Move On Up What you can do to develop your writing DURING SEcond Year

During your first year, it's all about learning the ropes. You learn the fundamentals about how to interpret an essay question and structure a response with the help of sources. You may also pick up ideas about how to write in a formal academic style. And then there are other types of writing, particularly reflective writing, which may be unfamiliar at first and require practice.

But now you are in your second year, what can you do to build on what you know and develop new skills too? Here are five things you can do that will keep you on track to becoming a confident academic writer.

1. Work on clear argument

Developing a coherent thread of argument takes time to get right. During you second year, continue to focus on building a logically structured line of discussion that keeps your reader on board and engaged.

Let's look at a good example for inspiration. The second year essay extracted below examines 'intersectionist feminism' through discussion of a case study - the Netflix show, Orange is the New Black. As you read, notice how the argument is clearly articulated for the reader - at the outset in a clear purpose statement, at the start of most paragraph extracts and, finally, in the conclusion.

From the introduction

Critique: issues are identified

A defence is outlined

Critical discussion involving close scrutiny of episodes from the case study programme.

The conclusion

And this is what the marker had to say about it:

The maintained and committed focus on your case study, with a consistent intersectional feminist analysis, is fantastic. You offer a nuanced perspective of the audience affect, narrative, and material creation of the case study, often backing up your assertions with correctly cited, relevant sources. The introduction clearly shows the structure of the essay, which is quickly launched into, and the conclusion effectively summarises the key points made. The specific relation to bell hooks' work too—particularly their own comments on your case study—was inspired.

Apart from focussing on developing a coherent thread of discussion, there are other things you can do to give your argument substance and depth.

Look for nuance

Things are seldom as black and white as they may first appear. Don't be afraid to look for complexity. Highlight and explore this complexity, and it could lead you to a place of nuance. Check how the writer engages critically with the idea of 'sisterhood' in the passage below.

Make yourself heard

Academic writing should not mean a slavish reporting of the the work of others, leaving no space for your own thoughts. It's important to use sources purposefully in service of your own argument. In the extract below, see how the writer does just this.

Be specific

Effective argument is more convincing when focussed on specifics rather than loose generalities. In this extract, a discussion of the dancer, Isadora Duncan, we move from a broad view of her work in relation to societal norms to a tight focus on a particular dance technique. But all the time we are aware of the argument being made. The writer doesn't lose us in lengthy description.

2. Sort out your grammar gremlins

Now is the time to sort out any grammar gremlins - once and for all. Writing which contains grammar, punctuation or word choice errors can bring down your essay mark, especially if those errors get in the way of what you want to say. It's also worth mentioning that a good command of grammar is important for the world beyond Royal Holloway. A job application which contains grammar howlers (e.g. sentence fragments or comma-splices) can mean you never make the short list for your dream job.

But there is a distinction to be made between mistakes (or slips) and genuine errors.

If you are making recurrent errors (and the chances are your marker feedback will alert you to this), then it's time to tackle the issue. The really good news is that most ingrained grammar problems can be sorted without too much difficulty. Find out what kind error you are making (CeDAS can help you with this) and then follow the advice from one of these excellent walk-through guides:

However, if you are making mistakes (or slips), it's not because you don't understand grammar, it's because you are in a rush. You need to factor in enough time for proofreading before submitting your work.

A word about proofreading

When you have completed a draft of your essay, it's a good idea to do two separate sweeps of your work. One sweep should check for the flow of your argument (editing) and the other sweep should check for grammar, punctuation, word choice, referencing and layout (proofreading).

3. Get on top of time management

Researching and writing an academic paper takes time. Think about it:

• Picking a question or topic you want to write about
• Looking for literature on the topic
• Reading extensively around the topic and digesting that reading by note-making
• Depending on the assignment, exploring other practice, case studies, and your own projects
• Developing an argument and mapping out a structure for your writing
• Drafting and re-drafting
• Editing and proofreading

Ensuring you have enough time to complete all these tasks requires careful planning - and there are lots of strategies and apps that will help you do this. Check some of the ideas in this CeDAS collection of online guides that covers independent learning, time management and tools to help you stay focussed.

One hurdle most people face is procrastination. It's a major reason why many students simply don't give their best. Leaving things to the last minute means you suffer needless stress and produce something that is slipshod. Here is some simple but effective advice on how to deal with procrastination head-on:

4. Learn from others

One way to develop as an academic writer is to read the work of others, especially those whom you admire. And when you read, note what the writer is doing on the page. Ask yourself questions like:

• How is the argument set out and developed?
• How are paragraphs organised? (Note: they may not to follow the PEEL pattern!)
• How does the writer integrate sources?
• What language is used to communicate opinion (or stance)?
• What is it about the piece that I like? Can I emulate it in my own writing?

The other thing to do is to show your own work to others. It's difficult to imagine how a reader will respond to your writing so giving it to another person provides invaluable feedback.

But do be careful. Never share your work online with people you don't know - and be aware that if your work is plagiarised by a classmate you may may be viewed as complicit.

A very good option is to book a 1:1 Writing Tutorial with CeDAS. You can send up to 2000 words of a draft to CeDAS and get 30 minutes of detailed feedback - in advance of submission. As these testimonials attest, such 1:1 advice can make a significant difference to your writing. So why not give it a try?

5. Pay attention to marker feedback

What do you do when you receive written feedback?

Ignore it? Just look at the mark? Huff and puff, and get defensive about it? Try to understand it and act upon it?

If you do overlook your feedback then you are probably missing out on one of the most important ways you can make improvements. Feedback is now constructed so that it is focussed on both evaluation (feeding back) but also on feeding forward i.e. practical advice on what you can do to improve.

Use this marker advice as part of a reflective process:

TIP

To maximise the impact of feedback, focus on just a couple of areas for improvement. Work really hard on these before moving onto other areas to develop. To help you do this systematically, try the resource below:

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That's it for now. Try out this advice and you could be surprised by the improvements you make.