MarketPlace Business Simulation
----MacroPro
Print, submit and celebrate!
8. Write your third draft (and keep polishing if you need to)
7. Review for grammar, referencing, technicalities
And remember:
- Essay writing takes time
- You will not always feel comfortable, but some of it will be fun
- You can do it
Sources of support
6. Write your second draft (you may need to do some extra targeted reading)
- Student Mentors, Academic advisors (personal tutors), Module tutors, Writers-in-residence
- SkillsHub - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub/
- Royal Literary Fund website - https://www.rlf.org.uk/resources/writing-essays/
- Harvard Writing Center - https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/
- Books on essay- and academic writing (Becker's Writing for Social Sciences, Sword's Stylish Academic Writing for example)
5. Review for content, structure, argument
Before you submit, check:
4. Write your first draft
A word on academic writing:
- It’s fine to use the first-person (but if you say ‘I think’, you need to follow it with ‘because’)
- Use examples, stories and quotes to draw the reader in, but make sure you are also citing studies or theories to support your points
- Acknowledge possible counter-points, and respond to them if you can (but it's also fine to have some unanswered questions)
- Critique ideas, not people
- It does not need to be full of long words and jargon
- It should be clear and precise
- Avoid contractions and colloquialisms
- Use transition words to link ideas and help your reader follow (therefore, furthermore, nevertheless, for example, in contrast, similarly)
3. Create an outline
Example essay outline
2. Sort through your ideas
But how do I develop an argument or thesis?
Again, talk to the person next to you for a few moments about how you might go about this (and again, there is more than one answer)
To develop your argument or thesis, you could:
- Consolidate and go over your reading
- Look for key gaps, debates, contradictions, unanswered questions
- Use your intuition (free-writing can be useful here)
- Use diagrams that help you cluster points
- Talk it through with a friend
Once you have an argument or thesis:
- Summarise it in a sentence or two, so you can build your essay around it
- Develop a set of sub-headings which are argument-driven, not descriptive
- Make sure you can evidence your claims (and if you can't, rethink)
Results Of Quarter 1
Map of an essay
Paragraphs
Introduction
- This is where you present your argument or thesis
- Have one main point and several supporting points in each
- It's usually best to make your main point at the start of each paragraph
- Draw the reader in
- Explain why the topic is important
- Give context/define terms
- State your argument or thesis
End matter
Conclusion
- Bibliography or references
- Take care with this - make sure you are using your chosen referencing system correctly
- There is no magic number of sources
- Restate your argument/thesis and what its implications might be (intellectual and/or practical)
- Don't present new information though
- End with something snappy
HAVE YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION?
But - this is not such a linear process
The path ahead may not be clear to you at every stage; sometimes you may drop back a few steps or go in the wrong direction. Sometimes you may need to take a rest (or have some food and water).
You may also need to consult a map. So here is one to help you:
Strategy & Goals
Overview
MARKETING
STRATEGY
FINANCE
HUMAN
RESOURCES
- Target Segments
- No.1 Workhorse
- No.2 Mercedes
- No.3 Traveler
- Mission statement
- To enable people and businesses throughout the world to achieve their aspirations by providing pioneering technology
By Group 1
CSR
STRUCTURE
MANUFACTURING