Building up an idea (explaining, giving examples, adding, bringing in another aspect): For example, To illustrate, …such as… In other words, In addition Another It is relevant to add It should be noted In this connection Similarly/likewise Thus, Moreover/furthermore For example, this effect is achieved in the Tarantino film ‘Pulp Fiction’ through the use of multiple plotlines. Repeated phrases such as “Nevermore” convey a sense of dread and finality... Despite its ‘Cult’ status, it should be noted that the film was poorly received when first released in cinemas. The financial consequences of the First World War were immense, furthermore the arrival of the Great Depression led to... Summary (not necessarily at the end of the essay; perhaps also between stages of the argument) In conclusion, To sum up, In summary, In short, In brief, In conclusion, the introduction of a curfew had little effect on the crime rate in local communities. In summary, neither political party was able to implement successful social reform. Evaluating On balance/ overall, On balance, neither theory provides a satisfactory explanation… Despite government claims, the overall effect of these policies was a reduction in opportunities for women.
CD’s CDs USB’s USBs ATM’s ATMs 1960’s 1960s 90’s 90s (also!) sofa’s only $199 sofas only $199 To denote possession Apostrophes are used to show possession or ownership of something, as in the following examples. Note that the apostrophe is placed after the ‘s’ if the noun is plural. We can also use pronouns in place of the noun. The table below contains some examples. singular nouns pronoun plural nouns pronoun The student’s writing his/her The students’ writing their The paper’s references its The papers’ references their The bee’s knees its The bees’ knees their The computer’s functions its The computers’ functions their Robyn’s office her n/a n/a A point of confusion The words that cause the most confusion when using apostrophes are it’s and its. It’s – the apostrophe denotes a missing letter (i.e. short form of ‘it is’) Its – is used to show possession but has no apostrophe (e.g. Its ears are big).
Commonly confused words The English language can be very confusing, so it’s hard to avoid mistakes. Some commonly confused words are listed below. word confusion explanation effect/affect These words are similar, but not the same. The verb “to affect” means to influence something: The storm affected his travel plans. The verb “to effect” means to make something happen: The storm effected a change in the water level. (In the first example, you can see that a storm is not likely to make someone’s travel plans happen – to effect them – but it could influence them not to happen – affect them.) The noun effect means result: One effect of the storm was a rise in the water level. The noun affect means emotion, and is rarely used outside of Psychology: The accused showed little affect as his crime was described in shocking detail. Imply/infer Both are about suggested meanings, but the difference is in who is responsible for the meaning:
Miller (1992, p. 86) tells us that “the Revolution ….liberties”. This section aims to provide guidance in paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism, and directs you to instructions on how to reference correctly. Talking about other people’s ideas You’ll need to pay particular attention to the language you use to introduce ideas or information from a source, and to relate ideas to each other. Sometimes students try to vary their vocabulary so their writing won’t look repetitive, and we’ve looked at the risks of this strategy at the beginning of Chapter 2. It’s particularly risky if the words you are varying, just for the sake of variation, are words that bring ideas from other sources into your writing – Bloggs says/ reports/ points out/ claims/ asserts/ assumes/ argues/ notes/ mentions/ writes/etc. The reason you should be careful is that these words are not variants of “says” – each one means something slightly different, or even very different. For example, if you say that Bloggs “asserts” or “claims” that World War Two ended in 1945, you’re going to look foolish, because a claim can be made only about something that is not established fact. In another example, if you say that Bloggs “mentions” something that is in fact Bloggs’ main idea, it will look like you didn’t recognise it as her main idea – to mention something means to give it only brief attention. The reason these kinds of words are so important is that one of the most fundamental academic values is that we construct knowledge by sharing, discussing and contesting ideas, so it matters who says what, and how they say it, and how it relates to the things that other scholars have said. Your tutors want you to be aware of how different scholars’ ideas are related, and to reflect that awareness in your writing. Referencing There are two places where references need to be included in a piece of writing:
In addition to the Meeting Minutes you will almost certainly be asked to submit a short personal reflection on the Team Work process, in which you assess the performance of both yourself and your fellow team members. This can be an uncomfortable task for many students as the desire to be fair to others can clash with the desire to ‘name names’, i.e. identify those who didn’t contribute adequately to the assessment and thereby compromised the rest of the team. The key here is honesty and making sure that your assessment of both yourself and the other team members is not based on personality clashes, but purely addresses key elements of team work. Your reflection should show that you have considered each member’s quantity and quality of work produced; initiative, communication skills; attendance at meetings; ability to complete tasks on time; attitude; effort and enthusiasm; behaviour toward other team members; reliability. The same applies to the assessment of yourself. Finally, remember that the piece is reflective – it’s not simply a ‘blow by blow’ account of how each part of the Team work process unfolded. You are expected to show that you’ve thought about the difficulties and successes you met along the way and honestly reflected on your own performance. Equally, the piece should include some commentary on what you have learned from the teamwork process in regard to your own capabilities and how you might enhance these moving forward. Further Resources Example of Meeting Minutes: Post Self Check What I have learned about Group Work at university: …Actively participating in Group Work is an important part of achieving success at University Yes/No/Unsure …Group Work helps develop a number of skills that are valued by future employers Yes/No/Unsure …It’s possible to achieve more when working as a group than when working independently Yes/No/Unsure …Group Work will form an important part of the assessment in most of my subjects Yes/No/Unsure …Group Work is a great way to meet people with similar interests and make friends Yes/No/Unsure