What is Coursework
First of all, you need to understand what is coursework and how to write it. When one is writing a coursework, they have to do profound research that will reveal their knowledge base. A coursework may consist of design studies, field work, projects, long essays, and other kinds of work. Depending on the particular course, it can be performed in a number of ways. You need to write a coursework not only to show what you know about a particular subject and enlarge your knowledge base but also to prepare yourself to deal with the work you will need to perform in the future.
The Oxford Dictionary defines coursework as the type of practical or written work performed by a student and assessed by their professor. Hopefully, it makes the coursework meaning clearer for you.
Why Coursework is Necessary and Who Assigns it?
Now when you know what is coursework, you also have to understand why it is needed. Usually, a student's mentor or teacher assigns coursework as it is a part of the course structure. Writing a coursework is important since it helps the student reflect on what they have learned from the given course. Realizing the coursework meaning, one can understand the material better and see how their knowledge can be applied in various situations. This type of work also reveals the student's way of thinking and helps them learn how to express their thoughts. Coursework has an utterly diverse nature. A student's instructor can ask them to perform it in a written way and work on an essay, term paper, or thesis (this form of coursework is the most widespread). A coursework can also be done in a more creative way; for example, a student may be asked to create a sculpture. At times, taking a test is preferred by the instructor. In some cases, several types of coursework can be combined into one. Choosing a specific type or a combination of types depends on the course. Whatever the kind of coursework is, it always requires being evaluated. The student's mark will be based on their understanding of the topic, creativity, as well as on the innovative aspect of their work.
How to Perform the Most Important Types of Coursework?
Even understanding the coursework meaning, students have mixed feelings on it. Some of them like to do research, learn new information, and write about the results, while for others, it seems to be an unnecessary task, or even a burden. Whichever opinion is true for you, being a student, you will still have to write a coursework at some point. For this reason, you need to know how to do it successfully. Below you see the list of rules and guidelines that will make this task easier for you.
Read these steps carefully and make sure you follow them as they will help you get started.
Coursework that requires writing:
- Carry out superficial research on the topic of your coursework.
- Settle on your topic.
- Work on the structure of your coursework.
- Make a summary or an abstract and confirm it with your instructor.
- Conduct profound research to find all the information you need.
- While writing, keep on researching the topic more.
- When you are done, check your coursework for plagiarism.
- Make a reference list.
To make sure that your coursework features a good content that is clear and easy-to-understand for your reader, work on the structure of your work. Check out if you maintain its consistency, use relevant information, complete your topic, and make it look concise.<
Coursework that requires to create a model, sculpture, or artwork:
- Find a design or concept you like.
- See how it can be applied to the area of your study.
- Think about what you want to create and decide on the scale of this object.
- Decide what kind of materials you need to finalize your work.
- Find everything you need for creating your artwork.
- Make sure that you have a mental image of the result and make a rough sketch of it.
- Begin working!
Key points you should consider:
- Originality - You need to be sure that your topic or idea is original. It is an extremely important point you have to keep in mind from the very beginning of your work. Numerous researches are being done by numerous people, so you have to make yours stand out.
- Need - Your coursework should be able to answer certain questions or find solutions. For that, it has to identify the key problems and help the reader understand them clearly.
- Uniqueness - Both your topic and your content have to be unique. Make sure to avoid plagiarism and never copy information from other sources. Conduct surveys or prepare questionnaires to add originality to the content of your coursework.
- Your input - This aspect is very important. When working on your coursework, you need to reflect on your topic a lot and understand how you can apply it. If you do it, the purpose of writing a coursework is served. For this reason, do your best to make as much input in your work as possible.
- Outcomes & future applications - Even if you have worked hard and put a lot of effort into writing your coursework, it can turn out to be a failure in case you do not show useful outcomes. Therefore, you need to provide a well-made analysis of the information you used. Make a well-structured conclusion for your topic and talk about the way it can be researched further.
If you keep all these points in mind and follow the guidelines, you will certainly write a good coursework.