1. ESSAY WRITING SKILLS How to improve them

2. What is academic writing? What’s expected? • Who is the audience? • What format is required – essay or report or reflection on experience? • Academic styles of writing– writing in a logical and `objective’ way vs writing from personal experience • Academic conventions – referencing and plagiarism

3. Stages in assignment writing • Preparation and planning • Drafting • Re-drafting and polishing • Editing and proofreading • Reflecting on feedback

4. What makes a good essay? • Good structure: clear introduction, well crafted middle, clear and appropriate conclusion • Clear argument: progression through ideas with clear signposting • Well supported by relevant evidence

5. What makes a good essay? • Well written: grammatical; correct spelling and punctuation; good sentence structure, paragraphing and use of linking words and phrases • Fully referenced using Harvard system

6. Activity 1 Writing a draft essay from a plan In pairs: • Using the mind map as an aid, write an introductory paragraph, a 2 or 3 paragraph main body, and a concluding paragraph.

7. Essay Plan ADVANTAGES: PERSONAL Life experience Transferable skills Financial issues Motivation INTRODUCTION Aims of essay Definition of mature students Context: wider factors MATURE STUDENTS – DO THE ADVANTAGES OUTWEIGH THE DISADVANTAGES? DISADVANTAGES Past experience Family problems Ageism Financial issues Lack of support ADVANTAGES: WIDER CONTEXT Lifelong learning Growing nos of mature students Diversity CONCLUSIONS Summing up the arguments on both sides Adapted from Open UniversityStudent Toolkit on essay planning

8. Assessing your work against an example essay. • Read essay and comment critically on the structure and organisation. In pairs, identify strengths and weaknesses. • Is there a clear introduction to guide the reader? • Are key concepts clearly communicated? • Does the writing progress/have a sense of direction? • Is there a clear and appropriate conclusion?

9. DOS & DONTS DOS • Prepare well in advance • Write a first draft, leave and come back to it later • Keep your focus on the question • Edit carefully for sense, spelling, grammar and punctuation DONTS • Write all you know about a topic • Leave till the last minute