This section has videos for tips and support on your essay writing skills, such as how to plan your writing, understanding the structure and synthesis of your dissertation as well as offering some tips on writing techniques.
Understanding the question is vital to ensuring you get the highest marks for your essays. In this video we look at some of the key words in essay titles, and how they can help you plan your work.
Planning an assignment takes time, but some careful consideration of the task can help a big project become much more manageable. Video by Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster School of Media and Communication.
Two key writing skills at university are summarising and paraphrasing. In the video we give a quick introduction to the key features of each. Do also look at how to synthesise texts, an even more advanced way of writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei-Eu... Study Skills Book: https://www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk/s...
Synthesising texts is a highly complex skill, but one that will help your work read the highest grades, and make it much more interesting to read. In this video we look at how to synthesise texts that agree with each other, and some that disagree.
This video gives you a quick introduction to the basics of arguments.
Some pointers on how to develop arguments in your work.
Have you ever received feedbcak that your writing is too descriptive? This video explains what that means and provides examples of analytical, critical writing.
The best way to avoid descriptive writing is to read critically and carefully. We look at an example of close, analytical reading to help you write more critically.
This video guides you through the various stages of writing an essay, from breaking down the assignment question to editing and proofreading before submission.
In this video we introduce six different types of essay question and show you how to answer them paragraph by paragraph.
The first few sentences of an essay should hook the reader in and make them want to read more, but how can you make your introductions exciting? In this video we look at 3 ways to start an essay, and some things to avoid.
A thesis statement introduces the main ideas of your essay, acts as a guide the the reader, and gives structure to your work. Study Skills Student Guide: https://www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk/s...
This video will help you to explore reflective thinking and writing more deeply and will provide you with tips and strategies to write more thoughtful reflections. You will also have the opportunity to practise reflecting in two reflective activities.
