1. Organising and Writing an Essay Slides A-E http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

2. 1. ‘The opening should be as attractive as the head of a phoenix; the body should be as rich as the body of a pig, and the closing should be as forceful and strong as the tail of a leopard.’ 2. ‘The word ‘essay’ comes from the Latin word exagium, which means the presentation of a case. When building an essay, think like a lawyer prosecuting or defending a client. When defending a client, it is not enough for the defence to say, ‘He didn’t do it, your honour!’. The defence has to look for evidence to prove their client’s innocence. They have to predict what the other side will say – and look for evidence to counter it. They have to make a case. That is what the academic essay is all about.’ 3. ‘The skill of good essay writing is to be able to critically discuss and evaluate ideas within a set word limit. The focus of an essay is usually on developing an argument or analysing ideas rather than on description. The essay is written in paragraphs and includes an introduction, body and conclusion.’ http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au Slide A: Academic Writing: Three views

3. References 1.Qiao, G. (2009). A new course on university writing, cited in Kirkpatrick, A. and Xu, Z. 2012. Chinese Rhetoric and Writing. An Introduction for Language Teachers (Perspectives on Writing). Anderson, South Caroline: Parlor Press 2.Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2012). Essential Study Skills. The Complete Guide to Success at University. 3 rd ed. London: Sage 3.Australian Catholic University (n.d.) Essay Structure, http://m.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/308024/Essay_ Structure.pdf http://m.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/308024/Essay_ Structure.pdf http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

4. Slide B Example Essay Titles ‘Discuss the notion that living abroad can be both stressful and liberating for students and media professionals’. ‘Explain the idea that living abroad can be stressful for students as well as media professionals.’ ‘Outline the reasons why living abroad can be stressful for students and media professionals.’ ‘Provide an argument that accepts or rejects the notion that living abroad can be both stressful and liberating for students and media professionals.’ http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

5. Slide C: Living Abroad Ideas Ideas in response to the discussion topic: ‘Discuss the notion that living abroad can be both stressful and liberating for students and media professionals’

6. Living abroadStudentsMedia Professionals Stressful  Language Can’t understand accents and colloquialisms of lecturers and fellow students Can’t understand accents and colloquialisms of work colleagues and information sources, including professional language, such as the local jargon of the newsroom.  Relationship networks Few close friendship and family networks close by Unfamiliarity with people in the organisation and local communities means difficulties in accessing information. Few friendship/family groups close by for support.  Behaviour Unfamiliar with how to interact in the classroom Unfamiliarity with different workplace practices, such as how to initiate and cultivate client relationships. Liberating  Different lifestyle Opportunity to try out a new way of life and learning Opportunity to try out a new way of life and working  New perspectives Learning how people in a different society view the world Learning how people in a different society view the world, interact with the media and communicate  TravelExperiencing new sights and meeting new people Experiencing new sights, meeting new people, and experiencing different ways of working and communicating

7. Slide D: Fishbone diagram http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

8. Instructions for working with the fishbone diagram State the topic of the essay at the head Write ideas about ‘stressful living abroad’ on the bones on the top side of the fish Write ideas about ‘liberating living abroad’ on the bones on the lower side of the fish Note that each idea that you have positioned on one of the bones should be written like the topic sentence for a paragraph Decide on your stance in response to the essay title, and highlight this in a short summary of your ideas/evidence by writing on the tail of the fish Now go back to the head of the fish and write down your stance (the same as you wrote in your conclusion). Also identify how the essay will be structured.

9. Slide E Summary of how to organise an essay There are different ways of organising an essay: Use Handout 2: Different ways of organising a logical argument in writing and structuring an essay to identify the type of structure you worked on in the Fishbone activity. Finding focus: Brainstorming and use of the fishbone diagram are ways of planning your essay. A plan such as the fishbone diagram helps you decide on what to write about, what evidence you need to collect, and your stance towards the essay topic. It helps you focus your writing and your reading. http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

10. Summary: How to organise an essay (continued) The writing process is not linear: Start writing at any point, not necessarily the introduction. You might begin by taking a topic sentence on a fishbone and filling in the paragraph. It is common to spiral back and forth between writing, reading, drafting, revising and redrafting. Use signal words to link paragraphs. See Handout 2. Are there any words you would need to define? These are sometimes presented in the introduction. http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au

11. Your ideas need to be supported by evidence and references Each statement or idea needs to be supported with evidence from your reading. How would you find this? How would you reference the various sources you use? Does the essay call for personal experience or opinion? How and where would you introduce this? http://chinapostgraduates.murdoch.edu.au