Bad Essay – is ICT the root of all evil?

Writing coherently in a foreign language is always a difficult skill to master. I remember standing up in front of the class whilst studying languages at school, reading out my essays in the most horrendous broken French. Safe to say the only lasting lesson I learnt was that chocolate croissants are delicious and should be eaten at any and every opportunity.

It seems that many people also have the same problems with English as I had with French, so much so that YouTube user ‘Venus Crest’ has a whole channel just made up of her reading bad English essays aloud! Some of the English in these essays is so bad that many sentences make no sense at all, with hilarious results! Check out one of her videos below, which is reading out an essay entitled ‘Is ICT the root of all evil?’

Jokes aside, being able to write coherent essays in a foreign language, especially English, can be a major issue for non-native speakers. And although sometimes we might laugh at people’s bad English, I’m sure most British people are a little bit jealous of how well other people can speak it – I definitely can’t speak French or Spanish (the languages I studied at school) as well as most non-native English speakers speak English.

That said; it’s always good to look back on those pieces of work with ‘bad English’ to see where you went wrong so you don’t make the same mistakes in the future. But after talking to a number of international students in Sheffield, understanding what it is they’re doing wrong requires feedback, and in a world where everyone is busy and everything costs money, finding feedback is easier said than done.

Luckily, we have Scholarly to sort all that out for you! It’s not quite ready yet but we’re aiming to have a style and structure tool which will help you to structure your sentences better and to use the correct terminology which is appropriate to academic writing – a format which is almost exclusive to the English speaking world. It’ll also give you feedback on what you’ve done wrong and what mistakes are common throughout your essay. With this tool in your arsenal, hopefully you won’t agree that ‘ICT is the root of all evil’!

Follow us on Twitter @bescholarly for updates on when the software will be ready to be tested for free!

Constructing a UK CV - Dos and Don'ts

CV writing is a tricky task for all of us, but writing a CV to the structure of a foreign country is even trickier. Luckily we at Scholarly are here to help you! We’ve provided you with some general pointers to make your task generally less soul consuming.

Don'ts -

• Include a title. Firstly, when starting to write your CV do NOT, I repeat do NOT title your document 'CV'. Unfortunately Curriculum Vitae, though Latinate, still doesn't make you sound any more intelligent. The truth is the document itself is so self explanatory so refrain from the title.  
• Attach a photo to your CV.  Though it’s customary to include photos alongside CVs in countries like Germany, it is highly inadvisable to do so in the UK. Photographs put potential employers in an awkward legal position, so we advise you to steer clear entirely!

Dos-

• Include a brief personal statement. The typical CV requires more than a catalogue of your academic qualifications.  Your personal statement should comprise of a couple of sentences that correctly describe your transferable skills.  In a UK CV this statement should not be extensive and is not entirely essential if you are providing a covering letter. 
• Focus on work experience. After your profile, follows your education section which should be kept to the bare minimum. Next is your work experience information, which is arguably the most vital component of a UK CV. Employers do not want to hear your life story so list your responsibilities and skills acquired succinctly and you can explain further in your covering letter and during interview. If you do not have much work experience voluntary work is also relevant to this section so include as much as possible. My tip would be to avoid over-use of 'I', which can sound awkward and a tad self-centered.
• Show your personality. The latter section of your CV is focused on your extra curricular ventures and personal interests, which gives you the opportunity to showcase your personality. 
• Keep it brief. The typical UK CV should be confined to a maximum of 2 pages, so remember to always be concise. If you do not have room for references at the end then simply put 'available upon request'. 
• Tailor your CV. It's important to remember that not only should you tailor your CV to align with the customs of the country you are residing in, you should also adapt your CV for each specific job application. Doing this couldn’t be easier! Simply draw out the key skills the employer has specified in his/her job advertisement and show how you possess these skills. 
• Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Make sure your spelling and grammar is spot on. Misspellings, wrongly placed punctuation and poor syntax is not going to impress employers so be obsessive in your editing.  

The final thing about CVs is that everyone has one. Employers will receive countless CVs and you need to set yours apart. Your additional languages and multicultural knowledge will look favourable to your employers so make sure you reflect positively on your international background to set yourself apart from competitors. Be creative, innovative and inventive with your CV to grab the attention of your readers! Follow our advice and you will be on the road to success.  

Focus groups

We held some focus groups last week which were a resounding success! On Thursday 20th and Friday 21st we met with international and postgraduate students from both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.  We spoke with them at length, over fizzy pop and gingerbread men, about their essay writing problems and explained to them our mission here at Scholarly.

We discussed what essay problems they usually encounter, how they have previously responded to these issues and the features we are developing to assist these issues.  The features we discussed were met with an overwhelmingly positive response and will further aid the continuing development of the software.

The Scholarly team would like to take this opportunity to thank those students who came along and played a greatly active role in our discussions, offering fresh insight and advice.

All students involved told us they were looking forward to trying out the beta product.  Our beta product is going live very soon, you can sign up for free and have a play round with our features!  Sign up now at www.scholarlyessay.com.

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Writing a successful covering letter

Guest post by Mark Green

 A covering letter is vital to applying for work experience, paid internships, graduate vacancies and increasingly, for part time jobs. You're normally asked to provide a covering letter alongside your CV when applying for a job. The importance of a covering letter with job applications is great, it is a chance to showcase your writing style and give your application a personal feel, which is something you would stuggle to convey through a shorter, concise CV.  Before I came to university, I had never written one before.  The first time I had to properly 'sell myself' was in my personal statement. I didn't know what to include, or how formal it had to be. The tips below should give you an idea of where to start when writing one.

• Most obvious, but still necessary to mention; tailor each application to the job you are applying for.  You may have much valuable, transferable experience, but it is crucial to emphasise the specific skill-sets you have developed from your previous work experience. For example, if you are applying for a part-time job at a local supermarket, whilst still studying, it would be best to stress how you have developed your interpersonal skills in the past.
• Try to get as much background information about the position you are applying to as possible.  It may be time consuming, especially when you are applying for lots of jobs at the same time, but that little bit of extra research about the current developments of a the company, or the industry that they are in  will help you stand out compared to other candidates.   
• Avoid merely repeating what is in your CV in more long winded ways. A covering letter is an opportunity to give the employer more insight into your motivations and the extent to which you want the job. Another reason not to just repeat your CV is that the cover letter will often physically be attached to it!
• Be clear and concise. Although specifications on the length of a cover letter may vary from job to job, it is generally custom to keep a covering letter to one page. Make your points eloquently, you're essentially advertising yourself.  Employers will often have tens of applications to read and will not appreciate 2-3 pages of you waffling on. Just because you write more on a covering letter than another person does not mean you must want the job more. Quality, not quantity.
• Proofread your covering letters.  You may be applying for several jobs at once and as a result become a little lazy in your writing and editing.  But ultimately, the covering letter will hold sway as to whether or not you get an interview, so it is vital to present a professional appearance.  If only there was some sort of cost-effective software that automatically proof-read your work for you...

Hopefully these tips will give you a hand in finding that flexible part time job or that dream internship. Best of luck with the job hunt!

Have you ever committed any covering letter blunders? Leave a comment below.

Top essay writing tips

Guest post by Mark Green

 When it comes to essay writing, there are probably three groups of students. The first group, a strange bunch, enjoy the whole essay writing process. They enjoy finding and reading their references, as well as having a sense of satisfaction after ordering their piece of work and checking it over.  The second group, which is the position most students tend to occupy, are those who enjoy certain aspects of the process. For instance, they may enjoy the chance to express their opinion, but really despise the mechanical aspects to it.  The final group seem to hate essay writing altogether, to which I would probably ask why you decided to do that specific degree!

Despite these varying experiences, there are some golden tips which most of us can follow that will ease the pains of essay writing...

1) Don't leave it 'til the last minute - This may seem to be a pretty straightforward one, but it is ridiculous how many students keep putting off an essay just because the deadline seems so far away.  You ease the guilt of a deadline that is four weeks away by thinking to yourself, 'oh well, I did attend the lecture and seminar this week, I've worked really hard recently...'  Keeping on top of your reading and doing a little of the essay each day/week can easily put a stop to the all-nighters in the library.  A nervous breakdown in one of your university libraries at 4am, surrounded by soul-destroying energy drinks like 'Red Trojan' and 'Blue Electric' is hardly ideal.

2) Set yourself realistic targets - Try and break down your essay into reasonable chunks.  Trying to dedicate a block of five hours to write solidly isn't realistic.  Cut it down into more bearable and probably more enjoyable chunks.

3) Active note taking - Depending on the required word count and the style of the question, you may be faced with a great deal of reading to do.  You'll find yourself taking notes from books, journal articles, blogs, maybe even videos.  It is extremely important not to copy everything you read word for word, as you may be susceptible to losing marks for lack of originality.  Read an argument; put it in your own words.  You will understand it more for yourself, which is even more important if the essay is a topic you could revise for a later exam. 

4) Answer the question - It may seem a bit patronising, but it is true.  Many students will see an essay question, and then write everything they know about it in order to fill up the word count, without answering the actual specifics of the question to achieve your desired mark.  On a related note, don't be afraid to challenge the question.  If you don't agree with the statement in the question, why not?  Define it in your own terms and justify why you are doing it.

5) Use Scholarly to help you!  Need a programme to quickly and accurately proofread your work for you?  We can do it.  Are you stuck for ideas of what to read next?  Not a problem.  Have you got a 5,000 word limit but you still find yourself 2,000 over the limit with a day to go?  Give it to us; we'll assist you, no issue there.  We are here to give you a hand and leave you to the debating.

Leave a comment below with your top essay tips!