Weeks 15-16: Essay process and presentation
Chapter 11 Essay process and presentation
Aims:
ü the stages in the essay writing process
ü time management
ü presentation
ü other types of academic writing
Part One: Self-evaluation
Let Ss read the list of statements and circle the answer according to their condition.
ü I am aware of the steps involved in writing an essay.
ü I often spend hours on end in front of the computer without breaks.
ü I always check for common errors at final draft stage.
ü I am aware of aspects of presentation such as font size, line spacing, paragraphing, etc.
ü I am familiar with the content and format of reports, case studies and reflective writing.
Part Two：On Writing and Discussing in Group
On Question Discussion
Do you know how to present your essay?
On Writing
1. From essay question to meeting the deadline
ü Consider what it should look like, i.e. how it should be presented.
ü The similarities and differences between essays and some other academic genres.
2. The writing process
ü Longer essays are very different in nature, because of:
² Their length: more organization and signposting are required
² Their research component/ referencing conventions
² Their increased levels of formality and sophistication of language.
ü The six steps in the essay writing process:
² Planning
² Analysing the question/ producing an outline
² Researching/ making notes
² Drafting (drafts 1, 2, …)
² Proofreading and presentation (final draft)
² Analysing essay feedback
3. Planning
ü The factors affecting the amount of time on your assignment.
ü Consider the issues and plan so that you allow yourself enough time to the work to the standard.
ü The practical way to manage your time:
ü Work out the time you have available each day between now and the deadline: look at your free time but be realistic about how many hours in total you can focus on your work each day and whether you need all this time
ü Consider practicalities: transport time, library opening times, computer and printing facilities, etc.
ü Put some time aside to allow for emergencies.
ü Allocate half of the remaining time to research and half to the writing; think about the first five stages.
ü Be realistic and give yourself enough time spread over several days.
4. Analysing the question/producing an outline
ü Add approximate word counts to the different parts of the essay outline.
ü It helps you avoid a common mistake which wastes a lot of your time.
ü The skill with longer essays is to select only the most important information, i.e. what is necessary to develop your argument.
5. Researching/ making notes
ü Note the bibliographic information of each source, without making mistakes: the author’s surname and initials, the full title, the publisher, the year of publication, the place of publication, and the chapter or pages if applicable.
ü Make source that the section is worth reading in detail before you spend more time on it.
ü Make notes while you are doing detailed reading, indicating clearly which are the words from the author and which are not.
ü Write down the exact words and page umbers for possible quotes.
ü Adapt the style of your notes to your purpose: choose the right visual representation, and use concise language (abbreviations, symbols, …).
6. The first draft
ü Look at the first draft as a warm-up or practice activity before you do the real .
ü The causes of writer’s block are:
² Setting your standards too high
² Expecting too much too soon
² Thinking about what others expect rom you
² Comparing yourself to others or aspiring to an ideal
² Self-doubt, fear and stress, which may lead to procrastination
² Lack of motivation, possibly leading to distractions.
ü The following can help:
² Remind yourself that this is the first stage, where there is no nedd for judgement.
² Replace thoughts of what others want with calming thoughts, e.g. of a beautiful landscape.
² Do nothing for a few minutes except breathing slowly, preferably with your eyes closed, as this can clam you down and clear your mind. develop a writing ritual, e.g. always start to write after you sip some water or chew sugar-gree gum while you write.
² Remove any distractions (internet, gadgets, books, …).
² Just start writing anything; sometimes you just need to start writing to get into it.
² Motivate yourself by reminding yourself that this assignment is a necessary part of your overall goal, and therefore you have chosen to do it.
² Set yourself a small achievable task and deadline to start, e.g. ‘In the next ten minutes I will put together the three definitions of my topic and write two comments about how they compare.’ then set yourself another small task.
² Say out loud what you want to write as it can help you to formulate your thoughts.
7. The next drafts
ü After finishing your first draft, it is a good idea to leave your work until the next day at the earliest.
ü You can then fill in gaps, reorder paragraphs, make clearer links and generally try to make sure that everything is logical and expressed clearly.
ü This is the stage in which you should think about academic principles and appropriate language.
ü Through a continuous process of making changes and rereading, your essay versions will keep improving.
8. The final draft
ü Try to avoid:
² You still make basic mistakes (e.g. spelling), especially in subject specific vocabulary.
² You make mistakes that are easily avoidable (e.g. an unfinished word or sentence)
² You make too many mistakes.
ü Try to leave a positive impression on your readers by erasing the common errors the typical errors you likely to make.
9. Layout and presentation
ü The final draft is also the time when you need to think about presentation.
ü Look at any guidelines you were given by your tutors regarding font size, line spacing, paragraphing, title pages, etc.
ü The following guidelines will be helpful:
² Use a separate page for the tile and your details.
² Number the pages that follow.
² Use subtitles for long essays.
² Don’t use bullet point or numbered lists.
² Leave enough space between the lines (e.g. 1.5) and generally allow enough white space, e.g. before and after visuals.
² Have wide margins (e.g. 2.5 cm on each side of the paper).
² Leave a line between each paragraph.
² Start each paragraph at the beginning of the line or indent five spaces; be consistent.
² Choose a classical font style and size, such as Times New Roman or Courier 12.
² Do not use colour or fun graphics (i.e. impress the reader with content only).
² Do not use underlining and bold except in headings.
² Do a spell check- choose ‘English (United States)’ or ‘English Kingdom)’ as appropriate. use left justification.
² Do not use headers or footers.
² Start your reference list on a different page.
² Start every appendix (if you have an0 on a different page.
² Put one space between each word, after every comma (,), semi-colon (;0 and colon (:).
² If you use a table, put the caption above it, for figures put the information below. Number tables, and figures separately.
10. Analysing essay feedback
ü The feedback you receive is full of useful information that you can use to inform your future essays.
ü Do not skip this stage as it is essential if you want to keep improving throughout your studies.
11. Other types of writing
ü Generally speaking, the amin difference between essays and reports is structure.
ü The academic principles are the same, as reports will need to be clearly organized, written in an objective style, be accurate, be referenced, etc.
ü A report usually starts with a page which outlines the different headings and subheadings in the report, which are numbered.
ü Reports are likely to be more descriptive than essays.
ü A typical report will describe and comment on original research, e.g. an experiment or a survey.
ü The classic IMRAD patter, which is common in scientific and engineering subjects, as follows:
Introduction
Methods (and Materials)
Results
(Analysis and) Discussion/ Conclusion
ü Case study reports are pieces of writing that focus on a particular real-life issue.
ü Case studies are used in many different departments for a variety of reasons.
ü The difference between essays and case studies is not very clearly defined.
ü It is impossible to cover all the different formats you might be asked to write.
ü The guidelines for the requirements of any genre:
1) Ask your tutor for guidelines
2) Ask for examples from previous students
3) Do a library or online search for examples
4) Examine previous examples by asking yourself the following questions:
a) Who is the intended reader?
b) What does the intended reader want to find out?
c) What knowledge or skills do I need to demonstrate? (purpose)
d) What are the different parts (organization), what style is being used (level of formality), what is a normal length?
Part Three: Peer-review and Feedback
Work in group of 3 or 4 students, review each other’s writing task, and give feedback accordingly.
ü Reduce essay stress by making a time management plan and by following the tips to avoid writer’s block.
ü None of the stages in the essay writing process should be rushed. After planning, analysing and researching, leave enough time for drafting, re-drafting and proofreading.
ü Don’t underestimate the importance of presentation, but don’t worry about it until the essay is written.
ü Before starting to work on a new essay, look back at previous feedback to make sure you keep improving.
ü When you are asked to write a different genre, use your essay writing skills but adapt your style and format.
Part Four: Assignment
1. Glossary: sophistication, linear, allocate, presentation, inspiration, justification, appendix, caption, objective, design specification, critique, collaborative writing, lab report, research report, literature review.
2. Review the key points of the two chapters and finish all the exercises.
3. Finish the designated writing task (compulsory).