressing your ideas. Even
the best writers have to do this. If your paragraphs do
not seem to follow logically, move them around until you
find a better sequence. If you find that a paragraph does
not fit anywhere at all then consider deleting it. You may
have to reject parts of your first draft. If a problem paragraph
contains a phrase or sentence you would like to keep then
consider moving it into another paragraph.
9.
Proofreading
[top]
This
is an irritating stage for the impatient writer but one
which can reward the careful writer. Nothing destroys the
interest of the reader more quickly than the irritant of
bad grammar, spelling mistakes and poor punctuation. Remember
that an assignment is a critical part of the assessment
process and in real life an assignment might be equated
to a submission or tender upon which your business depends
for its future prosperity.
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