Writing at University
Writing your assignments and essays
There are some basic principles that can be used to plan and write your assignment or essay. Of course, you will need to follow your lecturer’s guidelines and use a style that is appropriate to the task. Below are resources to help you to develop your writing style.
Resources by topic
Writing at University
- The process of academic writing (DOC 121KB) - Detailed description of analysis of the task, research and planning of an essay.
- Who am I writing for? (DOC 42KB) - Discusses who is the reader of a student's work.
- Language and Academic Skills (ESL) Writing and Grammar webpage - What is an essay? The steps involved in preparing for and writing an essay. Plus other links to writing resources.
- Understanding or making up an essay topic (DOC 47KB) - Questions to ask yourself about the topic.
- Essay writing (DOC 47KB) - Brief 2-page outline of the main steps.
- Writing better essays 1 (DOC 100KB) - Reading and Writing, Argument and Evidence (10 pages).
- Writing better essays 2 (DOC 117KB) - Organising your essay (16 pages).
- Writing better essays 3 (DOC 59KB) - Expression: Getting it right (incl. the use of "I"). (7 pages).
- Thinking about the structure of your essay (DOC 45KB) - Some steps for checking that your essay has a clear structure. Reading and editing for sense and argument.
- Paraphrasing (DOC 46KB) - How to paraphrase.
Different types of writing
- The introduction of an essay (DOC 45KB)
- Writing an abstract (DOC 44KB)
- What is an annotated bibliography? (DOC 44KB)
- The literature review (DOC 45KB)
- How do I write a review? (DOC 48KB)
- Answering legal problems / Finding the law / Citing the law
Grammar and punctuation
- The five favourite errors (DOC 98KB)
- A guide to using commas (DOC 70KB)
- Apostrophes (DOC 70KB)
- Colons (DOC 43KB)
- Dashes and hyphens (DOC 48KB)
- Parallel structure in sentences (DOC 77KB)
- The use of lists (DOC 58KB)
- Parentheses and brackets (DOC 44KB)
- Punctuation exercises (DOC 42KB)
- Semi colons (DOC 41KB)
- Full stops (DOC 44KB)
