Guidelines for Essay Writing

1. Outline, purpose and goal

An essay is a piece of writing that methodically analyses and evaluates a topic or issue.
Fundamentally, an essay is designed to get your academic opinion on a particular matter.

On successful completion of this assignment, the student will be able to:

 efficiently use library resources (including research databases) in a responsible and

ethical manner,
 navigate the web proficiently and effectively,
 improve writing skills.

Essay is planned to be written individually. On the basis of completing this activity, the student
gets a maximum of 20% of the final grade, depending on the quality of the paper.

The student takes over responsabilities:

 The essay is the result of an exclusively individual effort of a student to meet the
requirements of the research in terms of the subject. The outline and content of the
essay are written on an exclusively individual terms, without consulting other students.

 Methodology and technical instructions are attached in order to be followed

consistently. Also, the evaluation criteria of the essay stated below provide the
possibility of introducing the elements of the essay evaluation.

 The subject of the essay is defined, as follows:

„Corporate Social Responsibility: Advantages and Disadvantages“

When making an essay, the student consults relevant literature and sources based on
his/her own estimate (On the web site you can find some examples of appropriate
literature).

 Scope of the essay is maximum 7 pages (line spacing 1, font 12).

 Essay should be submitted in electronic form (Word format) (upload on the web site of
the course).

Important dates: the deadline for submission is January 12, 2018.

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2. Methodology

2.1. Preparation and essay drafting

While writing Research essay the student:

 primarily develops concepts and ideas, that is, preliminary structure of the essay by
which he/she answers the research question (i.e. posing the problem – research
question, content draft).
 after making the basic plan, the student is engaged in the research, that is, in revision
and analysis of relevant literature, acquiring data, listing papers and materials (i.e.
reviewing the literature, draft – predictable research results, conclusion draft, literature
resume)
 begins processing, that is, analyzing the material and data, and making the first draft.
 begins with revision and final processing of the written part, including revision of
references and literature.

2.3. Form and final version of the essay

 Cover page should provide an easy and immediate identification of the author, subject
and purpose of the essay. Therefore, it is suggested to center the elements on the cover
page, to single out the essay’s title, authors, course within which the subject is studied,
place, and academic year.

 Composition of the essay and content are planned in the form which necessarily
requires inner structuring in order for the essay to be easy-to-survey and clear.
Therefore, the essay is conceptually structured into introduction, main part and
conclusion, the main part being differentiated into clear and meaningful parts.

In the introduction part, it is required to show significance of the theme, subject and goal of the
essay, as well as to outline the content and structure of the essay. The student is required to list
basic goals of each of the main parts in the introduction part, by which he/she introduces the
reader to the main goal of the research and specific goals of individual parts of the essay.
He/she also gives the reader an insight into the subject of the course.

In the main part, which is suggested to be structured in individual chapters and subchapters, the
student develops the subject, that is, provides a systematized outline of the problem he/she
deals with.

(You can structure the essay such that you have a separate section where you would discuss the
problem in greater detail or simply you can relate the discussion as you go along the essays'
subsections - this is up to you how you would structure the essay. In addition, you can provide
critical assessment based on the surveyed literature-empirical results (assessment of the
theoretical propositions or the validity of empirical evidence presented/examined poses a great
challenge. However it is highly appreciated/validated - SO GO FOR IT. Even an attempt is much
appreciated).

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In the conclusion part, a brief resume - review of the essay is provided (what was the basic goal
of the essay, what was studied and what were the basic results, conclusions or perceptions
made in the essay)

 References, that is, a list of the literature used, is placed on the very end of the essay,
after the conclusion and before the list of illustrations and attachments, if there are any.
When creating reference list, it is required to use Harvard style referencing.

(Referencing - please make sure you put reference each time you present/interpret/paraphrase
others people/institutions/organisations ideas, definitions, assertions, research results etc. in
the text!!! If you use citation please make sure you indicate page number as well and put it
under quotation marks. Please use Harvard system of referencing.)

Academic Honesty

You are expected to submit original work in this class. This means the work you submit for this
class cannot be from another course. Further, plagiarism in this course will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism is constituted as stealing words or ideas from another source and passing them as
your own. Students who plagiarize or recycle work in this class will receive a zero points for the
assignment and will be subject to university policies regarding plagiarism.

3. Criteria for the evaluation of Essay

Proper Style and Format

The essay includes a title page and page numbers

The essay is produced in an academic tone
Proper use of paragraphs and headings (if used)
Clarity of expression, eloquence and creativity of writing, mechanics of word choice

Structure and Organization

Statement of the problem or question – clarity, sharpness of focus

Several appropriate subtopics are presented
Logical development of the discussion from one idea to the next
Introduction – provides a context for the essay, summarizes the arguments, is of adequate
length
Conclusion – summarizes the arguments presented in the body, and negotiates the
perspectives in the essay so that the reader is left with a clear impression of what is
accomplished in the essay

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Proper Use and Relevance of Research

Located appropriate academic literature

The essay relies on contemporary and insightful research
Draws out major arguments
All arguments have appropriate literature to support them
Enough sources are used in each paragraph or section to support the arguments

Level of Analysis and Substantive Adequacy

The student displays a strong grasp of the topic

Arguments are relevant to the thesis statement
The arguments present adequate depth
The essay reflects careful analysis
Overall substantive adequacy of the interpretation or argument
presented

Referencing

In-text citations are correct and consistent

Bibliographic citations are structured correctly and consistently
according to the Harvard system of referencing.