Writing a Good Coursework Assignment

8/22/2019 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

Writing a Good Coursework Assignment

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