*Based on conventions used in College of Law &

Management Studies

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 Time

 Expression

 Business Communication

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 Make sure you understand the question/

 Topic words/Subject words – what is the focus of the

question?

 Instruction words – ‘how’ to write about the given

topic (e.g. discuss, evaluate, compare, explain)

 Restriction words – what to exclude

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 Make sure that you know:
 What are the parts of the question? How
many things are you asked to do?
 What concepts will you need to define?
 What evidence will you give to support your
ideas?
 If you are unsure, ask
someone

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 A possible Essay question would be:
 Discuss the objectives of the National
Development Plan 2030 and outline the
implications of the plan for reducing
poverty and inequality in KwaZulu-Natal.

 Instruction words:
 Discuss - Investigate or examine by
argument/examine key points and possible
interpretations
 Outline - Give the main features of a topic
or event in a clear structure or framework

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 Discuss the objectives of the National
Development Plan 2030 and outline the
implications of the plan for reducing poverty
and inequality in KwaZulu-Natal.
 Subject words (topic areas):
1. Objectives of the National Development
Plan
2. Implications of the plan for reducing
poverty and inequality
 Restriction words:
 in KwaZulu-Natal

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 Start planning well in advance of the due date

 Use a mind-map or spider diagram, or even jot

down what you will write in each paragraph

 Make sure you have addressed all parts of the

question in your plan

 If anything is left out figure out where it fits

logically into the argument of your essay and add it
to your plan

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 Where to find academic information:
 Textbooks – in the library (many textbooks
can be downloaded for free on the internet)
 Journal articles – e.g. SA Journal of Business
Management
 Published reports e.g. government,
organisation or company reports
 Conference papers
 Working papers
 Theses and dissertations
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 Must We use Google or Google Scholar? and
WHY?
 Find academic sources with all required
referencing info
 Can use company or organisation websites’
 Look for company or organization sites that
contain articles that have an author, title and
date that the article was written
 DO NOT use Wikipedia or
other encyclopaedia sites

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 Introduces the reader to the topic
 States the central argument to be made in
the essay
 Provides the ‘roadmap’ to the rest of the
essay – which specific points will be
discussed and in what order?
 What you will have proven by the end of the
essay

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 One point/idea per paragraph
 5-15 lines

 Paragraph Structure:
 Topic Sentence
 Explanation (linking to main essay question)
 Evidence – taken from academic sources
 Linking sentence (to the next point to be made in
following paragraph)

 BODY = From general  specific application

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 Bare in mind the topic, your introduction,
the body, the key findings and overall final
arguments.
 Summarise the key points made in the
essay in the order that they were discussed
 What were the key ‘findings’?
 Reiterate overall final argument
 NO NEW information in the conclusion

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 Clear and formal tone (no slang, informal
speech, colloquial language)
 Be objective, not subjective (avoid emotion and
opinion)
 No personal pronouns – I, me, mine, we, our,
us, etc.

 Third person – ‘It can be argued that………..’

NOT ‘I think that…………’
 No contractions – can not instead of can’t; will
not instead of won’t

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 Short, clear sentences that get to the point –
avoid ‘waffling’ and jargon
 Do not pose direct questions, such “What has
the government done to alleviate poverty?: Not
much.’ – NO!)
 Do not make generalisations (‘Politicians in
South Africa are corrupt.’ – NO!)
 Use evidence to back up what you are saying
and reference correctly

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 Maintain academic conventions – substantiate
your argument
 Demonstrate the body of knowledge in which
you have based your work
 Acknowledge ideas and quotations which belong
to someone else
 Enable readers to trace your sources
 Avoid breaching copyright laws
 Avoid plagiarism

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 National Policy on Education (2004), Lagos,
Government Press Odekunle S.O (2001) Training and
Skill Development in Determinant of
workers’productivity in the Oyo State Public Service.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan.
 Otakpor, .N (2006) Ethics and Entrepreneurship in the
fundamental of Entrepreneurship edited by A.U.
Inegbenebor, Lagos Malthrouse Press Limited.
 Olaniyan D.A and Okemakinde .T (2008) Human
Capital Theory: Implication for educational
development European
 Journal of Scientific Research Vol. 24, No. 2, Pg. 157-
162.

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 In recent time, complaints from corps members
on the issue of incompetent graduates are
increasing at an alarming proportion.
Presently,there are cases of graduates who are
sent back to the scheme by their employers due
to gross incompetence. The matter has
degenerated to the worrisome level of graduates
not being able to write a simple essay, give
simple definition of some important terms or
remember the topics of subjects in their areas of
specialization. (Mitsga, 2010) He revealed further
that: Indeed, the scheme had to withdraw some
of them from secondary schools as they were not
able to communicate in simple correct English.

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 Different styles of referencing: Chicago,
American Psychological Association (APA),
Oxford, Modern Language Association (MLA),
Harvard, etc. – always check with your lecturer!

 Must be CONSISTENT throughout your work

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 QUOTATIONS:
 EXACT words as they appear in the original text
 “Quotation marks/inverted commas” around the quote
 Author, date of publication and PAGE NUMBER must be
indicated
 PARAPHRASING:
 Use someone else’s ideas but CHANGE them to your
own words
 NO quotation marks/inverted commas
 Author and year of publication must be identified but
not the page number

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 In-text quoting:
 According to Mankiw (2014: 118), “The impact of
the minimum wage depends on the skill and
experience of the worker”. OR
 “The impact of the minimum wage depends on
the skill and experience of the worker” (Mankiw,
2014: 118).

 In-text paraphrasing:
 The effect of the minimum wage will be
dependent on how much experience a worker
has, and their particular skills set (Mankiw, 2014).

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 In-text:
 According to the African Development Bank
Group (2011), South Africa has an abundance
of renewable energy resources.

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 Book: One Author:
 Surname, initials. (Year). Title. Place: Publisher.
 Mankiw, N.G. (2014). Principles of
macroeconomics, 7th ed. USA: Cengage
Learning.
 Two Authors:
 Daly, H.E., & Farley, J. (2011). Ecological
economics: Principles and applications.
Washington, DC: Island Press.

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 Journal Article:
 Surname, Initials. (Year). ‘Title of article’. Name of
Journal, Volume (Issue): page numbers of article. [Online]
Available from: Web address. [Accessed date].
 Varma, T.N., & Khan, D.A. (2015). ‘Information
technology and e-risk of supply chain management.
African Journal of Business Management, 9(6): pp. 243-
258. [Online] Available from:
http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article142773
2677_Varma%20and%20Khan.pdf. [Accessed 30 July
2015].

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 Internet Article:

 African Development Bank Group (2011). ‘How

Africa’s huge renewable energy stores could help
bridge energy gap’. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article-
power-gap-8668/. [Accessed 1 August 2015].

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 Alphabetical Order

 African Development Bank Group (2011). ‘How Africa’s huge

renewable energy stores could help bridge energy gap’. [Online],
Available at: http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article-
power-gap-8668/. [Accessed 1 August 2015].

 Mankiw, N.G. (2014). Principles of macroeconomics, 7th ed. USA:

Cengage Learning.

 Varma, T.N., & Khan, D.A. (2015). ‘Information technology and e-

risk of supply chain management. African Journal of Business
Management, 9(6): pp. 243-258. Available at:
http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1427732677_Varm
a%20and%20Khan.pdf. [Accessed 30 July 2015].

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College of Law and Management Studies,
Teaching & Learning Unit
PIETERMARITZBURG CAMPUS
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 Do you need help with essay writing?

 The Writing Place for the College of

Law and Management Studies assists
students on Pietermaritzburg Campus
with academic writing skills through
an emphasis on essay/assignment
structure and understanding of
academic writing conventions.

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 Venue: Room 14, First Floor Commerce Building,
Golf Road

 Hours of operation during

Semester One, 2018:

Monday 10:00 - 13:00

Tuesday 10:00 - 14:00
Thursday 10:00 - 13:00

Email: shonhiwa@ukzn.ac.za

The Writing Place – “Well researched, well written,

well done!”

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