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You may be asked to write any piece in the style of a report. If you have not been given a structure, there is a standard structure I suggest for presentation:

* Title Page - showing the title of the report, the author, the person for whom the report is prepared, and the date of completion

* Summary/Synopsis/Executive Summary (approx 10% of word count) - this will identify:

The purpose of the report

The scope of the report

Issues covered/not covered

The important results and findings

The conclusions and recommendations

Acknowledgement of any assistance in researching and compiling the report

* Table of contents - not including the title and contents page!

* Body of report – this will include: Introduction – what is the report about

* Discussion – divided into sections and sub sections, presented clearly and confined to fact rather than analysis/opinion

* Conclusion – this should: Relate back to the findings in the body of the report, include a clear summary of the main points and outline the findings of the research. There should be nothing in the conclusion that has not already been mentioned in the body of the report.

* Recommendations – these should emerge from the conclusions, suggest what is to be done, who is to do it and how/when it is to be done and be justified based on findings, not just the opinion of the writer

* Bibliography

* Appendix/Appendices - containing supplementary material too detailed for the main body of the report, such as tables, charts, statistics, questionnaires etc

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General features of masters level work

I'd suggest that the following represent features you'd expect in Masters level written work:

* Demonstration of an in-depth of knowledge regarding the subject in question

* Ability to identify important questions and formulate essay titles around these

* Ability to identify key issues in a debate and critically assess, reflect upon and contextualise the evidence and arguments related to that debate

* Evidence of initiative, independent thought and, possibly, originality

* Content that appropriately addresses and maintain focus on the essay question/title

* Well structured work leading to a suitable conclusion (where applicable)

* Answer supported with well-chosen examples

* Demonstratration of wide reading around the subject

* Demonstration of ability to find suitable and well-targeted sources using own initiative

* Demonstration of appropriate bibliographic and referencing skills, using the appropriate system

* Appropriate accompanying illustrations/appendix where appropriate, which are put to good use, suitably captioned and suitably referred to in the text

* Demonstration of suitable writing skills (i.e. is the work in a suitable academic style; are the grammar, spelling and punctuation correct; is the writing suitably concise and precise?)

* Work is well proof read

* Excellent standard of presentation

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As a freelance writer or student writer, your work should be 100% original. Work that is not original is plagiarised.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism can be any of the following:

* Passing off someone else’s words as your own

* Passing off someone else’s ideas as your own

* Rewording a source but retaining the original ideas it contains, without giving due credit (example).

* Failing to put a quote in quotation marks

* Copying large sections of someone else’s words or ideas, even if credit is given or quotation marks are used

* Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation – for example, citing a source that the real author has found and used, that you do not have a copy of

* Changing the words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit

These are just examples and are not exhaustive.

Plagiarism can also be the re-use of material you have written yourself - for example, for your university, for another person, or for any other academic institution, body or publication. Using old material is NOT original and will be regarded as plagiarism.

Many institutions have different views of what plagiarism is. This article can only provide general guidelines on plagiarism.

How much copied work must there be for a claim of plagiarism to succeed?

Clearly, one direct quote of 10 words that the writer accidently fails to put in quotation marks will not lead to a claim for plagiarism. But I am reluctant to put a percentage or definite figure down for what would constitute a claim.

As an example, I recently review the following work which had:

* A 4,000 word appendix made up of copied material (which she included as part of her 19,000 words) most of which she did not attribute to any source

* A section of 1,000 words which was at least 50% 'paraphrased' from a report. The researcher had changed a few words around, replaced some words with her own, and maintained the entire structure of the report.

* Padded the bibliography with around 40 sources (only 11 were used within the actual text)

The first example - the appendix - is a simple case of plagiarism. Even if the writer had attributed the material to sources, it would still not be 4,000 words of original material the client had paid her to write.

The second example she refused to accept as plagiarism because, she said, 50% of 1,000 words in a 19,000 word essay is nothing (about 3% of the overall word count). I disagree - as would the majority of academic institutions. That section was heavily plagiarised. It does not matter that, substracting from 19,000 words the 4,000 word 'appendix' and the 1,000 word section leaves 14,000 words that were relatively well written. There was evidence of substantial plagiarism in at least those two parts of the work. The final point about the padded bibliography is a quality issue rather than one of plagiarism. 11 sources in a 19,000 word masters level dissertation is nothing short of a joke.

In a 1,000 word essay, it is highly unlikely that anyone would regard a 3% match as plagiarism. So as you can see, it depends on so many different factors and I cannot put a percentage on what is, and what is not, plagiarism. I know some academic institutions disregard a match of below 5% but as you can see from the above example, this might not always work where the brief is quite long.

If you can write to a good standard (originally!) and you're looking for a writing opportunity, why not check out Academic Knowledge? They are recruiting for writers in all subject areas now.

What is a PhD?

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D. (American English) or PhD (British English) is an advanced academic degree. In the English-speaking world it has become the most common denomination for a research doctorate and applies to graduates in a wide array of disciplines in the sciences and humanities. The detailed requirements for award of a Ph.D. vary throughout the world - however there are a number of common factors. A candidate must submit a thesis or dissertation consisting of a suitable body of original academic research, which is in principle worthy of publication in a peer-refereed context. In many countries a candidate must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the university (in the form of an oral exam sometimes referred to - at least in the United Kingdom, Ireland and India, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth - as a viva, and in the United States simply as the "oral defense"). In other countries the dissertation is examined by a panel of expert examiners who stipulate whether the dissertation is in principle passable and the issues that need to be addressed before the dissertation can be passed; no oral defense takes place (e.g. Australia).

How do I write at PhD level?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer! PhD standard means work carried out that requires independent thought and independent research. Your work must contribute something to the area of study that no other person has written about before.

However, typically, PhD students show these qualities in their work:

* A systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study, or area of professional practice

* A comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research or advanced scholarship

* Originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline

* Conceptual understanding that enables the student to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline and to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses

* The ability to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences

* Demonstration of self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level

* Continuation of advancement in their knowledge and understanding, and development of new skills to a high level

* Demonstration of qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility, decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations and the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

These guidelines are very general because PhD level work is extremely difficult to categorise. It must be publishable quality, faultless, written to an exceptional standard and contribute original ideas to the academic field (not just rehash or analyse other people's ideas).

If you're interested in writing professionally, why not apply to Academic Knowledge?

Good referencing is a must for all the work you undertake, either as a student or as a professional writer. Poorly referenced work may be of an outstanding standard, but will be of little or no use to the reader who may find it difficult to ascertain where you have gathered your information from and follow up on the sources that you have noted.

A common mistake is under-referencing work - in essence meaning that the work may appear to be nothing more than a stream of consciousness or just a loosely founded writer's opinion. Likewise, over reliance on a handful of sources can be another problem - with the final brief often amounting to nothing more than a summary of a few chosen texts. Achieving a fine balance between originality and adequate referencing is crucial.

Referencing MUST DOs:

* You must ensure the majority of your material that you use relates to the primary topic area

* You must support everything you say with references to good quality source material. Do not assume anything is 'general knowledge'.

* You must not use poor quality sources like Wikipedia. It is suggested that for a quality piece, no more than 25% of sources may be to internet websites.

* You must use a number of sources that is appropriate for the level and quality standard of the work.

You must properly reference any material you use in the specified referencing style. If the university or agency does not specify a referencing style, you should use footnotes and provide a bibliography. Details such as page numbers, publishers and publication year should also be stated, in addition to the name of the author(s) and publication. Excessive use of references in a way that pads the word count will often lead to your marks being penalised.

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Your lecturer or agency may request a particular type of writing style and you must stick to this as closely as possible. For example, they may ask for the piece to be written in the style of a legal journal or, as for a recent brief, in the style of a 'House of Lords judgment'.

Writing Style (general)

Your writing should be concise, factual and to the point. Expect to lose marks (or if you're writing for an agency, money) for work that is padded with unnecessary words and content.

You should aim for an exceptional standard of presentation and avoid colloquial language as far as possible. Think of your work as a published journal - you would not expect professional writers to include chatty, informal language; neither would you expect to read what amounts to a regurgitation of existing work with little or no analysis or comparison.

If you're an agency writer, don't forget that your client is using your work as a springboard for their own research and writing; much like they would use a text book or journal that they have found on exactly the topic they require. It therefore needs to be clearly presented and easy to understand, and every part of it needs to be of value to them in terms of writing their own piece.

Research Skills

If you're writing for a living, you need to have excellent research skills - these are essential to producing a quality piece of work. The following represent poor practice:

undertaking a quick Google search on the topic and summarising your findings;

paraphrasing books or journals; or

reworking old research that you have done.

The core research skills you need to develop are set out below:

Task Definition: Your first step is to DEFINE THE PROBLEM.

This means taking the following steps:-

Read the relevant background information.

Write a statement or question that clearly identifies the information problem.

Identify and define key words which you will use for your research strategy.

You then need to identify the research requirements of the problem.

If you're writing for an agency, what are the essential sources that the client has specified? Obtain and review them

What are the requested sources that the client has specified? Obtain and review as many as possible of these.

What are the most recent works in the subject area? For example (for a legal piece) Government white papers, consultation papers, responses to consultations, studies, recent case law, legislative developments, industry opinions

What are the leading sources for this subject area? Consider use of books and journals but make sure they are sufficiently up to date unless you are using them for historical background. Amazon now allows you to search inside many books and you may find this useful for identifying appropriate sources. University electronic databases will also be a key research tool for identifying works appropriate to your assignment.

What secondary sources will you use? Newspapers and electronic sources for example are okay but bear in mind that they are not regarded as quality sources and so should not be used in excess. As to what is an 'internet source', Wikipedia and websites ARE internet based - Government white papers, journals and consultation papers are NOT internet based just because they can be accessed online. Most institutions will not allow use of souces such as Wikipedia - as they are open source projects which can be updated by anybody, and may (and frequently do) contain errors in the information they provides.

You will need to develop a priority listing of your selected resources, particularly where there is an abundance of information in the subject area, based on importance to the assignment and their availability. You will then need to weigh up the relevance of the information you find, and develop a critical awareness of the positions represented in what you read - in some cases, authors may be explicitly expressing a particular viewpoint but in others there may be hidden bias, which can be misleading.

Snowballing: Don't forget that one of the best ways to source relevant material for your essay is to ‘snowball’ your reading: i.e. to use the footnotes and bibliographies of the books you already have to extend your reading list on a subject. Your reading lists will already include many of the most important writers; by checking their bibliographies and works cited in those articles, you will have access to the most up-to-date writing on the topic.

If however you find a quote from Smith in an article by Jones, you must not cite Smith's quote as if you have used his actual journal. You must instead cite such examples as "Smith (2003), cited in....Jones (2005)..." and then give the full reference to both Smith and Jones' work in your bibliography.

Use of sources: You must be very careful to reference your sources fully and do not overuse other people's material. For more information on how you can use other people's work, please visit the originality page.

Writing a framework

It will be useful to first write a skeleton answer to your assignment before beginning to evaluate your sources. You can then create a set of notes, typing or pasting in sources and quotes as you find them relevant to each part of your answer, that you intend to evaluate. You will save time by adding an entry to your bibliography as you go along for each source you use. Write down anything you find that is good - and where you found it (including page numbers and search terms so that you can repeat your search if needs be). Don't depend on your memory! Don't forget to pay close attention to the referencing requirements of the brief - if none are stated then footnotes and a bibliography must be included as standard.

Evaluating your finished work

Once you have completed the brief, you need to read over what you have done and decide whether or not the assignment meets the criteria of the brief. Keep in the forefront of your mind that as a student or professional writer, you have been engaged to provide an exceptionally high quality and fully original piece of research and writing.

If you're a great writer and you're looking for work, try Academic Knowledge.

Finding a graduate job in London is particularly challenging. The competition is extremely fierce but as the cost of living is generally far higher, you can’t afford to offer your services at a particularly competitive price. How can you succeed in finding the perfect graduate job?

The answer, as for most competitive marketplaces, is to accept that you may have to accept a lower wage to get your foot in the door. Once you’ve shown the Company what you can do, then you are in a better position to negotiate over your salary, but until then, you are just one of many faceless applicants looking for a graduate job, likely with no experience and similar qualifications to your contemporaries.

When you apply for graduate jobs in London, therefore, you may want to pitch your starting salary at a lower rate than the usual market rate. Another tactic is to apply for a job in the Company that is not the job you want. For example, if you have a law degree, you could apply for a job as a legal secretary (assuming you have some typing skills). Not only will you gain valuable work experience but you’ll also have the opportunity to show what you can do, and it is a known fact that companies prefer to promote from within – you have your foot in the door and can apply for a better position as and when the opportunity arises.

So how do you support yourself if your graduate job doesn’t pay as well as you need it to? The answer may be to do some freelance work for another company. This may mean devoting 2-3 hours of your social time to finding and completing freelance writing jobs but they generally pay better than ordinary jobs and if you work for a reputable company, you’ll have the chance to establish yourself and command higher rates of pay. One such company is Academic Knowledge, a UK based research house established in 2003, currently recruiting for graduate writers in all disciplines.

There is no greater educational tool available then a focused piece of research written to address a student's exact question. Not only will such a piece educate about the topic, it will provide useful insight into overlooked areas, intriguing arguments that had not been identified, concepts that were not even comprehended and elucidate definitions that the client believed had long eluded them.

Moreover, it will demonstrate not just a good writing style, but also an excellent writing style; it will enlighten the reader with its cohesive, well-structured approach and highlight many useful and often hard to find sources of reference for further investigation.

Perhaps even more importantly, over and above the assistance that any book, journal or tutor could ever provide, the help of a model answer service is specifically targeted to assist its clients (usually students) in the production of their own work, work that will be subject to the grading process.

Whilst the help of such companies has an honest use, it cannot be denied that such help is open to abuse – but writers, who understand how strong the competition is for writing jobs – may be tempted to write for such a company without first considering the ethical arguments against such a job.

The solution is to find a research company that firmly stands by the integrity of its service. A company that believes that the dishonest minority have never stopped any academic from publishing a book, journal or website through the fear that their work may be misused, and refuses to allow the same dishonest minority to deny the vast majority that want to learn and learn honestly.

The growth of the academic writing industry relies on your efforts in being selective about who you write for, and continuing to only serve honest companies, rejecting those that encourage cheating. Any writing company that sells the copyright of the work you produce, or places token disclaimers on their websites to mask their lack of integrity, cares nothing for the damage that promoting cheating will cause. Instead, find a company that actively encourages their clients to seek guidance on how or if they can use the work provided, and who stands by the policy that they will not serve anyone they suspect of dishonest intentions.

The media has also been guilty in recent years of attempting to brand any sort of internet education company as a facilitator of the downgrading or ‘dumbing down’ of the academic process – but not every writing company is the same. Academic Knowledge is an example of an honest writing company that cares about enforcing its policies and does everything possible to prevent the misuse of the service it provides.