An essay aims to communicate a certain point of view, and should include substantiated arguments. These arguments are derived from numerous sources, including academic articles. By referring to other people’s ideas and findings, you are providing a distant defence; you are not communicating your personal assessment, but a well-considered and widely accepted assessment. It is essential that you reference your sources, both in the text and in a bibliography.

An essay is only a few pages long (check the assignment description for specific instructions) and contains at least an introduction, a body and a conclusion. You do not divide the text into chapters and sections, just paragraphs. Make sure you state your opinion in the introduction and the conclusion. In the body you walk the reader through the steps of your thought process. These steps must follow on logically and lead to the conclusion (your position). If readers wonder ‘why?’, ‘who says that?’ or ‘what does that mean?’, you are not on the right track. So, reflect critically on your own argumentation. It is not for nothing that an essay is referred to as an exercise in academic thinking.

The body consists of several paragraphs; each one should present an argument. Use signal words (firstly, after all, moreover, etc.) to help the reader orientate themselves in the text. After all, you want the reader to follow you through your thought process to reach your conclusion.

In an essay you can use the personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’ in the introduction and the conclusion. You should avoid doing so in the body, since this makes your arguments less persuasive.

When writing a Bachelor’s thesis, students are expected to submit a research plan. The methods chapter forms part of this. A good research plan gives direction to your research and explains what you are going to research and how.

In addition, you also explain the relevance of your research in your research plan. To do this, you should already have searched for literature and know what you are talking about. A research plan also includes a provisional theoretical framework, in which the most important central concepts are discussed.

These components lay the foundation for carrying out your research. They can then be used for your actual thesis; you will need to finalise your theoretical framework, focus your research question (if necessary) and finish writing the methods chapter.

There are various occasions during the programme when you will be asked to reflect. Here, we make a distinction between ‘reflection on content’ and ‘reflection on process’. Writing the discussion section for a paper or your thesis is an example of ‘reflection on content’, since you reflect on the way in which you arrived at your conclusions. You reflect on the validity and reliability of the data: can you actually draw that conclusion based on that data? Would another method of data collection have led you to the same conclusion?

Another type of reflection is reflection on ‘process’. At the end of a course, group project or internship, you will often be asked to write a reflection report. Reflecting means that you consider why you do something in a certain way, as well as your own actions and behaviour. It is not so much an evaluation in the sense of ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but more about the significance of that experience for you, your own learning moments and a look to the future: what impact will this experience have on future projects? By reflecting, you learn about yourself.

You should write reflection reports in the first person (‘I’). You can use a number of questions to guide you through the process. Start by briefly outlining your expectations of the assignment, internship or group work before you started. Then describe the tasks that you carried out as part of that assignment. After this, in your reflection report you can mention which of these activities you liked and disliked, why you liked or disliked them, and what you would do differently next time.

You can use the following questions to help you:

• What were your expectations and your ambitions before starting the task/assignment?
• What were your tasks?
• How do you think you did?
• Were you satisfied with the results?
• What is the essence of what you have learned, both in terms of content and on a personal level?
• What would you do differently next time?
• What do you need to be able to do that?
• Can you also use what you learned here in other situations?

When writing your report, think carefully about your own performance and indicate which elements you think could be improved and which you are less happy with.

When answering open questions on an exam, it is completely up to you to formulate the answer. Sometimes you might just need to provide a single term, other times you might be asked to name four pros and cons, for example. A particular version of an open question is the essay question, for which you need to provide a thorough answer to a complex issue. Usually, your answer should be longer than a standard open question. In essay questions, you have a lot of freedom to structure the answer. In any case, you should take note of the following:

• Plan your answer before you start writing. Make sure you have a common theme running through all the paragraphs. You will probably come up with new ideas while writing. You can work those into your essay, but try to stick to your original plan. Otherwise, you will find that your answer starts to become unfocussed.
• Start by mentioning your point of view. You should then go on to explain this in the body, and then state it again at the end (just as you link back to the introduction in the conclusion section of a report).
• Use different arguments to substantiate your position. It is customary to give a personal opinion, but make sure you substantiate your opinion with generally accepted statements.
  • Avoid repetition; it only wastes times.
  • Adjust the length and detail of your answer to match the number of marks available for that question.
  • Cross out any notes so that the lecturer does not read or mark them.

McMillan and Weyers (2010, p. 232) mention a number of reasons why students regularly miss out on marks in examinations. Below is a selection from their list.

• The given answer does not answer the question:
  • Terminology is misunderstood.
  • Instructions in the question are not followed. [For example, ‘explain’, ‘compare’ or ‘disprove’.]
  • Not all aspects of the question are addressed. [‘Give a definition and provide three arguments for…’.]
•  Poor use of time:
  • Answers are too long/short with too little/much detail considering the amount of time available for the exam.
  • Too much time spent on just one question.
• The basis of the answer is poor.
  • ‘Self-evident’ issues are not mentioned. [Note! A lecturer can never assume that you know something if you do not mention it in your answer.]
  • The answer is not concrete enough. No examples are used.

Based on the experience of Human Geography and Spatial Planning lecturers, the level of analysis provided in answers is sometimes inappropriate for the question:

• When asked to explain a concept, the student instead gives an example. (For example: ‘Gentrification is that the value of houses in Prenzlauerberg is now much higher than five years ago.’)
• When asked to provide a concrete example, the student instead mentions a general phenomenon. (For example: ‘Gentrification mainly occurs in pre-war neighbourhoods.’)