ACADEMIC WRITING
This section provides aims to develop your skills in academic writing, which you will need to complete
assignments and other assessments here at University.
Throughout your undergraduate degree in FASS, you will encounter a variety of assessed tasks.
For example, you may be asked to submit a...
Field trip report
Film review
Research essay
Research essay proposal
Paragraph answer
Reading journal
Reflective journal
Seminar presentation
Magazine article
Short answer test
Website evaluation
Documentary analysis
Book report
Textbook review
Group research
Different lecturers have their own emphases and impose slightly different criteria for grading
assignments, in terms of structure, amount of reading required, and emphasis on certain format
and presentation standards. Whatever the nature of the assignment, you will need to:
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Read the instructions closely
Understand the assessment criteria fully
Note the assignment objectives carefully
Ensure that you have all essential distributed material
Allocate time and resources appropriately
Start working on the assignment well ahead of the due date
Talk with teaching staff if you are at all uncertain about what is required
Contact staff before the submission date if you foresee any difficulty in meeting the
deadline
Planning your assignments
Basic specifications
When starting an assignment, check to see if your lecturer has given any specifications on how to
present your written assignments in your course outline. If you have not been given any strict
specifications, you could follow these basic guidelines:
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Assignments that are typed are preferred and usually required.
Your assignment should be presented on standard A4 sized paper, on one side of the
page only (don’t use a folder or clearfile to present your work).
Use at least 1.5 line spacing.
Leave a 3-4 cm margin on the left-hand side for the marker's comments.
Proofread carefully.
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The first draft
Give yourself ample time and opportunity to clarify your ideas. 'Brainstorming' with fellow students
can help, but is only productive if others have done their own preparation as well. Try avoiding
company for an hour or so and head up a blank sheet of paper with the assignment question. Jot
down points as they occur to you.
Work through your notes, identify the main themes that occur, and sort evidence under those
headings. (Evidence includes reference to the theories, concepts and quotes of other authors).
List your points in order of significance and check that you have evidence (and references) to
support each one.
Keep checking to ensure that you really are answering the actual question set and are following all
detailed criteria in the assignment instructions.
If working on an essay, remember that your introduction should contain a clear and succinct
statement of the argument that you intend to develop.
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TIP: Lecturers usually set assignments that are directly related to specific topics
covered in a previous lecture. Make sure you have all your lecture notes and
course readings up to date for the assignment topic that you choose.
The Writing Process
An essay has to be structured and coherent. It should pursue a line of argument from start to finish.
Essays have a clear beginning, middle and an end.
Your essay should firstly have an introductory paragraph, in which you state the argument you
are going to pursue (and briefly indicating how you are going to set about the task).
Following that, the body of the essay should pursue the argument in orderly fashion.
Finally, your conclusion should review the argument and offer a summary of your judgements on
the matter.
1. READING THE QUESTION
Read the question carefully and do what is asked of you.
Below is a list of command words that are used regularly in essay questions. It is important that
you learn the difference between these words, and learn what is actually required of you when you
are asked to do the following:
ARGUE:
Use evidence, theories and concepts to make a case and to draw conclusions. Arguments
must be justified with facts.
ANALYSE:
Break down the issue, ideas and processes into component parts and discuss how the
various parts are related.
Point out similarities or likenesses between two or more things. In practise, this may also
involve pointing out the contrasts or differences between things.
COMPARE:
DESCRIBE:
Recall facts, events, processes etc., in an accurate and detailed way. Give an account of
what something looked like, or what happened.
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DIFFERENTIATE: Discuss points that enable you to tell things apart. Generally, questions which ask
candidates to differentiate between things that are similar in some ways.
DISCUSS:
To present or explain clearly several sides of a point, or to examine a topic in detail.
EVALUATE:
Give a judgement or opinion as to the worth of something, whenever possible it should be
supported by arguments from books, articles or newspapers.
EXPLAIN:
To make something clear or to state the reasons for something.
ILLUSTRATE:
Provide examples to explain a statement.
INTERPRET:
Explain the meaning of facts.
2. ANSWER THE QUESTION
Make sure you answer the question clearly and that the bulk of your essay is directly relevant to
the essay question. Do not go off on tangents and write whole paragraphs about matters that are
not directly relevant to the essay question.
3. MAKING THE IDEAS FLOW
A good essay should have 'flow'. The points that you make should connect with each other. You
can achieve a good flow just through a careful use of linking phrases, such as:
"Further support for this argument has come from..."
"Additionally, we might consider the evidence presented by...."
"This position could be further strengthened by..."
"Therefore, we might suggest that...."
Links don't always have to be cast in terms of positive support - especially when the question asks
you to 'critically discuss' or 'compare and contrast'. Here, you can establish 'flow' and 'coherence'
through the use of antithesis and contradiction:
"On the other hand, Williams maintains that...."
"Bordwell asserts, to the contrary, that...."
"It has, however, been suggested that...."
Your finished essay should have links of this kind between each of the points that you make. Each
point should lead on smoothly to the next.
4. ACHIEVING VERBAL CLARITY
Make your points fully, but as concisely as possibly. Don't use extravagant language. To explain
complex ideas successfully, you need to use plain English.
5. USE OF PARAGRAPHS
The attainment of 'clarity' and 'structure' are both served by careful paragraphing. Each paragraph
should deal with a single topic and no more. You should be able to put a (mental) headline on each
paragraph, which summarises the subject matter dealt with there. If you can't identify one clear
subject for each single paragraph, then your essay may need re-structuring.
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6. MODE OF ADDRESS
Remember that essays are formal exercises, so you should not use slang or colloquial
expressions, or present your arguments impersonally. For example;
Instead of writing:
You could write:
‘It might be argued that...’
‘I think ....’
or
‘One could maintain that...’
‘They said this theory was choice
for Māori’
‘According to ..., this theory was
highly relevant to Māori’
‘Durie’s Māori health model is
referred to heaps.’
‘Durie’s model of Māori Health is
continually referred to.’
7. REFERENCING YOUR SOURCES
You must cite all sources of information that you used to help write your essay. Information on
how to reference correctly will be covered in detail in the next chapter.
8. USING QUOTATIONS
Essays should be in your own words. However, you may use quotes to support your argument,
but only sparingly. Remember to always put your quotations in quotation marks with a clear
acknowledgment of their source (refer to the next chapter for referencing).
9. USE THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Using a dictionary and/or a thesaurus is really helpful for making your essay look and sound
professional. These resources can be expensive to buy but are a good investment. Alternatively
you can access these online at:
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Microsoft word also has a handy Thesaurus tool. Just right-click any word in your document and
select ‘synonyms’. This will bring up alternative terms for highlighted word.
10. REDRAFTING MATERIAL
Your first attempt at an essay is only your first draft and should not be submitted. You must leave
yourself time to produce more than one draft of an essay before tidying up the finished form.
Everyone makes mistakes in the first draft. Arguments need re-structuring; different emphases are
required; perhaps new evidence needs to be brought in that was not mentioned the first time
around.
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TIP:
It is often easier to write the introduction of an essay last
TIP:
‘Word-processed’ or typed documents make the whole process of re-drafting
and revision much easier than if an assignment had been hand-written.
This re-emphasises the importance of familiarising yourself with Microsoft Word
Common errors in assignments
ERROR
WHY?
it's place
its has an apostrophe only when short for it is: when
indicating possession (his/hers/theirs/its) NO apostrophe is
needed
apostrophe's and plural's
NO apostrophe is needed to indicate a plural form
alot
in the sense of ‘a great deal or a good many’ is never written
as one word (and is an expression best avoided anyway)
confusion over
principal/principle
- pal: main or most important
- ple: idea; basis of a system of thought or belief
would of / should of
are incorrect: would have / should have
And please note that Te Reo Māori does not use an 's' in a plural word.
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More tips
Use the following checklist as a guide to current practice:
DATES:
9 November 1769 i.e. day/month/year, not 9th of November
FIGURES:
Numbers under ten are normally written as words (for example, eight, 11, 75,
82, and 147).
ABBREVIATIONS:
Avoid using abbreviations, such as e.g., etc., govt. in a formal assignment.
Contractions, which include the last letter of the word, do not take a full stop,
e.g. St, Mt, Mr, Ms
Where the abbreviation includes two or more capital letters, omit the full stop,
e.g. NZ, PhD, JP, MP
Pluralize abbreviations by adding the letter ‘s’ and omitting the full stop, e.g.
'four JPs were in attendance'.
CAPITALISATION:
Capitalise the titles of organisations or agencies or a particular position, e.g.
Medical Officer. There is no need to capitalise words used generically, such
as 'few ministers objected' but you would capitalise Prime Minister or
Governor-General when referring to the specific individual, office or
organisation, e.g. Parliament but not parliamentary.
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