Academic Writing at IU: Unit 5

Academic Work at IU: Written Assignments and Research Essays

• The study goals of this unit are to learn about the structure of a research essay at IU, different types of instructions, formalities, scope, and content requirements.
• Written assignments and research essays are forms of academic work that are written in almost every course of study.
• The purpose of writing research essays is to prepare students for the final bachelor thesis.
• Independent scientific working is learned through writing such assignments and research essays.

Structure of Written Assignments and Research Essays

• The structure typically follows a classical pattern:
  • Introduction (rationale for chosen topic, aim of the work, definition of the topic and research question, and overview of structure)
  • Body (main points, explanation, discussion, and supplementation with additional statements)
  • Conclusion (summary of argument, student's own conclusions, and further open questions and/or perspectives)
• The structure is determined by the logical sequence of the main points and explanatory steps.
• The entire text should be closed and complete in terms of content and have a straightforward structure.

Formal Guidelines and Specifications for Submission

• A written assignment and research essay consists of:
  • Title page
  • Table of contents
  • List of figures and/or tables (if necessary)
  • List of abbreviations (if necessary)
  • Text part with introduction, body, and conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • List of appendices (if necessary)
  • Appendices and materials (if necessary)
• Formal document requirements:
  • Length: 7-10 pages of text
  • Paper size: DIN-A4
  • Margins: Top and bottom 2 cm, left 2 cm, right 2 cm
  • Font: Arial 11 pt. (general text), 12 pt. (headings), justified
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • Sentence structure: Justified and use of hyphens to separate words
  • Footnotes: Arial 10 pt. font, justified
  • Paragraph: 6 pt. distance after line break
  • Section/subsection levels: Maximum three levels (1. Main heading, 1.1 Section, 1.1.1 Subheadings)

Written Assignments

• Written assignments are demanded in courses with a course book.
• A task is assigned or one can select from several alternative tasks.
• It is important to thoroughly examine the task and to try to align the work exactly.
• It is not sufficient to use only the course book as a source of information; rather, it is expected to use additional relevant sources.
• Evaluation of a written assignment contains several components:
  • Introduction
  • Structure
  • Reasoning
  • Conclusion
  • Language
  • Tidiness

Research Essays

• Research essays are demanded in courses without a course book.
• There are different subject areas to choose from.
• For the concrete selection of the essay topic, there are two possibilities: choosing one of the already given questions or coming up with own ideas within the subject area.
• The independent delimitation and formulation of a question represent a good preparation and exercise, especially regarding the later thesis.
• Evaluation of a research essay contains several components:
  • Introduction
  • Structure
  • Theory
  • Methodology
  • Reasoning
  • Conclusion
  • Presentation
  • Accuracy
  • Language
  • Literature

Learn about the structure and formalities of written assignments and research essays at IU, including types of instructions, scope, and content requirements.