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Essay writing at uni - business management degree

Hi, just wondering if anyone can help me with this. I started uni this year and my exams are soon. I was just a bit confused on the structure of writing essays at uni, like what the difference is from alevel writing. I'm doing business management so most of my exams are in person, so I can research or reference in them. So if anyone could help me with a rough structure, or length ideas, that would be greatly appreciated! :smile:

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by emj006

It's not all that different in terms of structure. It does however involve a more formal style of writing, since it's in academia.

Basic structure involves:
Introduction - 2-3 sentences if in exam (probably up to 8 if in assignments)
6-8 points in essay, with a paragraph for each point. Each paragraph should be roughly 4-5 sentences (up to 8 or so for assignments)
1 paragraph for critical thinking where possible (doesn't have to be lengthy; about 4-5 sentences, and up to 8 or so for assignments)
Conclusion - 2-4 sentences

The above assumes you're going all out on a full essay question. If it's a short essay question, then you scale things down e.g. 2 sentences for intro, about 3-4 points with each paragraph being 2-3 sentences long, still would prefer a paragraph for critical thinking, and a sentence for conclusion.

You're not expected to provide full on references with a reference list at the end of your essay. That's overkill and you're not going to be awarded extra marks for it. You should however be able to drop names of authors and the year they were published e.g. Smith & Smith (2001). Do this in the body of your essay, especially if they are key papers pointed out by your lecturer or is highlighted in your unit outline (if you haven't read those papers, read them before the exam).

Most of your exam knowledge would be based on what's in the lecture notes. That would be the starting point of your revision. You should really know the stuff in them inside out. This should award you a 2:1 if you understand the material correctly. The 1st class marks would come in with the critical thinking.

Also, learn to write fast and practice with mock essay questions (look at the learning objectives in your unit outline for ideas on what sort of essay questions might come up). When I did essay based exams, I was essentially developing carpal syndrome because of how tense my wrists were and how fast I was writing. If you're not getting that, you're probably not doing enough.

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