Essay Guide.docx

7/27/2019 Essay Guide.docx

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Attached is a basic guide on how your essays are marked. More importantly, it provides a

guide on how to prepare a good essay.

I do not have any specific guidelines, but the following information must be in every essay.

1. Provide all relevant details (your full name, you university id, the essay question)2. Ensure pages are numbered.3. Write down the total number of words either in the beginning or at the end of the

essay. (The word document will give you this number)

4. Referencingensure it is consistent.You can use UNEs guide if you do not have any particular preference.

http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/students/factsheets/formatting-essay.pdf

Here are examples from UNE of ways to structure your essay. There are many more available

in cyberspace.

http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/index.html

http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/communication_essay.pdf

For more details of the marking rubric I use as a guide, read the next table.
http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/students/factsheets/formatting-essay.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/students/factsheets/formatting-essay.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/index.htmlhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/index.htmlhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/communication_essay.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/communication_essay.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/communication_essay.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/writing/ehps/health/samples/index.htmlhttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/students/factsheets/formatting-essay.pdf


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A general guide -- the rubric for marking the essays

Components Full

Marks

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction

(1)Elaboration ofquestion or issue

20 Lack thesis and

organising

idea/framework

Vague thesis and

organising

idea/framework

Clear thesis

organising

idea/framework

Effectively presented

thesis and organising

idea/framework

Effectively presented

and elaborated thesis

and organising

idea/framework

(2)Knowledge ofcontent area,

development of

ideas &

referencing

sources

60 - Poor writing style- Little or no

specific

details/examples

- Off topic- Factual errors

presented

- No references orinappropriate

references used

- Awkward writingstyle

- General pointsmade

- Factual errorspresented

- Points stray fromthesis

- Ineffective use ofsupporting

material (e.g.

quotes,

illustrations,

tables, etc.)

- Adequatelywritten essay

- Some points areelaborated

- Some factualerrors orirrelevant

information

presented

- Multiple sourcesused but

ineffective or

contradictory

- Some originalthoughts2

presented

- Well-writtenpoints made

- Elaborated withclear and detailed

information to

support thesis- Original ideas

and thoughts

presented

- Effective use ofmultiple and

appropriate

references

- Well-written- Points fully

elaborated

- Clear, accurateand detailed

informationaddressed to

support thesis

- Many originalthoughts and

ideas presented

- Effective use ofhigh quality

references3

1Thesis here means your statement or theory that you put forward in answering the essay question, which you prove through the essay

2Original thoughts here does not mean the creation of new knowledge i.e. original research but rather how you have understood and interpreted the various resources you

have used in a meaningful way to prove your thesis rather than simply repeating what has been stated3 High quality reference refers to references that comes from established experts in the field, articles in established peer-reviewed journals, credible reports from recognized

authorities (e.g. government, inter-governmental reports, and other reputable organisations), from established publications (major newspapers and magazines such as The

Economists and well-known blogs such asEast Asia Forum, etc.)


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Components Full

Marks

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction

(3)Organisation ofessay:

Introduction,

Body and

Conclusion

10 - Little or nostructure

- Aimlessrambling of

disparate points

- Completely offtopic

- Confusingorganisation

- Lacks properparagraph,

construction &

transitions

- Lacks topicsentences4

- Lacks relevantinformation

- Awkwardorganisation

- Some statementsout of place

- Goodintroduction and

conclusion

- Limited topicsentences

- Effectiveorganisation

- Logical flow inparagraphs

- Excellentintroduction and

conclusion

- Outstandingorganisation

- Extremely goodlogical flow in

paragraphs

- Outstandingintroduction and

conclusion

(4)Writingstructure, style

and referencing

style

10 More than 20

grammatical, spelling

and/or referencing

errors

Between 11 to 19


and/or referencing

errors

Between 6 and 10


and/or referencing

errors

Less than 6


and/or referencing

errors

Comprehension

enhanced by proper

grammar, spelling

and referencing

Total 100 0.50 < 0.50-0.64 0.65-0.74 0.75-0.84 0.85-1.0

The overall grade for your essay is then based according to the UNE systemhttp://www.une.edu.au/gsb/UNE_Grading_System.pdf

4 A topic sentence captures or organizes an entire paragraph. The topic sentence should start off the main pa ragraphs in the essay.5

As a percentage of the marks allocated for each component
http://www.une.edu.au/gsb/UNE_Grading_System.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/gsb/UNE_Grading_System.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/gsb/UNE_Grading_System.pdfhttp://www.une.edu.au/gsb/UNE_Grading_System.pdf


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A template of a good compare and contrast essay.

[Note: This is just an example.]

Compare and contrasts the factors that contributed to the economic growth and poverty

reduction in China and India. Which country has done better? What, in your view, are the

key factors that explains the better performance in economic growth rates and poverty

reduction of the country that you have identified in contrast to the other country which has

not done as well?

1. Elaboration of question or issuei. What are the core issues in this essay question

- Factors that contributed to economic growth- Factors that contributed to poverty reduction- Are there or what are the links between the twoDo you have a position? Do you already know who has done better? If you do, start with

that statement.

E.g. There is consensus that China has done better than India in terms of economic

performance and poverty reduction.

If you are unsure (it will be difficult for this question, as there is consensus that China has

outperformed India), you can use an exploratory way.

E.g. Conventional economic growth theory states that . In this essay I will explore the

following factors identified in growth theories as the primary cause for economic growthand poverty reduction and analyse how China and India has performed.

[Note: You should be able to differentiate the statistics, the proximate cause and the

deeper determinants.]

E.g. Poverty reduced in China because surplus labour was allowed to move from less

productive to more productive areas.

StatisticsPoverty rates reduced; Proximate cause(from theoryfactors of

production are labour, capital/technology and land) so look at one factorlabour. Numberof labourers/workers that moved from agriculture sector to manufacturing sector; Deep

determinantsChina opened up its markets (from theoryeconomic integration/ trade

policies) and used (from theory) manufacturing low value/simple assembly products

which was able to easily absorb the poorly educated labour to industrialise. In contrast

India, did not open its markets, and focused on heavy industries which were capital and

technology intensive which required highly skilled labour.

ii. You will need a theory (see above for example).Rememberthis is a unit that attempts to understand industrialisation and development in

Asia. So when you discuss the essay the question, it will have to be done within this

context. When discussing, you will need a theorytheory of economic growth, theory of

economic development, industrialisation theory, etc. (or any theory that you think is


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relevant).

Q. What are the different economic growth theories and what are the different economic

development theories that you have come across in this unit.

iii. Your thesisConnect (i) and (ii) with your thesis.

Provide some headline statistics (e.g. overall GDP growth rates, overall poverty reduction

rates.) that supports your thesis conclusively.

Note: Always ensure that you are comparing apples with apples and oranges with

oranges i.e. use comparable indicators and same datasets (e.g. GDP for both countries

from Word Development Indicators).

(ReviewLecture guide 1afor an understanding of the unit andSupplementary Lecture

Guideto understand the theory).

2. Knowledge of content area, development of ideas & referencing sourcesHere is where you provide the most important points to answer 1i. With supporting

evidence (statistical) from reputable sources (based on your thesis).

E.g.

(1) Factors that contributed to faster economic growth in China compared to India.

(2) Factors that contributed to greater poverty reduction in China compared to India.

[Note: It is recognised that Chinas performance in economic growth and povertyreduction is better than India. What you have to do is to organise the reasons in a

logical manner.]

3. Organisation of essay: Introduction, Body and ConclusionIn general you can follow any of the three method

Whole-to-whole/block strategy

(1)Introduction (thesis statement)(2) You write everything about one comparator before moving to the otherE.g. first you discuss everything about China (3 key points), then everything about

India (same 3 key points).(3) Conclusion

Similarities-to-difference strategy

(1)Introduction (thesis statement)(2)What were the similarities (if there were any) and what were the differencese.g. both China and India had planned economies, state owned corporations, heavy

industries, etc. and differences; China focused its reforms in the manufacturing sector

while India in the services sector, China focused on export markets India did not), and

China reallocated labour from low productivity sectors (e.g. agriculture) to high

productivity sectors (e.g. manufacturing).

(3) Conclusion
http://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/634666/mod_resource/content/4/Lecture%20Guide%201a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/634666/mod_resource/content/4/Lecture%20Guide%201a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/634666/mod_resource/content/4/Lecture%20Guide%201a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/657654/mod_resource/content/1/Supplementary%20lecture%20guide%206-a.pdfhttp://moodle.une.edu.au/pluginfile.php/634666/mod_resource/content/4/Lecture%20Guide%201a.pdf


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Point-by-point strategy(1)Introduction (thesis statement)(2)You explain one point of comparison before moving to the next pointE.g. industrialisation strategy in China and in India; labour market reforms in China

and in India; trade strategy in China and in India.

(3)ConclusionIt is important that in your introduction, you not only state your thesis but also map

out how you will organise the rest of your essay to prove your thesis.

4. Writing structure, style and referencing styleLook up academic skills notes for good writing style. Im sure you all know about UNEs

academic writing resources, which can greatly enhance your skills.

http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-online/academic-writing/headings.php
http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-online/academic-writing/headings.phphttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-online/academic-writing/headings.phphttp://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-online/academic-writing/headings.php

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