1. You will be expected to demonstrate the relevance of your essay to the set topic by:
* recognising the assumptions and implications underlying the actual working of the topic and taking account of them in the course of your essay;
* handling the topic and its key terms within the limits of the course and discipline being studied;
* focusing consistently on the key ideas and terms throughout your essay;
* covering all the parts of the set topic; some topics will include a number of sub-topics or sub-questions related to the main theme.
2. You will be expected to demonstrate wide and critical use of written resources by:
* reading with a questioning mind - not accepting that something is true simply because it is published and not expecting that there is any single correct answer to complex questions;
* reading in order to understand both the meaning of each individual sentence and its relationship to the developing structure of the argument;
* evaluating continuously what you are reading by testing the opinions and judgments of the writer against the evidence she/he provides and against the opinions and judgments of other writers (and maybe against your own experience) and then by deciding whether this material is relevant to the purpose of your essay.
3. You will be expected to demonstrate your ability to present a reasoned argument by:
* selecting only points which are directly relevant to your topic and your argument, discarding those which may have seemed relevant when your ideas were still developing;
* structuring the material so that the main ideas are presented logically and coherently, i.e. each idea must fit reasonably with that which precedes it and that which follows, and the ideas taken together must lead consistently to your overall conclusion;
* ensuring that each section of your argument is internally consistent, with the evidence, examples, and quotations clearly supporting or extending the central idea being developed;
* taking into account alternative points of view or interpretations of the materials you have used.
4. You will be expected to demonstrate competent presentation skills by:
* adopting a tone and style which are appropriate to academic writing in general and to the special demands of the discipline in which you are working;
* using the necessary specialist terminology accurately;
* using the correct format for quotations;
* following the form of referencing and bibliographic citation which is standard for the discipline;
* presenting graphic and numerical data accurately and economically;
* editing your essay carefully for error in grammar, spelling and punctuation and for precision in choice of words and expression of ideas.

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