Essay and report writing skills

Writing reports and assignments can be a daunting prospect. Learn how to interpret questions and how to plan, structure and write your assignment or report. This free course, Essay and report writing skills, is designed to help you develop the skills you need to write effectively for academic purposes.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

understand what writing an assignment involves
identify strengths and weaknesses
understand the functions of essays and reports
demonstrate writing skills.

First Published: 10/08/2012

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Course content

Introduction Learning outcomes 1 Good practice in writing 1 Good practice in writing 2 Identifying key concerns 2.1 Your feelings about writing 2.2 Developing writing styles 3 The purpose of writing 3 The purpose of writing 4 Understanding the task 4.1 Writing requirements 4.2 Reports 4.4 Stages in assignment writing 4.5 A different perspective 5 Preparation 5.1 Estimating the time for the task 5.1.1 Do you dread deadlines? 5.1.2 ‘Good enough’ is OK 5.2 The question 5.2.1 When to look at the question 5.2.2 Opening up ideas: analysing the question 5.3 Researching 5.4 Identifying sources 6 Planning 6.1 Why plan a piece of writing? 6.1.1 Report planning 6.1.2 Essay planning 6.2 Turning the spotlight on your work 6.3 Planning stages 6.3.1 Stage 1 Brainstorm 6.3.2 Stage 2 Create a mind map 7 Drafting 7.1 Translating your plan 7.2 Drafting reports 7.3 Drafting essays 7.4 Writing the first draft 7.4.1 The introduction of a report 7.4.2 The introduction of an essay 7.4.3 When to write the introduction? 7.4.4 The main body of the text 7.4.5 The conclusion 8 Polishing 8.1 Why polish? 8.1.1 Achieving a good polish 9 Letting go 9 Letting go 10 Reflecting on tutor feedback 10 Reflecting on tutor feedback Conclusion References Acknowledgements

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Course reviews

Fajar Pramadwika 10 September 2024 10:06 AM Rating entered. Very good course for beginner! JULIA Ochieng 29 July 2024 12:56 AM Rating entered. I have acquired valuable skills from this course that I will put into use. More reviews Total 49 reviews

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Creative commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence.

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