planning and writing assignments (business example)
TRANSCRIPT
Understand the
Assignment
GetOrganised
Conduct the Research
Take & Make Notes
Plan the Structure
Write Reference &
Proofread
The Six Steps to Success
Step One (Understand the Assignment)Analyse and assess the extent to which Reward Management
plays a significant role in attracting new employees, and its
impact on employee retention, performance and motivation.
Terminology Synonym/Clarification
Analyse Break down the issue into its component parts and discuss
Assess Estimate the value or importance of something.
Significant Role (And)
Attracting New Employees Recruitment
Impact Effect (Relationship)
Step Two (Get Organised)
You could be required to work on more than one assignment at the same time, be realistic and give yourself enough time for each.
30 Day Schedule Example
2 Days: Understand
and Organise
8 Days: Research
9 Days: Reading
1 Day: Plan
10 Days: Write
Reward Management
(Central Theme)
Attracting New Employees/Recruitment
Retention
Performance
Motivation
Step Three (Research - Strategy)
Section Topic Search Terms
1 Introduction
2 Reward Management Reward Management
3 Reward ManagementAnd Recruiting
Employees
Reward Management
And Employee And Recruitment
4 Reward ManagementAnd Employee
Retention
RewardManagement
And Employee And Retention
5 Reward ManagementAnd Employee Performance
RewardManagement
And Employee And Performance
6 Reward ManagementAnd Employee
Motivation
RewardManagement
And Employee And Motivation
7 Conclusion
Step Three (Research – Search Terms)
Section 6
Reward Management and Employee Motivation
WORD SYNOYM/ALTERNATIVE/FOCUS
Employee Worker
Motivation Engagement/Participation
Step Three (Research – Synonyms/Clarify)
These are simple words or symbols that allow us to broaden or narrow our searches
Three words used are
and
or
not
Boolean Operators
Use AND in a search to:
narrow your results
tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records
example: reward management
AND motivation AND employee
Google automatically puts an AND
in between your search terms.
AND
Use OR in a search to:
connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
example: reward management
OR motivation OR
employee
OR
Use NOT in a search to:
exclude words from your search
narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
example: Ireland NOT Northern Ireland
NOT
These are used when there are different spellings of the
same word. We could use OR to list each spelling of a word
organisation OR organization Wildcards allow us to use a symbol to replace the
different letter(s). In Discovery the symbol ? is used to replace 1 letter. and #
is used to replace 0 or 1 letter
organi?ation = organisation/orgainzationbehavio#r = behaviour/behaviorwom?n = woman or women
Wildcards
Phrase searching used to specify that a group of
words/phase must be in exact order.
“purchasing power”
Truncation is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.
• To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end, Discovery uses *
• Discovery will return results that include any ending of that root word.
• Examples:child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhoodgenetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically
Phrases and Truncation
DiscoverySearch B
-BooleanApplied
motivation or engagement or participation
Step Three (Research – Discovery)
Step Four (Active Reading and Note Taking)
• You will be primarily sourcing your information from books, articles (PDF) and credible websites.
• Active reading is taking notes as you read the source in order to understand and evaluate it.
Active Reading and Note Taking
• Once notes have been taken and you’ve decided toincorporate this source into your own work, you need tomake sense of the notes.
• Gather the notes taken from various sources andcompare/contrast them.
• At this stage you can add your own interpretation.
• Notes will be used as evidence to back up your argument/interpretation.
• The most effective way to use others’ views/ideas to back up your argument is to paraphrase them.
TipOnce
downloaded, you can
highlight and add notes to
PDFs
Step Five (Assignment Plan/Blueprint)
Structured
Each plan has an
introduction & a
conclusion
SectionsDivide your main
ideas into separate headed sections.
ParagraphsWithin sections,
give each concept discussed its own
paragraph
Step Six (Writing)Frist Draft
• Basically you are trying to provide much more insight into the ideas/theories/viewpoints that you mentioned in the Assignment Plan.
• Provide evidence (citations) as you articulate or describe somebody else's ideas (paraphrasing is most effective).
• Pay careful attention to the verb instruction that was given in the question.
• Begin to write a selected section.Treat each section as a mini essayin itself.
TipWriting the
introduction last, means you
know what’s been discussed
Step Six (Writing)Second Draft
Refer to your Assignment Plan, have you covered all of the topics listed?
Yes!• Confirm your argument follows through logically.
• Change paragraph/sentence order if required.
• Ensure all outside ideas/theories/concepts are referenced.
No?• Check that you have not gone off topic.
• Summarise and refer to viewpoints/studies/theories,
describe less.
TipIf a sentence
seems too long, it
probably is too long
TipMore
citations = more
evidence
Step Six (Writing)Edit, Reference & Proofread
Edit• Make sure the structure adheres to the Assignment Plan.• Ensure that you are not repeating the same word (“therefore”
“however”), use a thesaurus to assist you.• Confirm that you have used the appropriate language for
your subject and that you used it consistently.
References• Check that in-text citations have all information required.• Compile a Reference List using the proper referencing style.• Ensure that each in-text citation has a corresponding reference list entry,
and visa-versa.
Proofread• Ensure that all punctuation is correct,
save as Word/PDF.
TipKeep your
Assignment in cloud based server:
Dropbox
TipUse PDF ‘read
out loud’ function to
review finished version
The 4 ‘S’s of Good Assignment
Sources• Good quality academic
sources used.• Lots of sources used.• Different viewpoints
articulated if possible.
Substance• Has the initial question been
answered?• Has the assignment been an
investigation of the topic, rather then a mere description?
• Has the stance taken by author been argued effectively?
Structure• The assignment should follow
in the same structure as the question.
• Is there an introduction and conclusion.
• Does one section follow logically to the next.
Style• Use the academic language
style, never in the first person. Write as a narrator.
• Use the terminology of the subject area.
• Write objectively.• If possible open and close with
a snappy/stylish sentence.