Get a head start at University

Posted on 3 Jul 2009 at 11:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

 1 of 8

Gallery

Finally, many academics and departments now have blogs. Not only are these great resources, but by regularly reading a blog and posting pertinent, well-informed comments you can get to know the blogger; it's a fantastic way of networking with an academic. Start by visiting www.blogscholar.com. Our favourites are http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com, written by an American linguist working in the UK, and the fascinating http://astroprofspage.com.

Evaluating your sources

Anyone can put information online without editing or peer review process. It's vital that you learn to tell a reliable and useful source from one that's best avoided. Remember to ask yourself:

1. Who does the site belong to?

The web address may tell you this. There may be an 'About us' link on the site, or you can check www.whois.net. Is this person qualified to write about the subject, and is there a conflict of interest that could make them biased?

2. Who else links to the site?

Type link: into Google. If many trusted sources link to the site, the chances that it's a good source are greater. It would be wise to check the context of the links.

3. Does the author substantiate his assertions with reference to credible sources?

Does he or she acknowledge intellectual debts? Failure to do so is a strong indication that the source may not be trustworthy.

4. What's the quality of the site like?

Is it well written? If not, the site merits a bit more investigation before you use it as a source.

5. How recently was the document updated? For some subjects, you want recent information. For others, information that was released near the time of a particular event is important.

Making sure that your essays are legible, formatted properly and written in grammatically correct English is not optional. Most university departments will penalise you for poorly presented work, so avoid the pitfalls that most commonly cost students marks.

Basic formatting

Most academic departments ask for generous margins of one inch or wider, and specify double or 1.5 line spacing. This makes essays easier to read and gives your tutor space to write notes. Check your department's handbook for the exact specifications that you'll be expected to apply.

To set margins in Word, hover your mouse cursor over the left or right margin marker in the ruler at the top of the page. The cursor changes into a double-headed arrow; when it does, drag the margin marker to your preferred position. Make sure your left and right margins are the same size. You should see two triangles on the ruler: one pointing down, the other up. To set an indent for the first line of every paragraph, drag the top triangle to the point on the ruler where you want your indent to be. To set line spacing, click on the Format menu, select Paragraph and, from the Indents and Spacing tab, choose the appropriate setting from the Line spacing menu.

Students may need to be careful about which fonts to use. Generally, you choose the font from a drop-down menu at the top of the word processor's window. If your department asks you to submit work by uploading it to a content management system, it may also specify which fonts you can use. Use the wrong one, and the upload process may remove some characters or replace them with something else.