Academic Writing
- Image by ellipse www.flickr.com/photos/ellipse/
A good piece of writing has a beginning a middle and an end. This is true of essays, and it also applies to most written assignments. The beginning is called the introduction, the middle is the body, and the end is the conclusion. The writing is further broken up into chunks called paragraphs. Click on this link to download a PDF file of the structure of an academic essay to see how paragraphs are organised.
- For an in-depth tutorial on essay writing, go to this site and work through the activities suggested.
- Download this printable PDF file for quick instructions on essay writing.
You may click on how to format your assignments if you need to.
Finding info for your essay or assignment
A successful student finds, evaluates and records large amounts of information. You need to to understand what your course is about. Information is found in:
- books, journals magazines, newspapers
- the Internet
- personal communication
Libraries provide a number of services to help you locate information. Here at Otago Polytechnic students have access to the Bill Robertson Library.
Searching the internet for information is a useful skill and can be done from home too on your own computer. Here are some instructions to help you search the web.
Web Tutorials:
- Bill Robertson Library. Photo by Leigh Blackall
Sample Essays
- Click on this link for an example of a good art essay. Click on the highlighted sections for comments explaining why it is well written.
- Click on this link for advice about writing essays in sociology. This would apply to many of the essays set for nursing, occupational therapy and social services.