8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

15
8 ways to get a first For your next essay http://www.essay.uk.com By the clever people at

Upload: essayuk

Post on 21-Nov-2014

814 views

Category:

Education


3 download

DESCRIPTION

Struggling to get a 1st class grade for your essay? Here are 8 things students forget to do that most often lose them marks for their essays. Get a 1st for your next essay!

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

8 waysto get a first For your next essay

http://www.essay.uk.comBy the clever people at

Page 2: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

Things that are tough: Getting 70%+

There are so many students are in this boat. Pushing your mark from a 2:1 grade to 1st class is about finding those extra points of excellence. If, no matter how hard you work, you’re never quite hitting 70%, why not look back over your past essays and ask yourself honestly if you’re doing all of these things:

We getcha.

“I felt like I worked really hard for that assignment. But in the end I got 62%. No matter how hard I work, I never quite hit a 1st. What am I doing wrong?”

Page 3: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

As a result, students tend to…:

First, you can go wrong by simply not reading the

question properly.  

1. Make sure you understand the questionThere are two main ways

students commonly misunderstand the question set

for them.

Pay no attention to any restrictions on the scope

of the question (for example, time periods,

jurisdiction or other specifics)

Write everything they know about the topic rather than answering

the question.  

Page 4: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

An example:

Brief explanation of what is meant by a

pre nup agreement

Brief explanation of their

unenforceability

Key points from the case

How these key points have affected the

law as it stood previously

How the area is undergoing reform

Jurisdiction: the question does not call for any detail on

pre nups in other countries beyond a brief mention such

as ‘unlike the Netherlands where pre nups are

binding…’.

Affect on enforceability: Only mention specific areas

where there is a change between the old position and

the new post-Radmacher position.

ESSAY TITLE

‘Has Radmacher v Granatino affected the enforceability of pre nup agreements in the UK? Discuss'.

WHAT SHOULD GO IN YOUR ESSAY LIMITATION OF SCOPE

Page 5: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

More clues“ELEMENTARY, my dear Watson…”

Other clues on what is expected of you come from the wording of the question – for example, if your tutor asks you to discuss an issue, you are expected to explain the issue, then give two or more sides of the issue and any implications. You can find out more about common words used in essay questions on this page (scroll down to the lower half) : http://www.essay.uk.com/types-of-essay/

I need to explain the issue…

It’s asking me to discuss…

…then give two or more sides of the

issue…

//and any implications

‘blah’

Secondly, there are many different essay types and

each require different things. If you miss

something that’s required by the type of essay you’ll

lose marks. Use the ‘Types of essay’ guide to understand what exactly

you are being asked to do.

Page 6: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

2. Use your marking scheme

I know what my tutor is looking for

It’s all in the marking scheme This is easy.

Time for a beer…

Okay, maybe I overdid it…

Pay attention.

Most unis issue a marking scheme with each assignment. This is a recipe for how to get a higher mark so scrutinise it carefully before you start and then review your essay against the scheme after you’re done. There is usually an assessment handbook too, which contains more general advice on achieving the different grade bands.

Page 7: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

3. Avoid going off on a tangent

Explain how each point you make is relevant to

the essay question.

“So this example illustrates that….

(some point relevant to answering the essay question)”

“Clever stuff”

“Gulp…”

There will be no irrelevant material in a first class essay.

The way to avoid this is, as you’re writing, constantly revisit the question and ask yourself why you need each sentence to answer it. Make sure you spell out to the reader exactly how each part of your essay answers the question.

You do this by tying the point

back to the question.

Page 8: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

4. Be original and don’t use too many quotes

You won’t get a higher grade if all

you do is quote other peoples’

words and material,

especially if your quoting (or

paraphrasing) is particularly

excessive and comes over as a regurgitation of

your reading material.

TIP:Cubing can

sometimes be useful to help generate new ideas around a particular topic.

TIP:

Take the topic and follow these

steps:

• describe the topic

• compare the topic to other

things or topics• associate the

topic• analyse the

topic• apply the

topic; and• argue the

topic.

CUBING

The mark of first class work is originality.

This means ideas of your own that are outside of the material you’ve been asked to read. You need to support these with strong arguments or citations to the material that led you to these conclusions, though – your opinion on its own doesn’t count for much!.

Page 9: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

5. Get your referencing rightGo through this referencing checklist and make sure you’re ticking off every point.

• STYLE: Have you used the correct style specified for your course? For example, Harvard, Oxford, OSCOLA, APA…

• FORMATTING: Have you formatted the referencing in the essay and bibliography properly? Check your university guide – there are many variations of the most common styles, especially Harvard.

• QUALITY: Have you used quality sources that are considered reliable such as journals and leading text books? For law assignments, have you used primary sources as authority when they are available?

• QUANTITY: Have you used a good number of references within your essay to support your arguments? For most essays, relying on just 1 or 2 sources won’t be enough and high standard essays demonstrate that the student has conducted plenty of research.

More on the next slide…

Here, we're not just talking about citations.

Page 10: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

5. Get your referencing right (continued)

• RECENCY: Where appropriate, are your references up to date? For example, don’t use the 2004 edition of a text book if there’s a 2012 edition out!

• AUTHENTICITY: Are your references authentic? For example, if you find a reference to a journal within one of your textbooks, don’t cite that journal as if you have a copy. Instead, refer to the journal as being cited in the book (each referencing style has a way to present this so check your referencing guide).

• AUTHORITY: Have you provided adequate authority for all of the arguments you have presented? Even if they are original and your own opinion, you need to provide citations to material that helped you reach a particular conclusion.

More to check on your referencing….

Page 11: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

6. Avoid generalitiesSweeping generalities are clear signs that you don’t know your stuff, and they really irritate lecturers. Avoid using statements like this:

“Most people think that…” “It is commonly thought that…”For statements like: ‘It has been established that…’, you

can only use them if you back them up with a credible source that genuinely shows that a particular point has

been established. If you can’t find such a source, try and use something such as ‘one possible line of thought is…’

or ‘one possibility is…’ instead.

Page 12: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

So many students do a fantastic job of presenting very strong arguments , conclusive evidence and overall

a really impressive essay – but they don’t tie what they’ve written back to the question.

For example, if the question is “Do we value

only what we struggle for?”, you can present all the evidence you like for how we do and don’t only value what we struggle for

but unless you reach a conclusion, you’ve not

answered the question. Make sure you’ve got a

paragraph that starts something like, “In

conclusion, it seems we do tend to only

value what we struggle for because (summarise the strongest arguments or

evidence)”.

7. Make sure you’ve explicitly answered the question.

? Spell it out!

Page 13: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

8. Present your work impeccablyIt counts for more than you might think…

Page 14: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

Perfect presentation

PRESENTATION = BETTER MARKS

Presentation includes spelling, grammar, punctuation, choice of words, tone, flow, signposting, a cover sheet and index where you have been asked to provide one, and often referencing. There are three points here.

• First, your university will usually reserve a certain amount of marks for presentation, often about 5%. These are the easiest marks out of your whole assignment to pick up, so take extra care not to lose them.

• Secondly, the reality is that your presentation often influences far your grade far beyond the 5% allocated. A lot of the ‘feel’ of the paper comes from presentation. To get the best grades, your presentation needs to be impeccable.

• Third, you might have the best arguments in the world, but it’s possible your presentation could be weakening them. Punctuation and word choice are two examples that can make an enormous difference to the strength of your writing. If in doubt, consider using a professional service to tidy up your writing.

“The marking scheme we were provided with to grade our students’ essays included a note on the final grade to award. Did the essay feel

like a 2:1 or a 1st? If a student’s paper was a few marks off a grade band, up or down, we were entitled to move that essay into the grade band where we felt it should sit”

– Associate Lecturer.

Page 15: 8 ways to get a 1st for your next essay

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

Please like and share if this has helped you.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS…

Check out http://www.essay.uk.com for

more help