• Assignment writing in essay format
    26th May 2010

    An assignment is a piece of work that you are given by your tutor to be completed outside class time. If you are given research assignments, often the material collated from the research will appear in essay format. For example, an assignment which requires an investigation into the impact of the smoking ban on the English pub, might require the student to problem solve by developing a questionnaire to discover people’s opinions. The results would be collated and presented in an essay format. In this case, assignment writing will need the same skills that would be used for academic essays.

  • Effective essay writing: academic style
    24th May 2010

    One top essay writing tip is to use hedging. In your writing, ‘to hedge’ means that you protect yourself from criticism by using language that doesn’t commit you firmly to a particular point of view.

    This means you use words and expressions like “It may be”, “Mitchell’s work appears to say”, “It could be concluded that”. Academic writers use careful words so that they don’t make claims that are definite when the evidence is uncertain. This may be particularly useful when you want to criticise another writer’s work. You don’t want your assertion that their work is wrong to sound like a personal attack, so writing something like “Mitchell’s work seems to ignore the changing economic circumstances” is not as combative as “Mitchell’s work completely ignores the changing economic circumstances”.

  • Essay writing format: paraphrase and summary
    21st May 2010

    As you write essays you will need to paraphrase or summarize the work of others. How can you do this effectively and what are the likely errors when trying to use this vital essay writing skill? Paraphrasing is not as straight forward as it appears.

  • Cambridge Essays: an essay writing prize
    20th May 2010

    There’s still time for Year 12 or Lower Sixth students to enter the Robson History Prize 2010 with a First Prize of £600 (split between the winner and their school) and a £400 Second Prize (also split between the winner and their school). To enter this essay writing competition, students should submit an essay of 2,000 to 4,000 words by the closing date of 31st May 2010. The topic can be chosen from any of the questions set for this year. Have a look at this list of Cambridge essays to see which question captures your imagination. You also need to be considering university study in order to enter the contest. The winners are invited to visit the college.

  • UK essays: grammar skills
    19th May 2010

    Your essay editing or dissertation writing wouldn’t be complete without a look at grammar. Many students are now showing an interest in grammar. Internet use and text speak have eroded the way we use language and it has got to the point where sometimes we don’t have any idea about correct usage. Students also feel confused over whether they should be using American English or British English for their UK essays. The popularity of authors like David Crystal and Lynne Truss shows that many people care about good language use and want to feel confident about their writing.

  • Write my essay with style!
    17th May 2010

    We’ve looked at some of the essay writing style rules that you need to handle with care: libellous statements, exaggeration, conversational writing and pronoun genders. Here are a few more style tips that can help you write your essays in a scholarly way.

  • reference an essay
    How to correctly use Oxford or Harvard referencing
    15th May 2010

    Footnotes and referencing are some of the most common problems students struggle with when preparing an essay or dissertation. You’ve written a fantastic piece of work, all your ideas are in order and you’ve referred to a great variety of relevant sources. Yet you face the frustration of losing vital marks if you fail to accurately and correctly reference your work, whether using the Oxford or Harvard referencing system. This simple guide should explain how to reference your essay in either style.

  • What Is A Perfect UCAS Personal Statement? (Part 1)
    15th May 2010

    The perfect personal statement is absolutely crucial to a successful university application. With the rising numbers of students applying for places and ever improving A level results, it has never been more important to grab this key opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd. As universities are bombarded with applications from students with excellent results, myriad extra-curricular activities and high UCAS points, the personal statement has become the crucial barrier between success and rejection.

  • What Is A Perfect UCAS Personal Statement? (Part 2)
    15th May 2010

    Having completed your introduction you are ready to move on to what is arguably the most important part of your university personal statement – the academic section. This is where you prove your suitability and qualification to study the subject you have chosen at university level.

    To plan this section, you might want to start with a brainstorm to help you think of all the possible ideas you could include. Really think back over your past year of studying – what have you enjoyed the most, found frustrating, felt passionate about?

  • What Is A Perfect UCAS Personal Statement? (Part 3)
    15th May 2010

    It is time to move on to the final phase of your UCAS personal statement, the section where you will list your personal and extra-curricular achievements, your cultural interests and social activities. Many students find this one of the most difficult sections to write, as it can seem the most ambiguous in terms of both content and tone. Should you list every single cello exam you have taken since the age of 5? Should you mention your passion for Italian cinema or focus on your sporting success and charity work?