Hi again. Many students are busy with assignments. As readers of this blog know, and newbies who are joining us will find out, I am a great believer in organization and time management to get assignments done properly the first time. This is because many students do not realize that organizing assignments into stages will clarify, for the students, exactly what they need to do in order to produce an excellent assignment.
Excellent assignments at the graduate level should have these qualities:
1. A clear understanding of what is being asked by the module tutor. Students use Blackboard to get clarification from their module tutor and other students in the programme module. Students look up words that define the question such as "corporate culture" in their module workbook or text and see if they understand what is being asked of them.
2. Students find good source materials (see the Digital Library at U of Leicester) to find reliable and recommended resources on their assignment if the assignment demands it. Some assignments at the early stages require more use of the module materials (workbook or texts). Later assignments will require research.
3. Students organize their assignment. When organizing an assignment, students should be aware of the assignment question itself. Some assignments are fundamentally, question and answer assignments. The module tutor or marker, in this case, will need to see that you have completed all the sections of this assignment.
Other assignments are broader in scope and do not have a question and answer format. Although you still need to answer do the assignment, keeping in mind the stated goals of the assignment, an outline is helpful to organize the material you intend to use when you answer an essay question of this type.
You should ensure that the journal articles you pick actually answer the question asked by the assignment. Quotations or ideas from those articles, similarly, need to be on point and actually demonstrate or back up the points that you are trying to make. You need to keep your 'evidence' for your arguments clear and organized. You shouldn't be using multiple quotes in every paragraph. Paragraphs should have a straight forward structure. The reader should be able to see clearly what your argument is, what the evidence to back it up is and how it leads into your next point.
When you have had difficulties in previous assignments, this is particularly important. Students who have been trained in Biology or the sciences may use another model for planning their assignments. This is great if it works for you. However, when you are unsure how to proceed it is important that you make a plan. I would suggest the model below. This plan should include all the quotations you are planning to use to back up your arguments. Your plan should look something like this example:
Example Main Argument, Thesis or Statement:
Where did domestic dogs come from? Common wisdom holds that dogs were actively domesticated by humans who found young baby wolves in the wild, brought them home and domesticated them over several generations. New evidence proposes that the process of dog domestication was brought about by individual wolves who came seeking human rubbish. Their behaviour altered radically over several generations. Throwing new fuel onto this debate, Dr. Sylvia Spudnick from the University of Upper Rubber Boot, working in conjunction with the Wild Wolves for Northern Guelph Project, has shown how wolf packs in her hometown of Northern Guelph Outback have changed in both their behaviour and appearance in just two generations after interaction with the town dump and the encroaching suburbs. Indeed, Spudnick's work suggests that these wolves could, within fifty years, represent a new kind of dog. This presents an interesting, new take on Darwin's observations on evolution in The Origin of the Species.
Point 1
Physical changes in the wolves of Backwater
A quotation to illustrate the point above
What the writer believe the significance of this is
Point 2
What the wolves of Backwater used to look like before
A quotation/a paraphrase to illustrate this point/evidence
The significance of this
Point 3
What Darwin observed about the change in finches in Galapagos Islands
A quotation/paraphrase to illustrate this point
What Darwin saw as the significance of this
Point 4
Measuring the relative brain sizes of dogs and wolves
Measuring the changing brain size of the wolves of Northern Guelph Outback
A quotation on actual observations
Significance/How this affects how we saw evolutionary theory & dogs
Point 5
How this provides us with a unique opportunity to understand (a) Darwin's theory and (b) the wolves
A quotation on Darwin's theory
How we can now see this theory, significance
Point 6
How we can understand how domestic dogs changed into wolves in a different context
A quotation to summarize what we have seen
Significance
Point 7 - Summary paragraph
How we know can understand the evolution of one animal in a particular context
Suggestions for work that still needs to be done to understand Dr. Spudnick's research
Suggestions for how we can now understand the relationship between dogs and people
Suggestions for how we can see Darwin's theory in a new context
This, of course, is not a real paper. It does, however, show how the planning process can help you to make an essay that (a) uses critical thinking (b) ensures that it answers the question that the module tutor has asked (c) makes sure you plan to make your paper the right length and (d) ensures that you plan to use the right evidence to back up your points.
Some students like to use complex number systems to organize their assignments. Of course, I believe if it works for you, do it. However, any organizational plan can be as simple or as complex as you make it. The more organized your work is, particularly if you have had difficulties, the easier it is to make your assignments work for you. Clearly, the model above is intended to be an essay but if your module tutor has asked for a sample business report, you should write out your assignment according to the tutor's specifications. Not all assignments are essays. However, all assignments should use clear critical thinking and good evidence to back up any arguments.
When you are finished every assignment, it should always be spell checked and grammar checked as well. Use Refworks or the page on Harvard style at the University of Leicester to make your bibliography and references in text.
That's all for today.
KB
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Anxiety and Performance: You and Your MBA
Anxiety is a problem for many students during the MBA process. Not only do you have to juggle your life and your job, you now have responsibility for your programme module assignments, exams and a dissertation. All this can seem overwhelming for many students. So, how do we deal with anxiety and what do we do about it?
A certain level of anxiety is a good thing. It is what motivates us to study and keep on top of our work. However, at a certain point anxiety can become a serious problem that stops students from achieving peak performance. Anxiety and depression can also serious concerns that disable lives. If this is the case for you, I strongly suggest that you speak to a counseling professional or physician about your concerns. This blog cannot substitute for individuals who are suffering from serious mental health problems. If you lose your appetite, the world seems black, you feel hopeless and/or you stop getting out of bed in the morning, please help yourself by talking to a competent professional such as a doctor.
Nevertheless, performance anxiety can still be somewhat unsettling. So what do you do? First and foremost, you need to be realistic with yourself about what you can achieve in a given time. If you can't get an assignment done on time because some part of your life is out-of-control, you need to speak as soon as possible to your module tutor about this problem. If the problem is going to be ongoing, you should also contact the administrators at ulsmdladmin@le.ac.uk. You can still complete your degree in spite of temporary set-backs.
If you face serious time challenges getting assignments done on time, you should think about time planning to work on the stages of the assignment one part at a time. For example, when you are working on your dissertation you should allow time for:
1. Doing research to discover your area of interest
2. Reading widely to find out how you can tie your specific interest to the existing theory on a given subject.
3. Writing up the dissertation proposal.
4. Speaking to a dissertation tutor about the proposal.
Okay, let's examine all of these things. You should know it may take you a number of weeks to get an appointment to speak to a dissertation tutor. Therefore, before beginning this process you should have already made the appointment with the dissertation tutor. When you phone the tutor, the appointment is 20 minutes long. Therefore, you need to do all of the other things I mentioned on this list before the appointment. If you don't know what you are going to write and if you waste the appointment time wandering aimlessly from topic to topic instead of discussing research interests that you have discovered in your readings and how you are planning to narrow down you research, you will cause yourself needless upset and anxiety.
When we plan adequately for our needs as students, we relieve ourselves greatly from the burden of anxiety. How else can we make ourselves feel better about our work? An answer, greatly neglected by students, is positive messaging. As we complete the activities in our time planner, we need to write down the items we have completed and give ourselves credit for those achievements. In most students' busy lives, this is never considered. We take our achievements for granted, never seeing how each step leads inevitably to a final goal. When we are working on a degree, this acknowledgment is necessary.
We can also use meditation. Note, I have suggested a breathing mediation on YouTube below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j5Z4E2wkh4
Books on relaxation and mindful meditation such as "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Piakus, 1994) are also helpful aids to understanding better ways to achieve relaxation. Of course, students should also keep in mind that balanced lives include time for friends, partners and general fun. Enjoying a concert, going to a play, spending a night with mates at the pub or contemplating the beauties of nature are all ways of relaxing as well. Whatever your choice, you need to have a life with balance and enjoyment while you are getting your MBA/MSc.
Until my next post, have a relaxing time.
KB
A certain level of anxiety is a good thing. It is what motivates us to study and keep on top of our work. However, at a certain point anxiety can become a serious problem that stops students from achieving peak performance. Anxiety and depression can also serious concerns that disable lives. If this is the case for you, I strongly suggest that you speak to a counseling professional or physician about your concerns. This blog cannot substitute for individuals who are suffering from serious mental health problems. If you lose your appetite, the world seems black, you feel hopeless and/or you stop getting out of bed in the morning, please help yourself by talking to a competent professional such as a doctor.
Nevertheless, performance anxiety can still be somewhat unsettling. So what do you do? First and foremost, you need to be realistic with yourself about what you can achieve in a given time. If you can't get an assignment done on time because some part of your life is out-of-control, you need to speak as soon as possible to your module tutor about this problem. If the problem is going to be ongoing, you should also contact the administrators at ulsmdladmin@le.ac.uk. You can still complete your degree in spite of temporary set-backs.
If you face serious time challenges getting assignments done on time, you should think about time planning to work on the stages of the assignment one part at a time. For example, when you are working on your dissertation you should allow time for:
1. Doing research to discover your area of interest
2. Reading widely to find out how you can tie your specific interest to the existing theory on a given subject.
3. Writing up the dissertation proposal.
4. Speaking to a dissertation tutor about the proposal.
Okay, let's examine all of these things. You should know it may take you a number of weeks to get an appointment to speak to a dissertation tutor. Therefore, before beginning this process you should have already made the appointment with the dissertation tutor. When you phone the tutor, the appointment is 20 minutes long. Therefore, you need to do all of the other things I mentioned on this list before the appointment. If you don't know what you are going to write and if you waste the appointment time wandering aimlessly from topic to topic instead of discussing research interests that you have discovered in your readings and how you are planning to narrow down you research, you will cause yourself needless upset and anxiety.
When we plan adequately for our needs as students, we relieve ourselves greatly from the burden of anxiety. How else can we make ourselves feel better about our work? An answer, greatly neglected by students, is positive messaging. As we complete the activities in our time planner, we need to write down the items we have completed and give ourselves credit for those achievements. In most students' busy lives, this is never considered. We take our achievements for granted, never seeing how each step leads inevitably to a final goal. When we are working on a degree, this acknowledgment is necessary.
We can also use meditation. Note, I have suggested a breathing mediation on YouTube below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j5Z4E2wkh4
Books on relaxation and mindful meditation such as "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Piakus, 1994) are also helpful aids to understanding better ways to achieve relaxation. Of course, students should also keep in mind that balanced lives include time for friends, partners and general fun. Enjoying a concert, going to a play, spending a night with mates at the pub or contemplating the beauties of nature are all ways of relaxing as well. Whatever your choice, you need to have a life with balance and enjoyment while you are getting your MBA/MSc.
Until my next post, have a relaxing time.
KB
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Finding meaninful ways to look at assignments and exams
Students often have difficulty understanding how to answer a particular question on an exam or assignment. Let's look at particular phrases and examine how they can give us clues about how we should answer a given question.
Today, the key words we will look at in exams and papers are: discuss, explain, illustrate, describe, demonstrate and outline. A question might ask you, for instance, to outline the key concepts on a particular subject in marketing or organizational behaviour. Conversely, another question might ask you to illustrate the central concepts in a particular subject with examples from your own organizational practices. How do you answer these questions?
In the first example, you will be pleased to know that key concepts, central ideas or central concepts all boil down to the same thing. The tutor wants you to pick out the important contributions from the theorists a subject such as Organizational Behaviour or Strategy. After you find these key ideas, you should describe each one briefly. Usually, questions like this also involve outlining examples of these key concepts. Moreover, you need to be clear and describe all of these major theories so that each one is clearly differentiated from the other theories. If examples are required, you need to explain how each one is an example of the theory. If you don't explain the relevance of your examples, the tutor cannot see that you know how to use critical thinking. Critical thinking, as I've explained in other blogs, is key to the educational process at University of Leicester.
You may also asked to provide illustrations, these are the same as examples. Illustrations show the module tutor that you know how to apply the theory you are discussing to real examples from journal articles or real life. You can combine ideas to synthesize new concepts and to evaluate each concept. Evaluation shows the module tutor/marker that you have considered the importance of the ideas that you are discussing relative to the discipline itself.
Let us consider the meaning of these other words:
Outline - Describe an idea briefly, showing each of its component parts or ideas
Discuss - Analyse an idea, show the reader that you understand an idea and its importance and how it works with example, this implies critical analytic thinking
Demonstrate - This assumes that you are going to provide examples. These examples must be analysed to show that you understand how they are relevant to the ideas you are discussing.
Module tutors use different words to give variety and depth to their questions. In turn, they expect that you will provide more than the facts. Facts are just the starting point for understanding and critical thinking. You need to show tutors that these goals are within your reach. If you have problems with English vocabulary, you need to get a good Oxford Dictionary. If you have problems with writing, you need to consider some of the grammar books I have cited previously in other blogs. Most of all, however, you need to maintain a positive attitude. Remember too, that there is a Skills Tutor to help you along the road.
KB
Today, the key words we will look at in exams and papers are: discuss, explain, illustrate, describe, demonstrate and outline. A question might ask you, for instance, to outline the key concepts on a particular subject in marketing or organizational behaviour. Conversely, another question might ask you to illustrate the central concepts in a particular subject with examples from your own organizational practices. How do you answer these questions?
In the first example, you will be pleased to know that key concepts, central ideas or central concepts all boil down to the same thing. The tutor wants you to pick out the important contributions from the theorists a subject such as Organizational Behaviour or Strategy. After you find these key ideas, you should describe each one briefly. Usually, questions like this also involve outlining examples of these key concepts. Moreover, you need to be clear and describe all of these major theories so that each one is clearly differentiated from the other theories. If examples are required, you need to explain how each one is an example of the theory. If you don't explain the relevance of your examples, the tutor cannot see that you know how to use critical thinking. Critical thinking, as I've explained in other blogs, is key to the educational process at University of Leicester.
You may also asked to provide illustrations, these are the same as examples. Illustrations show the module tutor that you know how to apply the theory you are discussing to real examples from journal articles or real life. You can combine ideas to synthesize new concepts and to evaluate each concept. Evaluation shows the module tutor/marker that you have considered the importance of the ideas that you are discussing relative to the discipline itself.
Let us consider the meaning of these other words:
Outline - Describe an idea briefly, showing each of its component parts or ideas
Discuss - Analyse an idea, show the reader that you understand an idea and its importance and how it works with example, this implies critical analytic thinking
Demonstrate - This assumes that you are going to provide examples. These examples must be analysed to show that you understand how they are relevant to the ideas you are discussing.
Module tutors use different words to give variety and depth to their questions. In turn, they expect that you will provide more than the facts. Facts are just the starting point for understanding and critical thinking. You need to show tutors that these goals are within your reach. If you have problems with English vocabulary, you need to get a good Oxford Dictionary. If you have problems with writing, you need to consider some of the grammar books I have cited previously in other blogs. Most of all, however, you need to maintain a positive attitude. Remember too, that there is a Skills Tutor to help you along the road.
KB
Monday, October 5, 2009
Poor Scholarship: What's the problem?
Hi, I'm back with some new tips. This time, I'd like to discuss the issues attached to referencing and poor scholarship. These are serious problems noted by tutors on AGC forms. When a student receives a failing grade on an assignment or dissertation with this notation, what does this mean?
First, you should understand this problem cannot be solved by a simple re-do of your bibliography or your in-text bibliographic references. These may indeed be a problem, but bad referencing suggests that you have failed to account for all the source materials you have used in your work. This, as I have pointed out in earlier postings, is easy to do if you haven't created a research log of all the materials you read, used or even perused during your work. This insures you can follow the thread of your research in your assignments or your longer work, the dissertation.
Even obscure, unindexed academic work that you dig up and fail to cite will look out of place in your dissertation. Often, the worried student slips in these references because they haven't developed a clear argument or direction for the assignment or dissertation. In fact, to help you with a dissertation, an AGC form that tells you that you have poor referencing or poor scholarship is an opportunity to find books that will help you out of your dilemma and refocus your work. They are mentioned in this blog in the posting "Dissertation Tutor vs. Skills Tutor" or on Blackboard under "My courses", where a number of books are mentioned that tell you more about how your dissertation should be structured. In the case of an assignment, you should refocus on the assignment topic itself.
While you refocus, consider these points:
1. Did you take the time to gather good scholarly materials for your work? This means, did you use articles from the University of Leicester databases?
2. If you experienced difficulty here, did you speak to a skills tutor (I'd be happy to help with this part of any work) or the U of Leicester Business Librarian?
3. Once you got these articles, did you spend an adequate amount of time thinking about how they will tie back into your assignment or dissertation. Time to think is an important consideration.
4. If you had issues with writing, did you speak to the skills tutor? Did you try and get the writing resources that can help you here?
5. If you need to do all this work, have you used Refworks to help you with your bibliography at the end. This is available free through University of Leicester.
6. Okay, now that you have failed an assignment or a disseration, it is time for a fresh focus. If you said you were going to write about the banking system of Malawi, was this a doable project with a clear focus? Think about how to make your project doable. Remember this is not "War and Peace", you can expect to have it done within a reasonable amount of time. This is something that I'm sure a dissertation would be happy to discuss.
7. When re-working a project, get it focused with an outline of what you intend to do using clear points.
There is a difference between outright plagiarism and not having a clue what you need to do next. Most students are aware that outright plagiarism will result in trouble. Dissertations or assignments with these problems cannot be salvaged. Foggy thinking, that often starts with keeping poor track of your references in research and ends up with a mish-mash of misty thoughts that are not backed up by clear citations from good business literature, is often because students are misdirected. They don't know what they are trying to do whether it is a dissertation or an assignment. A great deal of work here will need to be redone.
Understanding your topic will come by diligent research, time to think and a strong understanding of the philosophical issues underpinning your topic. Even writing problems can be helped by the right texts, as many students have found. A student who gets an AGC form that says they have 'poor scholarship' and 'poor referencing' ends up on the right track with good scholarly habits, an understanding of the nature of their assignment (or dissertation), good writing skills and grammar and the will to work. Good writing for this week.
KB
First, you should understand this problem cannot be solved by a simple re-do of your bibliography or your in-text bibliographic references. These may indeed be a problem, but bad referencing suggests that you have failed to account for all the source materials you have used in your work. This, as I have pointed out in earlier postings, is easy to do if you haven't created a research log of all the materials you read, used or even perused during your work. This insures you can follow the thread of your research in your assignments or your longer work, the dissertation.
Even obscure, unindexed academic work that you dig up and fail to cite will look out of place in your dissertation. Often, the worried student slips in these references because they haven't developed a clear argument or direction for the assignment or dissertation. In fact, to help you with a dissertation, an AGC form that tells you that you have poor referencing or poor scholarship is an opportunity to find books that will help you out of your dilemma and refocus your work. They are mentioned in this blog in the posting "Dissertation Tutor vs. Skills Tutor" or on Blackboard under "My courses", where a number of books are mentioned that tell you more about how your dissertation should be structured. In the case of an assignment, you should refocus on the assignment topic itself.
While you refocus, consider these points:
1. Did you take the time to gather good scholarly materials for your work? This means, did you use articles from the University of Leicester databases?
2. If you experienced difficulty here, did you speak to a skills tutor (I'd be happy to help with this part of any work) or the U of Leicester Business Librarian?
3. Once you got these articles, did you spend an adequate amount of time thinking about how they will tie back into your assignment or dissertation. Time to think is an important consideration.
4. If you had issues with writing, did you speak to the skills tutor? Did you try and get the writing resources that can help you here?
5. If you need to do all this work, have you used Refworks to help you with your bibliography at the end. This is available free through University of Leicester.
6. Okay, now that you have failed an assignment or a disseration, it is time for a fresh focus. If you said you were going to write about the banking system of Malawi, was this a doable project with a clear focus? Think about how to make your project doable. Remember this is not "War and Peace", you can expect to have it done within a reasonable amount of time. This is something that I'm sure a dissertation would be happy to discuss.
7. When re-working a project, get it focused with an outline of what you intend to do using clear points.
There is a difference between outright plagiarism and not having a clue what you need to do next. Most students are aware that outright plagiarism will result in trouble. Dissertations or assignments with these problems cannot be salvaged. Foggy thinking, that often starts with keeping poor track of your references in research and ends up with a mish-mash of misty thoughts that are not backed up by clear citations from good business literature, is often because students are misdirected. They don't know what they are trying to do whether it is a dissertation or an assignment. A great deal of work here will need to be redone.
Understanding your topic will come by diligent research, time to think and a strong understanding of the philosophical issues underpinning your topic. Even writing problems can be helped by the right texts, as many students have found. A student who gets an AGC form that says they have 'poor scholarship' and 'poor referencing' ends up on the right track with good scholarly habits, an understanding of the nature of their assignment (or dissertation), good writing skills and grammar and the will to work. Good writing for this week.
KB
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Scoring Points on Assignments
Hi, glad to be back again. Last blog, we discussed what it means when you get back an AGC form telling you that your assignment is too descriptive and how you can fix this.
Today, I'd like to discuss how to score points with tutors and getting better grades. So, this blog will cover the basics of how to deal with an assignment. By the way, when you get into very specific issues, for example a problem with definitions in a financial assignment, you really should be following module discussions on Blackboard and communicating with your module tutor and classmates. You would be surprised how many helpful hints you can find there. So, let's talk about assignments.
The first problem many students have is "talking around the question". A large number of students think that they need to give the tutor a lot of general information on the subject before they actually get down to answering the question. This is a mistake. The marker/tutor is looking for you to answer the question clearly and concisely. They don't need a mini-history of "organizational behaviour" before you begin writing. In fact, when you do this you force the tutor to go searching through your assignment for the actual answer to the question. This annoys and irritates markers. You don't want to do this.
Sometimes, the student will embed the answer deep inside a long and convoluted introductory paragraph of the type I describe above. This makes it hard for the marker to find the actual topic of your assignment. The student may then go on to put their supporting details and information into more long paragraphs, or perhaps the same paragraph, making it still harder to find the information that the frustrated marker is seeking.
Keep in mind, the marker is on your side. They, and I, have marked many assignments and want to give you the marks you deserve. You should learn to write your assignments using a clear introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. This needs to answer the assignment question directly. You might even use a teaser/attention-grabber in the first sentence, in the form of an interesting quotation, a question or controversial argument. After you have clearly outlined the topic or thesis in the first (hopefully no more than 4 sentence) paragraph, you should be ready to score points by displaying your knowledge in the body of your assignment.
Here, you use the academic articles that you have read on your assignment topic. The pattern of the paragraphs is:
1. Topic sentence that introduces the main point.
2. The next sentence that brings in supporting evidence.
3. The third and possibly fourth sentences that analyse and describe why this supporting evidence backs up your arguments.
4. The last sentence that anticipates the next point.
The purpose of all of this is to answer the assignment question. Sometimes, this format may not work because the assignment is clearly meant to be question and answer. I would reiterate here that if that is the assignment, don't tax the marker by beating around the bush, just answer the questions in the sequence that they have been given. The marker will not thank you for trying to find question 1 in the place where question 10 should be. Clearly, the demands of the assignment dictate whether you can use the first approach I have suggested.
What is never in debate, however, is that you must use and show that you have used good academic articles on the topic to answer the assignment. This "supporting data" shows that you have done your work for your assignment. Label and number points: "first, second, third, next, last" not "firstly, secondly, thirdly and lastly". This keeps your arguments in order and lets the marker see that you have made your points.
Next week, we'll discuss another problem with academic papers reflected on AGC forms...poor scholarship. Until then, have a good week.
Today, I'd like to discuss how to score points with tutors and getting better grades. So, this blog will cover the basics of how to deal with an assignment. By the way, when you get into very specific issues, for example a problem with definitions in a financial assignment, you really should be following module discussions on Blackboard and communicating with your module tutor and classmates. You would be surprised how many helpful hints you can find there. So, let's talk about assignments.
The first problem many students have is "talking around the question". A large number of students think that they need to give the tutor a lot of general information on the subject before they actually get down to answering the question. This is a mistake. The marker/tutor is looking for you to answer the question clearly and concisely. They don't need a mini-history of "organizational behaviour" before you begin writing. In fact, when you do this you force the tutor to go searching through your assignment for the actual answer to the question. This annoys and irritates markers. You don't want to do this.
Sometimes, the student will embed the answer deep inside a long and convoluted introductory paragraph of the type I describe above. This makes it hard for the marker to find the actual topic of your assignment. The student may then go on to put their supporting details and information into more long paragraphs, or perhaps the same paragraph, making it still harder to find the information that the frustrated marker is seeking.
Keep in mind, the marker is on your side. They, and I, have marked many assignments and want to give you the marks you deserve. You should learn to write your assignments using a clear introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. This needs to answer the assignment question directly. You might even use a teaser/attention-grabber in the first sentence, in the form of an interesting quotation, a question or controversial argument. After you have clearly outlined the topic or thesis in the first (hopefully no more than 4 sentence) paragraph, you should be ready to score points by displaying your knowledge in the body of your assignment.
Here, you use the academic articles that you have read on your assignment topic. The pattern of the paragraphs is:
1. Topic sentence that introduces the main point.
2. The next sentence that brings in supporting evidence.
3. The third and possibly fourth sentences that analyse and describe why this supporting evidence backs up your arguments.
4. The last sentence that anticipates the next point.
The purpose of all of this is to answer the assignment question. Sometimes, this format may not work because the assignment is clearly meant to be question and answer. I would reiterate here that if that is the assignment, don't tax the marker by beating around the bush, just answer the questions in the sequence that they have been given. The marker will not thank you for trying to find question 1 in the place where question 10 should be. Clearly, the demands of the assignment dictate whether you can use the first approach I have suggested.
What is never in debate, however, is that you must use and show that you have used good academic articles on the topic to answer the assignment. This "supporting data" shows that you have done your work for your assignment. Label and number points: "first, second, third, next, last" not "firstly, secondly, thirdly and lastly". This keeps your arguments in order and lets the marker see that you have made your points.
Next week, we'll discuss another problem with academic papers reflected on AGC forms...poor scholarship. Until then, have a good week.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Reviewing commentaries on AGC forms : Part 1
Hi, I took a little more time in getting back to you but I'm back. As a very brief word of explanation, I'd like to mention that I had an operation but am now recuperating. In fact, I'm sure to feel much better as I heal. My timing could have been better. I'd just moved back to Canada and there were lots of things to take care of as part of that move. I now live in a geographic region of Canada known as the 'boreal forest'. In practical terms, the boreal forest is a band of forest with a mixture of deciduous trees, many small animals and even some larger ones. My father once sighted a wild lynx on the way to an archaeological dig by the side of the road; and there are also some packs of wolves in parks like Algonquin. However, in more poetic terms this area is famed for its large percentage of maple trees, the symbol of Canada. Very soon now, Ontarians like to take their long fall drive through small Ontario valleys where they will find the maples ablaze not simply with gold and green leaves, but many shades of red and golden-orange that are the pride of this region. If you are lucky enough to get maple syrup from an Ontario erabliere or sugar bush, you will know that Ontario's maple syrup is excellent. Try it on waffles, ice cream, Scottish pancakes - I think you will find it less sweet than hot golden syrup with butter and an interesting taste change.
In practical terms, my move will mean very little change for most of you. I will not be physically near Leicester but my phone line will always be open to those who need it and we can still see one another via webcam if you want a face-to-face appointment. Really, nothing will change, I'm just physically in a different place. I still hope to see all of you who didn't make it this year at next year's summer school.
Now, down to business. Today, we're going to discuss what a marker/tutor means when they tell you that your assignment is "too descriptive." This is a commentary many, many students receive on their AGC forms. What does this mean? After all, the student often reasons, what is wrong with describing things, isn't that supposed to be the job of their assignment?
In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of answering the question that you were asked and understanding it. A student who has handed in an assignment that is too descriptive has probably provided the tutor with lots of definitions related to the assignment question. Although these definitions fill out the word requirements of the module tutor, who has perhaps asked you for an assignment of 2,500-3,500 words, they have failed to deal with the substance of the question that was assigned. Other space fillers include lots of headings, summaries of the assignment and often repeated attempts to dissect the terminology of the question. I usually tell students that there is nothing wrong with headings if they are used to guide you through the assignment. After all, you can remove them later if they are unnecessary in terms of the assignment. Summaries are another story. In such a small assignment, a summary eats up unnecessary space that you should be using for making your points.
At the University of Leicester, in fact throughout university education, learning is more than simply reciting back facts and memorizing them. It is important to place facts in their context. Therefore, if an assignment has asked you to discuss Porter's Five Forces, you should spend no more than a sentence or two providing the necessary definition to do the assignment. The rest of the assignment should be devoted to finding examples of which force you are discussing, providing an application and probably a paraphrase or quotation about this example. Critical thinking, which is something we emphasize at University of Leicester, requires you to take your quotations and examples (which you have cited using Harvard style or using Refworks to help you with your bibliography) and explain or analyze them. Why are they a good or bad example of the force you are discussing? What is important about this force in terms of the example you have provided? You should also attempt to use the example to evaluate the weaknesses or strengths of the theory about which you are writing. You may even see parallels with another idea and try and combine the ideas to synthesize a new concept.
I don't want to go into too much detail here. It is enough for you to understand that learning has a hierarchy. This learning hierarchy is called Bloom's Taxonomy. If you want to read more about Bloom and his taxonomy, I would refer you to Dalhousie University's teaching tips at:
http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/bloom.html
This will provide you with more information on the taxonomy. What you need to know is that analysis, synthesis and evaluation are higher functions of learning that go beyond simple memorization and understanding. Professors at University of Leicester say that a work is descriptive when they mean that it lacks analysis, synthesis or evaluation. It is not enough to learn a theory, for example Porter's Five Forces, it is important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. When you evaluate and analyse theories, you place them in a historical context along with other theories of business strategy. Placing ideas in context also makes them easier to remember for your exams or to use in your business practices. This means that you can use the ideas you learn at University of Leicester to become a better business leader and hopefully to make your businesses more successful.
Next time, we will discuss some of the other problems you may encounter in your AGC forms and what they mean.
KB
In practical terms, my move will mean very little change for most of you. I will not be physically near Leicester but my phone line will always be open to those who need it and we can still see one another via webcam if you want a face-to-face appointment. Really, nothing will change, I'm just physically in a different place. I still hope to see all of you who didn't make it this year at next year's summer school.
Now, down to business. Today, we're going to discuss what a marker/tutor means when they tell you that your assignment is "too descriptive." This is a commentary many, many students receive on their AGC forms. What does this mean? After all, the student often reasons, what is wrong with describing things, isn't that supposed to be the job of their assignment?
In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of answering the question that you were asked and understanding it. A student who has handed in an assignment that is too descriptive has probably provided the tutor with lots of definitions related to the assignment question. Although these definitions fill out the word requirements of the module tutor, who has perhaps asked you for an assignment of 2,500-3,500 words, they have failed to deal with the substance of the question that was assigned. Other space fillers include lots of headings, summaries of the assignment and often repeated attempts to dissect the terminology of the question. I usually tell students that there is nothing wrong with headings if they are used to guide you through the assignment. After all, you can remove them later if they are unnecessary in terms of the assignment. Summaries are another story. In such a small assignment, a summary eats up unnecessary space that you should be using for making your points.
At the University of Leicester, in fact throughout university education, learning is more than simply reciting back facts and memorizing them. It is important to place facts in their context. Therefore, if an assignment has asked you to discuss Porter's Five Forces, you should spend no more than a sentence or two providing the necessary definition to do the assignment. The rest of the assignment should be devoted to finding examples of which force you are discussing, providing an application and probably a paraphrase or quotation about this example. Critical thinking, which is something we emphasize at University of Leicester, requires you to take your quotations and examples (which you have cited using Harvard style or using Refworks to help you with your bibliography) and explain or analyze them. Why are they a good or bad example of the force you are discussing? What is important about this force in terms of the example you have provided? You should also attempt to use the example to evaluate the weaknesses or strengths of the theory about which you are writing. You may even see parallels with another idea and try and combine the ideas to synthesize a new concept.
I don't want to go into too much detail here. It is enough for you to understand that learning has a hierarchy. This learning hierarchy is called Bloom's Taxonomy. If you want to read more about Bloom and his taxonomy, I would refer you to Dalhousie University's teaching tips at:
http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/bloom.html
This will provide you with more information on the taxonomy. What you need to know is that analysis, synthesis and evaluation are higher functions of learning that go beyond simple memorization and understanding. Professors at University of Leicester say that a work is descriptive when they mean that it lacks analysis, synthesis or evaluation. It is not enough to learn a theory, for example Porter's Five Forces, it is important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. When you evaluate and analyse theories, you place them in a historical context along with other theories of business strategy. Placing ideas in context also makes them easier to remember for your exams or to use in your business practices. This means that you can use the ideas you learn at University of Leicester to become a better business leader and hopefully to make your businesses more successful.
Next time, we will discuss some of the other problems you may encounter in your AGC forms and what they mean.
KB
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Articles - Grammar Hints for ESL students and others
Articles, that is, use of the words "the", "a" or "an" are "troublesome" for "speakers whose first language is not English" (Hacker 169). Let's discuss this trouble area in more detail in today's blog.
Articles are used mainly to mark nouns. Consider the following phrases:
the Speaker of the House
a lovely sunset
the best Merlot of the year
a Rolls-Royce
an apple
the pear on the table
a better way of doing business
1. Use "the" if the identity of the subject is known the speaker. As in:
Colonel John Sheppard flew the Puddlejumper directly into the Wraith ship.
Spock went to the planet Vulcan to save his mother.
The fourth contestant had to eat worms.
This is the town where I grew up.
2. Use "a" or "an" with singular non-count nouns whose identity is not known to the writer. Count nouns refer to objects which can be counted such as three girls, five cities, two general strikes, two World Wars, five dogs and so forth. Abstracts concepts, such as love, harmony, knowledge cannot be quantified in this way. Therefore, we cannot say:
He has a knowledge. Instead we would generally say, "He has knowledge." However, we could say: He arrived at our house in a car.
3. Therefore, we can say generally that with abstract concepts we do not use the words "an" or "a" or "the" with non countable nouns. So, we can say:
Honour is a concept well understood in the military. I feel love.
However, if a non-countable noun such as "sugar" is quantified you can say the following:
He needs a kilogram of sugar to make that cake.
We are going to buy two Victorian end tables.
4. Do not use "the" in a sentence when you use a plural or non-count noun meaning "all" or "in general".
Fountains distinguish a fine perennial garden.
Flour is required to make bread.
If you have any further questions regarding this post, please email me at:
ulsmdltutor@le.ac.uk
Have a good weekend until next time.
KB
Articles are used mainly to mark nouns. Consider the following phrases:
the Speaker of the House
a lovely sunset
the best Merlot of the year
a Rolls-Royce
an apple
the pear on the table
a better way of doing business
1. Use "the" if the identity of the subject is known the speaker. As in:
Colonel John Sheppard flew the Puddlejumper directly into the Wraith ship.
Spock went to the planet Vulcan to save his mother.
The fourth contestant had to eat worms.
This is the town where I grew up.
2. Use "a" or "an" with singular non-count nouns whose identity is not known to the writer. Count nouns refer to objects which can be counted such as three girls, five cities, two general strikes, two World Wars, five dogs and so forth. Abstracts concepts, such as love, harmony, knowledge cannot be quantified in this way. Therefore, we cannot say:
He has a knowledge. Instead we would generally say, "He has knowledge." However, we could say: He arrived at our house in a car.
3. Therefore, we can say generally that with abstract concepts we do not use the words "an" or "a" or "the" with non countable nouns. So, we can say:
Honour is a concept well understood in the military. I feel love.
However, if a non-countable noun such as "sugar" is quantified you can say the following:
He needs a kilogram of sugar to make that cake.
We are going to buy two Victorian end tables.
4. Do not use "the" in a sentence when you use a plural or non-count noun meaning "all" or "in general".
Fountains distinguish a fine perennial garden.
Flour is required to make bread.
If you have any further questions regarding this post, please email me at:
ulsmdltutor@le.ac.uk
Have a good weekend until next time.
KB
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