Showing posts with label academic writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label academic writing. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Essay Writing Task - Why Academic Writing can prove to be Stressful?

People don't have a whole lot of things in life that bring them annoyance, bad dreams, or be the constant source of something they always think about. However, when it does comes to the various essays, which you will have to complete before you do get your degree. These essays do become such products of stress that somehow, they do manage to remain around in someones thoughts, even long after that person has graduated from college and moved on to experience different areas of their lives. That's why college students search for Professional Essay writing services providers in UK.There are truly a whole lot of reasons why essay writing can prove to be stressful, and this is why, it has more to do with being the key to the future than about getting grades.

There is a huge variety of things that college students are asked to take care of, as they grow through their years of study, and the things that do appear to make the most stress for students on the average has to do mainly with academic essays. For some reason, the writing of these essays do seem to bring on a whole lot of stress for students. When students do take exams, these exams are all about answering questions that they have learned about, and these questions either do have a right or wrong answer. Students don't have to explain why they are right or wrong, when it comes to these individual answers, as they are either right or wrong in nature. They are either right or wrong, and that's it, no one needs to plead a case on them. It is something that is clear cut and that is that. Now, when it comes to essays, they need to be a whole lot more subjective. A student may be held at the very mercy of their instructor if they do tend to disagree. This is a reality that will leave the student no recourse at all. When a student does write a essay, they are not sure, which way things will go. Things can go either way for them, and this is uncomfortable, and what does create stress.

Why is academic writing vastly different from just taking an exam?

1. college essays require being subjective where exam do not

When a student does write an academic essay, the professor is the one in charge of the grade giving. There is no questions that do require a yes or a no, and there isn't any multiple choice questions either, it's as simple as that. When you write a college essay, you must show everyone, including the professor what you have learned from your studies. It can prove to be a very hard task sometimes to put knowledge into mere words. Some students are very good when it comes to taking tests, while others are good at writing college essays. For the ones who do prefer to take tests, writing essays can be something of an enigma, and the reason for this is obvious. It's not an easy thing to have your very grade be something of another person's judging and this is more difficult than just getting a straight answer.

2. College essays do seem to have a life of their own from a stress aspect

When a test is taken in college, you don't have to proofread it at all, all you do is make sure you've answered everything and then turn it in to the instructor. Such is not the case, when you have to write a essay, and writing a essay does involve a whole lot more. This whole lot more means looking over the essay numerous times before turning it in finally, and this is something, which can prove to be very time consuming in itself. From the minute that a essay is assigned, to the very time it is turned in, a student is stressing out and worrying about every little thing about it. You only worry about a test just for the day you take it on overall. However, with a college essay, you worry constantly and the worry doesn't seem to ever end. This stress can take on a whole lifespan of its very own and seem to never go away.

3. One doesn't have to worry about grammar and punctuation with multiple choice questions

There are a whole lot of students who are in college that aren't native English speakers. If there are any foreign students that are studying abroad at English schools, the very task of writing a essay can indeed
be grueling in its own way. For these students who don't have English as their first language, though they may get the right knowledge and have good command over the subject, but they will not have it in the language itself or the writing. This is where a real problem does come into play for these foreign students. This can prove to be a stressful situation beyond stressful for them. They have to not only make sure to get the information correct, but also present it in just the right way to, and this can prove to be a tremendous load to worry about.

4. A lot of things to worry about where essays are the concern

 Writing college essays does involve a lot of guidelines. College instructors assign different essays for different reasons it seems. Some of these reasons do include to learn if students have a command of the study, and also, to determine if they can follow directions specifically to. There are lots of ways to make mistakes where essays are concerned. Mistakes can be in grammar, punctuation, you name it. It is not just about the structure of the essay that is important. There is also great emphasis being placed on the level of creativity, just how you present your argument, your opinion, and also how you support it too. How to exactly acknowledge your sources correctly. There is so much that goes along with academic writing it is truly unbelievable on all fronts.

5. Research and then some

If the writing part of academic writing isn't hard enough. A student is also expected to do lots of research for their assigned essays. It can prove to be extra stressful when you get assigned a essay that does require research materials or resources. This is because it will only make the assignment all the more difficult to some, and this can cause even more stress, which is something no student wants to experience personally. When you start to form a hypothesis, or a thesis statement, you have to go out and find the right evidence to back it up. This is not an easy thing like some may think it is to do. Sometimes, it will take students to get a essay half way done, only to realize that they have made the wrong assertion entirely. Then this is something that calls to switching up gears, and this is something else, which isn't that easy to accomplish. Writing academic essays can truly leave one feeling all twisted up and not knowing which way to go. This can only lead to more time constraints and more stress. When a student does find a multitude of support evidence, it can be a good and bad thing, depending on what is what. This can only up the stress levels all the more.

6.  Any false moves can make things worse

Experiencing any false moves can only make the outcome of your essay not so good. This in turn is something that can effect your grade outright. How this can happen is very simple, and it can happen with your argument that you do present in your essay, and which may seem to make perfect sense to you. However, if it doesn't make sense to others, this can be the false move a student doesn't want. Sometimes, we can explain our position and we do understand it, but to others it may be something far out there to them. When you write a essay, the very same thing can happen, and the only difference there will be no indication to you that understanding has been lost. The student will not get another chance to rectify this, if they do get another chance at all.

The Conclusion of things


There are lot of tasks which you will be given as a student. Writing essays is definitely one of the most stressful of all these tasks. This is because there are so many different types of requirements that go along with the writing of these essays. Some of the requirements for college essays do range from simple essays to dissertations. The one binding tie that they all have in common is the element of stress. The one thing that is very evident when writing college essays is that the student must wear many hats. The wearing of these numerous hats can be difficult, confusing, and at times very frustrating. In addition, they must also make sure to make these essays very subjective in detail, which is just another stressful issue in itself. It is not very easy to creat something which you will be judged for creating specifically. Students have little control over the fate of the essays they write, and also as to, the kind of grade they will get for it in the end.

Sunday, 23 December 2012

Good Book Report Writing: A Challenge for Many students

Although the ability to write a good book report may be an essential skill for succeeding in English classes, it can pose a challenge for many students. However, students can greatly improve their report writing skill by following some straightforward guidelines.

Know your material

Read the entire book and take notes of important points or significant quotations while reading. Each student will have their own favourite note taking method. Some prefer placing sticky notes on relevant pages, or writing in the margins of the book, while other will write summaries of relevant passages in a notebook or on file cards.

Choose a topic or approach

Once you have finished reading the book, consider whether you considered it to be well or poorly written, and whether or not you enjoyed reading it. However, remember that a book summary is not a book review. Book reviews are primarily an expression of personal opinion. On the other hand, a book report is an exercise in academic writing. It focusses primarily on a summary and analysis of a book, and relies on the presentation of facts, or on close reading and interpretation of literature. Please follow "Quality, Custom and Concise Book Report Writing" to read more on the topic.

For a work of fiction, consider the genre, the plot, and the theme or themes which you see in the work. To analyze the theme, ask questions such as:

  • Does the author have a message for the reader?
  • Is the author interested in social issues?
  • Is the author raising questions or providing answers to any “big questions” about life?

An analysis of the main characters and their relationship to the plot and theme, and any symbols used in the work may provide answers to these questions.

For a non-fiction work, identify the writer’s thesis, and examine the arguments the author presents in support of this thesis to determine whether they are accurate and well presented. In addition, examine the writing style to determine if it was written in a particular tone, and whether the author exhibited an obvious bias.
Now, examine the assignment guidelines for the book report provided by the teacher, and review your notes in light of the opinions you have formed to choose a unique approach to the material presented in the book. You may either take a general approach or focus on one particular aspect of the book.

Do your research

The use of additional resources such as scholarly articles can add credibility to a book report. However, all research must be carried out carefully. Resources must be both reputable and properly cited.
On-line sources should be used with care. While Wikipedia is a good starting point, relying solely on this source indicates that the student has made only a minimal effort to conduct research. SparkNotes and Cliffs Notes can both be effective research aids, but should not be used as a replacement for a thorough reading of the source material.

Plagiarism, using the words or ideas of others without acknowledging their source, is regarding as academic theft, and at the college and university level may be punished with a failing grade or even expulsion. To avoid accusations of plagiarism, accurate citation of information sources and quotations is absolutely essential. Citations may be placed within the text, in footnotes, or at the end of the text. College and university students should consult the style sheet recommended by their professor or lecturer for the appropriate form to use for citations.   Content and structure  
Before beginning the actual writing of the book report, it is a good idea to write a brief outline.
As with most writing, a book report consists of three sections, the introduction, the body and the conclusion.
Before writing the introduction, identify your thesis or central argument. What approach will you take to the book report? Will you take a general approach, or will you examine a specific aspect of the book, such as the characters in a work of fiction, or the validity of the author’s arguments in a work of non-fiction?
The introduction should begin with a strong first sentence which immediately engages the reader’s attention, and include the book title, author’s name and topic, genre and theme, and the author’s point of view. You should also identify your unique approach to the book in a clear thesis statement.
The body of your report should examine the book in more detail by providing a summary of the content of the book. For fiction, this will include a plot summary and additional information such as descriptions of the main characters and themes. For non-fiction, this will include a detailed outline of the author’s thesis and supporting arguments.
As you write the body of the book report, you can provide the reader with some indications of your opinions as you lead to your final paragraph.

The concluding paragraph should summarize the body of the essay and express subjective opinions based on the evidence you have presented. For fiction, these could include such things as whether the plot and characterization were convincing, or the deeper implications of the themes presented in the work. For non-fiction, you should critique the author’s arguments and determine whether the thesis was convincingly supported by the evidence provided.

Finally, say why you would or would not recommend this book.

Writing a book report is a form of academic writing. It requires both knowledge of the subject matter and attention to detail. It is therefore an integral part not only of English classes but of the whole learning process.