OR, HOW TO GET A BETTER MARK!

RACHEL MAISSANRMAISSAN@JMC.EDU.AU

Editing your assignments

There are a variety of things you can do...

•LEAVE YOUR DRAFT A FEW DAYS BEFORE BEGINNING TO EDIT, THEN CHECK:1.STRUCTURE – CLEAR INTRODUCTION, BODY AND CONCLUSION2.PARAGRAPHS – EACH WITH A CLEAR MAIN POINT THAT RELATES TO THE ARGUMENT AND ARRANGED IN A LOGICAL ORDER3.SENTENCES – WORDS MEAN WHAT YOU THINK THEY MEAN, CORRECT PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING (USE A GOOD DICTIONARY)4.TRANSITION SIGNALS – CAN THE READER FOLLOW THE IDEAS FROM SENTENCE TO SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH TO PARAGRAPH?

UNSW says:

• ‘DOES IT LOOK CONVINCING? IF THERE ARE ANY SIGNS OF INACCURACY AND CARELESSNESS AT THE SURFACE LEVEL OF YOUR ESSAY, THESE WILL INVITE SUPERFICIAL CRITICISM FROM YOUR READER – AND MAY WELL DISTRACT HIM OR HER FROM A MORE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THE REAL ARGUMENT’ (1997, P. 81) .1 .DEPARTMENT/JMC OFFICIAL GUIDELINES – HAVE YOU FORMATTED THE ASSIGNMENT CORRECTLY? 2 .SURFACE LEVEL – SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR 3.QUOTATIONS – ACCURATE, ACKNOWLEDGED, REFERENCE FORMAT, GRAMMATICALLY INCORPORATED4.REFERENCE LIST/BIBLIOGRAPHY – CORRECTLY SET OUT5.TITLE PAGE/SYNOPSIS – CORRECT

Essay Writing for Students says:

•HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING STYLE – A CHECKLIST:1 .READ YOUR WORK OUT LOUD – ‘THE EAR WILL HEAR WHAT THE EYE DOES NOT SEE’ (2009, P. 93) .2 .USE ROLE-PLAY – IF YOU’RE HAVING A HARD TIME PUTTING A CONCEPT INTO WORDS, THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WOULD EXPLAIN IT TO SOMEONE ELSE 3 .STICK TO THE FAMILIAR – AVOID COMPLEX-SOUNDING WORDS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND THEM.

Brilliant Writing Tips for Students has:

4 .BE CONCISE – CUT OUT MEANINGLESS, REPETITIVE AND LONG -WINDED WORDS AND PHRASES5 .VARY RECURRING WORDS AND PHRASES – USE A THESAURUS6.WATCH OUT FOR S IMILAR-SOUNDING WORDS – E .G. AFFECT/EFFECT, THERE/THEIR/THEY’RE, PRINCIPLE/PRINCIPAL , COMPLEMENT/COMPLIMENT, ETC.

7 .AVOID CONTRACTIONS – DON’T USE THEM, IT ’S LESS FORMAL8.BEWARE OF THE COMPUTER SPELL/GRAMMAR –CHECKER – IT ’S NOT ALWAYS CORRECT

Brilliant Writing Tips for Students cont:

•VARY YOUR SENTENCES – SHORT SENTENCES AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF A PARAGRAPH MAKE AN EXTRA IMPACT.

•KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND CONVENTIONS – KNOW THE PERSON MARKING YOUR ASSIGNMENT, AND FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH EXPECTED THE STYLE.

•READ SAMPLES OF EXCELLENT WORK OF THE TYPE YOU HAVE TO WRITE – YOU’LL GET A FEEL FOR THE STRUCTURE, LANGUAGE AND POSSIBLE CONTENT.

My tips for higher quality writing:

•ASK SOMEONE KNOWLEDGEABLE FOR HELP – AN ACCOMPLISHED FRIEND, THE LECTURER OR ACADEMIC SUPPORT PERSON.

•START EARLY – THIS GIVES YOU TIME TO GET MORE RESEARCH AND REVISE.

•READ YOUR WORK OUT LOUD – YOU’LL FEEL SILLY, BUT YOU’LL CATCH LOTS OF MISTAKES.

•THINK ABOUT PAST MISTAKES – CHECK YOUR OLD RUBRICS.

More tips for higher quality writing:

Check Moodle for more:

CLANCY J & BALLARD B 1997, ESSAY WRITING FOR STUDENTS , 3RD EDN, ADDISON WESLEY LONGMAN AUSTRALIA, SOUTH MELBOURNE.

COPUS J 2009, BRILLIANT WRITING TIPS FOR STUDENTS , PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, HOUNDMILLS, HAMPSHIRE.

THE LEARNING CENTRE 2013, ESSAY WRITING: THE BASICS , UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, VIEWED ON 3 APRIL 2013, <HTTP: / /WWW.LC.UNSW.EDU.AU/ONLIB/ESSAY.HTML>.

References

•IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EDITING, IT ’S PROBABLY BEST TO BOOK A ONE-ON-ONE OR

SMALL GROUP APPOINTMENT WITH AN ACADEMIC SUPPORT PERSON (AND BRING A

SAMPLE OF WRITING WITH YOU) .

•EMAIL ME AT RMAISSAN@JMC.EDU.AU OR COME TO THE LIBRARY TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.

Finally,

Editing...

questions,

comments,

suggestions?