The Student Assignment and Dissertation Survival Guide: The tricks and secrets to getting high marks for your assignment and dissertation time-after-time - Softcover

Ajuga, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0954182308 ISBN 13: 9780954182304

Publisher: GKA Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

This practical guide answers all the above and a whole lot more.

This practical guide provides a thorough but user-friendly guide for all university and college students. It is an experienced-based, step-by-step, practical guide to take you (the student) through planning, writing, and presenting your assignment, dissertation or thesis.

The guide is a must for any university student who considers themselves serious and ambitious. It is a no nonsense, no waffle guide and doesn't bore you with all the useless jargon that most academic books contains. Instead, it outlines real life problems that students often encounter and in the process offers practical, feasible and most importantly simplistic solutions that all students can understand and relate to.

The guide gives you practical advice, hints, tips and essential information that you cannot afford to be without throughout your time at university or college.

In short, in using this practical step-by-step guide all the way, you're guaranteed never having to worry about getting a below average mark again in any assignment or dissertation ever again.

About this title

Review

"A powerful and extremely revealing book..." -- Just4students.com

From the Author

All too often, I find that most books professing to help students in compiling all manner of academic assignments only touch on certain key areas of the reader's needs. Consequently, they often only serve to leave the student more confused than before.
This practical step-by-step guide adopts a different approach and, as I hope you'll agree, the right approach. Having carried out a rigorous consultation with the people who really matter (i.e. students themselves), I have adopted what I would call a 'bottom-up' approach and, in doing so, have taken matters from the moment you are handed the assignment question by the lecturer. This in turn should enable you to identify, immediately and easily, with the guidance offered in this book.

This practical guide neither bombards you with big words nor colourful graphics - remembering that old adage: "All that glitters is not gold". My comprehensive research has told me that students don't care for unnecessary verbiage nor for line-upon-line of irrelevant information. All students care about is getting excellent results. This practical guide tells you how to do just that without all the unnecessary bells and whistles.

In the guide, I set out to demystify the writing of assignments and dissertations, so that they will no longer seem so terrifying and harrowing for those preparing to compile and write those academic works. Like most things, writing good quality assignments and dissertations, time-after-time, is not down to luck. Instead, it is 100% technique. If you can master the technique, you're nearly all the way there to obtaining the coveted first class degree. The emphasis is decidedly on producing winning assignments and dissertations. This guide does not attempt to bog you down with the unnecessary detail but instead goes to the heart of the matter and guides you as if I were by your side from the moment you receive the assignment or dissertation notice.

Assignments - Some Typical Problems & Questions covered in guide
What is the lecturer looking for in this assignment?
What are the key areas to include in order to maximise my marks?
Where is the best place to obtain quality yet affordable (and, where possible, free) research material?
What is the best way to interpret and reword the question so as to help me fully understand it?
I don't know how to begin writing the essay?
What do certain key words mean in the assignment's instructions? Key words such as:

'Account for'; 'Analyse '; 'Argue '; 'Discuss'; 'Comment on '; 'Compare '; 'Criticise '; 'Contrast '; 'Evaluate '; 'Assess'; 'Outline '; 'Describe '; 'Identify'; 'Illustrate '; 'Justify '; 'Prove ' - to mention but a few.

How do I reference the essay the right way to maximise marks ?
What should I include in the bibliography to maximise marks?
What is the best way to obtain the research? (Students must not confuse this with "Where is the best place to obtain the research?").
Having obtained the research, how do I utilise the information and data to ensure maximum marks?
I have to hand in my assignment tomorrow and I haven't even started - what can I do as I need to pass to keep up my grades? And many, many more!

Dissertations - Typical problems covered in guide
And then there are 'dissertations'! Writing dissertations is an entirely different ball game. In most universities, dissertations normally count for at least two modules towards the student's final degree so you'd better make it good, as you only get one shot at it. Getting a good mark could be the difference between a 2:1 (60-69%) and a 1:1 (70-100%).

Typical problems I frequently encountered from students (and addressed in guide) include:

Dissertations - Some Typical Problems & Questions
What subject should I pick to write about?
What is a 'literature review' and what is the best way to write one for my dissertation?
What is the quick and effective way to carry out and include primary research in my dissertation?
I've already picked a subject but, having started the dissertation, I am having severe difficulties writing more words? How can I resolve this problem?
My supervisor is not flexible in letting me decide on the content for my dissertation.
How can I go about obtaining quality primary research and, having obtained it, how can I best implement and analyse it so as to include it in my dissertation?
I've requested primary research by way of interviews and/or questionnaires to be answered from a company but they've turned me down or not responded. My problem is that I must include primary research in my dissertation. What shall I do? Is there another way?
What is the best way to structure the dissertation to maximise my marks?
What key areas will I need to include in it to stand out from everyone else and, in the process, really impress my Project Supervisor?
How do I go about making feasible and logical recommendations? (Where applicable) for my dissertation? Is there a quick source of good and relevant recommendations to include in the dissertation?
What do I include in my bibliography? How long does it need to be?
And many, many more!

Edition details

• Publisher: GKA Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0954182308
• ISBN 13: 9780954182304
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 105