What this guide will cover
Getting started
Free writing
- Give yourself a set time limit
- Write/type as quickly as you can with any ideas you may have, in any order
- Don’t bother about writing sentences, or using correct punctuation, grammar or spelling.
- Scribble ideas fast, in any order – whatever comes into your mind – then rearrange and rewrite.
Other ideas include:
- Mind-mapping: Get your ideas down in any order and then see if they can be linked
- Write by talking: talk out loud and record yourself or speak with someone else about your ideas. Once you have said your ideas it might be easier to start writing them
- Note down all the questions you can think of that might relate to your assignment title and criteria – you can then start to answer them.
This page has links to a wide variety of study apps and websites that can help you when studying at University.
Take TIME to write your assignment
Be in-depth:
- Consider your topics thoroughly, thinking about all possible aspects, and including the argument for and against different viewpoints.
- You will need to read and understand the research, finding good quality material which supports your case.
- You will often have to compare and contrast things like theories, models or research findings.
- There is likely to be a set structure and/or style for your discipline – check the assignment criteria.
- Be aware of complexities - you need to show that there may not be clear-cut answers. . Even strong cases could have some weaknesses.
Be measured:
- As there are different viewpoints, it is important to be cautious and not sound too definite. A phrase such as 'These findings would seem to suggest...' shows caution.
- There’s no need to appeal to the emotions of your reader. Phrases such as 'A key strength of the research was...' are emotionally neutral.
- Academic writing is usually written in the third person, avoiding ‘I’ or ‘you’. Useful phrases include 'This essay will consider...'.
- A formal style of writing is requried, meaning you need to write in proper, full sentences not in shorthand or bullet points.
Use the Academic Phrasebank for more suggestions on how to write in an academic way.
For more information on how to use the TIME model see the guide on...
Writing the assignment
It is helpful to organise your points. One tip from Cooper and Shoolbred (2016) is to:
- Put each point on PowerPoint slide
- Drag and drop them to reorder them until you find a logical order
- Each slide represents a paragraph
See the Academic Writing reading list for the references used in this guide.
The structuring your assignment LibGuide provides detailed information on how to plan your assignment following the TIME model.
Top tips include:
- Before you start writing your assignment, you should draft a conclusion as it’s important to know where your assignment is heading.
- Use Discovery and subject LibGuides to search for academic literature.
- Stick to your wordcount - this requires planning.
- The introduction and conclusion should each be about 5-10% of the final word count.
- The introduction should signpost what the assignment contains - the order of the signposting should be the order it’s written in.
- The conclusion should not have any new material. It should recap/summarise your main findings and highlight your general conclusions and why they are important.
The WEED model for paragraphs
The WEED model (Godwin, 2019) suggests that each paragraph should be on a single topic, making a single point. A paragraph is usually around a third of a page.
See the Academic Writing reading list for the references used in this guide.
DO
This is the most important part of your paragraph.
You should conclude your paragraph with the implications of your discussion. This gives you the opportunity to add your commentary, which is very important in assignments which require you to use critical analysis.
So, in effect, each paragraph is like a mini-essay, with an introduction, main body and conclusion.
For more information on using the WEED model see the How to write good paragraphs help sheet.
Useful 'Do' sentence starters
Here are some phrases you could use to start the ‘Do’ part of your paragraphs. These show that you are concluding your paragraph, but basing that conclusion on the evidence you’ve presented.
- These findings suggest several courses of action ....
- An implication of these findings is that …
- The evidence from this research suggests …
- In general, therefore, it seems that ....
- This information could be used to develop....
Proofreading
Allow yourself some time to proofread your assignment. You’ll probably want to proofread it several times.
- You should read it through at least once for sense and structure, to see if your paragraphs flow. Check that your introduction matches the content of your assignment.
- You’ll then need to read it again to check for grammatical errors, typos and that your references are correct.
- It’s best if you can create some distance from your assignment by coming back to it after a few days. It’s also often easier to pick out mistakes if you read your work aloud.
See the Proofreading guide for more information.
Quiz
Test your knowledge on academic writing by taking this short quiz! You will get feedback on all of your answers.