22 SEPTEMBER 2018

TASNEEM NAGI | [email protected]

GUIDELINES FOR THE

PRODUCTION AND
PRESENTATION
OF ESSAYS
objectives
• guide participants in the
writing of papers which will
conform with the standards of
contents and presentation
required for a post-graduate
course

• assist participants to produce

and present written work that
are both cogently argued and
clearly organised
timeline
4:00 — 4:30

introduction and learning outcomes

4:30 — 5:15

components: focus, materials

5:15 — 6:15

break

6:15 — 7:30

essay components: style, format

step-by-step guide to essay writing

7:30 — 7:45

break

7:45 — 8:30

referencing and plagiarism
• what is the purpose of the
paper? i.e. establishing its
focus

• what is the content of the

paper? i.e. developing its
materials

• how is the message to be

conveyed? i.e. constructing its
style

• how is the paper to be

presented? i.e. organising its
format
 i. purpose
and focus
• clearly defined focus; most appropriate to topic,
limitations of time, length, and materials used
“industrialisation and urbanisation in x”

“the impact of international investment in large-scale

manufacturing on the urban concentration of
industrial employment in x, 1985 - 2000”
“theories of the state and globalisation”

“the flexible and regulatory state: an adequate

response to liberalisation?”
 understanding your
assignment question
• assessors evaluate to what extent you have
addressed the assignment task or question - pay
attention to what you are required to do

• what the question or task means

• what it is asking you to do

1. read the question several times and consider any
implicit assumptions behind the question

2. define the key words (use a dictionary if

necessary), and look for words that focus or
restrict the area you need to examine in your
answer
key words in the title
• underline key words and phrases in your question.
use the context around each word to help you
understand what is required

• ‘discuss briefly’ — ‘discuss in the context of …’

 some key words to look for
• analyse • define • elucidate • interpret

• demonstrate • estimate • justify

• argue
• describe • evaluate • outline
• assess
• determine • examine • prove

• be critical • discuss • explain • review

• compare • give evidence • review

• clarify
• conclude • identify • state

• contrast • identify trends • summarise

• criticise • illustrate • support

• deduce • infer • synthesise

 analyse . argue . assess . compare . define .
demonstrate . discuss . estimate . explain . identify .
outline . review . summarise
 analyse

determine how individual parts create or relate to the

whole, figure out how something works, what it might
mean, or why it is important
 argue

put the case for or against a view or idea giving

evidence for your claims/reasons for or against;
attempt to influence the reader to accept your view
 assess

summarise your opinion of the subject and measure it

against something
 compare

look for similarities and differences between; implies

evaluation
 define

give the precise meaning, examine the different

possible of often used definitions
 demonstrate

show clearly by giving proof or evidence

 discuss

investigate or examine by argument; debate; give

reason for and against; examine the implications of
the topic
 estimate

calculate; judge; predict

 explain

make plain and clear; give reasons for

 identify

point out and describe

 outline

give a short description of the main points; give the

main features or general principles; emphasise the
structure; leaving out minor details
 review

provide a survey examining the subject carefully;

similar to summarise and evaluate
 summarise

give a concise account of the chief points of a matter,

removing unnecessary detail
ii. content and
materials
• the strength of the paper will depend on how well
its content, and the materials used, are put
together to suit the purpose of the paper and
illuminate its focus
• the argument must be clearly developed, from first
premises to final conclusions, presented in a way
that is easy to follow
• the argument must be consistent, using clear
conceptual categories, well defined theories,
explicit assumptions, and relevant empirical
references.
• arguments cannot only consist of matters of opinion

“development is a good thing because it means

everybody is better off”
• arguments cannot only consist of matters of opinion

“development is a good thing because it means

everybody is better off”

arbitrary statement of
value judgement; will
not go unchallenged,
and likely to be
dismissed
• an appropriate balance between descriptive and
analytical materials
• a clear distinction must be kept between received
opinion, cited in literature, and your own insights or
judgements — quotations, whether direct or
paraphrased, must be cited.

• this allows and objective discussion where your

own opinions are present, in addition to avoiding
plagiarism.
• the use of data, or any type of qualitative
information, should also be referenced.

• if tables of statistics, maps or diagrams are used,

each should be clearly headed, the units of
measurement clearly specified, with reference.

• do not copy and paste, recreate.

• you are expected to show evidence of familiarity
with the relevant literature, authors, data, and
illustrations
 iii. message
and style
• each person has their own style of writing, but there
are general rules to be emphasised
• use of first person (“in my opinion …”) is becoming
more acceptable in academia, but this should not
distract from the need to support an argument with
solid empirical evidence, and quotations of
credible sources.
• avoid unnecessary long sentences

“land use is interesting in terms of its relation to

transport” —

“land use and transport are related”

• each paragraph should present a single coherent
stage in your argument.

• short sentences with one idea are better than long

sentences with everything thrown in it.
• headings are a good way to mark the development
of your argument - they should precisely and
accurately reflect text that follows
 SEED
SEED . EXPLAIN . EXAMPLE . DRAW
 iv. presentation
and format
• font chosen for legibility and clarity - avoid font
sizes under 10 points for the main text

font chosen for legibility and clarity - avoid font sizes

under 10 points for the main text

font chosen for legibility and clarity - avoid font sizes under 10 points for the main text

font chosen for legibility and clarity - avoid font sizes under 10 points for the main text
• exceeding word limit is penalised - you must
indicate word count (including footnotes but not
references and appendices) on title page

• +/- 10% word limit is within acceptable range

• ideally you should use one-and-a-half spacing for
the text - single spacing is OK, with at least one line
space between paragraphs

• if sub-titles are used, they should be preceded by

two line spaces and followed by one line space
• the cover page should display the name of the
module, the title of the paper, the assignment
question (if relevant), the number of words in the
essay, the date of submission, and declaration of
authorship

• pages should be numbered and stapled together,

heavy binding is unnecessary
• good spelling and grammar are important
considerations in the quality of any written piece of
work — always spellcheck, use grammar checking
software
assessing criteria
• analysis

• structure

• consistency

• use of literature: readings

• use of information: tables,

data, empirical evidence
supporting arguments

• format
 1000 words — basic arguments outlining position

2000 words — expand analysis and range of sources

3000 words — fairly thorough examination of a topic

 how to get an A
comprehensive accurate response to the topic;
understands arguments in readings . clarity
 how to get a C
only address fundamentals . poor referencing .
fragmented and incoherent
 how to fail
fail to answer the question . does not understand
arguments in module . no analysis. fundamental
factual error . severe problem in referencing .
plagiarism
step by step guide
1. understand the essay topic

• read the assignment carefully

• break it down into parts

• examine what themes and

areas is the essay addressing

• look for key words

step by step guide
2. identify relevant materials
• revisit the reading list from the
module — find the ones that are
relevant

• look at the reference lists for

additional readings

• do not overlook online journalistic

articles and op-eds, as well as
videos

• find materials that disagree with

your initial opinion
step by step guide
3. read, critically

• (re)read the materials you

identified carefully

• take notes while keeping in

mind your essay

• assess argument, be critical

• keep track of referencing and

sources
step by step guide
4. brainstorm

• begin to draw comparisons

and links

• create mind maps

• find your position and

carefully examine it
step by step guide
5. outline your essay

• write your thesis statement

• break the statement into

smaller argument

• create a structure
step by step guide
6. write the body of the essay

• start writing essay paragraphs

according to your structure

• make sure every paragraph

communicates 1 idea
coherently

• reread as necessary
step by step guide
7. write the introduction and 

conclusion

• after finishing the body,

summarise your final outline in
conclusion

• review the essay and

summarise findings in
conclusion
step by step guide
8. reference

• compile your list of references

• revise in-text references and

make sure you quotation
marks and page numbers are
all in place

• ensure in-text referencing and

reference list match
step by step guide
9. review essay

• give yourself some time off

• revisit essay with a fresh mind

and review
step by step guide
10. celebrate!
• you made it!
 citation and
referencing
why do we cite and
reference?
• give the original author credit for
their own ideas and work

• validate your arguments

• enable the reader to follow up on

the original work if they wish to

• enable the reader to see how

dated the information might be

• prove that you have read around

the subject

• avoid plagiarism
what is plagiarism?
• Presenting another's ideas as if they
are your own – either directly or
indirectly

• Copying or pasting text and images

without saying where they came from

• Not showing when a quote is a quote

• Summarising information without

showing the original source

• Changing a few words in a section of

text without acknowledging the
original author
Reference lists are created to allow readers
to locate original sources themselves. Each
citation in a reference list includes various
pieces of information including the:

1 Name of the author(s)

2 Year published

3 Title

4 City published

5 Publisher

6 Pages used
Harvard is a style of referencing, primarily used by
university students, to cite information sources.
1. In-text citations are used when directly
quoting or paraphrasing a source. They are
located in the body of the work and contain a
fragment of the full citation. 



Depending on the source type, some Harvard
Reference in-text citations may look something
like:



"After that I lived like a young rajah in all the
capitals of Europe…" (Fitzgerald, 2004) — OR

As Fitzgerald (2004) narrates that he had lived

lavishly across European major cities …
When quoting you may sometimes want to leave
out some words, in which case use … (three
dots).

"Communication is … transferring information

from one place to another"

If you need to add words to a quote for clarity

then square brackets are used:

“Communication is simply the act [in

communication skills] of transferring information
from one place to another.”



You can use [sic] to note an original error and/
or foreign spelling,

"The color [sic] of the water..."

2. Reference Lists are located at
the end of the work and display full
citations for sources used in the
assignment. 



Here is an example of a full citation
for a book found in a Harvard
Reference list:



Fitzgerald, F. (2004). The great
Gatsby. New York: Scribner.
• Citations are listed in alphabetical
order by the author’s last name.

• If there are multiple sources by the

same author, then citations are listed
in order by the date of publication.

• If there are multiple sources by the

same author, and same year of
publication, then citations are listed in
order by adding alphabetical letters
to the date of publication (xxxxa).
Generally, Harvard Reference List citations
follow this format:

Last name, First Initial. (Year published).

Title. City: Publisher, Page(s).
citethisforme.com