We’ve broken down TIME into 4 key elements of academic writing: Targeted, In-depth, Measured and Evidence-based.
Your assignment needs to be targeted. It should:
Your assignment needs to be in-depth. You should consider your questions and criteria thoroughly, thinking about all possible aspects, and including the argument both for and against different viewpoints.
You should:
An academic writing style is measured. By this, we mean that it’s:
Your assignment needs to be evidence-based. You should:
Once you’ve found all your evidence, and have decided what to say in each section, you need to write it up as paragraphs. Each paragraph should be on a single topic, making a single point. A paragraph is usually around a third of a page.
We find Godwin’s (2014) WEED model very helpful for constructing paragraphs.
You should begin your paragraph with the topic or point that you’re making, so that it’s clear to your lecturer. Everything in the paragraph should fit in with this opening sentence.
The middle of your paragraph should be full of evidence – this is where all your references should be incorporated. Make sure that your evidence fits in with your topic.
Sometimes it’s useful to expand on your evidence. If you’re talking about a case study, the example might be how your point relates to the particular scenario being discussed.
You should conclude your paragraph with the implications of your discussion. This gives you the opportunity to add your commentary, which is very important in assignments which require you to use critical analysis.
So, in effect, each paragraph is like a mini-essay, with an introduction, main body and conclusion.
Allow yourself some TIME to proofread your assignment. You’ll probably want to proofread it several times.
You should read it through at least once for sense and structure, to see if your paragraphs flow. Check that your introduction matches the content of your assignment. You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve been concise in your writing style.
You’ll then need to read it again to check for grammatical errors, typos and that your references are correct.
It’s best if you can create some distance from your assignment by coming back to it after a few days. It’s also often easier to pick out mistakes if you read your work aloud.
Learning Hub Guides
Although the course materials are largely self-contained, students are actively encouraged to read outside the material provided with their modules. Further reading can be both enjoyable and also help you to link together disparate aspects of the course. Many successful students will tell you that reading widely is a good way of improving your understanding of the taught material.
The essay must be written in clear and concise English, normally in the past tense, and should comprise: (a) Title; (b) Summary; (c) Introduction; (d) Main Body of Text; (e) Discussion with Conclusions if appropriate; (f) References.
The report must be written in clear and concise English, normally in the past tense, and should comprise: (a) Title; (b) Summary; (c) Introduction; (d) Methods; (e) Results; (f) Discussion with Conclusions if appropriate; (g) References.
For modules delivered by the School of Science & Engineering you are required to use the Harvard System unless the module specification states otherwise. You will be given clear guidance if you are expected to use alternative referencing systems. The School of School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies has specific guidelines on referencing and citation available at https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/TUOLE/referencing
Abbreviation should be defined at first mention in both summary and main text.
We have an online tutorial to support academic writing. Click on the image below or go to Academic Writing to view the tutorial.
The University offers a wide range of support services to help you. Details are available here https://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/stud/support.cfm
Students can access Turnitin via the Academic Skills organisation on Blackboard. Documents uploaded to Turnitin from this area are not added to the 'proper' Turnitin database, so students can use this area for multiple versions of draft work, without worrying that they will be accused of plagiarising themselves.
Students can only upload one document at a time to this area. If students want to add a second document, they need to choose 'Resubmit' and write over the details of the first document.
Turnitin can take up to 24 hours to produce a report. If a document shows as 'Processing' for a long time, advise the student to log out and check again later.