How to Write Excellent Coursework?

The word 'coursework' encompasses many types of assignments, sometimes even including dissertations. The instructions and academic levels of coursework assigned to students vary from one college/university to another. Yet, there are still some basics that you should follow to receive a high grade. Read on to find out about them.

Do Research First

Most students omit this crucial step; yet, there are numerous reasons not to do it:

• topics that are already well-researched are not novel;
• the novelty of a research paper or coursework is a must;
• without much data available, you will have to conduct primary research;
• without primary research and analysis of new publications, you will simply retell the literature.

Now, what is bad about retelling literature or conducting primary research? The latter is not a bad idea, but it requires more preparation, university approvals, and time. In addition, when there is scarce data, you will have to make more effort to build a solid foundation for the research. 

In that case, even if you hire a persuasive essay writer on EssayPro, their skills won’t be enough if there are only assumptions and no facts. And what about the retold literature? Well, any academic work should bring something new to the discussion and scholarly debates. If there is nothing to analyze, there is no reason to even start writing coursework on the topic - it will be a waste of time. So, choose the research problem wisely.

Don’t Neglect an Outline

The more detailed your outline is, the easier it will be to complete the paper. Separate out Introduction, Body, and Conclusion first. After that, outline your research problem and questions. Each section of the main body can represent one research question. Don’t forget to leave notes on the word count and the need to provide only a bit of theory and dedicate the rest to the analysis. 

The conclusion should summarize the answer to the questions and provide recommendations. If your teacher is open to reading the outline first to approve it, do submit it for approval. That way, you will avoid major revisions.

Study the Curriculum Materials

To come up with a good topic, structure, and ideas, use the materials from your teacher. There are always some guidelines, instructions, presentations, samples, marking criteria, and so on. Of course, they may look like too much to read, but that is 50% of your success. 

More often than not, when the criteria outlined in such documents are ignored, students end up rewriting their assignments and have to delete a lot of material. So, read through the instructions attentively.

In addition, curriculum materials may help you choose the title. Coursework is an assignment that presupposes some preliminary knowledge on the subject. It means that before you even start the coursework, you will have already gone through some topics, visited lectures, and seen the curriculum. Lecture materials usually contain topical subjects you may choose from.

Make Predictions Based on Facts

Making assumptions in academic papers is okay as long as you have some factual background for it. For instance, suggesting that in winter, there will be an increase in the number of admitted patients requires some data from reports. 

You need to show the same pattern or trend based on several years, give logical explanations, indicate the reasons for admission, and demonstrate why winter poses a greater risk for some groups of people, etc.

Without using reliable sources and justifying your suggestions, you won’t be able to make your content sound serious or truthful. Therefore, make scholarly assumptions but always give evidence that supports them.

Provide Recent and Relevant Data

Using old sources in any academic paper is acceptable only when you want to compare some trends that play a role in the current events or need to refer to an old but still valid theory. Otherwise, outdated information, leave alone statistics, will make your work less reliable. 

Often, students do not include old data deliberately. It is either a rush or lack of experience that makes them look past the year the data was published. So, before celebrating that you found some information on the topic, make sure that it is recent and relevant to the country or industry you’re researching. 

The global context is also a point to note if your research is on the US problem, for instance. Yet, it shouldn’t be the focus. You still must cover facts about the US in particular.

Be Specific About Recommendations

Even if you analyze the problem thoroughly, it’s not the end. To contribute to the research in full, provide recommendations that can solve the problem. It can be about

• implementing new policies;
• revisiting the old ones;
• conducting some experiments;
• conducting interviews/questionnaires/a census;
• revising the work algorithm the researched industry uses;
• rebranding, etc.

Mind that the strategy of actions should be more or less clear and divided into steps. Vague advice that sounds like ‘improve the speed of operation’ or ‘raise salaries’ is not a viable option. 

Imagine that your coursework will be presented to the CEO of the company you have researched. That person should look at your recommendations and see a strong plan of improvement. Of course, it is a bit of a rough example, but it creates a good picture of what you should write about.

Take Care of Citations and References

The worst thing that can happen to your coursework is the accusation of plagiarism simply because you forgot to cite it properly or made mistakes in references. If your citation style requires pages, include them every time you use a source. If you postpone it, you will never be able to find that information again. 

Whether it is information that is not cited or cited incorrectly, it will influence the mark for originality one way or another. So, you should be very careful about that.

Follow Your Teacher’s Feedback

In most cases, an assignment gets commented on by a teacher or professor who is responsible for the review. As soon as you receive it, take into account all the comments. Yes, some of them may be over-particular or, vice versa, too vague. Still, it is a must to follow them if you want to succeed.

Whenever you don’t understand a question or comment, do not hesitate to reach out to the reviewer and find out what they meant. Ignoring unclear suggestions is mostly not a good choice, especially if the majority of the comments are vague. 

Sometimes, they refer to major revisions. And if you submit the new version without making them, some teachers just won’t fuss over your assignment and consider it the final version that barely deserves a pass. So, make sure to clarify all the details.

Takeaway

If it’s your first coursework, you will probably receive a lot of guidance from your teacher. However, if it’s not the case, do use the tips above to follow the best practices. If you still wonder where to start, try drafting an outline or addressing an expert for help. Whether you need some ideas on the topic, an outline, or the whole paper, all your instructions will be taken into consideration.