Tutor Notes: UWE HE ESSAY PREPARATION AND PLANNING
AIMS OF WORKSHOP: Student Handout (A)
 To identify and explore different learning styles
 To explore and try out some strategies for essay planning
Pre–session Preparation Activity
Learning styles questionnaire: What kind of learner are you? Students can
prepare for the Essay Preparation and Planning session by completing an up to
date assessment of their preferred learning style(s). There are many different
learning style resources online for example VARK Questionnaire at
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
WORKSHOP SESSION 1: 45 minutes
HE ESSAY PREPARATION AND PLANNING SESSION
Power point presentation;
HEADING HIGHER PASSPORT PLUS HE STUDY SKILLS
INTRODUCTION Slide 3
 Writing for academic purposes – what’s expected?
 Who is the audience?
 What format is required – essay or report or reflection on
experience?
 Academic styles of writing– writing in a logical and `objective’ way
vs writing from personal experience
 Academic conventions – plagiarism
You may wish to draw on student’s own experiences of writing
essays/assignments at Level 3 to illustrate the bullet points above.
What type of audiences have they had to write for in their school/college career so far?
Which school subjects require essays, factual reports, creative writing, examples of writing
from personal experience (CV, job application, UCAS application)
What is plagiarism?
Tutor Notes
LEARNING STYLES Slide 4 – 5, Student Handout (B)
Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic
Which degree subjects involve learning through Visual/ Auditory/ Kinaesthetic
styles? Are there any subject s that at some point will involve all (VAK)?
Summary – an individual may be very strongly biased to learning and
communicating in only one style (eg Visual, however, successful HE learners
are flexible and adapt or develop to learn and communicate using all styles.
TIPS FOR ORGANISING YOURSELF Slide 6
 Plan ahead – estimate time required and schedule in working time
 Find and read source materials/carry out research well in advance
 Begin to read and make notes
 Talk to tutors if in doubt about anything (but read assignment
guidelines carefully first!)
 Make a plan
PLANNING YOUR ESSAY
Read and interpret the question: process words
Slide 7 – 10, Student Handout (C)
Questions/ clarification of definitions? Any terms that are new to them?
What other examples of process words are students aware of?
Summary - Essay preparation – work out specifically what it is that the
assignment title requires
 Find an approach which suits you Slide 11-13
 Wordstorming
 Spider diagrams
 Concept maps/mind maps
Example: Is intelligence innate or learned?
Wordstorm:
nature/nurture
biology
genes
hormones
culture
social class
Reproduced with kind permission of Ms Elizabeth Langford Study Skills Advisor
Senior Lecturer: Faculty of Health & Life Sciences UWE
Tutor Notes
education
spatial skills
emotional intelligence
Spider diagram:
Slide 12
Concept map:
Slide 13
verbal skills
logical reasoning
You will have other examples. There are also further examples of VARK based
learning strategies in VARK Helpsheets http://www.varklearn.com/english/page.asp?p=helpsheets
ACTIVITY 1 (In pairs or small groups) Slide 14 - 16
‘The advantages of going to university at 18 outweigh the
disadvantages. Discuss.’
What are the process words?
What are the key words or concepts, arguments you want to get across?
What do you think are the advantages of going to university at 18?
What do you think are the disadvantages of going to university at 18?
What evidence do you have to support your argument?
Try using a wordstorm or spidergram or mindmap to help you organise your
thoughts.
Summary - this is the beginning of planning an essay on the topic
ACTIVITY 2 Slide 17
In pairs organise key words and ideas into an essay plan
Summary – example essay plan Slide 18
PLENARY DISCUSSION
Beginning – Introduction
Middle – Process words
End - Conclusion
Reproduced with kind permission of Ms Elizabeth Langford Study Skills Advisor
Senior Lecturer: Faculty of Health & Life Sciences UWE
Tutor Notes
WORKSHOP SESSION 2: 45 minutes
HE ESSAY PREPARATION AND PLANNING SESSION
Power point presentation;
HEADING HIGHER PASSPORT PLUS HE STUDY SKILLS Slides 19-22
This activity follows on from HE Preparation and Planning Session 1
Students will need;
 HANDOUT (D) UWE First Year HE Essay/Assignment titles
 HANDOUT (C) Process Words List
 Highlighter pen
Using Handouts (D) & (C)
Students compare essay/assignments from the whole list.
Encourage them to draw out similarities across the different subjects e.g. pick
out process words, specific instructions, etc.
Also to consider if there are any specific differences between subject
disciplines in the expectations made of students to meet the requirements of
the assignment.
Which type of assignment do they feel more confident/less confident to
tackle?
How long do they think it would take to complete this type of assignment?
NB. University staff will not chase students!
Additional activity: create a time line of what to do when to meet an
assignment deadline
What other tasks are involved in completing an assignment (reading, research,
lectures, practical lab/studio, tutorials, etc.)?
Some assignments in HE will be group based – individuals will be graded on the
performance of the group as a whole. So team work skills are needed for
effective planning, preparation and completion of an assignment.
Reproduced with kind permission of Ms Elizabeth Langford Study Skills Advisor
Senior Lecturer: Faculty of Health & Life Sciences UWE
Tutor Notes
ACTIVITY 3 Slide 20
In small groups students choose ONE essay title from the list
N.B. If students choose the Healthcare Reflective Practice Essay, please follow
the instructions on the Handout for this activity ie. they should reflect on a
recent, active learning, experience. For example a trip, enterprise activity,
practical, or part-time job
Students may need the difference between ‘formative’ and ‘summative’
assessment to be explained. UWE explanation for students;
Formative Assessment
The essence of formative assessment is that undertaking the assessment
constitutes a learning experience in its own right. Writing an essay or
undertaking a class presentation, for example, can be valuable formative
activities as a means of enhancing substantive knowledge as well as for
developing research, communication, intellectual and organisational skills.
Formative assessment is not often included in the formal grading of work,
and indeed many believe that it should not be.
Summative Assessment
In contrast, summative assessment is not traditionally regarded as having
any intrinsic learning value. It is usually undertaken at the end of a period
of learning in order to generate a grade that reflects the student's
performance. The traditional unseen end of module examination is often
presented as a typical form of summative assessment.
For DfE definition;
http://www.education.gov.uk/complexneeds/modules/Module-2.4Assessment-monitoring-and-evaluation/All/m08p005b.html#
Reproduced with kind permission of Ms Elizabeth Langford Study Skills Advisor
Senior Lecturer: Faculty of Health & Life Sciences UWE