Get Great Marks for Your Essays, Reports, and Presentations

GET

GREAT MARKS

for your Essays,

Reports, and Presentations

Other books by the same author:

Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society (with Marilyn Poole)

Surviving First Year Uni (with Lauren Williams)

Get Great Information Fast (with Lauren Williams)

Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology

A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite (with Lauren Williams)

Australian Youth (with Pam Nilan and Roberta Julian)

Histories of Australian Sociology (with Tara McGee)

GET

GREAT MARKS

for your Essays,

Reports, and Presentations

3RD EDITION

JOHN GERMOV

First published in 1996

Second edition published in 2000

This edition published in 2011

Copyright © John Germov 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin

83 Alexander Street

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Australia

Phone:      (61 2) 8425 0100

Fax:          (61 2) 9906 2218

Email:       info@allenandunwin.com

Web:        www.allenandunwin.com

Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available

from the National Library of Australia

www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 1 74175 452 0

Internal design by Emily O’Neill

Illustrations by Steve Campitelli

Set in 10/13 pt Sabon by Post Pre-press Group, Australia

Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Figures

Handy Hints

Preface to the third edition

Introduction: What this book can do for you

1 First things first: Being an academic detective

2 The rules of the essay-writing game

3 We need a plan

4 The art of analysis

5 Finding what you need

6 Untangling the web: Beyond Google and Wikipedia

7 Making sense of it all: Effective reading and note taking

8 Doing essay drafts

9 Easy marks: The unwritten rules of academic writing

10 Write it right: Handling the nitty-gritty

11 Writing reports and abstracts

12 Book and article reviews

13 The essay exam

14 Writing and delivering stress-free presentations

15 Referencing demystified

16 The end . . . or just the beginning?

Appendix: Glossary of Latin phrases and abbreviations

Figures

1.1 Plan for your assessment due dates

2.1 An example of an essay introduction

2.2 The body of the essay

2.3 An example of an essay conclusion

3.1 Write for your intended audience: Essays should be discipline specific

3.2 An example of a linear essay plan

4.1 Comparing description and analysis in an essay

5.1 The Dewey Decimal Classification system

5.2 The Library of Congress system

6.1 The Intute website

6.2 The Trove website

6.3 The WWW Virtual Library website

6.4 The Scout Report website

7.1 The filing system of note taking

8.1 Dealing with mind clutter

9.1 What’s wrong?

9.2 What’s wrong? . . . the corrections

9.3 What was wrong is now right

9.4 Avoiding clichés

15.1 A sample reference list in the Harvard style

15.2 A paragraph referenced in the Harvard style

15.3 A paragraph referenced using the footnote method

15.4 A paragraph referenced in Vancouver style

15.5 An example of an EndNote entry

15.6 A reference list template in the Harvard style

Handy Hints

Handy Hint 1: Organise your notes and enhance your learning

Handy Hint 2: Schedule your group meetings online

Handy Hint 3: Sample essays

Handy Hint 4: A simple way to check your essay structure

Handy Hint 5: Command words explained

Handy Hint 6: Some essential essay-writing tools

Handy Hint 7: The Essay Plan Exercise (EPE)

Handy Hint 8: Avoid sloppy detective work

Handy Hint 9: Selection of online journal and reference databases

Handy Hint 10: A mini-glossary of web terms

Handy Hint 11: Beware the highlight trap

Handy Hint 12: Further mind-map applications

Handy Hint 13: Make use of learning centres

Handy Hint 14: Writing in the right register: A checklist

Handy Hint 15: Concise writing

Handy Hint 16: Use your thesaurus

Handy Hint 17: Sentence starters

Handy Hint 18: Alternative phrases for common abbreviations

Handy Hint 19: The correct way to use it’s and its

Handy Hint 20: Easy-to-miss spelling mistakes

Handy Hint 21: Examples of non-sexist writing

Handy Hint 22: How to write numbers and dates

Handy Hint 23: Using report templates

Handy Hint 24: Ask to see sample reports and check the assessment criteria

Handy Hint 25: A checklist for avoiding the common pitfalls of report writing

Handy Hint 26: Search journal databases for published book reviews

Handy Hint 27: Presentation checklist

Handy Hint 28: Beware of using the media as a source of information

Handy Hint 29: Plagiarism-detection software

Handy Hint 30: Referencing checklist

Handy Hint 31: The assignment submission checklist

Handy Hint 32: Know your rights

Preface to the third edition

Despite much change in tertiary education, essays remain a constant in student life. For those new to writing tertiary-level essays, or those wanting to improve their essay technique, this book provides a short and accessible guide packed with essential hints and practical advice on how to write essays that get great marks.

It is timely to produce a third edition, given that over the decade since the second edition we have seen the rise of Google, Wikipedia, and online learning. An increased emphasis by universities on the academic skills development of students has been a welcome advance, and has necessitated the addition of new content to the book. As the expanded title suggests, there are new chapters on report writing, book and article reviews, exam essays, and oral presentations. This new content builds on material that originally appeared in Surviving First Year Uni by Lauren Williams and John Germov (2001).

There is also a completely revised chapter on the effective use of the web and how to use online resources to your best advantage—especially how to evaluate the credibility of web-sites and reference the information you find. There is a new section on the use of EndNote referencing software. In addition, I have revised the sections on doing analysis, and added content on the notion of ‘register’, or how to write for your intended audience.

No book is a solo effort; rather, it is the culmination of the help, feedback, input, and support of many people. First thanks go to my students, who over the years have been so willing to share their experiences, many of which are reflected throughout the pages of this book. Further thanks to Maria Freij for her meticulous and thoughtful editing of this edition, as well as her suggestions and help with new content on EndNote, and particularly the web and presentations chapters. I also wish to acknowledge my colleague Tara McGee for encouraging me to expand the content on report writing and giving insightful feedback on key aspects of the manuscript. Thanks also to my dear friend and collaborator Lauren Williams for co-authoring Chapter 3 and writing the mind-mapping sections in Chapters 3 and 8.

I especially thank my loving partner Sue Jelovcan, without whose original encouragement and enthusiasm this book would never have been written. Final thanks go to my publisher, Elizabeth Weiss, who first took a chance on a budding author some years ago—a debt I can never truly repay—for which I am forever grateful. An author could not wish for a more supportive, insightful, and professional publisher than Elizabeth.

I wrote this book in response to the common problems students encountered and the questions they often asked me about writing essays. I trust that this third edition of Get Great Marks for Your Essays, Reports, and Presentations will answer your questions and will serve you well throughout your studies.

John Germov

The University of Newcastle

Introduction:

What this book can do for you

Why are students made to go through the torture of writing essays?

Do you find that essay writing seems unnecessarily highbrow and complex?

What are the secrets to getting great marks for essays, reports, and presentations?

If you have ever asked yourself questions such as these, then this book is for you. Writing essays can be a frustrating and confusing experience, but the whole process can become easier once you understand what is required. This book is your friendly guide to researching, writing, and referencing essays for any discipline, whether you are a university, college, further education, or senior secondary-school student. The book addresses the most common problems students encounter when writing essays. It provides plenty of practical examples and handy hints, and most importantly reveals the secrets of getting great marks for not just essays, but reports and presentations as well.

Who is this book for?

This book has been written with the following students in mind:

• students who are not good at writing essays and reports, but who want to improve their skills

• students who need to know what standards are expected of a tertiary-level essay, report, or presentation

• mature-age students who may not have written an essay for some time

• experienced students who need a quick refresher on essay technique.

Is there really one best way to write essays?

There are many individual styles when it comes to researching and writing essays, and different institutions and academic disciplines also have specific requirements. This book shows you a variety of techniques and provides general guidelines rather than rigid prescriptions; however, there are some essential features of essay writing that remain the same no matter which discipline or subject you study. These are presented here.

While this book will provide handy hints to save you time, there is no way to ‘beat the system’—no quick fix. This book offers valuable insights and skills that you can use to make the task of writing essays, reports, and presentations easier. These include showing you:

• how to interpret essay questions and ensure that your content is relevant

• how to structure your assignments logically

• how to write clear introductions and conclusions

• how to save time finding information through effective use of the web and the library

• how to take notes efficiently

• how to develop a clear argument and write analytical essays

• how to prepare and plan exam essays

• how to avoid common issues relating to grammar, expression, and spelling

• how to reference your material and construct an appropriate bibliography.

The style of this book

This book is written in an informal, conversational style to communicate its messages straightforwardly to experienced and inexperienced readers alike. In contrast, tertiary-level essays require a formal style of writing while still demanding that your argument be clear. The use of informal and formal language falls under the discussion of what is known as ‘register’—an issue dealt with later in the book.

How to use this book

The book can be read from cover to cover or, for the more experienced student, thumbed through to the specific parts that may be of interest. The table of contents makes this an easy task. Whichever way you use this book, it is designed so that you do not have to read lengthy blocks of text; rather, you are provided with practical examples to help you put the words of advice into action.

Feedback

I welcome your feedback on any aspect of the book. You can contact me at John.Germov@newcastle.edu.au.

1

First things first:

Being an academic detective

What can you learn by writing essays?

How much time and effort should you invest in writing an essay?

What are the benefits and hazards of working in groups?

Your essay is almost due and all you have is an essay topic and a few brief instructions. If you are lucky, you may have had a tutorial on some basic essay techniques. No one has really told you what is expected,