Advice on how to approach the timed ECA essays

Preparation before the ECA:

• Practice writing outlines of lecture, module & course content
  1. Most students print off the lecture PDFs for note taking during the semester (this forms the textbook & your revision document for the course) – this is a good starting point
  2. By outlining the course content & your notes during the revision period, key teaching themes will become clear & supporting information should fall into place, setting you up to answer the ECA essay questions
  3. This may even help you predict the essay topics (there are only so many we can generate)
  4. As part of this outlining practice, make sure you can list learning objectives & summarize beneath them the key information from the course content
  5. You can try making these outlines into study flashcards, which will help you get packets of information loaded into your mind & which you can recall in such a way as to address ECA essay questions

During the ECA:

• 1. Time management is critical, so have a plan e.g.
     1. Spend 5 mins thinking about the question before writing
     2. Spend 5 mins jotting down key information / thoughts in outline form (also, if you have jotted down an outline then run out of time / go off topic, we can at least see your point-form through process & grade that)
     3. Spend 20 -30 mins writing
     4. Spend the remaining minutes reviewing & re-writing as necessary
     5. Your individual approach will depend somewhat on whether you are a single-draft or multiple-draft writer:
        1. Single draft writers tend to think (say up to 10 mins) first, then everything comes out, usually without requiring substantial changes.
        2. Multiple draft writers usually get immediate thoughts & ideas down into an outline, then flesh out the outline points iteratively.
        3. Whichever type of writer you are, plan your time & approach accordingly
  2. Try re-writing the question to make sure you understand in your own words what is being asked & to make sure you pick apart the main points we are looking for - most of our questions include phrases like "be sure to discuss ..." & "be sure to include ..." - as a very minimum the markers will be looking for these things - re-writing the question will help you identify the core topic; this can also help you set up an outline which is comprehensive around the core topic.
  3. Be cognizant of the University's universal marking scheme, which awards grades for:
     1. Content
     2. Synthesis
     3. Critical appraisal
     4. Insight
     5. Wider reading.
     6. A well written essay with accurate content will probably get a pass: what distinguishes merits & distinctions is the amount of critical appraisal, insight & wider reading in evidence.
     7. The pre-ECA outlining approach should allow you to extract content & give you thought for critical appraisal, insight & what to read more widely about for the topics. A key part of post-graduate formation requires these as indicators of developing independent thought.
  4. Organize your essay with:
     1. An introduction (can be a re-wording of the question to indicate to the marker that you've grasped the core idea, plus you can state what you will cover that addresses the question)
     2. A body - elaborating on the topic, answering the "discuss" & "include" elements, plus showing your critical appraisal skills, insight & wider reading
     3. A conclusion - it's often a good idea here to mention future work, new technologies etc. which demonstrate you are thinking beyond the limitations of the original question. Alternately you can identify conflicting literature or limitations around the information available for the essay topic.
  5. Watch the clock!
     1. Timed essays are timed for a reason: they require you to think under pressure.
     2. If you run out of time & have an outline from the start, we can grade this; if not, we accept point form so get as much down as the time closes in point form if you have to. Markers will be able to see your intended thought processes & may reward you with some more points