Enhancing Research SkillsProject Management of a 4000 word essay

Bruce Hargrave and Mel Chapman

Some ideas about the Management of Essay Writing

The writing of an academic essay is not a linear process

– The start is often hesitant, and stalls are common because you are searching for a way forward.

– Once you get going then knowing how and when to pause presents you with further problems e.g. blind alleys and dead ends.

– You may change your mind about the problem statement and re-focus a number of times before you find something that excites and motivates you.

– You may know how the “story” ends, the difficult part is to argue your case and supply the evidence for this

– Think of this exercise also as a project with trade-offs between time, resources and specification

– You might include in one of the appendices a Gantt Chart that describes how much time was spent on each task that you set yourself

The beginnings • Hopefully, you are going to write about something you

are interested in because this will drive you – decide the subject area.

• Decide your aims (where you want to go) and objectives (how to get there) – consider scope, specification, time and resource limitations?

• What are your deliverables – specific parts of your specification?

• Do you know where you can find suitable sources of information?

• Are you approaching this with pre-knowledge?

Suggestions on the Management of Essay Writing

Produce a structure– Planning is an iterative process and what you discover through the latter can re-

inform the former. Decide who is reading this and what requirements you have to meet.

Stick to your structure.– Tell them what you are going to do : abstract, aims, objectives,

introduction with reference to relevant theory and professional practice

– Do it : application to a problem area, literature review, research findings

– Tell them what you have done :conclusion, reflection, possible further research

– Sources: bibliography, appendices, Gantt Chart (if necessary)

Further suggestions

• Read, rewrite, refine and then repeat– As you read, what you discover might change your mind about what you wrote

before. Be prepared to go back and make changes.

• Remain balanced:– Try to avoid personal bias, be disciplined about sourcing your statements with

good evidence.

• Motivation and tenacity:– Be aware of your motivation levels, take regular breaks but also spend time

thinking about the direction of your work.

• Things rarely go as planned:– Reflect on what you have done and allow time to think – As you explore your problem domain you might conclude that your focus is

inappropriate and a re-think of your title is necessary– Consider whether you are keeping to your aims and objectives

Time & EffortSome aspects take more time & effort

Develop your

problem

question

Research,

content and

formulate

structure

Write up Proofing Submission

Structuring your workProduce a skeleton of your essay based on the main topics (you might also include some dummy headings to help you organise your work) :

Introduction

•Set the context against current research (and relevant military doctrines because of the way these attempt to order our thinking but remember that they contain assumptions) •Explain how you interpret the aims and objectives set •Define or explain key terms and assumptions made •Identify the issues that you are going to explore

Argument/Main Body

• Contains the points outlined in your introduction, divided into paragraphs:

Paragraph 1 • Covers the first thing you said you’d address as an idea. • The first sentence (the topic sentence) introduces the main idea of

the paragraph. • Other sentences develop the topic. • Include relevant examples, details, evidence, quotations, references.

Paragraph 2 and other paragraphs • The first sentence links the paragraph to the previous paragraph

then introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

Summary and Conclusions

• State your general conclusions and draw everything together but keep to your aims and objectives

• Summarise the main themes • Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant • Do not introduce new material • In the last sentence, sum up your argument very briefly, linking it to

the title and central theme• Set the issues in a broader perspective/wider context • Discuss any limitations in what you have achieved and do not favour

your own work • Get someone else to read it for you and if it doesn’t make sense to

them it may not make sense to others.

Your 4000 word essay

• You are expected to write 1000 words each fortnight (approx. 2 sides of A4) this gives you 8 weeks to complete the essay.

• Each 2 weeks your 1000 words should be submitted to your supervisor for general comment.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Goals: Goals:

Complete

1st 1000

words

Goals:

Complete

2nd 1000

words

Goals:

Complete

3rd 1000

words

Goals:

Complete

4th 1000

words.

Proof read.

Submit