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Essay Writing and good academic practice Dr Kyle R. Dyer Academic Lead for PG Education Programme Leader 1 October 2013 Overview • My writing technique • The importance of your own voice • Examples of poor academic practice • Identification and penalties Kyle’s writing technique • One sentence hypothesis/conclusion/statement – Identify really really relevant articles (no more than 4) and read them really really really well – Dot point plan of essay – Sort the other articles and assign to the plan • Write fast, free, simple, stream of consciousness – The rubbish first draft with intro and conclusion paragraphs • Edit, fill in the gaps, read/research further and tidy – The OK but not for others 2nd, 3rd, 4th… draft • Sleep perchance to dream…. – Read it, Edit it, Finish the Final Draft. Good Academic Practice • Ensuring a reader can identify your thoughts and ideas on a particular topic, and distinguish these from others Developing your own voice • Examiners want to distinguish your thoughts and words from those of others – A true reflection of your understanding, academic skills and abilities Benefits (of writing in your own words) • Helps internalise content – Assists learning, understanding and memory • Builds confidence in using and applying new ideas and knowledge • Helps examiners to provide accurate feedback and help you with your specific learning needs and abilities – It helps us give individual and personalised support Examples of poor academic practice • Borrowing words from other sources without attribution • Using extensive quotes • Self-plagiarism • Having others produce your work • Cutting and pasting from websites • Using figures, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging the source • Changing the order or a few words in existing text Developing your own voice • Paraphrase another author’s writing or speech – Paraphrasing/interpreting their ideas in your own words – Keeping the original meaning and referencing – Note taking is when plagiarism is most likely • Be confident – We want to help you develop your voice and facilitate your success • Try to verbally explain/discuss • Quote to strengthen your point – Not to demonstrate that you’ve read something Quoting • One sentence or less include in the text – Dyer (2013) argues that “plagiarism is an example of poor academic practice and will be penalised”. – This isn't that profound or eloquent… Wouldn’t it be better in your own words? – Overuse of quotes suggests that you don’t understand the text • More than a sentence or two display as a separate indented paragraph. – If from a book show page number – If from a website show url and download date How we identify and penalise plagiarism • Lecturer knowledge – – – – Lecturer knowledge Vocabulary Writing style changes Font etc changes • TurnItIn – You have the right to assess your work on Turnitin prior to submission • Google searches How we identify and penalise plagiarism • Academic Misconduct – Plagiarism – presenting another’s work as your own – Collusion – collaborating with another and presenting work individually (e.g. essay banks) – Cheating – acting in a dishonest way to gain advantage • Sanctions First Offence – penalty deduction for poor referencing (circa 10%) &/or poor written expression (circa 10%) – Zero mark awarded • Sanctions Second Offence (or 30%+ similarity) – Referral to College Examination Misconduct Comm. – Penalties from admonishment through h to expulsion At the end of the day… • We just want to hear your own voice and facilitate your learning Write in your own words Maintain original meaning Provide a reference And all will be OK Good resources…. • The English Language Centre provides study skills support, including academic writing tutorials. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/elc/index.aspx • KCL Library have great resources online and links http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/help/plagiarism/index.aspx • Leeds University have a wonderful e-learning package http://library.leeds.ac.uk/tutorials/plagiarism/ • Your personal tutor, module leader or Kyle will review a draft if asked….