wtf just been assigned my first essay, i have about a week to do it

Straighthate

1500 words
how ****ed am i?

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Reply 1

581371

That's more than doable m8..

Reply 2

dean01234

0% ****ed at all. Don't think I stated actually writing (not including planning / reading) earlier than a week before deadline over the course of my degree. Also everyone is in the same position...

TBH if you're struggling with the pressure now you really need to get your head straight before the end of semester (or year depending on course structure)

Reply 3

Straighthate

Original post by dean01234

i've done no pre reading
i dont really know what i have to do though, i have the essay title but what now lol?
im not really struggling with the pressure, i have never done an essay before so i dont know what the writing style is.
do i just go 'i think this' and then back it up with citations from studies?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4

dean01234

Original post by Straighthate

Different universities and different lecturers will have various ideas about what constitutes a good essay. Have a look through module guidelines for any clues about what you might need specifically.

Given that its the first essay they won't be looking for perfection, this is a chance for you to learn from mistakes before you get stuck into the important work (I'm guessing)

The 'I think' is along the right lines but you don't want to use personal pronouns (different for reflections). Say things like the evidence suggests that, one factor which could limit the effectiveness of ____ is ____, Government involvement in ___is likely to ___ .

Think about how you would answer the question and then build points around it (you can change as you go). A good start is breaking it into 2 basic parts. Its how people will answer real questions a lot of the time anyway:

-Yeah I really enjoyed the film, but I preferred the main actors last film
-I think the conservatives have some awful economic policies, but I couldn't see Corbyn as prime minister
-The main cause of ___ war was sociological however it might not have caused enough friction without various economic changes.
-Government involvement in R&D is likely to result in a positive outcome but an overly centralised role will not be efficient.

There will be loads of different ways you can argue something so try phrasing in different ways, but keep relating the stuff you say to your overall arguement. If you can't think of any points try, go back to lecture slides and core readings. Also go to your lecturers if you are really struggling.

(Take this advice with a pinch of salt, I studied economics and can see lots of application for this advice in subjects like history but it might not be relevant in others)

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

Straighthate

Original post by dean01234

Different universities and different lecturers will have various ideas about what constitutes a good essay. Have a look through module guidelines for any clues about what you might need specifically.

Given that its the first essay they won't be looking for perfection, this is a chance for you to learn from mistakes before you get stuck into the important work (I'm guessing)

The 'I think' is along the right lines but you don't want to use personal pronouns (different for reflections). Say things like the evidence suggests that, one factor which could limit the effectiveness of ____ is ____, Government involvement in ___is likely to ___ .

Think about how you would answer the question and then build points around it (you can change as you go). A good start is breaking it into 2 basic parts. Its how people will answer real questions a lot of the time anyway:

-Yeah I really enjoyed the film, but I preferred the main actors last film
-I think the conservatives have some awful economic policies, but I couldn't see Corbyn as prime minister
-The main cause of ___ war was sociological however it might now have caused enough friction without various economic changes.
-Government involvement in R&D is likely to result in a positive outcome but an overly centralised role will not be efficient.

There will be loads of different ways you can argue something so try phrasing in different ways, but keep relating the stuff you say to your overall arguement. If you can't think of any points try, go back to lecture slides and core readings. Also go to your lecturers if you are really struggling.

(Take this advice with a pinch of salt, I studied economics and can see lots of application for this advice in subjects like history but it might not be relevant in others)

Im doing economics, first year. I searched for studies relating to my essay topic and there some, but how do i know if these studies are reliable? Do you need to comment on the study quality?

Reply 6

emiloujess

Original post by dean01234

Given that its the first essay they won't be looking for perfection, this is a chance for you to learn from mistakes before you get stuck into the important work (I'm guessing)

-Yeah I really enjoyed the film, but I preferred the main actors last film
-I think the conservatives have some awful economic policies, but I couldn't see Corbyn as prime minister
-The main cause of ___ war was sociological however it might now have caused enough friction without various economic changes.
-Government involvement in R&D is likely to result in a positive outcome but an overly centralised role will not be efficient.

Perfect!

But yeah I agree with others that if you can't cope now, it will be far more difficult later on.

why

i think we could make this club something, if all of us come together and throw ideas into the air we could be 24 hour universe capturers

Reply 9

stochasticking

Original post by Straighthate

1500 words
how ****ed am i?

This is the norm. Welcome to uni :smile:

Reply 10

Kvothe the Arcane

Pretty at uni tbh. Good luck x.

Reply 11

Klix88

Original post by Straighthate

Im doing economics, first year. I searched for studies relating to my essay topic and there some, but how do i know if these studies are reliable? Do you need to comment on the study quality?

You don't know if they're reliable - that's part of the fun! As long as you stick to stuff from academic books and peer-reviewed journals, the best you can hope to say is that other people in that field think it's credible.

You can start looking for papers which disagree with each other, which approach the same point from different perspectives and sometimes you can even spot flaws.

The bibliographies of the stuff you've already found, will give you more leads.