Topic outline
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Attend this workshop (face-to-face or online)
- This workshop guides you through the steps involved with assignment writing
- Register here
- Access the workshop slides here (pdf)
Additional material
The information, resources and activities below are useful to:
- prepare for the workshop
- access if you are unable to attend
- refresh your understanding after the workshop.
Watch the video (2 minutes, 26 seconds)
Key points from the video:
- Writing an essay involves taking a position on an issue and defending it using academic support.
- It is not a linear process - there will be planning, drafting, extra reading, redrafting and editing.
- Essays usually have an introduction, body paragraphs, a conclusion and a reference list.
- The introduction usually contains background information about the topic, your position and a preview of how your ideas will be organised.
- Each paragraph has a topic sentence to introduce the focus, supporting sentences with evidence and examples and a concluding sentence to sum up the paragraph or connect it to the next one.
- The conclusion summarises the main points of your essay and restates your position.
- The reference list is at the end of your essay and is a list of all the sources you used in-text (in the body of your writing) to support your argument.
Think about your own assignment topic and make an initial plan
Useful resources for thinking about the topic
- Assignment planning (pdf)
- Using mindmaps to plan assignments (pdf)
- Example essay plan (link)
Plan your search for readings
Useful resources for planning your search
- Plan your search (pdf)
- Find scholarly readings (pdf)
- Map your readings (Doc)
Develop your paragraphs
Useful resources for writing your paragraphs
- Introductions (pdf)
- Paragraphs (pdf)
- Conclusions (pdf)
- Linking words and phrases (pdf)
Refer to an essay writing checklist
Download the checklist