Welcome Congratulations on joining the University of Adelaide
study body. Youve achieved a lot to get here. I hope this talk will
introduce you to the expectations of writing an essay at university
and inspire you to become critical thinkers and good academic
writers. University of Adelaide3
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Outline Why do you write essays? What exactly is an essay? An
essay must be persuasive and possess academic integrity Form a
point of view using your own words Reference correctly University
of Adelaide4
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Why do you write essays? Form of assessment A way to
communicate Demonstrate what you know Writing academic essays are
different from the essays you may have written in the past. It
provides the knowledge and ability to follow academic conventions
so you can learn the essential skills to become critical thinkers
and good academic writers. University of Adelaide5
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What exactly is an essay? Formal Logical Connected Structured
Persuasive Referenced University of Adelaide6
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What is a persuasive essay? A writer's attempt to convince
readers of the validity of a particular opinion on a controversial
issue Aims to convince others University of Adelaide7
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What is the essay writer try to achieve? University of
Adelaide8
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What is a thesis statement? A persuasive thesis statement is a
one-sentence description of your topic and the argument that you
plan to make in the essay University of Adelaide10
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The argument you plan to make in the essay University of
Adelaide11
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Where does it go? University of Adelaide12
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Why is the thesis statement important? A thesis statement shows
your level of understanding in relation to the essay question based
on your own reading and writing. It supports your argument by
clearly stating your reasons why University of Adelaide13
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Why form an argument in your own words? Shows your level of
understanding Form an opinion based on research and evidence Your
own informed opinion is valued Writing in your own voice makes it
clear whose ideas are being expressed-yours or a sources Write in
your own voice and avoid plagiarism University of Adelaide14
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Avoid plagiarism Plagiarism: the act of presenting anothers
work or ideas as your own. University of Adelaide15
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Academic integrity Students need to acknowledge sources through
correct referencing. Consistent and accurate referencing avoids
plagiarism. When you are referencing always use a referencing guide
to help you ensure 100% accuracy. University of Adelaide16
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Why do you need to reference? To avoid being accused of
plagiarism, which includes copying anothers work, paraphrasing or
summarising without acknowledgement, colluding with others and
presenting either identical or very similar essays. To show respect
for other people's ideas and work. To support your own arguments,
thus giving you more credibility. University of Adelaide17
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Referencing Shows the depth and breadth of your reading and
thinking. More peoples ideas you read the better. You use other
sources to support your own argument. Once you can analyse other
opinions you are able to evaluate the information to form your own
argument. This demonstrates your understanding about a topic.
University of Adelaide18
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To sum up Writing essays gives you the knowledge and ability to
follow academic conventions so you can become critical thinkers and
good academic writers. Forming an argument in your own words shows
that you understand a topic based on your own reading and thinking.
Accurate referencing demonstrates academic integrity. It supports
your own arguments and therefore gives you more credibility.
University of Adelaide19
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Useful Learning Guides Writing Essays Introductions &
Conclusions Paragraph Writing Avoiding Plagiarism Quick Guide to
Referencing Source Credibility Paraphrase or to Quote? Assignment
Directives University of Adelaide20
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For further thoughts Write down 2 things you have learnt today.
Thank you. Are there any questions? University of Adelaide21