Assignments & Submissions - Academic Support - LibGuides at University of Greenwich Academic Support Library Guides - University of Greenwich Library Guides Library Workshops Opening Hours Book an Appointment University of Greenwich LibGuides Academic Support Academic Support Assignments & Submissions Search this Guide Search Academic Support: Assignments & Submissions Here you will find useful directions to the variety of study support services available to you.. Home Timetables & WorkshopsToggle Dropdown Code of Practice Resources Get Academic Support Assignments & Submissions Assignment writing Dissertations & Final Year Projects Referencing Presentations Note taking and planning This page provides useful guides and links to websites aimed at helping you to improve your essays and other written assignments. The Stages of Essay Writing Like all large tasks, you should break essay writing down into its more manageable component parts: Analyse the question Gather material Make a plan Write up Check the line of the Argument and read it aloud to see if it flows Proof read the final draft Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page The Golden Rules of Essay Writing This guide gives you some basic rules to follow when writing essays Keep subjectivity to a minimum Beware of blanket statements Font size Essays should be in continuous prose Structure Paragraphs Supporting evidence from varied sources Quotations Speech abbreviations Academic style Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Essay Instruction Words This guide gives definitions to help you understand the instruction words that commonly appear in essay/assignment questions: Analyse Compare Contrast Define Discuss Distinguish/differentiate Evaluate Illustrate/interpret Justify Outline Relate State Summarise Trace Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Essay Structure Visual Guide This is a simple visual guide to structuring essays. It follows the standard structure of introduction, main body and conclusion with what each section should include: Introduction Paragraphs Topic sentence (point) Supporting statements (evidence) Concluding sentence (evaluation) Conclusion Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Introductions and Conclusions Learn to effectively introduce and conclude your essays and other assignments: Introductions Effectively introduce your essay by signposting your main points Indicate your overall conclusion Conclusions Summarise your main points Anwer the question Use your conclusion to check your answer to the question Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Paragraphs (Main Body) This guide will help you to form and link your main body points/paragraphs using PEE structure: Point: Introduce the topic Evidence: Use evidence to support your point Evaluate: state the value of your point to answering the question or criteria Link your points to create a flowing main body structure Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page BBC Skillswise - Paragraphs More help and interactive guidance on paragraphs - this time from the BBC: Factsheet Worksheet Game The BBC Skillswise - Paragraphs web site Plain English Campaign - Report writing guide A useful (PDF format) guide to report writing provided by the Plain English Campaign, containing information on: Using plain English How to write for your audience (those who the report is aimed at) Brevity Planning and organising reports Go to the Plain English Campaign Guides page to find the link to the guide and other resources. Proofreading Improve your marks by improving your proofreading skills: Check your work before handing in Rest before checking Check from a printed draft Look for common errors How easy is your work to read? Read out loud Do not lose marks through silly errors Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page BBC Skillswise - Proofreading Develop and test your proofreading on the BBC's Sklillswise site:: Factsheet Worksheet Game The BBC Skillswise - Proofreading web site Academic Skills Essay Instruction Word Sheet Academic Skills Essay Structure Visual Guide Academic Skills Golden Rules of Essay Writing Academic Skills Stages of Essay Writing Academic Skills Introductions and Conclusions Academic Skills Good Proofreading Academic Skills Paragraphs Dissertations and final year projects This page has useful fact sheets and guides for students undertaking large projects or dissertations. Dissertation glossary Students starting a dissertation or large project, often meet a barrier early on because of the terminology involved in producing one. This fact sheet provides a guide to the meanings of the most important terminology, along with extra guidance on the procedure. It covers what is meant by such terms as: A dissertation The supervisor A proposal The literature review Methodology Secondary and primary data Quantitative and qualitative data Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Writing a literature review This guide gives you an introduction to the literature review and covers: Why we write them Being critical Getting started and narrowing the topic Where to look for literature Reading skills, taking notes and keeping records Writing up your review Producing a final draft Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Literature review checklist This checklist will help you keep your literature review on track. A literature review must: Show a clear understanding and of the topic and the major research to date Show a gap in the existing knowledge Develop paragraph by paragraph to a clear research problem Be structured around themes (rather than source by source) State clear conclusions about previous research which discuss the pros and cons in relation to the developing research question Mention (and discuss some of) all the key studies Show the variety of approaches that have been made to the topic area Reach well researched and argued recommendations for further research Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Ethical considerations for research projects and dissertations All those carrying out research involving living subjects should carefully think about any ethical issues that might arise. This fact sheet will introduce you to some common ethical considerations which you should then discuss with your supervisor/tutor: The informed consent of participants Debriefing The right for participants to withdraw Confidentiality and anonymity The researcher's safety and protection Respect for subjects Download more detailed information at the bottom of this page Academic Skills Dissertation Glossary Academic Skills Writing a Literature Review Academic Skills Literature Review Checklist Academic Skills Ethics You must check with your school as to which referencing style you are required to use. The main styles used in the University of Greenwich are Harvard, Harvard APA and British Standard (Numeric - also known as footnoting). Below are some useful resources to help you reference correctly. Harvard Guide This is a brief guide to the Harvard system of referencing used in many parts of the university. It covers how to reference: How to do in-text references and reference lists How to paraphrase and quote How to reference books... Chapters from edited books Journal articles Electronic journal articles Web sites Newspaper articles Government publications and more Academic Skills referencing guide Download the guide Harvard APA and OSCALA online interactive referencing guides These interactive referencing tools are provided by the the University of Portsmouth. Please ensure that you know exactly which referencing system you are required to use in your assignments! Harvard APA. This is a version of Harvard devised by the American Psychologist Association and may be used by students doing psychology courses (check first!). This is not the same as the Harvard system in general use. OSCALA ;- this is a legal referencing system Referencing checklist When using sources to make notes of material be included in an assignment, it is important to record the information for an in-text citation and the reference list entry. This will save a lot of work later on, when you may find yourself trying to find the information you need. You can carry this checklist with you as a reminder. It covers the six most common sources and can be used in conjuction with all the the main referencing styles: Books Chapters from books Journal articles Electronic journal articles Websites Newspaper articles Academic Skills Referencing Checklist Download the checklist iPROGRESS The Library offers an online course designed to help you develop your Information Skills. There is a very useful section on Bibliographic Citation (referencing) and Avoiding Plagiarism with a quiz to test your skills. Find this course by logging on to the Portal and going to the My Learning page. Recommended reading An excellent and comprehensive guide to Harvard referencing can be found in: Pears R. and Shields G. (2016) Cite them right. Macmillan Education; Palgrave. Academic Skills Oral Presentations Useful tips on tackling presentations Academic Skills Presentation Nerves Learn to deal with those presentation nerves! Last Updated: Apr 20, 2022 4:30 PM URL: https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/academicskills Print Page Login to LibApps Subjects: Academic Skills Tags: academic_help, academic_skills, academic_support_team, academic_writing, guides, remote_study, support © University of Greenwich | FOI | Privacy and cookies | Legal | Terms & conditions | Library policies | IT Service Status
