Introduction to Academic Writing
Essays and other forms of academic writing are a popular means of assessment in this School and indeed at most universities. There are two main reasons.
- These kinds of writing are regarded as the best way of testing a student's understanding and learning.
- They are absolutely central to learning and development in higher education.
In other words, academic writing itself is a very powerful means of learning about a topic and about the writing process because it requires a lot of thinking over time. In this section about academic writing, we hope to give you some tips, advice and ideas to develop successful writing skills.
Learning Outcomes
When you have finished this section, you will have achieved:
- an understanding of the key features of a good essay;
- further development in your critical analysis skills and reflective writing:
- an appreciation of how to set about writing a good essay.
Students completing either pre or post registration courses often express the difficulties they have with essay writing by stating:
"I know what I want to say but I don't know how to say it. "
This section will help you to develop your own writing style and structure that is appropriate for the task, of good quality and reader friendly. Developing your own writing style and gaining confidence to produce a clearly written paper will bring you academic credit and personal reward for your hard work.
Prepare for your writing by reading carefully the guidelines for presenting academic work given in the handbook for your particular programme.
Pre Registration - Programme Handbook
Post registration - Programme Handbook available from NMVC: Post Registration page
Graduate Research Students - Programme Handbook available from NMVC: Graduate page
Now you are ready to begin.
