Top tips from this week

Producing a piece of structured writing reflects a structure to your ideas and your arguments. It demonstrates a structure and a flow to your thoughts and helps engage your reader, giving them confidence in your ability to develop and support your argument.

When writing an essay make sure you have thought about your view on the topic. Working out your opinion on a subject gives you a starting point from which to build your essay and your argument. It is important that you back up your opinion with evidence in order to persuade others that your opinion is valid.

When you receive feedback on your essays follow up with your lecturer for clarification on any points that you don’t understand. This will help you understand the areas you may need to improve on for the next time. Remember, at most universities the first year of study doesn’t count towards your final degree. This is the time to make mistakes and learn from them.

There is no set formula for writing at university level. You have the freedom to develop your own self-developed structure which enables you to describe, analyse, synthesise and evaluate topics you are given. Remember, when structuring your paragraphs, make sure the purpose of your paragraph is clear and you’re linking together your ideas throughout.

A key difference between previous Level 3 study and university study is that previously your teacher would want to see what you know, but at university level we want to know what you think. Have the confidence to share your ideas.