Planning your assignment

Charmaine Botha
Learning Skills Advisor
Monash South Africa
 What do we want to achieve with an
academic essay?
Demonstrate to your lecturer that you are able to:
Embark on an inquiry analyse question
Find Information / research
Evaluate and Analyse the information
Organize the information
Apply the information to answer the question
Communicate your knowledge (written/oral)

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Its like being a lawyer presenting a case
in court:

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 Assignment
AZA 1365: Everyday life in sociological perspectives
You are required to SUBMIT:
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE :FRIDAY 27 MARCH, 2015
REFLCTIVE PIECE DUE :THURSDAY 30 APRIL 2015.

You are required to choose ONE of the FOLLOWING questions for your
Reflective Piece and use that same topic for the preparation of your
annotated bibliography.
Use your library tutorial and the explanation in class as guide.

1. From a sociological perspective, examine how the use of the internet would
facilitate or disrupt social interactions in any society.

2. Is Marxist evolutionary ideas of class struggle and social change still relevant in
contemporary societies? Discuss your answer by using any African country as a
case study.

3. Use your sociological imagination to discuss the factors that may account for
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xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
 RESOURCES:
You are required to present
1. Two journal articles.
2. Two books or chapters in books
3. Two credible internet sources.

Non first year students are required to present:

1. Three journal articles.
2. Three books or chapters in books
3. Three credible internet sources.

Key points to consider in choosing your sources include:

1. The authority and qualification of the authors/internet sites.
2. The scope and main purpose of the texts/articles.
3. The relevance of the selected work to your essay
4. The weakness/limitation of the selected work (in relation to your essay).

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 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography gives an account of the research

that has been done on a given topic. Like any bibliography, an
annotated bibliography is

an alphabetical list of research sources.

In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography
provides a concise summary of each source and
some assessment of its value or relevance.

Depending on your assignment, an annotated bibliography

may be one stage in a larger research project, or it may be an
independent project standing on its own.
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The Descriptive Annotation type is required. For each of the materials
selected you are required to:
(i.) Cite appropriately and in alphabetical order the source of your
material using the Harvard style
(ii.) Describe the main points of the discussion; and
(iii.) The importance of the material content to your main essay

Descriptive or indicative: (Moodle)

describes the source itself without summarizing the actual argument, hypothesis, or
message in the content.
It describes what the source addresses or covers, what subjects or topics are
included, and any special features, such as appendices or bibliographies.
What it does not include is any evaluation or criticism of the content.
This type of annotation seeks to answer the question: "Does this source cover or address
the topic I am researching?"
Example:
Hudson, Kenneth. World industrial archaeology. Cambridge, England, and New York:
Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1979. 247p.
An introductory section discusses the aims and techniques of industrial archaeology.
Topical chapters follow on extractive industries, food and drink, construction, metal
processing, transport, textiles, clothing and footwear, power, and chemicals
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SOURCE CREDIBILITY SUMMARY EVALUATION

Alphabetical authority & scope & relevance of weakness/

list
qualification of main the selected limitation in
the authors purpose of work to your relation to
/internet sites. texts/articles essay your essay
(addresses or
covers, what
subjects or
topics are
included, and
any special
features)
Mary
(2004)
Peter
(1983)
Etc.

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Reflection
We all learn from experience and from thinking back
over our experiences. When done in formal ways to
identify areas for learning this process is known as
reflection.

Reflective learning is a process of examining

experiences with the intention of learning or gaining
new insights to improve practice.

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 What is reflective writing?
(PLEASE SEE NOTES ON SHARE DRIVE)

Reflective writing is evidence of reflective thinking. In an academic context,

reflective thinking usually involves:
Looking back at something (often an event, i.e. something that happened, but
it could also be an idea or object).
Analysing the event or idea (thinking in depth and from different perspectives,
and trying to explain, often with reference to a model or theory from your
subject).
Thinking carefully about what the event or idea means for you and your
ongoing progress as a learner and/or practising professional.
Reflective writing is thus more personal than other kinds of academic writing.
Basically, reflective writing can be broken down into three parts:
1. Description (keep this bit short!) - What happened? What is being examined?
2. Interpretation - What is most important / interesting / useful / relevant about the object,
event or idea? How can it be explained e.g. with theory? How is it similar to and different
from others?
3. Outcome - What have I learned from this? What does this mean for my future?
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 Begin by identifying the key concepts
e.g. the topic/content areas
Identify the directive words e.g.
analyse, discuss, etc.
Note any limitations e.g. scope, time
period, field of study, area
Format of the assignment (essay,
report, review, poster, annotated bib etc)
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 Analysing your question
From a sociological perspective, examine how the
use of the internet would facilitate or disrupt social
interactions in any society. OR
Is Marxist evolutionary ideas of class struggle and
social change still relevant in contemporary
societies? Discuss your answer by using any
African country as a case study. OR
Use your sociological imagination to discuss the
factors that may account for xenophobic attacks in
South Africa.

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 Find Witnesses (resources)
Once you have identified the content area you will need to
examine, you will need to consider what kinds of resources are
required (books, journals, websites, statistics, etc.) and set about
acquiring them.
Look at your reading list, use the reference lists of these books
and journals, and identify what will be required.
Remember you will need to evaluate the worth of these
resources, so read critically.
Decide what kind of supporting information will be necessary,
and set about organising your resources to achieve your goal.
Often books are good for big picture information, while journals
are often good for supporting details.

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 Monash SA Website

Library
Library (top right)
(top right)

Information kiosk
Databasis
Learning Skills Online
tutorials
(Red block left)
Dictionaries by subject E
and references

*Citing and referencing

E-Book tutorial
Library
Encyclopaedia sociology *Academic integrity
Britannica tuorial
*Harvard guide
*Chicago guide

Academic one-file
Sociology abstracts

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 Plan your argument
Once you have analysed the topic and gathered
references, you will need to construct a rough plan.
Some students prefer to make a plan before reading,
some after. However, it is important to remain flexible,
as your knowledge of the topic and opinion on it may
change as you read more.
You might find that your witnesses are vague or
unreliable and you may need to find others
Resources and references?????: (UNIT GUIDE)

Be sure to use wider resources than the provided reading and make it interesting with old news articles, pictures and biographies. Reference at
least 6 sources of information which you found through your own literature search.

Make sure you have read the essay guidelines provided in your undergraduate student guide.

Adhere to the referencing guidelines given in your undergraduate student guide to avoid plagiarism. You will be penalized if you use another
persons ideas and work without the appropriate reference to it.

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 The essay/report structure
Can be seen as a diamond with the introduction and conclusion at the top and bottom and the
body paragraphs fitting into the middle of the diamond in a series of smaller diamond shapes.

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 Prepare to communicate your argument
After having completed some reading and/or
writing, set about constructing your response or
thesis statement to the question. Again, however,
remain flexible. There is no such thing as perfect
knowledge of a topic!
Often it is best to start writing on a body section,
as the introduction and conclusion may change as
your work progresses.

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 Body paragraphs
Paragraph element Purpose

1. Topic This sentence starts by referring to the thesis/your

Sentence argument. It continues to include the main point of this
paragraph (your voice)
2. Additional This explains further the point made in the topic sentence.
Information (your voice)

3. Evidence These are essential to justify your point. Your evidence

sentences comes from your research and may include examples,
data, quotes, statistics, graphics and illustrations. All
supporting evidence must be from authoritative sources and
cited in your essay. (quote or paraphrase reference voice)
4. Concluding Again, this sentence links the main thesis of the essay with
sentence the main point of the paragraph. (your voice)

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 Review / edit (final)
Read for content
Read for grammar
Communicate Read for spelling
: Essay
Get someone else to read and
comment By when?
Check your unit guide for rubric or guidelines (moodle)
Written assignments will be graded according to how well they meet all the following criteria: (see more details
below)
1. accuracy (has correct names, dates, places)
2. structure (has proper introduction, conclusion, signposting)
3. expression (is clear/concise/grammatical/lively)
4. relevance (answers the question/avoids digression or repetition)
5. depth (has quotations, examples, drawn from a range of appropriate sources)
6. intellectual engagement (engages with the sources/makes an argument)
7. format (has a departmental cover sheet/has bibliography, notes if required)
8. presentation (has proper margins/no unsightly corrections)

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 Writing your essay
For more assistance on
writing or
communicating your
findings, contact a
learning skills advisor
in the library

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