How to write a better assignment

Students are criticized for writing poorly. That is why Djøfbladet has asked an academic writing expert for advice on improving yourself in the academic writing genre.
Experts point out that the students lack instruction in academic writing in social science courses. Lotte Rienecker, a consultant at RUC, is an expert in academic writing and one of the authors of the book ‘The good task.’ Throughout her career, she has been involved in teaching students and lecturers academic tasks, projects, and theses.
According to Lotte Rienecker, it is normal that the students are not aware that they have challenges with the academic writing genre. When she has taught students how to write assignments and how to get assignment help, it has often happened that they want help with the language and not with the actual structure of the assignment, its design, which is where a large part of the challenges lie.
“The students think they have problems expressing themselves, but in reality it is about elements such as argumentation, reservations and how much you can generalise. For example, what can you allow yourself to say when you have three small cold examples, and you would like to make a statement about something a little bigger?” she says.
If you think it’s a waste of time because you won’t be using it for anything after you’ve finished your studies, then according to Lotte Rienecker, you’re wrong. The academic genre has a purpose.
“Essentially, it teaches one to be investigative. Two important things you can learn from writing assignments and projects are how to deal with sources and how to do research. It is relevant for many, also when they enter the labor market. Of course, not everyone has to be a researcher and sit down and write long research papers, but in reality, a great many of the writing genres of the professions are derived from that genre,” she says.
Five tips for writing better assignments
We asked Lotte Rienecker about how to be better equipped to tackle academic tasks and projects. She offers five pieces of advice:
1. Makeup with yourself and what the arguments are. Argumentation is a cornerstone of scientific texts. All arguments must constitute one argument for your overall claim in the assignment. Avoid postulating. When you postulate, you make claims without sufficient evidence, which is a typical pitfall for many. If you’re in doubt about when to argue, pay attention to argument cues like ‘therefore,’ ‘because,’ and ‘because.’ And be aware that you must be matter-of-fact. You don’t have to be right in your claim; you must contribute to the knowledge linked to the task. Keep a sober and nuanced approach, thereby also demonstrating professional maturity.
2. Justify all elements you select. Methods, theories, concepts, data, sources. Justify everything you do. Justifications show that you have consciously included elements and created a context in your project that you can argue for.
3. Start by listing the 5-10 most relevant sources and justify why they are relevant. This also applies to data sets and empirical data. Your sources are the literature in which the subject’s theories and methods are stored, and these include in the use of them you demonstrate how good you are at handling the subject. If you are good at finding and justifying your sources, you show that you can find relevant material and relate it to your problem formulation and possibly empire. There is no answer to how many sources you should include, so don’t ask your instructor. However, ensure to use the latest, most qualified, and thorough sources. Remember to also qualify your sources. This means that you briefly introduce and motivate the inclusion of your sources, even if they are well-known sources. It shows,
4. Write what you do, why, and how you do it and establish a connection between the elements. It’s called metacommunication. It shows a connection between the parts of the assignment and that you have control over the professional connection and can pass it on to the reader. It also forces the writer to consider who will use the information, avoiding simply reproducing or describing it. You can do it in more ways than one. For example, you can use it in chapter introductions or section summaries. It can also be as simple as writing ‘notice that ‘as opposed to or ‘said in another way. However, use it in moderation. The censor and lecturer have read many scientific texts, so make sure it does not become a substitute for substance.
5. Don’t be afraid to discuss. It does not apply to writing an argument without contradictions. It is about seeing if there are points between, for example, practice and theory that Who can discuss. Always be aware of what speaks against your points. In the discussion, you deal with your and other people’s arguments, and it doesn’t always take up so much, but it is still very important. There may also be weaknesses in your argumentation and methods. Still, as long as you address them, it shows that you understand an important element of the genre – discussion and criticism. Practice by, for example, making a list of criticisms of your methods. Choose your weakest link and describe the weakness and why it has arisen. Then justify why you still chose to include it and how it affects your conclusion.