SEF Undergraduate Handbook 2025-26

You may be assigned essays or other written coursework. These should be well structured and should present an argument that is clear, logical, and coherent. A typical structure might be as follows. (“Discuss economic forces that could have led to the recent high price of oil.”)

• Section 1: Introduction. (“The price of oil has reached £X per barrel in recent months, having been £Y over the past few years.”)
• Section 2: The determination of prices. (“In a market, prices are determined by supply and demand. A rise in price could be due to an increase in demand, a fall in supply, or a combination of the two, with the extent of the price rise depending on the slopes of the supply and demand curves as shown in the diagram below...”)
• Section 3: Evidence on the relevant factors. (3a. “On the supply side...” 3b. “On the demand side...”)
• Section 4: Summary and conclusions. (“On balance, it appears that the recent rise in the price of oil is due to...”)

Headings and subheadings help to communicate structure to an essay. They should express concisely what is to come in the next section, and are not included to “break up” an essay but rather to integrate the different parts of your argument in the mind of the reader. These organisational devices are important and you should learn to use them effectively.

Your argument should develop logically, with later points following from earlier ones: If C is a consequence of B, which is in turn a consequence of A, then you should argue from A to B to C, not from A to C to B and not directly from A to C. This is equally important whether your argument is expressed in prose or in equations.

Prior to making an argument, whether verbal or mathematical, you should state what it is you are going to show. Be careful at this point not to lapse into empty generalities and vagueness, as this suggests that you do not understand what you are trying to accomplish.

When using mathematics, always define your symbols. Label graphs clearly and draw them large enough so that the reader can easily see what is being represented. In statistical work, always describe your data and reference its source.

Here are a few other questions to ask yourself when completing an assignment:

• Does my answer address the question?
• Is my answer supported by evidence (e.g., by published work, properly analysed data, or a correct mathematical argument)? When appropriate, supporting evidence or references can appear in a footnote or appendix, but it should not be absent.
• Is the evidence I’m presenting germane? (Some of it might be irrelevant to the question.)
• Are my examples well chosen?
• In quoting other work, am I being careful to avoid plagiarism?
• Is my writing repetitive? Am I repeating myself? Do I have a problem with repetition?
• Have I (or has someone else) proofread my work?
• Did I keep a copy of my work as a backup?