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I am an experienced academic passionate about inspiring individuals to aim high. I have assisted multiple students and early career academics to achieve their goals.
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I am an experienced academic passionate about inspiring individuals to aim high. I have assisted multiple students and early career academics to achieve their goals.
There is a point that all researchers come to whilst they are collecting, recording, organizing and linking information (see my previous two blogs on step 2 and step 3 of the 7-step writing process) when they realize they are not finding anything new from their research. This is known as reaching the point of saturation, and whilst it is most commonly associated with qualitative research, I argue it can also apply to the secondary research underpinning any assignment. Once you reach this point when researching something, it is a good idea to take stock of the information you have gathered for your assignment and consider the following:
Discovering new things is the whole point of doing any academic research. It sounds obvious, but it’s first important to reflect and ask yourself what the information you have collected reveals about your topic and how you can use it to address your assessment brief, research or essay question.
When we first begin research, we all have preconceptions and ideas about what we expect or even want to find. However, it is important to realize that our point of view is often not the only one and sometimes not even the best one. Making a good argument depends on how well we can evaluate all the possible arguments and how we can use the evidence from our research in order to demonstrate why one argument is better than the other options (check out my other blog on how to write an academic essay for more on making strong arguments).
Look at the information you have collected and consider how you will use it to clearly support your argument. Think about how the points you want to make relate to your overall argument and ensure these are logically organized into the content you want to include in your paragraphs. As per step 3, remember you should only make one point per paragraph.
The best arguments are those based on the most evidence. Think about what the best evidence is that you can use (usually from academic research articles and books) to support each of the points that relate to your overall argument.
Within each paragraph of your assignment, you need to demonstrate both the evidence to support your point as well as any counterevidence that might challenge what you are saying. This is where using the WEED model is the most effective way of incorporating evidence to support both sides of debate on a particular point. Being able to compare and contrast evidence is a key aspect of the critical analysis required for writing at university level.
It is very easy to go off on tangents and move away from your original assessment brief, essay or research question. For this reason, it is important to keep re-considering how your research relates to what you have been asked to do or the question you are supposed to be addressing. Make sure that the content you plan to use for every one of your paragraphs is clearly related to a point that supports your overall argument and that this argument clearly addresses what you have been asked to do.
Only when you have completed this 4th step of the 7-step writing process are you ready to move on to the actual writing of the assignment itself! Check out my next blog to see step 5 of how to write a great assignment: write an outline & first draft of your assignment.
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