essential assessment guide for commencing ......the guide is designed principally for commencing...

ESSENTIAL ASSESSMENTGUIDE FOR

COMMENCINGHIGHER

EDUCATIONUNDERGRADUATE

STUDENTS

SCHOOL OF GLOBAL, URBAN AND SOCIAL STUDIES RMIT

2015

School of Global, Urban and Social Studies

Acknowledgements

GUSSacknowledgestheWurundjeripeopleoftheKulinNationsasthetraditionalownersofthelandonwhichtheUniversitystands.WerespectfullyrecogniseEldersbothpastand

present.ThisguidewascollatedbyTheLearningandTeachingTeamandtheCommonCourseandCurriculumInnovationUnitfortheSchoolofGlobal,UrbanandSocialStudies.Inpreparingtheguide,theSchoolhasdrawnonarangeofsourcesincludingstaffandstudentsoftheSchool,earlierguidesusedbytheSchool,formerRMITdepartments,andtheseveralreferencetexts:ANSON,C.&SCHWEGLER,R.2005.TheLongmanHandbookforWritersandReaders,Sydney,PearsonLongman,GERMOV,J.1996.GetGreatMarksforYourEssay,Sydney,Allen&Unwin,LOVELL,D.W.1992.EssayWritingandStyleGuideforPoliticsandtheSocialSciences,Canberra,AustralasianPoliticalStudiesAssociation,WADSWORTH,Y.1984.DoitYourselfSocialResearch,Melbourne,VCOSS/Allen&Unwin,WALLACE,A.,SCHIRATO,T.&BRIGHT,P.1999.BeginningUniversity:thinking,researchingandwritingforsuccess,St.Leonards,Australia,Allen&Unwin.TheGuideisdesignedprincipallyforcommencingUndergraduatestudents,howeveritwillprovideallstudentswithanoverviewoftheSchool’sassessmentconventionsandexpectations.WeareconstantlyexpandingtherangeofextramaterialsavailableonthewebviatheSchool’swebsite,http://www1.rmit.edu.au/socialhumanities/students.


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DearStudentsofGUSS,GUSSisanacronymfortheSchoolofRMITthatyouarecurrentlyenrolled.ItstandsfortheSchoolofGlobal,UrbanandSocialStudies.ItisoneofthelargestschoolsofRMITandincludesstudiesinPolicy,SocialWork,YouthWork,SustainabilityandUrbanPlanning,CriminalJustice,Criminology,LegalandDisputeStudies,CommunityServices,Psychology,GlobalStudies,Languages,andTranslatingandInterpreting.StaffintheSchoolareworldleadersinareasoftheirresearchandhighlyskilledinleadingyouthroughtheProgramsinwhichyouareenrolled.OurLearningandTeachingteamsarecommittedtoyoursuccessandemployabilityinprofessionsthatcontributetoabetterworldandchangingfutures.Thisguideispartofarangeofstrategiesthatweareputtinginplacetoofferyouassistanceandsupport.WhilstyouareenrolledinourCourses,weencourageyoutomakefulluseoftheRMITUniversityServicestolookaftereveryaspectofyourwellbeingandmaximiseyoursuccess.ThisincludestheStudentServicesarea,rangingfromhealthservicesandcounsellingtofinancialadviceandhousing.RMIToffersAcademicsupportthroughtheStudyandLearningCentreandinGUSSwewelcomeyouatourGUSSed‐in‐TimeAcademicSupportboothwhereyoucanbringwork,askquestionsorseekbroaderassistance.GUSSalsohostslearningbootcampsandworkshopsledbyscholarsfromacrossourdisciplines.Themostimportantthingwhilststudyingistoremainalert,healthyandengaged.KeepincontactwithyourCourseCoordinatorsandTutorsandifeveryouhavedoubtsaskquestionsfromtheProgramManagersandtheirAdministrativeOfficers.PayattentiontoyourRMITemailandtheLearningManagementSystem(Blackboard)andgettoasmanyclassesasyouareable.Whereverpossiblemakeafriendineachclass,whichalwaysmakesabigUniversityseemsignificantlysmallerandmorefamiliar.Welookforwardtowatchingyougrowinyourlearningandcareer.

FromtheGUSSLearningandTeachingTeam


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Contents

Section1. UniversityExpectations.......................................................................4 Section2. TypesofAssessment.............................................................................5 Section3.AssessmentCriteria.....................................................................................8 Section4.Step‐by‐stepguidetodoingbasicessays.............................................9 Section5.ApproachestoGoodWriting..................................................................21 Section6.ReferencingandUsingOtherPeople'sWork...................................26 Section7.WorkinginGroups.....................................................................................33 Section8.SubmittingYourWork..............................................................................33 Appendix1:Wikipedia.................................................................................................37 Appendix2:UniversityServicestoAssistYouwithAssessment...................38 Appendix3:GuidetodoinganArgumentAnalysis............................................39 Appendix4:GuidetoCriticalAnalysis....................................................................40 Appendix5:GUSSStudentguide‐AccessingandunderstandingmyTurnitinreport................................................................................................................44 Appendix6:GUSSStudentguide–AccessingmyfeedbackandgradeinGradeMark........................................................................................................................48 References.........................................................................................................................52


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Section1.UniversityExpectationsInbroadtermsuniversitiesexpectstudentstoorganiseandpresenttheirlearning,thinkingandresearchactivitiesinanumberofdifferentforms.Theseinclude: essays reports tutorialpapers bookorarticlereviews theses oralpresentations journals grouppresentations projectsAstheSchoolcoversadiversityofdisciplineandsubjectareasitisimportantthatyoubecomefamiliarwiththeexpectationsandconventionsrelatedtoyourparticularstudies.Theseinclude: theparticularterminologyused(thespecialistwordsforthatdiscipline); waysofseeingtheworldwhichincludequestionsandassumptions;and themethodsofgatheringandtestinginformationandtruthclaims.Vocabulary/terminologySpecifictoyourDisciplineIngeneralyoushouldusesimplelanguageandplainEnglishinordertoavoidambiguity,pretentiouslanguageandusingmorewordsthanisnecessarytoexpressanidea.Technicaltermsshouldbeusedonlyiftheyareessentialforprecisionand,wheneverthereisanydoubtabouttheexpertiseofyouraudience,esoterictermsshouldbeexplained.GeorgeOrwell’s1946essay‘PoliticsandtheEnglishlanguage’(1978)containstimelessadviceaboutwriting.Everystudentwoulddowelltovisitthisessayatleastonceayear.Thefollowingrules,proposedbyOrwell,shouldbewellremembered:1.Neveruseametaphor,simile,orotherfigureofspeechwhichyouareusedtoseeinginprint.2.Neverusealongwordwhereashortonewilldo.3.Ifitispossibletocutawordout,alwayscutitout.4.Neverusepassivetensewhereyoucanuseactivetense.5.Neveruseaforeignphrase,ascientificword,orajargonwordifyoucanthinkofaneverydayEnglishequivalent.Teachingstaffexpectstudentstocometotermswithmajorinternaldebatesanddifferenttraditionswithintheirdiscipline.Overtimeyouwillbecomemorecomfortablewiththesedebatesandtraditions,althoughatfirstitmayseemlikeyouareinaforeigncountryconfrontingmanyforeignlanguagesandstrange,evenexoticcustoms.


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Youmayfindthatwhatisexpectedforoneteacheroraparticulardisciplineisdifferenttowhatanotherexpects.Wesuggestthatyouextendcareindecidingwhethertoadopttheuseofthepersonalpronoun‘I’insteadofphrasessuchas‘thisessay’.Thenwhateveryoudo,beconsistent.Someteachersmightstillinsistthatyoudonotusethepersonalpronoun(‘I’)inanyformalacademicwork.Otherteacherswillinsistthatyoudouseit!Ifyouareeverindoubtaboutsomething,thebestthingtodoissimplyaskyourlecturerortutor.Onethingthatdoesseemtopresentproblemsinitiallyforstudentsistheexpectationthatyouwillhaveyourownopinionthatyoucandefendwithevidence.Whenweaskaquestionatuniversity,itisn’tusuallybecausewethinkthatthereisone‘correct’answer.Often,weacceptthattherearemanyplausibleanswersandthekeyistobeabletoarguethecasesufficientlytoshowthatthereismeritintheanswerthatyouarepresenting.Youshouldviewtutorialsandworkshopsasanexcellentspacetobegintotryvoicingyourownopinions,andseeifyoucandefendthem,particularlytoseeifyoucanprovideconvincingevidence.Youmayfindthatyouarechallengedwithotherevidencewhichmayrequireyoutomodify,overturnoradddetailtoyouroriginalidea.ThevarioustypesofassessmentusedwithintheSchoolprovidestudentswithanopportunitytodemonstratehowwellyouunderstandtheideas,knowledge,debates,traditionsandconceptsdealtwithinaparticularsubjectarea.AllassessmentemployedwithintheSchoolcomplywiththeUniversity’sAssessmentPolicyhttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=qwxbqbg739rl1.

Section2.TypesofAssessmentAsassessmenttypesvarybetweencoursesitisimportantyoufamiliariseyourselfwiththeassessmentrequirementsofeachofthecoursesyouareenrolled,orlookingtoenrol,in.MyRMITprovidesaccesstoahostofOnlinestudentresourcesincludingtheCourseGuidesforeachofthecoursesinwhichyouareenrolled.Visithttps://my.rmit.edu.au/portal/ToaccessallCourseGuides,includingthoseyouarenotcurrentlyenrolledin,visithttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/students/courses.ForinformationonassessmentpolicyseetheAssessment:Conductofassessmentandappealshttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=ikqkqdh2zf5n1Itisimportantthatyouviewtheweightingofeachpieceofassessmentaswellastheduedatesandacademicpenaltiesfornon‐submissionorlatesubmissionofyourwork.Someassessmentisformalandsolelytheworkofanindividualstudent(eg.researchtheses).Otherassessmentformsarelessformalandmayinvolveworkwithotherstudents(e.g.grouppresentation).Whateverthetypeofassessment,youneedtobeclear


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aboutwhatyouarebeingaskedtodoandtheappropriateformatforeachtypeofassessment.Themostcommonerrorstudentsmakeistonotunderstandfullywhattheyareactuallybeingaskedtodo.Ifyouareunclearaboutthekindofassessmentthatisrequired,youshouldseekfurtherclarificationfromyourtutororlecturer.Thissectionisjustageneralguidetofamiliariseyouwithsomeofthekindsofassessmentyoumayencounterinyourdegreeprogram.Thenextsectionisamoredetailedstep‐by‐stepguidefordoingabasicresearchedessay.TutorialPapersandRelatedFormatsFromtimetotimeyoumayberequiredtosubmitshortpiecesofwrittenworkandpossiblydiscussthisworkinatutorialgroup.Theformatfortutorialpapersandothertypesofassessmentvariesfromtutor‐to‐tutor,andlecturer‐to‐lecturer.Lecturerswilladvisestudentsonwhatisrequired.Asageneralguidetutorialpapersinvolve: topicselectiontofindsomethingwhichcapturesyourimagination; libraryresearchtofindappropriatereading; carefulreadingandnotemakingofallmaterialrelevanttoyourpaper; analysisandinterpretationofthereadingandnotes; thinkingaboutyourargumentandwhatitisyouwanttosay; planningastructureforthepaper(similartotheessaystructureofintroduction,argumentandconclusion–seetheessaysectionformoredetails); refiningyourideasandargumentsothattheyarerelevanttoyourargument; carefulwritingtoexplainyourargumentandmeetwordlimits; thoroughpreparationofreferencesandbibliography;and submissionandpresentationofyourwork.Itisimportanttorecognisethat,evenifyoudonothavetosubmitawrittenpieceofwork,planningandpreparationforthedeliveryofthetutorialpaperwillinvolveextensiveresearch,reading,thinkingandreviewing.Rememberthatthebasicassessmentcriteriawillstillbethesame.BookandArticleReviewsInthisparticularkindoftask,youwillbeaskedtoreadanarticleorbookandthenprovideawrittenevaluationofit.Itisusuallyashorterpieceofwriting(oftenbetween500and1000words)andwouldnormallyinclude: asummaryofthemainargumentofthebookorarticle; anaccountofthecareerorstatusofthewriter(optional–dependsonthesituationandtherelevancetoyourcourse); anevaluationofthestrengthsandweaknessesofthebookorarticle;and acommentonhowthebookimpactsonpreviousresearch,theoryorworkbytheauthororothersinthefield.


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Somereviewswillbeaskingforotherspecificthings,likeoutliningthequestionsitraisesforyou,orlinkingthatworktootherideaspresentedinthecourseortoyourownpersonalexperience.Again,makesureyouunderstandexactlywhatisrequiredofyou.ManyexamplesofbookreviewscanbefoundinjournalsandmagazinessuchasArena,Meanjin,Thesis11,JournalofSociology,AustralianHistoricalStudiesandotherstogetasenseofthetone,structureandstyleofthese.Tutorial/OralPresentationsAnumberofcoursesincludeformaloralpresentationstoyourpeers.Thismethodofassessmentwillcomplementwrittenassessmentformsandassistyourcommunicationsskilldevelopment.Manystudentswillmoveintocareerswherehighlydevelopedcommunicationskillsareanessentialrequirementofthejob.Goodoralpresentations: consideraudienceneeds; delivercomplexideasinwayswhichareengagingandaccessible; connectwiththeaudience; relyuponthoroughplanningandpreparation;and exhibitenthusiasmandinterestinthetopic.Inpreparingforyourpresentationyouneedto: thoroughlyplanandresearchyourtopic; workoutwhatyouwanttosay,thelanguage,examplesandkeypoints; workouthowtobeaslogicalandclearaspossible; decideonthebestuseofvisuals(overheads,images,videosetc.)thatwillmosteffectivelyassistyouraudiencetoconnectwithyourideasandmessages; decidehowyouwillengagetheaudiencewithquestionsanddiscussion;becreative–trysomethingdifferent,rememberthatyouhavetograbandkeeppeople’sattention; notbeafraidtouseexerciseswhichinvolveyouraudienceinordertoinvestigatethematerial; doadressrehearsal(thisismostimportantifyouareworkingwithotherpeople);and testtheaudiovisual/computertechnologyinthepresentationroombeforeyoubegin.Indeliveringyourpresentationyouneedto: befamiliarwithyourmaterialsothatyoudonotreadtoyouraudience(youmayreadquotes); sticktothetimelimit; testthetechnologyinadvance; speakclearlyandaudibly;and typealloverheadsinlargefont(18+points)andcheckspelling.TheRMITLearningLab(http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/oral‐presentations)hasanumberofusefulresourceswhichcanassistyoutodevelopandimproveoralpresentationskills.


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JournalsOftenyouwillbeaskedforyourpersonalreflectionsandthoughts.Thiscanbedonethroughuseofjournals.Journalscanbequitedifferentinstylefromotherformsofassessment,butstillrelyonqualitysourcesandevidencedarguments.Somepointersinwritingjournalentries:Keepingajournalordiaryhelpstorecordeventsbutmoreimportantlyinsightsyoumayhaveaboutcertainactivities,events,taskscompletedandtheworkorculturalcontextsyoufindyourselfin.Itisimportanttorecordentriesregularlyastheyhelptoprovideinformationyoumaybeabletodrawonwhenwritingyourfinalreport.Pleasemakesuretocontactyourlecturersorfieldplacementcoordinatorstofindoutifthereisaparticularformatandcontentexpectedwithinyourdisciplinearea.Thefollowingpointersmaybehelpfulinidentifyingwhattowriteabout.Identifyanddescribeyourobservation/experience/practiceintermsasconcreteandspecificaspossible.Yourchoicemaybeguidedbywhatyouwishtolearnfrom,change,evaluateorunderstandbetter.Thecontextyoudescribeshouldincludedetailsofanycontextualissuesyouconsiderimportant,suchascultural,communityororganisationalcontexts,professional,politicalorpersonalissue,timeofdayorweek,incidentsthatimmediatelyprecededtheoneinquestion,oreventsleadinguptotheissueuponwhichyouarereflecting.(AdaptedfromFook,Janed,1996.Thereflectiveresearcher:socialworkers’theoriesofpracticeresearch.StLeonards,N.S.W.:Allen&Unwin).

Section3.AssessmentCriteriaIrrespectiveoftheassessmentitisimportantforyoutohaveaclearsenseofthevariouswaysinwhichstaffwillassessandgradeyourwork.Thisinformationwillensurethatyouhaveconsideredallaspects,expectationsandrequirementsofassessment.Coveringthefieldinthiswaygivesyoutheopportunitytoobtainthehighestpossiblegradeforyourwork.Individualstaffcanuseawiderangeofcriteriatoassessstudentwork.Generallystudentworkwillbeassessedaccordingtothefollowingsixareas:SubstanceDoestheworkanswerthequestion?Isitrelevanttothequestion/topic?Doestheworkprovideadetailedandcriticalanalysis?Atwhatlevel?Doestheworkuseevidencetosupportitsargumentsandideas?

PresentationIstheworkpresentedinanaccessiblemannerthatconformstotheassessmentrequirements?(Ataminimum,writtenworkmustbewordprocessed,oralpresentationsmust,ataminimum,beclearandaudible).Doestheworkuseclearandappropriatelanguage?Istheworkneat?Aregrammar,spellingandpunctuationappropriate?Istheworkengagingforthereader/audience?Doestheworkfollowtheappropriateacademicconventionsforthediscipline/subjectarea?


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EffortHastheworkdrawnuponcurrentandrelevantreferences?Howextensiveistheresearch,backgroundreading?Istheworkbasedonsufficientplanning,preparation,interpretationandanalysis?Wouldadditionalresearch,readingandpreparationstrengthenandimprovethework?

StructureDoesthepiececonformtothestructurerequiredoftheassessment?Hasthestudentpresentedtheassessmentpieceinalogical,orderedandorganisedmanner?Hasthisbeenaneffectivewaytodevelopaconvincingandcoherentargument?

OriginalityDoesthisworkengagewith,challengeoraddtothekeyideasinthisdiscipline/subjectarea?Istheworkinnovative?Hasthestudentprovidedacriticalanalysisofthequestion/topicarea?Hasthestudentclearlyarguedtheirown,consideredposition?Isthepiecefreeofplagiarism?

ReferencingIstheworkappropriatelyreferenced?Dothereferences,includingintextcitations,conformtoanapprovedreferencingstylesuchasAPA,HarvardorMLA?Areargumentssupportedbyevidence?Whenanauthorhasbeenusedasevidenceintheassignment,havetheirideasbeenadequatelyunderstood,summarisedandreferenced?Hastheworkofothersbeenacknowledged?Pleaseconsultyourlecturerortutorformoreinformation.Notethatdifferentcoursesmayrequiredifferentreferencingstyles.ReferenceguidesareavailablefromtheRMITLibrarywebsitehttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8rwjnkcmfoeez

Section4.Step‐by‐stepguidetodoingbasicessaysAnessayisaformalandcoherentpieceofwritingwhichprovidesadetailedandrelevantresponsetoatopicormayanswerasetquestion;Itisbasedontheclaimsandevidencewhichyouhavedrawnfromyourreadingandresearchactivity;andItisalogicalandcarefulargumentwhichdocumentsyourresponse.Thatis,itshouldpresentyourownpersonalargument,orreasonedandevidencedstancethatyouaretaking/casethatyouaremaking.Itisn’tnecessarilythecasethatyouMUSTargueyourownpersonalbeliefonatopic,althoughthatisusuallytheeasiestthingtodo.Thekeyisthatwhateverpositionyoutake,youargueandevidencethatposition.Whetheryouchallengeyourselftoarguefromaviewpointthatisopposedtowhatyouactuallybelieve,oryoupresentyourhonestopinion,isnotasimportantashowwellyouevidencethepositionthatyoutake.Youshoulddevelopthispositionbasedonthekindsofpositionsthatyoureadaboutinyourresearch.Anessayisnotsomethingthatcanbeslappedtogetherthenightbeforeitisduenorcanitbebasedsolelyonlecturenotes.Apassessaycannotsimplybecobbledtogether.Goodtimemanagementwillcontributetogoodessays.Essaysneedtobeplannedand


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organisedwithsomedegreeofprecision.Hereishowwesuggestyougoaboutdoinga‘basic’essay.Bythiswemeananessaybasedmostlyonideasandconceptsthatotherpeoplepresent(forexample,inbooksandjournalarticles),andnotbasedonyourownindividual,originalresearch(forexample,fromsurveysorinterviews.)Therecommendedstepsareasfollows.StepOne:Obtainaclearunderstandingofthetask/questionThoroughlyreadthedescriptionoftheassignmentinthesubjectguideand/oranyotherwrittendocumentationprovidedbythelecturer.Makesureyouunderstandclearlywhatisbeingaskedfor.Ifyoudon't,seekclarificationfromthelecturerortutor.Carefullyanalysethequestionbeingasked.Checkthatyouunderstandthekeywordsandconcepts.Ifnot,lookthemupinanappropriatespecialistdictionaryorothersuitablereferences.DoNOTrelyonageneraldictionaryliketheOxfordortheMacquarie.InsteadlookatsomethingliketheMacmillanStudentDictionaryofSociologyoranequivalentifitisforanotherdiscipline.Thesewillusuallyindicatethenatureofthehistoryandcomplexityofthemeaningsofkeyconcepts.Payparticularattentiontowhatyouarebeingaskedtodo.Eachoftheactivitiesbelowisdifferent,sobeclearwhicharebeingaskedforinyourchosentopic.Yourlecturerwillframetheessayquestionsusingavarietyofterms.Itisessentialyouunderstandwhatthesemeanifyouaretoanswerthequestionsproperly.Hereisalistofthemostcommontermsandwhattheymean: Assess:Determinethevalueorsignificance Analyse:Considerindetail Explain:Offerreasonsfor Towhatextent:Quantifytheimportance(i.e.toalargeextent,asmallextent) Compare:Examineandnotesimilarities Contrast:Emphasisethedifferences(somequestionswillaskyouto‘compareandcontrast’,i.e.lookforsimilaritiesanddifferences) Discuss:Examineandconsider(thisdoesnotsimplymeandescribe!) Accountfor:Givereasonswhy Illustrate:Clarifyordemonstratewithexamples(thisdoesnotmeanyouneedtodrawanything!) Consider:JudgeandcometoanopinionOthercommontermsinclude–describe,evaluateorrecommend.Youhavetobecarefulaboutthekindsofwordsusedinthequestion,andwhatthelecturer/tutormeansbythosewords.Forexample,iftheessayquestionisactuallyjustastatement,followedby‘Discuss’–isthatstillaquestion?Yes,essentiallyitstillactsasaquestion,becauseintheword‘Discuss’youwillprobablyfindthatthelecturerislooking


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foryoutothinkabout,decideuponandthenargueapositionaboutthestatement.Thispositionmightbeagreement,disagreement,qualifiedagreement,agreementundercertaincircumstancesbutnotothers,orsomeothervariant.Youwillprobablynotbeabletoarticulatewhatyouthinkuntilafteryouhavedonesomepreliminaryreadingonthetopictounderstandwhatotherpeoplehavearguedandwhy.Thepointis,however,thatyouwilleventuallyhavetodecidewhatyouthink,andthenarguethat.Often,thewayaquestioniswordedmeansthatthereal‘crux’oftheissueisn’tnecessarilystated,butmightbequiteobvioustoyourlecturerortutor.Sometimes,youwillbeexpectedtohavecertainkindsofevidenceinyouressaytoargueyourpoint.Themostcommonreasonforfirstyearstudentstofailanessayisbecausetheydidn’tactuallydowhatwasaskedofthem.Foressays,thisusuallymeansthattheydidn’tactuallyanswerthequestion.Lookcarefullyatthequestionandmakesurethatitmakessense.Isit,infact,answerable?Doesitincludetermswhicharecontestedorcontroversial?Willyouneedtospendsomeoftheessaydealingwithdefinitionsordebatescontainedwithinthequestionitself?Forexample,ifthequestionis‘Isthereanythingwrongwithtryingtoengineerabettersociety?’,youmightneedtodiscusswhatdifferentpeoplemightmeanby‘abettersociety’.Youmayevendecidetoarguethatsincethereiscontroversyoverwhatconstitutesa‘bettersociety’weshouldbewaryabouttryingtoengineerone!Itmaybethecasethatthequestionhasimplicitassumptionsthatyouneedtooverturnordiscuss.Forexample,ifthequestionmentions‘anti‐globalisationprotestors’,youmaywanttodiscusshowprotestorswhoareoftenlabelled‘anti‐globalisation’infactdon’tidentifyasanti‐globalisation,andinsteadmayidentifyasproglobalisationfrombelowandanti‐corporate‐ledglobalisation.Donotthinkthatyouhavetotakethequestion‘atfacevalue’.Thewayasituationisframedpreventsmanydiscussionsorideasfrombeingexaminedifitisn’tquestioned.Yourpreliminaryreadingonthetopicshouldalertyoutothesekindsofdebates.Breakdownthequestion/topicintoitscomponentparts.Identifyingthemaincomponentsofthetopicwillhelpyouorganiseyourresearchandwriting.Take,forexample,aquestionsuchas:‐WhatopportunitiesdoAustralianwomenhavetocompeteinthelabourmarketandwhatfactorsbestexplainthepatternthatyoufind?Anargumentthataddressesthisquestioncanbebrokendownintocomponentssuchas: patternsofemployment,recruitmentandpromotionbetweenmenandwomenbetween1980and2001; anexaminationofvariousfactorssuchaseducationandtrainingopportunities; governmentpolicy,programsandlegislation;and childcarepoliciesandpatterns,andsoon.


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StepTwo:BackgroundreadingtoinformyouropinionWhenyouareaskedtoargueaposition,youmaynotactuallyhaveoneyet.Or,youmighthaveanopinionbutyouhaven’treallythoughtitthrough,and/oryoucan’tevidencewhatyouintuitivelythinktobethecase.Thisiswheretheneedforpreliminaryreadingcomesin.Lecturerswantyoutoarguewhatyouthink,butonlyafteryou’vereallythoughtaboutitandreadwhatothershavesaidontheissue.Theywanttohearyourinformedpointofview–oneyoucansubstantiatewithsoundevidence.Youwillneedtodobackgroundreadingonthetopictogetasenseofwherethedebatesare,whatsomeofthemajorissuesare/havebeen,iftherearedifferentapproachesorschoolsofthoughtontheissue,andmore.Sometimesyourlecturer/tutorwillhavepresentedsomeoftheseissuesinthecourse,andmayprovidereferenceswithwhichyoumaystartyourreading.Widereadingisessentialforagoodessay,reportorpresentation;sothatyoucanbuildwhatyouhavetosayonthefoundationprovidedbyworkalreadydoneonthetopic.Butwhensearchingforreferencesandreadingthem,alwayskeepthecentralquestion(s)ofyourtopicandtheoutlineinmindtoguideyourselectionofwhatisrelevant.Remember,therewillalwaysbetoomanysourcestoreadthemallinfull,soyouhavetobefocussedanddisciplinedinyourreading.Againthisiswhyyourquestionisimportant:Thequestionhelpstodeterminewhatyouneedtoreadandwhatyoucansafelyignore.AudiovisualmaterialFilm,TVandradiodocumentariescanserveasgoodintroductionstoandusefulsourcesforsometopics.TheRMITAudiovisualLibraryindexmaybeworthscanningaspartofyourresearch.Locallibrariesmayalsoholdusefulcollectionsofmaterial.Allaudiovisualmaterialusedmustbereferencedinfull.StepThree:ResearchinthelibrarytofindappropriateandreliableresourcesIfyouhavedevelopedaclearquestionortopicthenyoushouldbegintoworkouthowyoucanbestgettheanswerstoyourquestion.Itiscriticalthatthemethodyouadopthelpsyougetthekindofanswersyouareafter.Goodresearchreflects,inaverycoherentandsensiblefashion,thequestionsthatyouhavesetouttoanswer.Thestyleorkindofresearchyouoptforshouldagainreflectcloselythequestionsyouareasking.Ifyouareclearaboutthequestion(the'WHY'orthe'WHAT'ofyourquestion)thenthe'HOW'todoitflowsalmostautomatically.Itispossibletoidentifyquiteanumberofdifferentresearchtechniques.Here,wewillbemainlyoutliningwhatiscalledsecondaryresearch.Thisistext‐basedorlibrary‐basedresearch.Essay‐writing,reportsandpresentationsallrelyupontext‐basedorlibrary‐basedresearchasthefirstpartoftheassessmenttask.Thisiswhereyoucangainanunderstandingofthebackgroundtoyourquestion/topicandunderstandthethinkingandideasthatinformyourareaofstudy.Formoreinformationoncompletingassessmenttasksvisitthe‘Assessment’sectionontheRMITLearningLabwebsite(http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/assessment‐tasks).


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Astapleofuniversity‐basedwritingistheessaybasedonsecondaryliterature,whichoffersamixoftheoreticalandempirical(ordescriptiveresearch)work.Thesecondaryliteraturewillinclude: recommendedtextbooks; othertextsandbooks; researchmonographs; thesesstoredintheLibrary; discipline‐basedjournals(eg.JournalofSociology); generalistjournals(eg.JustPolicy);and otherlibraryholdingslikeABS(AustralianBureauofStatistics)publications.Readingrequirementswillvaryfromassessmenttoassessment.Sometopicscallfordetailedanalysisofasmallnumberoftexts;othersrequirewiderreadingofmanytextsandothersources.Beguidedbythedescriptionoftheassessmentprovidedbyyourlecturer/tutor.Askifyouarenotsure.Mostlecturersissuereadinglistsforparticulartopics.Theseare,however,oftenjuststartingpoints,andyouwillgenerallybeexpectedtofindfurtherrelevantsources.Thesemaybefoundbyscanningthereferencelistsandbibliographiesinthesourceslistedbythelecturer,usingthesubject/authorandperiodicalindexesintheRMITLibrary,oraskingpeoplespecialisinginthissubject.Thelattercanbeparticularlyhelpful,ifyoucangetaccesstosuchspecialists,althoughthisisnotalwayspossible.Inbroadterms,anddependingonboththekindofquestionyouhavetoanswerand/oradvicefromyourlecturer/tutor,thefollowingtypesofliteraturemaybeusedasresources: generaltexts(usefulforbasicgroundinginasubject); specialisedtexts(morefocussedandadvancedtreatmentsofparticulartopics); journalarticles(especiallyusefulforkeepingabreastofrecentacademicdevelopmentsinafield); newspapersandnewsperiodicals(goodforup‐to‐datedevelopmentsandasprimarysourcesinhistory)butbecarefulabouthowyouusesomeofthismaterialasitcanbemisleadingorsimplyincorrect; parliamentarydebatesandpoliticalpartypublications; articles/booksandotherwrittenmaterialavailableontheInternet(anincreasinglyusefulresource,oftencontainingveryrecentmaterial,thoughofvariablequalitysinceitnotalwayssubjecttoanyreviewprocessoreditorialsupervisionseedetailsabouttheseissuesinthesectiononreferencing–evaluatingresources); annualreports,researchreportsandotherpublicationsofgovernmentdepartments,privateandcommunitysectororganisationsandunions;and archives.Bythetimeyouneedtobedoingthelibraryresearch,youshouldbefamiliarwithcataloguesearches,howtofindappropriatejournaldatabasestosearch,andhowtoevaluatetheresourcesthatyoufind.Theseareskillsspecifictothedisciplineandtopic,


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andwewon’tcoverthemherebecauseitwouldbeimpossibletodothemjustice.ThroughouttheyearthereareanumberoftutorialsprovidedbytheLibrarystafftohelpyounavigatetheresourcesavailabletoyou.TherearealsoeasytofollowguidesyoumayfindusefulontheLibrary’swebsitehttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=m6mwebld3emp.DataWhererelevantandpossible,quantitativeandqualitativedataobtainedfromresearch,surveys,experimentsorcasestudiescanstrengthentheanalysisandargumentsinanessay,reportorpresentation.Dataonawiderangeoftopicscanbeobtainedfrom: theAustralianBureauofStatistics(seetheRMITLibrary'scollectionofABSpublications,CD‐ROMsandon‐linefacilities); FederalandStateGovernmentDepartments,bookshopsandinformationcentres; privatesectororganisations(eg.industryassociationsandlargecorporations); communitysectororganisations(eg.AustralianCouncilofSocialService,AustralianConservationFoundation); unions(eg.AustralianCouncilofTradeUnions); politicalparties; marketresearchorganisations(thoughtheseoftenchargeforinformationprovided); theInternet,byvisitingthehomepagesofrelevantorganisationstoseewhatinformationispubliclyavailable(invaluableforquickaccesstooverseassources); andarchives.StepFour:ReadingandnotemakingWiththecautionaboveaboutneverbeingabletoreadeverythingrelevanttothetopic,youshouldbemakinganattempttocoverthemajordebates.Trytoavoidpassivelyphotocopyinganddownloadinglargeextractsofbooksorothersources.Thispracticecanoftendelaythehardtaskofreading,thinkingandnotemaking.Moststudentswhowritegoodessaysandreports,anddelivergoodpresentationshavespentalotoftimeanalysingthereadingandtakingcarefulnotes.Whenreadingyouneedtoconsider: argumentsadvancedbytheauthors; questionsraised; claimsbeingmade; evidenceused; assumptions; andyourownresponsesandreactionstowhatyouhaveread.Youhavetoreadthematerial,analyseitandthinkaboutit.Alwaystakenoteswhenyouread,seeorhearanythingrelevant,andwritedownthefullreferenceincludingpagenumbers,orotheridentifyingmarkers.


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Keepingajournalforaspecificprojectisoftenagoodidea.Youcanuseittonotespecificideas,bitsofinformation,usefulfilmsorexhibitionsorcasualconversationsthatmightbeuseful.Ifyouhavearoughideaoftheoutlineofyouressayyoumayliketouseyouroutlineorassessmentplantoorganiseyournotesandcollectionofotherrelevantinformation.Asyoufindapieceofinformation,quotation,argument,ordevelopyourownideas,recordthemaccordingtowhereyouthinktheymightfitwithintheassessmentplan.Insomecasesyoumayalsobeusingabibliographicandreferencingprogramonyourcomputer(suchasEndnote)allowingyoutorecordcomprehensive,easytosearchnotes.TheLibraryprovideguidesandruntutorialsonhowtouseEndnote.Thesoftwareisfreeforstudentuseandavailabletodownloadfrom:http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=np7zfn30nbsz;STATUS=A;SECTION=2;PAGE_AUTHOR=Tanya%20Bramley.Inthiswayyouaremarshallingalltheinformationyouneedtoprepareeachpartofthefinalessay,reportorpresentationasyougo.Youwillhaveinformationsummariesandquotationswithsourcesalreadyhandwrittenortypedforuseinthefinalwork.Takeallnecessarycaretodistinguishotherpeople'sideasorinformationfromyourowninyournotes.Thelattermightbeincludedinsquarebrackets,forexample.Information,wordsorideasfromotherswillofcoursealwaysbefullyandcarefullyreferenced,providinganotherwaytoidentifythese.Itisimperativethatyoudonotplagiarise(eveninadvertently)theworkorideasofothers.Forinformationonacademicintegrity,includingdefinitionsof,andtipsonavoidingplagiarism,visittheAcademicandIntegritywebpagehttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=kkc202lwe1yvStepFive:AnalysisandinterpretationOnceyoufeelthatyouhaveagoodgraspofthemajordebates,trytoanalysetheargumentsandinformationthatyouhaveread.Workfromyournotestotrytoseemajorthemes,patternsordividesintheexistingliterature.Arethereunquestionedassumptionsthatneedtobequestionedintheworkthathasalreadybeendone?Sometimesthesignificance,linksandimplicationsallseemtofloweasilyfromtheresearchmaterial.Butitdoesn'talwaysworkthatway.Againitisvitalthattheresearchdataandinformationbeapproachedinthelightoftheresearchquestionortopicwithwhichyoubegan: Interpretthefindingsofyourresearch.Thisisadisciplinedprocessbestapproachedintermsofworkingfromwhatyousetouttoinvestigatetowhatyouactuallyhave. Drawconclusionsfromyourreading,argumentsanddata.Standardtestssuchasthoseofvalidityandsignificancethatapplytothedatacanhelpinterpretit.Youmaywanttolookforpatternsorinterestingconnections.


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Useimaginationandcreativitysothatyoucanbegintoasknewquestionsormakelateralorinterestingconnectionsandleaps. Prepareapreliminaryoutlineoftheessay/report,includingifpossiblethemainsectionsandsubsections.Yourearlierworkonidentifyingcomponentpartsandbrainstormingareusefulhere.Theoutlinewillprovideaninitialassistinginsortingoutwhichissuesarecoreandwhichperipheral.Ithelpsensurethatyourworkhasacoherentlogicalstructure.Itguidesyourfinalwrite‐up. Reviewtheoutlineperiodicallyduringtheproject.Bepreparedtomodifyitinthelightofnewinformationandyourexperienceasitunfolds.Itisarareessaythatproceedspreciselyaccordingtoitsoriginaloutline.StepSix:Workingoutyourargument/caseThinkaboutyourargumentandwhatitisyouwanttosay.Makesureyousaysomething!Itisn’tgoodenoughatuniversitytohaveanessaythatsayssomethingalongthelinesof‘Athinksx,because….ButBarguesybecause….Endofessay’.Youmust‘saysomething’‐haveyourownlinethatyouarearguing.Evenifyouareaskedto‘Discuss.’,youstillneedtoargueyourownviewpointonthetopic,basedonthereading/researchthatyouhavedone.StepSeven:Planningastructure,oroutline,fortheessay(introduction,argumentandconclusion)Essaysshouldbeapproachedasasystemofparagraphseachhavingcertainfunctions.Thereareanumberofdifferentkindsofparagraphswhichfitwithinoneorotherofthesethreesectionsandwhichtogetheradduptoanessay.Brieflytheseare: introductoryparagraphs conceptual/theoreticalparagraphs methodologicalparagraphs substantiveparagraphs concludingparagraphsTheseareexplainedfurtherinStepNine.However,foreasefornow,youcanthinkofanessayasconsistingof introduction argument,and conclusionSincetheintroductoryandconcludingpartsdon’tchangeverymuchintheiroveralloutlineforeachessay,atthisstageyoushouldbefocussingoncreatinganoutlineforjusttheargumentsection.Thinkclearlyabouthowyouwillbuildyourcase,abouthowtoorderyourpoints,discussionsandexplorations.Doyouneedtofirstexamineconflictingideasofa‘bettersociety’,orwouldthatfitbetterifitcameafterthediscussionoftheethicsofengineeringone?Shouldyoufirstoutlinebothsidesofthedebateandthendetailwhyyouhavecometoyourposition,orshouldyoustartwithyourposition,presentopposingviews,anddefendyourpositionagainstthoseopposingviews?Eachessay


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‘lends’itselftoadifferentoutlineorstructure.Sometimes,therewillbequiteobviouschoicesforthestructuretouse.Atothertimes,oneormorestructureswillbeequallyeffective.Thepointis,atthisstageyoushouldhaveanoveralloutlineofthe‘bigpicture’structureofyouressay.Ifyoufinditdifficulttowritetheoutline,youmightwanttoexamineyouropinionorargument(fromStepSix).Howdidyoucometothisopinion?Perhapsthatlineofreasoning,ifit’sclearinyourownmind,alsomakessensefortheessay.Ifit’snotclear,perhapsyouneedtogobacktoStepSixagain,andthinkyourpositionthrough.StepEight:Refiningyourideas,reasoningandnotesNowthatyouhaveanunderstandingofwhatyouwillbroadlyarguewhere,youwillprobablyfinditusefultogobacktoyournotesandseewherethey‘fit’intheessay.Aretheystillrelevanttoyouressay?Werecertainideasorconclusionsthatyoucametoinstrumentalforthefinalargumentyouaremaking?Arecertainauthorsclearlygoingtobediscussedincertainsections?Arethereanypartsoftheoverallcasethatyouwillmakewhich,nowthatyoulookatit,appeartobeweakandwillneedfurtherresearchandevidenceinordertobearguedconvincingly?Doyouhaveeverythingyouneedtostartwritingtheessay,oraretherekeysectionsstillmissing?StepNine:CarefulwritingtoexplainyourargumentandmeetwordlimitsEssayscanbewritteninstraightprosewithorwithoutsectionsorheadings.Thestructureandformofyouressay’spresentationneedstobechosenwiththethreemainpartsoftheessayinmind(ieintroduction,mainbodyandconclusion)anditsspecificcontent.Itisimportantforyoutodevelopasawriter.Summarisereferencedinformationinyourownwords(alwaysrememberingtoidentifyandappropriatelyreferencethesource).Don'tleavethetaskofexplainingwhatyouthinktoquotes‐identifythepointyouwishtomakeanduseyourwordstodescribe,explain,analyseandinterpret.Ifatallindoubtaboutanyaspectofyouressay,discussitwithyourlecturerortutor.Belowwediscussthemainsectionsthatwewouldusuallyexpecttofindinanessay,intheorderweexpecttofindthem.PartOne.IntroductionTheintroductionpreparesthereaderforthejourneysoyouneedtointroducethetopic(tellthereaderwhereyouaregoingandwhy)andyourapproachtoit(explainbrieflyhowyouwillgetthere).Youmaydecidetosummariseyouroverallthemeorargumenthere,oryoumayprefertoleavethisuntillater.Butbeconcise.Ataminimum,yourintroductioncontainsthewhat,thewhyandthehowofyourwork.Itshould: outlinethecontext,(historical,social,intellectualand/ortheoretical); showthatyouunderstandwhatthequestionis;andthenbriefly


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showclearlyhowyouproposetodevelopyourargumentandanalysis.Ifindoubt,thefollowingtemplateworkswellforintroductionsandmayhelpyouwhenyouarefirstlearningtowritethem.Writeonesentenceintheintroductioncoveringeachofthefollowingareas: Theme.Welcomeandgrabthereader.Talkgenerallyaboutthebroadtopic,andany‘fences’/constrictionsyouareplacing–forexamplethetimeorplaceorspecificexamplethatyouwillbeexamining. Forexample,‘EastTimoriscurrentlystillundergoingreconstructionafteritsstruggleforindependence’. ResearchQuestion.Quicklycovertheactualresearchquestionyouareansweringintheessay.Youcanusephraseslike,‘InthispaperIaskthequestion.…’Or‘Thisresearchisconcernedwiththeissueof….’ Rationale.Contextualisetheresearch–whydoesitmatter?Whybother?NB.Don’tincludethisifthebestyoucancomeupwithissomethingalongthelinesof‘topassthecourse’. How.Tellthereaderhowyouwillanswerthequestionandhowyouwillapproachtheresearchintheessay.Youmightchoosetotellthereadertheexactargumentyouwillmake(yourmainclaim).Youmust,however,tellthereaderhowyouwillargueyourcase:thestructureoftheessay.Youcanusewordslike,‘First,examine….Second…using…discuss….Then…argue….Finally…show….’Thismighttakemorethanonesentence,buttrytobesuccinct.Thissectionisthecrucialpart–aredwarninglightmoment.Asyouattempttowritethe‘how’,youpersonallygettoseeforyourselfwhetherornotyouarereadytowritetherestoftheessay.Ifyoucan’tbeclearandsuccinctaboutwhatyouaredoingintheessay,andHOWyouwilldoit,thenstopwritingyouressay.Itusuallymeansthatyouhaven’tplannedtheessaywellenough,orthoughtitthroughenoughyet.Inthiscase,youneedtogobacktoyouressayplanandoutlinebeforetryingtowritetherestoftheessay(StepsSix/Seven).ConceptualsectionThissectionwilldrawuponyourreadinganddiscussthekeyconceptsusedtoguideyourthinking.Youwilloutline: themaintraditionsofresearchorthinking(historical,conceptual,and/ortheoreticalissues); asummaryofthewayvarioustraditions,modelsorgroupsofwritershandleanddevelopthekeyconcept/s(eg.feminists,functionalistsociologists,interpretativesociologists,Marxistandpost‐modernistsmayallhavewrittenonyourtopic).Thisneedstobehandleddeftlyandcarefullyandmustalwaysrelatebacktothequestion/topic;and theproblems,contradictions,missingbits,whichyouthinkmayexistinanyoralloftheseapproachesandtraditions.


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Thissectioniskeybecausethewayinwhichadebateisframed–theassumptionsthatunderliethedebate–willgreatlyaffectthepossiblepointsofview,oreventherangeofpossiblethought.Ifyoudon’tchallengeproblematicassumptionsinthewaycertainwriters’framethedebate,thenyoumightbe‘missingthepoint’.MethodologicalsectionInthosecaseswhereyouhavedevelopedyourownresearchinformation,adiscussionofyourresearchmethod/sisneeded.Thusitmaybenecessarytospellout:

whatyoudid(eg.ifitwasasurvey,whatwasthesamplesize,andincludeacopyofthequestionnaireinanappendix); howyoudidit(describetheprocessyouused);and whyyoudidit(outlinetherationaleforyourchoiceofthismethod).

Foranessaybasedmostlyonjournalandbookresearch,thissectioncangenerallybecoveredinonesentenceinyourintroduction.PartTwo.MainbodyoftheessaySubstantivesection

Themainpartoftheessayisthejourney.Hereyouwillbeusingalargernumberofparagraphstospelloutthelinkedelementsinyourargument.Itisanintellectualjourneysoyouhavetotellthereaderwhatyou'veread,whatyouthinkitmeansandwhatevidenceyouhaveforthinkingthewayyoudo.Youhavetoexplainandanalysetheterritorythatyourjourneyhascovered.Youwill:‐

Reviewothers'workandideas;

Presentyourfindingsandarguments;

Justifyyourfindingsandargumentswithappropriateevidence.Youwilladvancetheinformation/evidencethatyouthinksupportstheclaim,andmakeanyrelevantobservationsaboutthequalityoftheevidenceandanylimitationsyoucansee.Thisindicatestoyourreaderthatyouareboththoughtfulandcredible.Thissectionmightincludegraphsandtables(whichmustbeclearlylabelled)toaccompanythetext;and

Interpret,evaluateandanalysetheevidence.Inthesubstantivesection,youdiscussyourfindingsinrelationtotheresearchquestion/topic.Thisisthesectionuponwhichyourintellectualcontributionwillbeassessed.Youwillhavedevelopedaparticularinsightfromyourreadingandresearchthatyouneedtoexplaintothereader.Thekeymistakethatmoststudentsmakeisthattheydonotinterpret,evaluateandanalyse.Rathertheyjustdescribethejourneytheyhavebeenon,quotetoomuchasasubstituteforusingtheirownwordsand/ortheyjustreiteratelargeblocksofotherpeople'sworkwithnolinkstothestudent'sownargumentorperspective.Don'tusequotestosumupyourideas.Dosummarisewhatyouthinkandthekeypointsyouwishtomake.Useyourvoicetointerpret,evaluateandanalyse.


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Youhavetoensurethereaderknowswhereyou'vebeen(yourevidence)andunderstandswhyyouthinkthewayyoudoaboutthetopic(yourinterpretation,evaluationandanalysis).Thedifferencesbetweenthesewordsmayhelpyoutomakethedistinctionbetweendescriptionandanalysis,evaluationandinterpretation.(TheMacquarieDictionary2ndRevision1987,MacquarieLibraryPty.Ltd,Chatswood)Makesureyouwriteusingcorrectparagraphstructures.Thiswillincludeasuccinctandclearstatementoroutlineofthemainclaimyouwishtoadvanceineachparagraph.Thisiswhatyoumayalreadyknowasthetopicsentence.Itshouldspelloutthemainpointyouwanttomake.PartThree.Conclusion

Theconclusionisthefinalsectionthatdrawstheessaytoaclose.Thejourneyisoversoyouneedtobrieflysummarisethemainfindingsandarguments.Ausefulrulefortheconclusionis:

Don'tintroduceanynewmaterial.Justsummariseclearlyandsuccinctlythemainpointsthatemergedfromyourargument.References

Thereferencesectionprovidesacompletelistofthetexts,articles,researchreportsandothersources(e.g.Internetsources,CD‐ROMs,films,radiobroadcasts,journalarticles,newspaperarticles)whichyouhaveusedtoconducttheresearchandreportonyourfindings.Youmustprovidecorrectandcomprehensivedetailsinrelationtoauthor,yearofpublication,titleofwork,edition,publisher,placeofpublication,andpagenumber(s)forallsourcesofinformation(eg.quotes,factualinformation,ideas,textsetc.).Formoredetailsonhowtodothis,seesection6,ReferencingandUsingOtherPeople'sWork.SeetheRMITLibraryReferencingGuideshttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8rwjnkcmfoeez.StepTen:RewritingyouressaytorefineanddeveloptheargumentOften,it’sonlyonceourargumenthasbeenclearlyspelledoutonpaper(orwhenweareattemptingtoclearlyspellitout)thatwecanseetheflaws.Sometimes,submittingyour

Analyse: to examine critically, so as to bring out the essential elements

Describe: to set forth in written or spoken words

Evaluate: appraise carefully

Interpret: set forth the meaning of, explain or elucidate


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drafttoafriend,teacher,ortheStudyandLearningCentrewillalsoresultinthedetectionofweaknessesinyourargument.Attimes,thesecanbecrushinglydifficulttoovercome,andmayevenrequirecompletere‐thinkingofkeyaspectsofyouressay.However,it’sbesttopicktheseupbeforeyousubmityourwork,ratherthanhavethemreflectedinyourmark.StepEleven:Editingyourworkforpunctuation,expressionandgrammarGooveryouressaytomakesurethatitisclearandeasytoread.Payparticularattentiontolongsentences,clumsyclauses,andambiguousexpression.Whenwearetheauthor,wearealreadyawareofwhatwemean.Someoneunfamiliarwiththeworkcanoftendetectunclearpassagesorphrasesmorequickly.Itcanalsohelpifyouleavetheessayforafewdaysandthenreadoverit‘withfresheyes’.StepTwelve:SpellcheckingandproofreadingDon’trelyonyourcomputer’sspellchecktopackup,puckup,pockuporpickupyourmistakes.Readyouressayclosely,andhavesomeoneelsereadit.StepThirteen:Completingthebibliography/annotatedbibliography*Thisistoensureyouhaveincludedallinformationandreferencedsourcesandhavethecorrectdetailsinrelationtoauthor,yearofpublication,titleofwork,edition,publisher,placeofpublication,andpagenumber(s).Yourbibliographymustbecompleteandcomprehensiveforallinformationused(eg.quotes,factualinformation,ideas,Internetsources,films,textsetc.).Seesection6formorecomprehensiveinformationaboutthis.*Annotatedbibliographiesarerequiredfromstudentspreparinghistoricalessays.StepFourteen:SubmittingyourworkFamiliariseyourselfwiththeformatandmeansbywhichyourassessmentpiecesaretobesubmitted.SomeassessmentpiecesmayberequiredtobesubmittedviahardcopywithasignedAssignmentCoverSheetattached,howevermostGUSSassessmentswillbesubmittedonlineviaBlackboard.Makesureyoucorrectlyspellthenameofthepersonwhowillmarktheworkandknowthecoursecodetheworkisbeingsubmittedfor.

Section5.ApproachestoGoodWritingYoumustargueyourcasewithevidence.Thegoldenruleforacademicwritingis:Itisvitaltouseevidencetosupportyourargument.


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Youmustuseevidencetobackupyourargument.Donotrelyondescription.Youmustlearntoanalyse(breakargumentsintoparts)andevaluate(assess,compare,drawconclusions).Drawconclusionsfromyourevidenceorestablishyourconclusionswithsupportingreasonsorarguments.Yourcredibilityrestsinlargepartonyourcapacitytopersuadeyouraudienceofwhatyouclaimorwhatyouwanttoarguebypresentingabodyofrelevantandsufficientevidence. Itisnotenoughtomakeassertionsbecauseyoufeelor‘know’thatsomethingistrue. ReferencingisNOTthesamethingaspresentingevidence. Referencingtellsyourreaderwhereyougotsomethingfrom;youhavetoturnthat'something'intorelevantevidenceforyourwriting.Thedistinctionsareasfollows:GroundlessassertionsThefollowingisanassertionwithoutanyevidence.ThereisalotofpovertyinAustraliaandIfeelverystronglyaboutthis.ReferencingisnotevidenceThefollowingisanassertionthatusesareferencetotrytopersuadeyouofthecase:ProfessorJ.SmithsaidthereisalotofpovertyinAustralia(2005,pp.3‐4).Thisisanassertionbecausethewriterhasn’tgivenanyreasonforbelievingSmith(andwhatis‘alot’,anyway?).IfSmithhasnotdoneanyresearchintothis(andis,say,aProfessorofBiochemistry),thendoesSmithhavetheauthoritytocomment,andisthereferencecitedactuallymoreofapassingcomment,perhapssimplyanassertion?However,ifProfessorJ.SmithhasdoneamajorstudyintopovertyinAustralia,andrecentlypublishedtheresults,thenthefollowingwouldbeareasonablereference:ProfessorJ.Smith,inamajorstudyonpovertyinAustralia,saidthatpovertyiswidespreadinAustralia,withpovertyratesrangingfromaroundtentotwentypercentofthepopulationdependingonthemeasureofpovertyused.(2005,pp.3–4)YoumustproviderelevantandsufficientevidenceForeachofyourmajorclaims,evidenceisthespecificinformationthatyoutrustisthebasisforbelievingsomethingtobethecase.Ifyouaredoingyourownresearchandnotrelyingonresearchthatothershavedone,thenthefollowingmightbethekindofwell‐evidencedargumentyoucanaimtoemulate.Itdoesn’trelyonjustonesource,andtriestoshowthatvariousapproachestotheissuearriveatroughlythesameanswer.


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ThereiswidespreadpovertyinAustralia.The1989HouseholdIncomeSurveyreportedthat12%ofhouseholdshadunitincomeslessthantheHendersonPovertyLineforthatyearcomparedwith5%offamiliesin1981(ABS1991,pp.13‐15).The1991Censusalsoshowedthat15%ofhouseholdsand17%ofindividualincomeearnersearnedlessthantherespectiveHendersonPovertyLinecomparedwiththeresultsfromthe1985censuswhenonly8%and11%respectivelywereinthissituation(ABS1993,p.98).The1994nationalpovertysurveyarguedthattherehadbeena21%increaseinthenumbersoffamiliesinthelowestincomedecileseekingrentalandincomeassistancefromwelfareagenciesbetween1989and1993(Pryor1995,pp.48‐53).OntheassumptionthattheHendersonPovertylineisanausteremeasureofindividualorfamilypoverty,thenthesereportssuggestthatpovertyinAustraliaappearstobeincreasing.Whatcountsasrelevantorsufficientevidencedependsonthekindofclaimyouaremaking.Ifyouaremakingaclaimaboutlate‐16thcenturywriters,thenapoembyShakespearemightberelevantandsufficientevidence;eye‐witnessaccountsofeventsincludingyourownaccountscanbeevidence;photographs,letters,accountbooks,cartoonimages,newspapers,statistics,experimentalresearchdata,etc.,canallprovideevidence,dependingonthesituation.Youmaynot,forexample,claimthatsomethingistrueofawholepopulationofthreemillionpeopleonthebasisofoneindividualexample;equallyyoumaynotclaimthatwhatisgenerallytrueofAustraliansasagroupappliestoallparticularAustralians.GoodWritingStyleWewanttoencourageyoutowritewell,tofindyourownvoice,tosaythingsaswellasyoucan.Thiscomeswithlotsofpracticeandyoushouldalwaysuseandtestthefeedbackyougetfromyourlecturersandtutors.Inordertodothisyouwillneedtofollowsomebasicadvice.Respecttheconventionsof: grammar(rulesoflanguage:wordorder,correctverbconjugation,propersentences); syntax(phrase,clauseandsentenceconstruction);and lexicalprecision(usingwordswiththeircorrectmeaning).Ifyoucancutwordsfromasentencewithoutdestroyingitssense,doso.Avoidthepretentious:use'use'insteadofitspompoustwin,'utilise'.Forsomereason,manypeoplethinkthatiftheyusebigwords,theywillsoundmore‘academic’.Useabigwordonlyifitisthemostappropriate.Theclearerandmoresimplyyoucansaysomething,thebetter.Itwillhelpyourreadertofollowyourargumentmoreclosely.Ifyourreadercan’tfollowyourargument,youwon’tgainmarksforit.Signposting.Makethestructureyouareusingintheessayveryclear.Areadershould‘knowwheretheyare’.Theyshouldhaveaclearideaofwheretheyhavebeen,andwhere


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theyaregoing.Soifforthewholeessayyouhavethreecasestudiestoexamine(orpointstomake,orviewpointstoanalyse),makethatobviousintheintroduction.Thensignalstronglywhenyouarestartingthefirst.(‘ThefirstcasestudyIamexaminingis…’).Signalstronglywhenyouarefinishingoneandstartinganother.(‘NowthatIhavecoveredGiddens’viewonglobalisation,IwilloutlineRobertson’scounterview’.)Andsignalwhenyouhavefinishedthelist.(‘AstheexamplesofBrazil,IndiaandChinashow…’)Thatway,thereadercaneasilyfollowyourargument.BuyandreadabookonwritingbetterEnglish.Useadictionarytochecktheprecisemeaningofwords.NotethatahigherstandardofwrittenEnglishisrequiredatuniversitythanatsecondaryschool.Thisistoconformtothestandardsofacademicresearch,academicjournals,publishers,andprospectiveemployers.Donottreatthings,ideasorprocessesasactors.Forexampleavoidwriting‘thisreportargues...’Nametherealhumansubjectwhoisarguingorwriting.Youmayincludethe'I'word.Asin,‘InthisreportIargue…’or‘Myresearchfinds…’[Psychstudents:youmaybebarredfromusingsuchlanguageinyourpsychreports.Checkwithyourtutorifindoubt.]Usethepasttenseforpastworkorevents(‘Webershowed...’)andfordescribingwhatyoudidinyourresearch(‘Iconductedasurvey...’).Usethepresenttensewhendiscussingyouranalysisorfindings(‘Mysurveyresultsshowthat...’).Usegender‐neutrallanguage.'Humanity'not'man',or'convenor'ratherthan'chairman';thinkabouthowitsoundstowriteabout'thepregnantchairman'!Alwaysspelloutanacronym(theinitialsofanorganisationorphrase)infullthefirsttimeitisused.Forexample‘TheAustralianTaxOffice(ATO)representativestated…’Afteryouhaveexplaineditthefirsttime,youmaythenusetheacronymintherestoftheessay.Sub‐edityourworkformeaning,grammar,spelling,punctuation,styleandlayoutwhenyouhaveafinaldraft.Avoidslang,unlessitisapartofaquotation.Donotusecontractionsor‘etc..’Itisnotwisetocontractwords,like'don't','can't','wouldn't'unlesstheyareinadirectquote.Spellthemout:donot,cannot,wouldnot.Trytoavoidtheuseof'etc.'whichmaycamouflageallthethingsthatthe'etc.',isusedtorepresent.Instead,tryingsaying‘forexample’andthenlistthemajoritems.Thisstillimpliesthattherearemore.Capitalisesparingly,mainlyjustforpropernames(suchasSmith,Australia)ortitles(PremierRusso,MayorLeTan),butnotforcapitalismorcriticaltheory.Beconsistentwithcapitalisationthroughoutthework.Generallywriteoutnumbersinfull(aswords)thataretwowordsorless,asin'twentiethcentury'ratherthan20thcentury,or‘twohundred’ratherthan200.Alsowrite


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outnumbersthatstartasentence.Noteyoumayusenumberswhenappropriate,suchasformeasurements,times,orpercentages,suchas25percent.Sentencesshouldhaveaverb.(Theverbisthe‘doing’word.)Somelecturers/tutorsmightaskyoutowriteintheactivevoice,notthepassivevoice.Thismeansthatyouwriteinsentenceswherethereisusually‘someonedoingsomething’inthatorder.Thiscouldbe‘somethingdoessomethingelse’.(Thepassive,whichyoushouldavoid,is‘somethingwasdonebysomeoneor‘somethingelsewasdonebysomething’).ThinkofthisasasentencewhereActor(doer)action(verb)somethingactedupon(goal).Intheexamplesbelowandabove,weareunderliningwordsthatindicatepassivevoice.Forexample.Passive:‘TheBillwaspassedbyParliament’.Active:‘ParliamentpassedtheBill’.Active:‘TheBillpassedthroughParliament’.(NotethattheActorswapped–TheBillbecametheactor.)Passive:‘Therecommendationofthetaskforcewasunanimouslyadoptedbythecouncil’.Active:‘Thecouncilunanimouslyadoptedthetaskforce’srecommendation’.Trytowriteintheactivevoiceratherthanthepassivevoice.Asyoucanseeintheexamplesabove,thepassivevoiceiscumbersome.Youcanlookfortwothingstoidentifypossiblepassivevoice.Oneistheword‘of’,onlywhenusedinaparticularway–toindicatepossession.Lookatthefollowingexamples:Passive:‘TheargumentofMcDonnellofBrownUniversityisthat…‘Active:‘BrownUniversity’sMcDonnellargues....’Passive:‘…thedelayingoftheconstruction…’Active:‘Theconstruction’sdelay‘…Passive:‘ThediscussionofCabinetaboutCentrelink....’Active:‘Cabinet’sCentrelinkdiscussion....’Ortrytobeevenstrongerbyusingasentenceconstructionlike‘CabinetdiscussedCentrelink....’Thesecondthingtolookforarethe‘helpingwords’forverbs,like‘by’,‘is’,‘was’,‘were’.Whenthesehelpingwordsareusedwithverbsintheformthatgoafter‘Ihave....’(asinIhavewritten,Ihavespoken)thenyouhaveprobablyusedthepassivevoice.


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Passive:‘InMarchalone,twothousandpeoplewerefoundtobeinbreachbyCentrelink.’Active:‘InMarchalone,Centrelinkfoundtwothousandpeopleinbreach.’Passive:‘Widelyheldmisconceptionsarebeingchallengedbypoliticallyactiveyouth.’Active:‘Politicallyactiveyoutharechallengingwidelyheldmisconceptions.’Whenyoucomeacrosspassivevoicetrytochangethesentencetoactivevoice,unlessyouhaveaspecificreasonforusingthepassive.(Youmaywanttoemphasisethesomethingbeingacteduponforexample,wheretheactordoesnotneedtobeincludedbecauseitisnotimportant,oritissoobviousthatitcanbeomitted).DraftsandsubeditingYouwillusuallywriteanumberofdrafts.Usethefirstdrafttogetthebasicstructureandcontentdownforyoutoworkon,andidentifyanyremainingstructuralproblemsorgapsincontent.Thenusethesecondandsubsequentdraftstomoveprogressivelytowardsthecompletedwork.Redraftingisobviouslymucheasierusingacomputerafteryouhavecorrectedyourhardcopy.Makesureyouarekeepingback‐upcopiesandhardcopyasyougo.Failuretokeepaback‐upcopy(forexample,incaseyourcomputercrashes)isnotanexcuseforlatesubmissionofassessment.AsastudentyouhavespaceontheRMITserverwhichisalsoagoodplacetoback‐upyourwork.VisittheITSwebsiteformoreinformationonMyDrive:http://www1.rmit.edu.au/students/mydesktop.Getafriendtoreadyourwork.Oneofthebestwaystopickuponmistakesistohavesomeoneelsereadyourwork.Mostofusfinditdifficulttoeditthethingswehavewritten.Wereadwhatwethinkwehavewritten,ratherthanthewordsonthepage,andwealreadyknowwhatwearetryingtosayandwethereforedon’talwaysnoticethattheremightbeambiguitiesoreasilymisunderstoodpassagesinourwork.Often,agreeingwithanotherstudentthatyoucaneachreadtheother’sworkwillbeextremelyvaluable.Whenyouhaveobtainedyourfinaldraft,'subedit'thewholeworktocorrectanyambiguitiesorlackofclarityinexpression,grammar,spelling,punctuation,andstylisticmatterssuchascapitallettersanditalics.Subeditingisanessentialtask‐oftenneglectedorrushed‐andifdonewellwillensurethatyouproduceahighqualityproduct.Alwayskeepacopyofeachessayorreportonbothsoftcopyandinhardcopyform.ItisusefulandprudenttokeepanupdatedcopyofyourworkonaUSBaswellastheharddriveofyourcomputer,ortoback‐upyourworkontheRMITserver,orcopiesontwoUSBsifyouareonlyusingcomputersavailableforstudentuseatRMITandnotonyourowncomputer.Rememberthattechnologyfails.

Section6.ReferencingandUsingOtherPeople'sWorkAcademicIntegrityAcademicintegritymeanshonestyandresponsibilityinscholarshipthroughrespecting


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theworkofotherswhilsthavingthefreedomtobuildnewinsights,newknowledgeandideas.RMITUniversityupholdsthevaluesofacademicintegrityasfundamentaltothescholarshipundertakenbyallmembersofitscommunity.Wheneveryourefertoanotherperson’sresearchorideas(eitherbydirectlyquotingorparaphrasingthem)youmustacknowledgeyoursource.Ifyouareevenindoubtabouthowtoproperlyciteareference,consultyourlecturerortheacademicintegritywebsite:http://www.rmit.edu.au/academicintegrity.TheRMITlibraryprovidestoolstoassistwithyourreferencinghttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8rwjnkcmfoeez.WhyReference?Universityteachingandlearningdemandsthatweuseotherpeople'swork.Asweread,wethinkabouttheideasthatarepresentedandwedecidewhetherornot(orhowmuch)weagreewiththewriter.Ourreadingguidesouropinionsandthepositionwewilltakeinanessay.Whenweusethetheoriesorideasofothersinouressay,weneedtoacknowledgethem.Thesewritersandthinkersprovidethelinkbetweenourthinkingandthebodyofknowledgealreadygrowinginourfieldofstudy.Ifweclaimallideasinouressayasourown,wearemakingastatementthatwehavenotreadothermajorworksonthesubject.Welosecredibilityasaresult.Itisessentialthatyouunderstandtheconventionsforacknowledgingandreferencingthismaterialthathascomefromotherpeople.Failuretodosowillresultinfailingtheassessment,andtarnishyourreputation.Referencingacknowledgestheworkofotherwritersandprovidessomethingofanideastrail.Referencingdemandsprecision.Referencingdetailssuchaswheretheauthors’namesgo,theappropriatelocationofthefullstop,thedateandotherdetailsneedtoberecordedprecisely.Therearemanyreferencingstyles,butthetwothingstokeepinmindare:Beconsistent.Choosetheformatyouwanttouse,andsticktoitthroughoutyourentireassessmentpiece.Don’tusehybrids,anddon’tchangestylepartwaythroughyourassessment.Makesurethatitispossibleforthereadertotrackdowntheresourcesthatyouused.Givethemenoughinformationsothattheycanfindorlocatetheresourceyouareusing.FormoreinformationvisittheAcademicIntegritywebpagehttp://www.rmit.edu.au/academicintegrity.ForinformationonhowtoreferenceandforavarietyofpopularreferencingstylesfollowtheLibrary’s‘ReferencingGuides’tabonitshomepagehttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/library.PlagiarismAndCollusionPlagiarismandcollusionconstituteextremelyseriousacademicmisconduct,andareformsofcheating.Youareremindedthatcheating,whetherbyfabrication,falsificationof


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data,orplagiarism,isanoffencesubjecttoUniversitydisciplinaryprocedures.Plagiarismisthepresentationofthework,ideaorcreationofanotherpersonasthoughitisyourown.ItisaformofcheatingandisaveryseriousacademicoffencethatmayleadtoexpulsionfromtheUniversity.Plagiarisedmaterialcanbedrawnfrom,andpresentedin,written,graphicandvisualform,includingelectronicdata,andoralpresentations.Plagiarismoccurswhentheoriginofthematerialusedisnotappropriatelycited.Plagiarismisnotacceptable.Examplesofplagiarisminclude: copyingsentencesorparagraphs,tables,diagramsorformulaewordforwordfromoneormoresources,whetherpublishedorunpublished,whichcouldinclude,butarenotlimitedto,books,journals,reports,theses,websites,conferencepapers,coursenotes,etc.,withoutpropercitation closelyparaphrasingsentences,paragraphs,ideasorthemeswithoutpropercitation piecingtogethertextfromoneormoresourcesandaddingonlylinkingsentences copyingorsubmittingwholeorpartsofcomputerfileswithoutacknowledgingtheirsource copyingdesignsorworksofartandsubmittingthemasone’soriginalwork copyingawholeoranypartofanotherstudent’swork submittingworkasthestudent’sownthatsomeoneelsehasdoneforthestudentEnablingPlagiarism,theactofassistingorallowinganotherpersontoplagiariseortocopyyourwork,isalsoanoffence.Forfurtherinformation,pleaseseetheRMITAcademicintegrityandplagiarismprocedurehttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=sg4yfqzod48g1–andtheRMITStudentConductRegulations–http://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=r7a7an6qug93Failuretoacknowledgeyourintellectualdebtsisplagiarism,whichisregardedasaseriousacademicoffenceandwillbeseverelypenalised.Plagiarismconsistsofpresentinganotherperson’swords,research,orideasasiftheywereyourown.Thisappliestodirectquotations(eachofwhichmustbeplacedinquotationmarksandhaveitsownreference)butalsototheuseoffacts,interpretations,orapproachesyouhavegainedfromsomeoneelse’swork.Thiscouldbeonamassivescale,suchassubmittingsomeoneelse’sessayasyourown,oronasmallscale,justinvolvingnotacknowledgingafewsentencesyouhavetakenfromanothersource.Plagiarismisafaultintowhichstudentscaneasilyfall,anditcanbehardforlecturersortutorstoknowwhetheritisduetocarelessness,orsomethingworse.Certainlyitsometimeslookslikeanattempttopassoffsomeoneelse’sideasasone’sown.Evenwhereitisduesimplytocarelessness,itmeansyouarenotbeingcriticalenoughinyourresearchandcarefulenoughinyourmakingofnotes.Thereisnothingwrongwithusingtheideasofotherwriters.Nothingcouldbewrittenatallifwefailedtobuildonwhatothershavediscoveredandarguedbeforeus.Butitisabsolutelynecessarytomakefullacknowledgmentwhenweborrowfromotherwriters.Thisisamatterofhonesty.However,ifawholeessay,orasubstantialpartofone,istranscribedstraightfromotherworkthennoamountofacknowledgmentwillmaketheessayagoodone.ItisfundamentaltotheCoursethatstudentsshouldlearntobecritical


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ofeverythingtheyread,tothinkcarefullyabouthowfartheyagreeordisagree,andwhatcanberelevanttotheirownwork.Thesameappliesto‘scissors‐and‐paste’.Thisiswhereundigestedchunksofmaterialaretakenfromavarietyofotherauthorsandscatteredalternatelyanduncriticallythoughone’sownwork.Scissors‐and‐pastecanbequiteaskilfulintellectualformofplagiarism,butthisdoesnotlessentheoffence.MoreinformationandUniversitypolicyonplagiarismandhowtoavoiditcanbefoundontheAssessmentandIntegritywebpagehttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=kkc202lwe1yv.TurnitinSoftwareTurnitinsoftwareisavailableforyoutocheckyourworkpriortosubmissiontoensureyouhavenotinadvertentlyplagiarisedsomeoneelse’swork.Itmayalsobeutilisedbyteachingstafforbepartofthesubmissionprocessforyourwork.ForinformationonTurnitinortoaccessthesoftwarevisittheAssessmentandIntegritywebpagehttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=kkc202lwe1yvorhttp://www.turnitin.com.Remember–theassignmentsyousubmitmustbeyourownwork.Whenyouuseideas,texts,quotesandinformationwhicharenotyourown,youMUSTidentifythesourceofthatworkwithcompleteandcomprehensivereferencing.Thereare,generally,threewaysthatyouneedtoreference:directquotes,paraphrasing,andideas.Therearedifferentrulesforhowtoreferenceineachoftheseways.Todemonstrate,lookatthreedifferentusesofthefollowingsourcematerial.AlloftheusesofthissourcehavebeenreferencedproperlyusingtheHarvardsystemofreferencing.SourcematerialfrompagethirteenofGraff’s2003book,CluelessinAcademe,whichwaspublishedbyYaleUniversityPressinNewHaven:

‘Toputitanotherway,themostfundamentalconflictthatneedstobetaughtinclassroomsistheconflictbetweenIntellectualspeakandStudentspeak.Iarguethatteachersneedtobeexplicitaboutthisconflictandeventosharpenthecontrastbetweenacademicandstudentdiscourse,thoughtheirultimategoalshouldbetohelpstudentsdiscoverthattheseformsofdiscoursearenotasfarapartastheyseem’.

DirectQuoteusingtheHarvardreferencingsystem.Ithasbeenarguedthat‘teachersneedtobeexplicitaboutthisconflictandeventosharpenthecontrast’(Graff,2003,p.13).However,insteadofstudentsbeingtaughthowtoadoptacademicdiscourse,itmakesmoresensetometostartmakingacademics’importantresearchandideasaccessibletoordinarycitizensthroughtheuseofplainEnglish.


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Notehowthedirectquote(wheretheexactwordsareused)isinquotationmarks,withthereferencedetailsdirectlyfollowing.

ParaphrasingusingtheHarvardreferencingsystem.Graffhasarguedthatthemostimportantconflictforteachinginuniversitiesistheconflictbetweentheunfamiliarlanguageofacademicsandtheordinarylanguageofstudents.Teachersshouldhighlightorevenexaggeratetheconflictinordertoultimatelyshowthatthetwodiscoursesaren’tasdifferentasmightfirstappear(Graff,2003,p.13).AlthoughIagreethatacademicsuselanguagewhichisobscureforstudents,Idisagreethatstudentsshouldbeforcedtoadoptthislanguage.Notehowtheparaphrasestartsbytellingthereaderwherethelineofreasoninghascomefrom(‘Graffhasargued…),andthenclearlyshowswiththereferenceinformationwheretheparaphraseends.IthasalsoincludedALLpointsraisedbytheoriginalauthor,intheoriginalorder.However,theparaphraseusesdifferentwordswherepossible.TheseparationbetweentheideasofGraffandtheideasofthewriterisveryclear.Theyaredistinctvoices.Alltheaboveelements(clearbeginning,clearending,allpointsincludedintheoriginalorder,student’sownwording,clearseparationof‘voices’(studentandtheoriginalauthor)mustbeadheredtoinordertoparaphrasecorrectly.

IdeausingtheHarvardreferencingsystem.Theconflictbetweenstudents’everydaylanguageandthelanguageofacademics(Graff,2003,p.13)seemstousuallyberesolvedbystudentshavingtolearnacademicdiscourse.However,Idonotseewhythisshouldbethecase.ThereseemstomemoreofacaseforacademicstoadoptplainEnglish.Notehowtheideathatthereisaconflictwasclearlynotthewriter’sownidea,andassuchthesourceofthatideawasfullyacknowledged.Therestofthematerialisthewriter’sown,andassuchdoesnotneedtobereferenced(althoughitisonlyopinionatthisstageandstillneedstobesupportedbyfurtherargumentandevidence!).GettingtheBalanceRightbetweenQuotations,EvidenceandYourArgumentWhileitisessentialtomakeuseofotherpeople'sworkonatopic,donotletquotationsandparaphrasingobscureyourowncontribution.Thepurposeofanassessmentis,afterall,todemonstrateyourownintellectualcompetenceandprogressinaparticularfieldofstudy.Yourvoiceandyouranalysis/interpretationhavetocomethroughinyourwrittenwork.Makesureyouunderstandfullywhatotherauthorsaresayingifyouquotethem.Youcandemonstrateyourownunderstanding,forexample,by: comparingandcriticisingtextsandideasfromanumberofauthors; raisingquestions(evenifyoucannotanswerthem); suggestingalternativemeaningsorinterpretationsofextracts,statistics,ideasandconcepts;


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andbrieflysummarisingthecontextfromwhichanideacame.Beselectiveinyourborrowing.Donotallowborrowedmaterialtocomprisethemajorityofyourassignment,thusreducingyourowncontribution.Ingeneralitisbetterifyouparaphraseorsummarisethewordsofanotherauthor(withcorrectreferencing)andonlyoccasionallyuseafullquotationfromanauthor.Directquotationsareappropriatewhen: theauthorstatesbriefly,andespeciallywellorforcefully,apointpertinenttoyourassignment; itisimportanttoestablishthattheauthorholdsaparticularview,orexpressestheirargumentinaparticularway,whichyouwanttocommentupon; andyouwishtodistinguishoneauthor'sviewfromanother's,orfromyourown.EvaluatingYourSources–especiallywebsources!Withthereadyavailabilityofjustaboutanythingontheinternet,thequestionofevaluatingyoursourcesismoreimportantthanever.Inacademicwriting,youcannotjustuseanybodyfromanywheretosupportyourclaim.Particularlyifthesourceisfromtheinternet,itcouldreallybewrittenbyanyone,andclaimanything.Weallknowthekindsofcrazyandabsurdthingsyoucanfindontheinternet.Thismeansthatforyourassignments,youwillhavetobesavvyaboutwhichsourcesyouchoosetorelyon.TherearefourmainthingsyouMUSTquestionaboutasourcebeforeyoudecidetouseit.Theseare:Objectivity,Currency,AccuracyandAuthority.ObjectivityIstheinformationdesignedtoappealthroughitsuseofrhetoricratherthanevidence?Isthereaclear,unjustifiedbias?Areyouawareoftheauthor(s)andtheiraimsinpublishingthisinformation?CurrencyCanyoufindadateonthepage,ora‘lastupdated’date?Areallthelinkscurrent?AccuracyArethereclearerrorsintheinformation?Canyoucheckiftheinformationhasbeenedited?Areany‘facts’ordatasupportedbyreferences,abibliography,orawaytoverifythepurported‘facts’?AuthorityWhohaswrittentheinformation?Aretheyknown,trustworthy,wellregarded?Aretheyqualifiedinanyway?Canyoufindtheoriginofthework?WikipediaWikipediahasbecomeanincreasinglycommontool–onethatcanbeveryhelpfulforyourresearch,ifyouuseitintelligently,withaclearsenseofitsstrengthsand


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weaknesses.Wikipediaisalsocontroversial,withmanyfacultypreferringtobanitsuse,eitherbecausetheydisliketheuseofreferencetextsgenerally,orbecausetheyareuncomfortablewiththeWikipediaeditorialmodelspecifically.Alwayscheckwiththelecturer/tutorwhorunsaparticularcourse,toseewhether–andhow–itisacceptabletouseWikipediainthatsubject.Referencing–StylesTherearemanysystemsofreferencing,but,broadlyspeaking,threesystemsofreferencingaremostlyusedwithintheSchool.Youmustgiveaspecificreferenceforthesourceatthepointintheessaywhereyoumentionthesourceortheideasthatyougotfromit,andthenincludethecompletereferenceinformationinyourreferencelistorbibliography.Fullreferencesmustbeprovidedinalphabeticalorderoffirstauthorsinareferencelistattheendoftheessayorreport.HowtoReferenceFormoreinformationonHarvard,aswellasotherpopularreferencingsystems/stylesvisittheLibraryhomepageandfollowingthe‘ReferencingGuides’linkhttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8rwjnkcmfoeezTheHarvardSystemusesacitationtoareferencelikethisinthetext:Smith(1995p.63)claimedthatunemploymentratesareunlikelytofallbecause....Thereadercanthenturntothebackoftheessayorreporttoalistofreferencespresentedinalphabeticalorderbyfirstauthor,andthenbyyear,toestablishthesourceoftheideaorinformation.AnotherreferencingsystemiscalledtheNoteSystemandlookslikethisinthetext:Smithclaimedthatunemploymentratesareunlikelytofall.1TheNoteSystemusesasystemofsupertextnumbersinthesentencewhichistobereferredtoatthebottomofthepage(footnote)orendoftheessay(endnote)withdetailsoftheauthor,year,title,andpagenumber/sifadirectquotation.ByandlargemanysocialsciencestaffrecommendtheuseoftheHarvardsystemforprintreferencing,butitmaynotalwaysbethebestwayofreferencing.ForexamplehistoriansprefertheNotesystemandPsychologystudentsareencouragedtousetheAPAsystem.Thechoiceofsystemshoulddependonthekindsofresearchmaterialyouarereferringto,andalsothesystemthatyouprefer.TherearemanyresourcesavailableintheLibrarytohelpyouwithallaspectsofassessment(Greasley,2011,Germov,1996,Lovell,1992,Wallaceetal.,1999,Ramageetal.,2012,Germov,2011,RedmanandMaples,2011,Lopez,2011). 1 J. Smith, Unemployment in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, p.35


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Section7.WorkinginGroupsStudentswilloftenbeaskedtoundertakesomeassessmentsasasmallgroupproject.TheSchoolofGlobal,UrbanandSocialStudiesencouragesworkinginteamssothatstudentswilldevelopgroupworkandcollaborativeskillsfortheworkplace.Thismodeofworkingwithotherpeopleisverycommonintheworkplaceandisanimportantskilltodevelop.However,studentsoftenreportthatgroupworkcanbefrustrating.Thefollowingisdesignedtobeofsomeinitialhelp.Ifyouareworkingonagroupproject,clarifyfromtheoutsetwhetherseparatereportsfromeachgroupmemberarerequiredwhichwillbeassessedindividually;orwhetheragroupreportissoughtforwhichacollectivemarkwillbeawarded.Ifindoubt,consultyourlecturerortutor.Successfulgroupworkprojectsareonlypossibleifthegroupgivesdueconsiderationandplanningto: thestandardofworkwhichgroupmemberswanttoachieve;thegroupmustagreeonastandardwhichisacceptableforall; meetingtimesandagendasfordiscussion;groupscanbetimeconsumingsoyourworkneedstobefocusedaswellassocial.Youneedenoughtimetodiscusswork,airdifferencesanddecideonfaircoursesofaction.Thisrequiresdedicatedtime; agreementfromtheoutsetaboutdecision‐makingandgroundrules;sometimespeoplewilltooreadilyleaveresponsibilityfordecision‐makingtoothers.Groupworkisacollectivetasksoeveryonehasaresponsibilitytocontribute; theallocationoftasks;importantforthesuccessandharmonyofthegroupistheprincipleofsharedresponsibility.Thegroupoperatesefficientlyifrolesandresponsibilitiesareallocatedandagreedto; theallocationoftaskssothatthestrengthswhichpeoplehavearewellutilised; andreportingontasks;oncetasksareallocatedthegroupneedstoreceivearegularupdateonprogress.Ifthegroupassumesthateveryoneis'pullingtheirweight'andleavesituntilthelastminutetocheckonindividualprogresstheassessmentoverallwillsuffer.Ifyouencountergroupdynamicproblemswhendoinggroupwork,thebestthinginthefirstinstanceistotrytoresolvetheproblemwithinthegroup.Talkaboutitandseeifyoucanfindasatisfactoryresolution.Ifitisnotresolved,contactyourtutororlecturer.Don’tletitworsen.TheLibraryhasseveralresourcesdiscussinggroupdynamicsandhowtoworkwithgroups(Hartley,2010,Kindred,2010).

Section8.SubmittingYourWorkAllassessmenthandedintotheSchoolMUSThaveane‐submissiondeclarationorhardcopyAssignmentCoverSheet.CoverSheetsareavailablewhenyoulogintomyRMITunderthe‘Studies’tabandalsoonthe‘StudentForms’webpagehttp://www.rmit.edu.au/students/forms.MostofGUSSisnowmovingtoonlinesubmissionthroughBlackboard.Turnitinassessmentsdonotrequireacoversheetasyouwillautomaticallysignthee‐declarationuponsubmission:


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“IdeclarethatinsubmittingallworkforthisassessmentIhaveread,understoodandagreetothecontentandexpectationsoftheassessmentdeclaration.(URL:http://www.rmit.edu.au/students/assessment/declaration)”ThecoversheetMUSTbestapledorfirmlyattachedtothefrontofyourassignment.CoversheetsareavailableonmyRMITunderthe‘studies’tab.Thecoversheetincludes: yourname yourstudentnumber thenameandnumberofthesubject thelecturer'sortutor'sname thetitleoftheassignment thedateyousubmittedit(whichwillbeconfirmedbyadepartmentaldatestampwhenitisreceived) thedatetheassignmentisdue thedayandtimeofyourtutorial yoursignatureconfirmingthattheworkisyourownWhenyouareaskedtosubmitapapercopyofyourassignmentmakesureyoursubmissionisahighqualityprintout.SubmissiondatesRefertocourseguidesavailableonlineviathestudiestabinmyRMIT,andanyadditionalassessmentbriefs,forthedeadlinesforsubmissionofwork.Allassessmentsubmittedinhardcopyoncampusshouldbesubmittedtotheassignmentboxinbuilding37,level2(411SwanstonSt)andwillbedatestampedonthedayofsubmission.ApplyingforanExtensionExtensionoftimeforassessmenttasksmaybegrantedwherecircumstancesbeyondyourcontrolpreventsubmissionbythepublishedduedate.Anapplicationforextensionoftimemustbelodgedwithyourtutororthecoursecoordinatorasearlyaspossible,andnolaterthanoneworkingdaybeforetheduedateforsubmission.YoucanapplyforextensionusingtheUniversity’sExtensionApplicationForm–http://mams.rmit.edu.au/seca86tti4g4z.pdf–orbyemailingyourcoursecoordinatorortutordirectly.Anextensionofuptosevencalendardaysmaybegrantedifgoodreasoncanbedemonstrated.Includesupportingevidence(suchasmedicalcertificates)withyourapplication.Extensionsbeyondsevencalendardayscannotbegrantedbycoursecoordinators,tutorsortheSchool.Toapplyforanextensionoftimegreaterthanseven


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calendardaysyoumustlodgeanapplicationforSpecialConsideration.ApplyingforSpecialConsiderationIfyouareseekinganextensionofmorethansevencalendardays(fromtheoriginalduedate)youmustlodgeanApplicationforSpecialConsiderationform,preferablypriorto,butnolaterthantwoworkingdaysaftertheofficialduedate.Lateapplicationswillonlybeacceptedinexceptionalcircumstances.ForinformationaboutSpecialConsiderationandhowtoapply,see:http://www.rmit.edu.au/students/specialconsideration.Lecturersnominatethepenaltiesforlateworkinthecourseguide.Theymayelectnottoacceptlatework,maymarklateworkdowntoalowergrade,ordeductmarksforeachdaytheworkisoverdue.AssessmentandFeedbackAllworksubmittedforassessmentwillbegradedasfollows:HighDistinction HD 80‐100%Distinction DI 70‐79%Credit CR 60‐69%Pass PA 50‐59%Fail NN 0‐49%StaffoftheSchoolwillprovidewrittenfeedbackonyourworkusingthecriteriaoutlinedintheAssessmentCriteriasectionofthisGuide.Ifyouareunclearaboutanyaspectoftheassessmentreceived,oranycommentsonyourworkmadebythelecturer/tutor,seethemtodiscussthematter.Ifyouaredissatisfiedwiththegradereceived,requestaconsultationwiththeteachingstaffwhomarkedthework.Ifthereisnoresolution,asecondmarkingmayberequested.Thelecturer/tutorwillappointasecondmarkerifneeded.AssessmentAppealsIfyoubelieveyourassessmentresultisincorrectyouhavetherighttoseek‘feedbackonthefeedback’whichisreturnedaspartoftheassessmentcycle.Theonusisonyoutoaskforfurtherfeedbackbasedonthecriteriathatyouthinkhasnotbeenaddressedinyourfeedback.Forexample,ifthefeedbacksuggeststhatyoufailedtocriticallyengagewithpolicy,youshouldseekclarificationbasedonwhatwasincludedinyoursubmissionandwhatwasoverlookedinthemarkingprocess.FulldetailsoftheprocedurecanbelocatedatthisRMITSite:http://www1.rmit.edu.au/policies/assessment/conduct.


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Secondmarkingofassessmentsreferstoaprocesswhereasubmissioniscleanmarkedagainstcriteriatovalidatethemoderationprocess.Itisareasonableprocesstoundertakewherethereisanyallegationofbiasorconflict,andwhereyourworkhasbeenassessedasunsatisfactory.Intheeventthatapieceofworkissecondmarked,itisappropriatethatthecommentsfromthesecondmarkerbeincludedintheannotatedfeedbackthatisprovidedtoyou.Asavalidationprocess,wherethesecondmarkeralsoidentifiesthepieceofworkasunsatisfactorythereisnoneedtoengageindiscussionorconsiderationofanumericalallocation.Intheeventthatthesecondmarkeridentifiesapieceofworkpreviouslygradedasunsatisfactoryassatisfactory,ascholarlydiscussionshouldbeundertakenasfacilitatedbytheCourseCoordinatorFinalresultappealIfyoubelieveyourfinalresultiswrong,youareentitledtoseekareviewofyourfinalresults.AppealagainstAssessmentOutcomeistheformalprocessthatyoumayengageafterthepublicationofresult.ItrequiresthatyouhavesoughtafirstphasereviewatSchoollevel,whichhasbeenappliedinavarietyofwaysthroughoutGUSS.ThegroundsforthisappealagainstassessmentoutcomeareusuallybasedonerrorsinCourseGuideassessmentcriteria,policyinfringements,miscalculationsinresultsorotheranomalies.Thegroundsforappealofresultscanincludeanyofthefollowing:4.3.1Thestudenthasevidencethatanerrorhasoccurredinthecalculationofthegrade;or,4.3.2Thestudenthasevidencethattheassessmentdidnotcomplywithcriteriapublishedinthecourseguide;or,4.3.3Thestudenthasevidencethatthecriteriapublishedinthecourseguidedonotmeettherequirementsoftherelevanttrainingpackageoraccreditedcourse(VETcoursesonly);or,4.3.4ThestudenthasevidencethattheassessmentdidnotcomplywithUniversitypoliciesonassessment(i.e.,anerrorinprocesshasoccurred).Reviewandappealagainstassessmentisatwostageprocessasidentifiedinthefollowinglinkhttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/policies/assessment/conduct.


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Appendix1:WikipediaBeforeyouuseWikipedia,youmightwanttoorientyourselftothedebatesoveritsstrengthsandweaknesses.Wikipediaitselfdoesafairlygoodjobcoveringthesedebates.Ofparticularinterestarethematerialsassembledunder:CriticismofWikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_WikipediaReliabilityofWikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_WikipediaWikipediaalsoprovidesitsownlistoftipsforusingtheresourceinaresearchcontext:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_WikipediaReadingthroughthematerialsabovewillhelpyoumakeaninformeddecisionaboutwhetherandhowyoumightbeabletomakeuseofWikipediainyourresearchwork.Whatfollowsbelowisamuchmoreabbreviatedsetoftipsandtricksforusingthisresourceinyourresearch.Ifyouarenewtoatopic,andneedabasicorientation,Wikipediacanprovideagoodstartingpoint.Becausearticlescanvarygreatlyinquality,thebestwaytouseWikipediaisgenerallynottorelyonthearticlesthemselves.Instead,trythefollowingstrategy: Findarelevantarticle,andscrolltothebottom,whereyouwilloftenfindlistsofsourcescitedinthearticle,andalsolinkstowebsitesthatdiscussthetopicingreaterdetail. Followuponcitationstoacademicjournals,orlinkstowebsitesaffiliatedwithuniversities,governmentorganisations,ormajorNGOscanoftenprovidesolid,reliablematerialthatwillhelpyouorientyourselftothetopic. Checkoutthediscussionpageforthearticle(youcanfindalinktothediscussionpageinthetabsatthetopofeacharticle).Discussionpagesprovidearecordofdebatesaboutthecontentofthearticle.Thesedebatescanoftengiveyouaquicksenseofcontroversialissuesrelatingtothetopic.Note,however,thatwhatmightbecontroversialwithintheWikipediacommunity,maynotbewhatiscontroversialinaresearchcontext.Aswell,notallarticleshavedetaileddiscussionsaroundtheircontents.Generally,thekindofinformationcontainedinWikipedia,liketheinformationinanygeneralreferencetext,isnotthesortofinformationyouwillbecitinginyouracademicwork.Wikipediafocusesonpresentingbasic,consensusinformation,fromwhatitconsidersa‘neutralpointofview’,anditprohibitsthepublicationoforiginalresearchonthesite.Academicresearch,bycontrast,isgenerallyoriginalwork,andmakesaspecificargument,withreferencetoevidenceandanalysis,inordertopersuadethereaderofsomenewfinding.Inyourownresearch,itisgenerallymoreimportantforyoutoengagewithacademicresearch,andtolearntoassessothers’originalwork,andtoconductoriginalworkof


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yourown.Yourownacademicwritingwillgenerallyinvolveengagingwitharguments,ratherthanreportingoffacts.Nevertheless,sometimesyoumayneedorwanttorefertoabasicreferencetextforadefinitionorfactthatisreasonablywell‐established,andWikipediamaybeanappropriateresource.BecauseWikipediaisa‘movingtarget’,withpagesbeingeditedontheflybymanyusers,youwillwanttocitetheversionofthearticleyouactuallyused–theversioncurrentasofthespecifictimeyouaccessedthepage.Thiswillmakesurethatareader,followinguponyourcitation,willseethesamepageyousaw.ThiscanbeparticularlyimportantasWikipediapagesaresometimesvandalisedand,whilethisdamageisusuallycorrectedquickly,youdon’twantyourreadertofollowoneofyourreferences,onlytofindavandalisedpage.Fortunately,Wikipediamakesiteasytocitetheversionofthepageyouactuallysaw.TofindtheURLforthepageyouarecurrentlyviewing,clickonthe‘History’tabatthetopofthearticle,thencopythemostrecentlinkonthatpage.Thiswillbethepermanentlinkbacktothepageyouhaveactuallyviewed.WhenyoureferenceWikipedia,thereferenceshouldincludethefollowinginformation(theexactformatwill,ofcourse,varywiththecitationstyleyouuse):WikipediaContributors(Year)‘ExactArticleTitle’Wikipedia,TheFreeEncyclopedia,URLforthehistorypagecurrentatthetimeyouaccessedthearticle(accessedday/month/year)Ifyouuseinlinecitations,youcancite:(WikipediaContributorsYear)

Appendix2:UniversityServicestoAssistYouwithAssessmentTheRMITLibraryprovidesacomprehensivesuiteofresourcesincluding: TutorialsandinformationsessionstohelpyounavigatetheLibraryandassociatedresourceshttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/library/getting‐started ReferencingGuidesforeachofthemostpopularreferencingstylestohelpyoucorrectlyformatabibliographyandin‐textreferencinghttp://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8rwjnkcmfoeez SubjectGuidesprovidingspecificresourcesorganisedbydisciplinehttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/library/subjectguides.TheRMITStudyandLearningCentre(Building12,Level4,Room20)isavaluableresourceprovidingstudentswith: Assignmentwriting,thesiswritingandstudyskillsadvice Mathematicsandsciencedevelopmentalsupportandadvice Englishlanguagedevelopment Generalstudyandreferencingtips Programspecificresources


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Youcandropintothecentrewithoutanappointment.SeetheLearningLabwhichincludesinformationspecificallycollatedfortheDesignandSocialContextPortfolioandtheSchoolofGlobal,UrbanandSocialStudies.SeetheEnglishReadyCentre(Building80,Level3,Room17)forsupporttodevelopyourEnglishlanguageskillsthroughworkingonyourcurrentassignments.Getfeedbackonwrittenassignmentsandoralpresentationsaswellasreferencingandstudyskillsadvice. TheGUSSedintimedropincentreaimstosupportstudentswithacademicandassessmentskillsandwillbeopenevery:Wednesday:10.00‐12.00and2.00‐4.00in37.2.1Friday:10.00‐12.00and2.00‐4.00in37.2.1

Appendix3:GuidetodoinganArgumentAnalysisArgumentanalysismeansidentifyingthekeycomponentsofanargumentandtherelationshipsbetweenthem.Argumentsconsistoffourkeyelements:questions,claims,evidenceandassumptionsi.Theabilitytoidentifythesecomponentsisanimportantacademicskillasitenablesyoutounderstandhowargumentsareconstructed.Itisalsotheprerequisiteformovingtothecriticalanalysisofanargument.Questions:Academicresearchisdrivenbyexplicit‘researchquestions’.Thesequestionsprovidethemotivationforresearchingaparticularissue.Example:Howdoweexplainthepersistenceofgenderinequality?Claims:Claimsarepropositionsthatarearguable.Theyaredevelopedinordertoanswertheresearchquestionandtypicallyfallintooneoffourcategoriesii:

1. Claimsoffactordefinition:Theseclaimsargueaboutwhatthedefinitionofsomethingisorwhethersomethingisasettledfact. Example:InpartsofAustraliayouthunemploymentlevelshavereachedacrisispoint.

2. Claimsofcauseandeffect:Theseclaimsarguethatoneperson,thing,oreventcausedanotherthingoreventtooccur.

Example:Therapidriseofsocialnetworkinghasledtoincreasedincidencesofcyber‐bullying.

3. Claimsaboutvalue:Theseareclaimsmadeofwhatsomethingisworth,whetherwevalueitornot,howwewouldrateorcategorizesomething.

Example:Globalwarmingisthemostpressingchallengefacingtheworldtoday.


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4. Claimsaboutsolutionsorpolicies:Theseareclaimsthatarguefororagainstaparticularsolutionorpolicyapproachtoaproblem.

Example:Harsherlawsareneededtocurbalcoholrelatedviolence.

Evidence:Evidencereferstothematerialprovidedtosupporttheclaim.Authorsprovidetheirreaderswithevidenceinordertoconvincethemthatwhattheyareclaimingistrue.Therearemanydifferentkindsofevidence.Examples: Personalexperienceoranecdotes Expertopinion Statistics Surveys Casestudies Researchfindings Governmentreports Images LogicAssumptions:Anassumptionisapremiseuponwhichtheargumentdepends.Theyarethetakenforgrantedunderstandingsthattheauthorreliesoninthepresentationofanargument.Theyarenotstatedintheargument.Belowisanexampleofanargumentanalysisthatidentifiestheclaim,evidenceandassumptionsinthefollowingpassage:Needleexchangeprogramsshouldbeabolishedbecausetheyencouragemorepeopletouseillicitdrugs.Indeedthenumberofpeopleaccessingneedleexchangeprogramshasrisenby10%overthepastthreeyears(Smith,2006,p.10).Claim:Inordertodiscouragepeoplefromtakingillicitdrugsweshouldabolishneedleexchangeprograms.Evidence:StatisticsfromSmith(2006)ontheincreasednumbersofpeopleaccessingtheseprograms.Assumptions:Whenyoumakeriskybehavioursafer,youencouragemorepeopletodoit;thestatisticsusedherearereliable/credible;thatstoppingpeopletakingillicitdrugsisagoodthing;illicitdrugtakingisbad;increaseinaccessingprogramsequalsanincreaseindruguse.

Appendix4:GuidetoCriticalAnalysisOnceyouhaveundertaken theworkof argumentanalysis andaccurately identified thecomponent parts of an argument you can then assess its credibility. This is called the


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criticalanalysisofanargument.Whenyouareassessing thecredibilityofanargument,youarenotlookingatwhetherornotyoulikeit,orassessingwhetherthelanguageusedispersuasiveoremotive.Rather,criticalanalysisinvolvestheabilitytoidentifystrengthsandweaknessesintheevidenceandassumptions,leadingtoajudgementoftheoverallcredibilityoftheargument.

Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyouidentifystrengthsandweaknessesintheargument:

(1.)Isthereanyevidence/istheevidencesufficient?Thekeyquestionstoaskhereare:Hastheauthorprovidedany/enoughevidenceforustobepersuadedoftheirargument?Dowehaveenoughinformationtomakethatdecision?

Example: Imakeaclaimthat inAustraliayoungpeoplearedisinterestedinpoliticsandthenIcitefindingsfromtheAustralianElectoralCommissionthat25%ofyoungeligiblevotersfailedtoenroltovoteinthelastFederalelection.It isarguablethattheevidenceprovided(statistics) tosupport theclaimis insufficientbecauseonlyone typehasbeenprovided.Thisclaimwouldbestrengthenedbyprovidingarangeofevidence.

Note:Ifthereisnoevidenceprovidedortheevidenceislimited,thatdoesn’tmeanthattheauthoriswrongintermsofwhattheyarearguing(theirclaim).Itjustmeansthattheargumentmaybeweakenedbecauseakeyclaimhasnotbeenadequatelysubstantiated.

(2.)Istheevidencerelevanttotheclaim?Whenengagingthisissuewehavetolookatthematchbetweentheclaimandtheevidence.

Example: If Imaketheclaimthat inAustraliayoungpeoplearedisinterested inpoliticsandthenIonlyquotesomestatisticsfromtheUK,thereisarguablyanissueofrelevance.Given that young people in the UK might have markedly different views to youngAustralianstherelevanceofthistypeofevidencecouldbequestioned.TheclaimwouldbestrengthenedbycitingevidencedrawnfromAustralia.

(3.) Is theevidence fromacrediblesource? Even if the evidence seems relevant andsufficient,itisimportanttoconsiderwhetheritcomesfromacrediblesource.Thiscanbedeterminedbyaskingsomekeyquestions:Whois theauthor?Aretheyexperts intheirfieldofstudy?Dotheycitetheirsourcessothattheaccuracyofandsupportforwhattheyhavewrittencanbechecked?Isthesourcerecent?(Therelevanceofthiswilldependonthetopic).Whatpublicationisitin?

Example:Imakeaclaimthatthewaytoincreasethelevelofpoliticalparticipationinyoungpeopleisthrougheducationandthencitefindingsfromarangeofsurveysonthetopicundertakenbyrespectedpoliticalscientistspublishedinacademicjournals.Thisevidencewouldlikelybeviewedascredibleandthereforeitwouldstrengthentheclaim.

Note:Forinternetsourcesthathavenoauthor,youneedtocheckwhetherthewebsiteassociatedwithitisarespectedinstitution,suchasauniversity,governmentdepartment,ornon‐governmentorganization.


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(4.)Are theauthor’sassumptions reasonable? An argument can be critiqued on thegrounds that theauthormakesassumptions thatarenot true– thatwhat they take forgrantedisgroundless.

Example:Iclaimthatlargenumbersofyoungpeoplewerefinedfornotvotinginthelastelectionwhich shows that they are disinterested in politics. I could back this upwithevidence but the assumptions in the claim would still be open to criticism. The keyassumption is that young people fail to vote because they are politically apathetic anddisinterestedratherthanforotherreasons.Itmaybethatyoungpeopleengagepoliticsinmany differentways other than voting. Itmight also be that some young people havedifficulty voting because of their location, literacy levels orwhatever. Itmay be that ashorter timeframe forenrolling tovotewas introduced that caughtmanyyoungpeopleout.

Note:Thekeypointhereisthatifthereisaplausiblealternativeexplanationthatchallengestheassumptionthenwecanraisethatinourevaluation.Probingthealternativeexplanationsorreasonsforaclaimisanexcellentwaytoassessthestrengthsandweaknessesintheauthor'slogic.

Wealsoneedtobeonthelookoutforhastygeneralisations.Sometimesauthorsdiscoversomethingabouttheirresearchparticipantsandonthebasisofthis,generalisethefindingtoothers.Example:SayIinterviewed20youngpeopleagedbetween15‐18andfoundthathalfofthemwereapatheticaboutpolitics.IwouldbemakingahastygeneralisationifIassumedthathalfofallyoungpeopleagedbetween15‐18areapatheticorifIsuggestedthatthesamecouldbesaidofthosebetween18–25.(5.)Does thewritercommitany logical fallacies? Fallacies are commonly committederrors of reasoning. Being aware of these fallacies will help you see them moreabundantlyinthetextsyouread.Althoughthereareprobablyatleastahundreddifferentfallacies,thefollowingaresomeofthemostcommon:

Either/Or:Narrowing theoptions to just twoextremeswhen inactualitymoreoptionsexist.

Example: Policy makers face a choice between setting up different services for everymajorethnicgroupinAustraliaandhavingonemainstreamserviceforeveryone.

SlipperySlope:Exaggeratingtheconsequences.

Example:Ifweallowsafeinjectingroomsfordruguserseveryonewillstartdoingit.

FallacyofAuthority:Acceptingfortruthwhat isclaimedsimplybecausesomeonesaidso.


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Example: The use in advertising of sports people, actors or celebrities who endorseproductsorcausesforwhichtheyhavenoparticularexpertise.

Adapted from 10 Steps to Writing an Essay, The American University in Cairo –http://www.aucegypt.edu.academic/writers/analysis.htm

Criticalanalysis:AchecklistCheckoffeachofthesecomponentsasyoucarryoutaCriticalAnalysisonanargument.UsethechecklistinconjunctionwiththeGuidetoCriticalAnalysis.

Tickeachcategoryasyouhaveconsidereditinyourcriticalanalysis:

Evidence: Isthereanyevidencesupportingtheclaims?Isthisevidencesufficient? Istheevidencerelevanttotheclaim? Istheevidencefromacrediblesource? Towhatdegreedoanyproblemswiththeevidenceunderminetheclaims

(minorormajor)?Assumptions: Aretheauthor’sassumptionsreasonable? Cananalternativeexplanationbegivenfromtheevidence? Iftheauthorisusingtheirownevidence,aretheirconclusionsfromtheir

evidencereasonable?Havetheymadehastygeneralisations?LogicalFallacies Hastheauthornarrowedtheoptionstoextremeswhenmoreoptionsactually

exist? Hastheauthorexaggeratedtheconsequencesatstake? Hastheauthoracceptedsomeone’sauthoritywhentheydon’treallyhave

any?OverallAnalysis Towhatdegreedotheproblemswithevidence,assumptionsandlogical

fallaciesunderminethewholeargument?Baseduponthecriticismsyouhaveidentabove,istheargumentstillreasonablystrong,isitreasonablewithimprovements,yourcriticalanalysisrevealedthatitisaweakargument?

OtherIssues:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What is a Turnitin originality report?

Turnitin is a tool that checks your submission against various resources in the Turnitin database for

matching text. It will then highlight the areas of your assessment where a match has been found, this

produces an Originality Report with a percentage score (Similarity Index) which appears on your

screen like the image below.

The report shows where matches have been found with an overall percentage of how much of the text is

original. This allows teaching staff and students to review the citation and paraphrasing used throughout

the assessment to see if any improvements are needed. Your submitted assessment is also added to

the database to reduce plagiarism.

Originality reports do not detect plagiarism – they merely highlight matched text, thus aiding you in

checking that your work is correctly cited and referenced.

If the ‘similarity index’ figure is high, it does not necessarily mean you have plagiarised as the

assessment could be text matching against the following:

• Quotations that have been correctly referenced.

• The reference list, where the citations used could be exactly the same as those of another

student.

• A common phrase or series of words used in context to the topic.


Student guide: Accessing and understanding my Turnitin report

School of Global, Urban and Social Studies P a g e | 1 Aug-14

Similarly, a low or zero percent ‘similarity index’ does not necessarily mean that plagiarism has not taken

place. As there are many sources that Turnitin does not check against, the similarity index cannot be

used as an indicator of whether plagiarism has occurred or not.

How do I access my Turnitin originality report?

The GradeMark tool allows your tutor or lecturer to mark and grade papers online. Once the post date of

a paper has passed, you are able to access the marked version of your assessment and view any

grades, comments, marks, or requested changes noted by your tutor or lecturer. To access your Turnitin

report in the folder that you submitted to

• Click on view/complete of the assessment you would like an originality report for

• Click on View

• Click on Originality


Displayed on your screen should now be the Originality Report for your submission.

If the GradeMark icon is not available, the post date of the assessment has not been reached, the

assessor has not yet graded or marked the paper or your assessor is not using GradeMark to mark your

assessment.

How do I interpret my Turnitin originality report?

The Turnitin originality report shows you where the work in your assessment, matches with content in the

Turnitin database. When you submit your assessment, your work is checked for originality against

sources including:

• Websites

• Student assessments

• library databases

• textbooks

• digital collections

• Books

• subscription-based

publications

For a great video on how to interpret a Turnitin report watch the following link: Oxford Brookes University:

How to Interpret Turnitin reports. The video, produced by Oxford Brookes University, goes through the

basic types of referencing issues that are highlighted in Turnitin originality reports, including

paraphrasing, direct quotes, and matches between students work.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYf8AihndI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYf8AihndI

It’s important to keep in mind, the originality report may not identify all work that is plagiarised or not

adequately referenced, so you can not entirely rely on the similarity index to give you this information.

The most important way to know that your work is your own is to focus on the essential academic skills

required in tertiary study. Unfortunately, not clearly labelling sources for your work can be a serious

violation of university policy, even if unintentional. If you are unsure, please contact the course

coordinator or your tutor.

Support

Make use of the RMIT resources on referencing and paraphrasing so that you can properly credit

sources and paraphrase the materials that you draw from.

Online

• Watch this video on how to maintain academic integrity.

• Review the RMIT Library referencing guides

• Browse the online resources are available to you through the Learning Lab covering:

― Paraphrasing

― Linking words

― Paragraphs

― Sentence construction

― Spelling

― Academic style

― Referencing

Face to face

Visit the Study and Learning Centre and the English Ready Centre to talk to a learning adviser about

your current assignment. The Study and Learning centre also run Study Know How workshops on

academic writing and study skills.


http://www.rmit.edu.au/academicintegrity

https://equella.rmit.edu.au/rmit/items/fa453803-ac6f-45fe-bafa-df3ff6ebe54a/1/

http://www.rmit.edu.au/library/referencing-guides

http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-skills

http://www.rmit.edu.au/studyandlearningcentre

http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=95s1nnaoaaefz

http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=nwg1f9008rq8

The GradeMark tool allows your tutor or lecturer to mark and grade papers online. Once the post date of

a paper has passed, you are able to access the marked version of your assessment and view any

grades, comments, marks, or requested changes noted by your tutor or lecturer.

How do I access my feedback in GradeMark?

To access your feedback in GradeMark, open the folder that you submitted your assessment in.

• Click on view/complete of the assessment you would like to view feedback for

• Click on View

• Click on Grademark


Student guide: Accessing my feedback and grade in GradeMark


Displayed on your screen should now be the GradeMark view for your submission. Here you will be able

to view the feedback that your tutor/lecturer has given you.

The General Comment box will be the default view. You can also view the general comments by

opening the speech icon located at the bottom of the sidebar. The general comments are added to an

assessment by the assessor to write a longer statement or overall review of the assessment in greater

depth.

General Comments


• The "rubric scorecard" icon located at the bottom of the sidebar allows you to view any rubric

scorecard added to the paper.

• To view a full list of comments you must click on the "comment list" icon located at the bottom of

the sidebar. Clicking on the "comment list" icon opens a scrollable window of all comments or

marks placed on the paper within the sidebar. To view the location of a mark on the paper, hover

over a comment or mark in the comment list and click on the "show on paper" link that appears.

• If you see a comment bubble, hover over it with your mouse and this will open the comment your

tutor has written on your assessment.

Rubric scorecoard Comment list


• Do the same for QuickMark comments. These are used by an assessor to easily place notice of a

complex or frequently used grammar, punctuation, or formatting issue

• Your grade for the assessment will be situated in the top right corner of the document viewer.

• To print the graded assessment you can click on the "printer" icon on the bottom of the viewing

window.



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ReferencesANSON,C.&SCHWEGLER,R.2005.TheLongmanHandbookforWritersandReaders,Sydney,PearsonLongman.ATKINSON,C.2011.Beyondbulletpoints[electronicresource]:usingMicrosoftPowerPointtocreatepresentationsthatinform,motivate,andinspire.Washington:Redmond,MicrosoftPress.GERMOV,J.1996.GetGreatMarksforYourEssay,Sydney,Allen&Unwin.GERMOV,J.2011.Getgreatmarksforyouressays,reports,andpresentations,CrowsNest,N.S.W,Allen&Unwin.GRASSIAN,E.&ZWEMER,D.1997.Hoax?ScholarlyResearch?PersonalOpinion?YouDecide!/ClassroomActivity:CurrencyandCoverage.California:UCLACollegeLibrary.GREASLEY,P.2011.DoingEssaysandAssignments[electronicresource].London:SAGEPublications,Inc.HARTLEY,P.2010.Successingroupwork,Basingstoke,PalgraveMacmillan.KINDRED,M.2010.OnceUponaGroup:AGuidetoRunningandParticipatinginSuccessfulGroups.London:JessicaKingsleyPublishersLtd.LOPEZ,M.2011.TheLittleBlackSchoolbook[electronicresource]:TheSecrettoGettingStraight'As'atSchoolandUniversity:Essays.Lanham:Rowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.LOVELL,D.W.1992.EssayWritingandStyleGuideforPoliticsandtheSocialSciences,Canberra,AustralasianPoliticalStudiesAssociation.ORWELL,G.1978.PoliticsandtheEnglishlanguage.In:BELL,C.&ENCEL,S.(eds.)InsidetheWhale:TenPersonalAccountsofSocialResearch.RushcuttersBay,Australia:PergamonPress.RAMAGE,J.D.,BEAN,J.C.&JOHNSON,J.2012.TheAllyn&Baconguidetowriting,Boston,Mass,Longman.REDMAN,P.&MAPLES,W.2011.Goodessaywriting:asocialsciencesguide,London,SAGEPublications.THEOBALD,T.2011.Developyourpresentationskills,London,KoganPage.VICKERS,A.&BAVISTER,S.(eds.)2010.PresentwithImpactandConfidence[electronicresource]:TeachYourself,London:HodderEducation.WADSWORTH,Y.1984.DoitYourselfSocialResearch,Melbourne,VCOSS/Allen&Unwin.WALLACE,A.,SCHIRATO,T.&BRIGHT,P.1999.BeginningUniversity:thinking,researchingandwritingforsuccess,St.Leonards,Australia,Allen&Unwin. iAdaptedfromJBessantandRWatts(2007)SociologyAustrala,3rdEdition,AllenandUwin,Australia.iiAdaptedfromPurdueUniversity’sOnlineWritingLabhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/

essential assessment guide for commencing ......the guide is designed principally for commencing...

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