Writing a Good Coursework Assignment
Transcript of Writing a Good Coursework Assignment
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Writing a Good
CourseworkAssignmentMwogeza Resty KamyaConsultant DL
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Objectives
By the end of this session you should able to:
i. Develop an Essay plan
ii. Draft and edit an essay
iii. Create good arguments in your essay
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Types of assignments
Report
Essay
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Steps in writing a good essay
Write essay plan
Draft the essay
Revise
Edit
Write the final version
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Essay plan/Essay structure
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
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Introduction
Do include:
Form an argument/point of view
What you understand the essay title to mean.
The definition of any key terms.
An outline of how the essay is structured.
Dont:
Just repeat the question.
Give your conclusion at this point.
Start to develop any of your key points yet.
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Main body
Do:
do clearly signpost
Begin each main section with a sentence that statesits purpose clearly.
Deal with only one key point of your essay in eachsection.
Write each sub-point of the key-point as a separateparagraph.
Give illustrations of each sub-point as you make it.
own comments /ideas ,quotations, evidence,published materials and give the sources.
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Main body
Dont:
Cover more than one key-point in a section.
Jump from one sub-point to another in a section.
Make a factual assertion without supporting
evidence.
State a view without supporting evidence.
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Conclusion
Do:
Return to the question.
State the points you have made in answer to it.
Make sure that you have answered the questionthat was set.
Be concise.
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Conclusion
Dont:
Repeat earlier statements at length.
Introduce new material.
Just fizzle out The conclusion is the part whichwill just have been read before your mark is
awarded!
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CHECKLIST FOR COMMON
PROBLEMS WITH ESSAY WRITINGEssay title
Clear and relevant to the question.
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CHECKLIST
Structure
Introduction
Organisation of points
Back up your points
Relevance of points
Conclusion
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CHECKLIST
Quotations and references
Direct quotations Are they in quotation marks?
Have you given the page number?
References in the body of the essay Purpose Do your references serve a purpose?
References at the end of the essay
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CHECKLIST
Style
Use the first person For this course we
encourage you to write in the first person: I.
Write simply Signpost the way for your reader
Contractions
Abbreviations
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CHECKLIST
Sentences
Too long Take care with sentence structure.
Incomplete Make sure all sentences are
complete.
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CHECKLIST
Checking
Proofreading
Spell-check
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What makes your essay tick?
If your argument is going to appeal to
reason, then you must strive to avoid
faulty or inconsistent reasoning. Here are
some examples of faulty reasoning:
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Circular reasoning or arguing in a circle:
An example might be that we need to
educate children to safeguard the
environment because the environment
will be protected by educated children.
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Reasoning that does not follow:
Your conclusion must follow logically from what
you have argued. If you argue that poverty is
responsible for low educational attainment, youcannot conclude that standards can be raised by
changing the curriculum.
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Taking extreme positions:
Do not go from one extreme to the other,
for example:
Mens technologies are responsible for
global warming so now women should
take charge.
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Assuming that what is true of the part is true of
the whole (or vice versa):
For example, making the assumption that Black
and Ethnic Minorities are not interested inenvironmental issues based on a survey of a
group of Chinese students.
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Begging the question:
This occurs when you ask a question that
wrongly assumes something to be true, for
example: How can we reduce the birth-rate in the South
to save the planets resources? You must prove
that resources are at risk from reproduction ratesin the South, not assume that this is the case.
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Assuming the conclusion:
For example:
This NGO is a force for good because it hasthe right values. You must explain what the
right values might be and not assume
everyone would agree with you.
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Appealing to an unsuitable authority:
This happens when you draw on an authority
who is an expert in a different field from the one
you are discussing.For example,
would you quote President George Bush as an
authority on the scientific basis of
climate change? (You might, however, quote him
if you were discussing the political implications
of climate change policy.)
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Attributing causality:
It is important to distinguish cause-effect
relationships from statistical correlations or
coincidences. For example,
better academic qualifications may have some
positive correlation with higher pay, but this is not
a directly causal relationship, or teachers
would be paid more than pop stars and footballers.
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Drawing inferences and conclusions:
Before drawing an inference/conclusion
ensure that there is actual evidence to
support it.
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING