1 Adelaide. 2 Developing Skills for Essay Writing Reading Taking notes Structuring and writing

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Adelaide

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Developing Skills for Essay Writing

• Reading

• Taking notes

• Structuring and writing

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Reading Strategies

1. Before you read survey the text to check it is a useful resource.

Look at the;

• Title, author, date, contents page, headings

• Captions under pictures & charts

• Introduction and conclusion

• Summary or abstract

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Reading strategies continued…

When you have decided the text is useful….

• Only slow your reading when the text becomes difficult to understand

• Don’t try to read everything – only what will help you answer the question

• Guess from context. Give yourself permission not to have to look up every word. Go for overall comprehension.

• Underline/highlight ideas in photocopied text

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To develop understanding…..

Develop an active response to the text by; asking yourself or others questions about

what you have read taking notes paraphrasing the main points

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Developing a critical perspective in reading

• Do not just “consume” information. • Become a “producer” of knowledge.Ask;

Is the information believable? How do you know?

Who wrote it? Is the writer an authority in this field?

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Developing a critical perspective in reading

• What are my responses to the text?

• Do you personally and other writers agree or disagree with what is said?

• Is the writer trying to persuade you of a particular position? What would the opposite view be?

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Taking Notes (Germov 1996)

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Note-taking

Keep your topic in mind – only select relevant material

Note author, date, title, publisher, place and pages

Clearly separate your own thoughts from the author’s ideas in your notes

Organise notes into a card system, files or try endnote software. Include page numbers

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Note-Taking continued...

Take notes in your own words (paraphrase) to help deepen understanding

If you quote be careful to copy words exactly

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An essay should involve…

• analysing a topic closely• developing a point of view in

relation to a topic• persuading the reader that your

position is well supported by the evidence you present

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Brainstorm the key stages involved in writing an essay

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Steps in Writing an Essay

• Analysing the question• Making an initial plan• Locating the resources• Reading and noting• Writing the first draft• Revising and editing• Organising the reference list• Proofreading & checking references

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Further skills for writing essays…

• Analysing the question

• Planning the essay

• Research & referencing

• Using paragraphs and topic sentences

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Analysing the 3 main parts of the essay question….

• Task [directive] words– Analyse, explain, discuss, compare,

contrast, describe, argue

• Information words– Describe the expected content of the

essay. What’s it about?

• Limits– Information limits [eg.time, place, group]– Academic limits [word length, due date]

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Look at the following essay question….

• What are the task words?• What are the information

words?• What are the limits?

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Essay 15%1000 words

Submit 17 April 2008

Choose one communication theory or paradigm. Explain its key features whilst briefly comparing and contrasting it with others that you have read about.

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Task words: Explain, compare, contrast

Information words: Communication theory, paradigm, key features

Limits:1000 words; 17 April 2008

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Planning your essay

• Search for resources such as books and journals in the HKBU library or via the UniSA catalogue & databases.

• Find out what key concepts like ‘Communication theories’ mean.

• Go for introductory texts in communication first.

• Decide when you are going to study/complete first draft/edit?

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Only choose academic sources from the internet!

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Germov (1996)

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The Essay Structure

The Introduction

• 10% of the whole

• Define the question and the key terms.

• Give a thesis statement

• Provide an outline of the argument

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The thesis statement is the main idea you will develop in the essay

using evidence.

Understanding group communication is very important for managers if they wish to optimise the effectiveness of employees.

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The outline

An outline prepares the reader for the main points you plan to include in your essay.

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Activity

With a partner, write a draft of an outline to go in your introduction. Be prepared to share it with the whole group!

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This essay will outline key issues concerned with transmission models of communication such as the technical approach to messages, the meaning of terms such as, ‘sender’ ‘receiver’, ‘message’ ‘code’, ‘channel’ and ‘noise’. Transmission models of communication will then be compared and contrasted briefly with transactional communication.

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The Body of the Essay

About 80% of the total essayEach paragraph in the body of your essay should develop ideas and evidence to support your thesis statement with appropriate references.

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Conclusion

• 10% of the total essay

• Do not include new information

• Your conclusion usually looks a bit like your thesis statement

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Paragraphs

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Each paragraph should have its own topic sentence

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Paragraphs consist of sentences arranged in a logical manner to develop a main idea.

The main idea is usually contained in a single sentence, a part of a sentence, or sometimes two sentences.

These main ideas are called Topic sentences and may appear at the beginning, middle or end of a paragraph.

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Identify the topic sentences in the following paragraphs

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Business managers must be particularly well-organised. They frequently have to attend up to ten meetings a day, and usually begin work before most people have finished breakfast. Most business managers take extra work home with them at night.

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Most of the passengers filed into the baggage area looking exhausted and pale after their long flight. He was among them, like a light in a fog, tanned, smiling broadly and immaculately dressed. An aura of confidence and health surrounded him. David was his usual glamorous self.

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Buildings were reduced to rubble, cars were overturned and trees uprooted. What had once been George Street looked like an old junkyard on the outskirts of town. The cyclone had demolished our city as though an atom bomb had exploded. Most of the survivors had left to stay with relatives in surrounding districts; those that remained walked through the wreckage like ghosts, dazed and aimless.

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Connectives are words that link ideas

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Common connectives

• Therefore

• In addition

• Nevertheless

• However

• Although (You do not need to use ‘but’ with although).

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Can you think of any other connectives?

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Connectives have the following purposes

• Compare & contrast

• Add to one idea

• Express a result

• Illustrate/explain

• Summarise

• Order ideas in terms of time/space

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In groups, write a topic sentence then compose four other sentences using connective words. The topic sentence can be at the beginning, middle or end of the text.

Theme: The critical tradition. (See Topic 1 in your study guide).

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Be sensitive to gender based statements. You will lose marks for writing sentences like this one:A manager has little time and he

should be encouraged to manage it wisely

How could you rephrase this sentence so that it is not gender biased?

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Managers have little time and should be encouraged to use it wisely

Pluralising the noun helps…..

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“I am the Roman Emperor, and am above grammar”

Emperor Sigismund, 1361-1437 in reply to a criticism of his Latin grammar.

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Check for…

• Spelling• Punctuation• Subject / Verb agreement• Tense• Articles

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Also check that ….

• Every sentence & paragraph is relevant

• there is a topic sentence

• Ideas are logically connected using connectives

• references are checked

• the introduction has a thesis statement and outline

• the conclusion reinforces the main points made and the thesis statement

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Leave a draft for at least 24 hours before a final edit with

fresh eyes….

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• Use a red marker to review

• Ask someone else to read through your

draft and give you verbal feedback [but

never ask anyone to write your essay or

part of your essay for you].

• Be prepared to make many drafts.

• Essay writing is a process!

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Don’t forget to check your references before you

submit your essay.

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References

• Eunson, B 2005, Communicating in the 21st century, Wiley, Milton, Queensland.

• Germov, J 1996, Get great marks for your essays, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW.

• Crossman, J. 2005. Work and Learning. The implications for transnational distance learners, International Education Journal, 6 (1).