Tackling written academic assignments: structural elements, referencing, research, etc.

1. PRESENTATION ONPRESENTATION ON
SOLVINGSOLVING
RUBIK’S CUBESRUBIK’S CUBES
BY: Mansa DabyBY: Mansa Daby

3. Assignments ExamsOR
more time-consuming less preparation time
acquiring further knowledge testing knowledge
extra research exam condition

4. Types ofTypes of AssignmentsAssignments

6. Understanding the AssignmentUnderstanding the Assignment
• Read assignment brief carefully
• Bear in mind all aspects and requirements
• Pay attention to key concepts
• Underline key terms
• Discuss assignment brief with
lecturer & peers

7. Planning the AssignmentPlanning the Assignment

8. Planning the AssignmentPlanning the Assignment
- Title Page
-Abstract
-Table of Contents
-Literature Review
-Introduction
-Conclusion
-Bibliography or Reference List

9. Researching for the AssignmentResearching for the Assignment
• Substantive research
• Reliable and varied sources : textual as well as
online materials
Where to find your sources?
• Open University Library (Learner Resource
Centre)
• Online Scholarly Journals :
- EBSCO: http://search.ebscohost.com
- Emerald: www.emeraldinsight.com

10. Writing the AssignmentWriting the Assignment
• Making it appealing, relevant and content-oriented
• Critical thinking
• Building your argument(s)
• Using evidence
• Structuring your assignment:
- Recognising the common structural elements
- Devising the most appropriate structure
- Continuity of ideas
• Run the spell-check!

11. Writing the AssignmentWriting the Assignment

12. Referencing your workReferencing your work
Reference List or Bibliography

13. Referencing your workReferencing your work
In-text Referencing:
-Citing
-Paraphrasing
-Summarising
Using Footnotes and Endnotes System

14. Referencing your workReferencing your work
Citing (Direct quotes)
A clause in the contract states that the shipper “reserves to
itself complete freedom in respect of the procedure to be
followed in the transportation of goods” (Evans J, 1976).
In his work An Outline of Psychoanalysis, Freud states that:
"However much the analyst may become tempted to become a
teacher, model and ideal for other people and create men in
his own image, he should not forget that that is not his role ..."

15. Referencing your workReferencing your work
Paraphrasing
The debate on National Socialism was reinvigorated in
the late 1980s by Victor Faria (Faria, 1987).
Summarizing
Neville (1990, cited in Wilson, 1998, p.89) deduced that
the standard criteria for food tasting surveys must be
reviewed.