Activity

What does academic writing in my discipline at Masters level look like?

Step 1

Your first resource is the CAL Bank of Assessed Work - look in your list of Canvas courses and you should find that you are enrolled. If you find you are not enrolled, please contact the CAL Bank of Assessed Work team via calengagement@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Step 2

TASK ( 20 mins) Choose an essay written by a student in your School (Level M) and see if you can identify features of highly-rated student writing that compare, and contrast, with the features you have identified in scholarly writing in your field.

First, look at the structure of the whole text, and notice how the writer presents an argument that develops throughout the essay
Then drill down to the detail - look at vocabulary patterns, and useful phrases – note examples of ‘generic academic speak’, especially how your writers write critically.
And btw, when and how does your writer define topic-specific terminology?
How about the individual writer's voice? How do they demonstrate emotional and intellectual engagement with the topic under discussion?
The bibliography can also be a useful indication of the amount and range of reading you may be expected to do when researching your assignment topic.
Do you notice any other general points about successful student writing?
Don't worry at this point about how clever this student seems to be! You are looking at the final product of 100 hours' work (10 credits), and you probably are not familiar with the literature on this topic. We are interested in how this writer communicates with their audience, not so much with what they are saying, though I hope this is interesting!

Help! My course isn't there!

For this task, just choose something that interests you. More samples will be added through the year, or your department may have samples that you can look at (just ask your module tutor!)
You may find that the Final Year Undergraduate essays are also of interest (Level H). They will give you an indication of where other students may be starting from, if they are progressing directly from an undergraduate programme here at Birmingham.