Writing at postgraduate level: showing, not saying, what you know: Dr Jim McKinley (IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society)

While most practices learned in undergraduate academic writing are helpful for postgraduate writing tasks, there are some fundamental differences that are important for postgraduate students to understand. Written assignment task prompts and assessment criteria are not always clear or helpful for aligning students’ and tutors’ expectations. Too often, students misunderstand what key concepts such as ‘critical’ and ‘original’ mean for postgraduate writing, resulting in writing that describes knowledge gained through the module, rather than showing it. In this session, I will guide participants through a sample master’s module assignment prompt and talk about how it aligns with UCL’s standard assessment criteria, showing some different examples of how students responded to the prompt – both successfully and unsuccessfully. There will also be a chance to discuss current concerns participants may have with postgraduate writing.