| If you are about to start college or university, you | | | | is a big crime in academic circles. This does not just |
| will need some college essay writing tips to help you | | | | apply to work written by other students, but also to |
| stay out of trouble when you have to hand in your | | | | information you find on the internet. Many students |
| first assignment. | | | | think they can just copy chunks of information they |
| Tip #1 Know What is Expected | | | | found online and use them to build their essays. |
| When you first have to write a college essay, you | | | | This has become such a problem that colleges now |
| may be unsure about many things - how should it be | | | | use sophisticated software to identify plagiarized |
| set out, how long should it be, should I write a | | | | work. So beware, you could end up in a lot of trouble |
| straightforward essay or a report? And how should I | | | | and even be thrown out of your course for copying. |
| quote references? | | | | But you can still make reference to other people's |
| The way in which you are expected to set out your | | | | work. |
| written work will vary according to the subject you | | | | Tip #3 Reference Correctly |
| are studying. In addition to this, each college, and in | | | | You are probably wondering how on earth you can |
| many cases individual tutors or professors, will have | | | | write a knowledgeable essay without referring to |
| their preferred style. | | | | something someone else wrote. Don't worry, this is |
| So before you put pen to paper or fingers to | | | | allowed, as long as you reference it correctly. |
| keyboard, you need to know what is expected of | | | | And there is more than one way to reference your |
| you. Ask your tutor, refer to any study notes you | | | | sources in an essay! So you have to make sure you |
| have been given and if you can, have a look at some | | | | know which one the college prefers and learn how to |
| examples. You can do this by talking to students | | | | use it correctly. The university I used to teach at |
| who are a year ahead of you and took your course | | | | used the Harvard style and one of my students |
| last year. However, this brings us nicely to the next | | | | insisted on using footnotes because she thought this |
| tip | | | | was easier to follow. Don't make the same mistake! |
| Tip #2 Don't Plagiarize | | | | Use the style your college tells you to use, even if |
| Copying work which someone else has written and | | | | you disagree. |
| passing it off as your own is known as plagiarism and | | | | |