A guide to doing literature-based research
This section contains information to help you do the research project for your major course assessement task.
- Have a look at the links on the topic page you choose to work with.
- Print out any pages from those links that you find helpful and/or useful.
- Don't forget to look in the History and Big Ideas section of this site.
- Set out your essay with headings for each of the areas you are required to cover (see Assessment Task) and make lists of the ideas you want to cover under each heading including any images you want to use.
- For each idea and image, note the source of the information (title of page, author if available and URL).
- You should aim to have ideas from around 3 to 5 different sources under each heading.
- If there are gaps, or if you want more depth, in any area, you can use Google to find additional information.
- You can also use Google Images to find additional images you might want to use in your essay.
- Remember, when using web-based information satisfy yourself that the source is reliable, such as a university, government department or similar.
- Using your notes as a guide, write your essay in your own words. Where you quote directly from a source, include the words in inverted commas. Plagiarism is not acceptable.
- When you have finished the first draft, do a rough count of words to determine whether you need more ideas or whether you need to cut some out.
- Try to keep your sentences short and simple and avoid the passive voice.
- Prepare a bibliography of all the sources you have used in your essay; do not include sources you have read but not used. Do not include the bibliography in your word count.
- Give you essay a title page with a title, your name and the date.
