Introduction 1
About This book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 2
How This Book is Organised 3
Part I: Navigating a World of Information 3
Part II: Researching, Recording and Reformulating 3
Part III: Mastering Language and Style 3
Part IV: Tightening Your Structure and Organisation 4
Part V: Finishing with a Flourish: The Final Touches 4
Part VI: The Part of Tens 4
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part I: Navigating a World of Information 7
Chapter 1: Mapping Your Way: Starting to Write Essays 9
Transitioning to University-level Writing 9
Writing at school 10
Writing at undergraduate level 10
Writing at postgraduate level 11
Getting the Genre Right 12
Writing an essay, not creative prose 12
Writing an essay, not a newspaper article 13
Writing an essay, not a report 15
Crafting Your Essay: Stages in the Writing Process 17
Stage 1: Analysing the title 17
Stage 2: Making a timetable 18
Stage 3: Gathering data 19
Stage 4: Brainstorming and planning 20
Stage 5: Writing the first draft 21
Stage 6: Revising your draft 22
Stage 7: Checking and polishing 22
The final hurdle: Handing in 23
Becoming a Successful Essay Writer 23
Just write, write, write 24
Giving yourself enough time 25
Changing your mindset 25
Chapter 2: Getting Going and Keeping Going 27
Getting Ready to Write 27
Finding out what helps you to work 27
Organising yourself 30
Overcoming Writer's Block 32
Challenging your fears 32
Writing something - anything - and rewording it 32
Talking before you write 33
Visualising the final product 34
Forgetting about the essay for a while 34
Sleeping on it 35
Reading something different 35
Getting your blood flowing 36
Doing something that makes you feel good 36
Keeping Yourself on Track 37
Planning large scale 37
Planning small scale 39
Thinking half hours not whole hours 41
Dividing work into manageable chunks 42
Rewarding yourself 42
Getting Help: Using Other Students as a Sounding Board 42
Recognising What Helps You to Write 44
Chapter 3: Working Out the Essay Type 45
Finding Out What to Write About 46
Unpicking keywords 46
Looking for function words 47
Identifying Different Frameworks 51
Knowing what you do for all frameworks 52
Examining types of essay 53
Making your story flow 61
Planning Around Your Framework 61
Part II: Researching, Recording and Reformulating 63
Chapter 4: Eyes Down: Academic Reading 65
Reading Academically: How It Differs 66
Using Your Reading List 67
Knowing which books to read 67
Finding the books on your list 68
Moving Beyond the Reading List: Searching for Literature 70
Using the library catalogue 70
Calling on the experts 71
Using Articles from Journals 72
Brushing Up Your Reading Techniques 75
Reading smartly 75
Reading online 78
Reading faster 79
Putting it all together: The SQ3R technique 82
Reading critically 83
Chapter 5: Researching Online 85
Exercising Caution as You Surf 85
Getting Started: Using Popular Websites 86
Checking out key websites 86
Broadening the Net 87
Working with Wikipedia or not? 87
Finding Academically Acceptable Websites 89
Recognising scholarly sites 90
Determining sources and authors 90
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