Author
Ayusha Joshi
Guides on academic writing, referencing and study method for university students in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada and the US.
Specialisms
What Ayusha covers
- academic writing
- referencing and citation
- academic integrity
Published
Guides by Ayusha Joshi
- Referencing9 min read
OSCOLA footnotes: ibid, short forms and pinpoints
The OSCOLA footnote mechanics that cost law students marks: when to use ibid, how to build a short form, how to pinpoint, and where the marker goes.
- Business10 min read
How to write a case study analysis
How to analyse a business case study: reading for the decision, choosing frameworks that earn marks, and writing a recommendation with a cost and owner.
- Study skills6 min read
How to balance chemical equations
The method for balancing chemical equations by inspection, worked combustion and redox examples, the fraction trick, and a free step-showing balancer.
- Study skills6 min read
What is a specialised cell? Structure, function and examples
What a specialised cell is, how differentiation produces them, and eight worked examples showing how each cell's structure fits its function.
- Study skills10 min read
How to revise for university exams, according to the evidence
Retrieval practice, spacing and interleaving beat re-reading and highlighting in controlled studies. What works, what does not, and a six-week plan.
- Referencing8 min read
Notes–bibliography or author–date? Picking your Chicago system
Chicago has two citation systems that are not interchangeable. How to tell which your course wants, how each is formatted, and how to convert.
- Study skills6 min read
Should homework be banned? What the evidence says on both sides
The research on homework splits by age: little benefit in primary school, a real effect in secondary. Both cases argued, plus the equity argument.
- Dissertation10 min read
How to choose a dissertation topic you can actually finish
The four-part feasibility test every dissertation topic must pass, how to narrow a broad interest into a question, and the signs a topic will fail.
- Dissertation9 min read
Writing a research proposal: structure and worked example
What a research proposal must contain, how long each section should be, and a worked example. Includes the two sections that decide whether it is approved.
- Dissertation8 min read
Psychology dissertation topics that pass ethics
Forty psychology dissertation topics by subfield, each feasible at undergraduate level, plus the ethical filter that rules topics out early.
- Dissertation9 min read
How to write a methodology chapter
What a methodology chapter must contain, methodology versus methods, how to justify every choice, and how to write limitations that strengthen it.
- Referencing8 min read
Secondary citations: when you cannot find the original
How to cite a source you have only read about, what goes in the reference list, and the four situations where it is genuinely acceptable.
- Writing9 min read
Argumentative essay structure
Building an essay that argues rather than surveys: staking a claim, ordering your reasons, using evidence, and handling the opposition.
- Subject skills11 min read
How to write a nursing care plan
The five stages of the nursing process, how to write a diagnosis that is not a medical diagnosis, SMART goals and evidence-based rationales.
- Writing8 min read
Punctuating quotations correctly
Where the full stop goes, single versus double marks, ellipses, square brackets and [sic] — and how to introduce a quotation cleanly.
- Writing9 min read
Annotated bibliographies
What an annotation must contain, how it differs from an abstract, the three types, and how to write one that is evaluative rather than descriptive.
- Business10 min read
SWOT analysis: how to make it analysis, not a list
The four quadrants, the internal-external distinction students blur, and the TOWS step that turns a list into strategy — with a worked example.
- Referencing10 min read
Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote: which reference manager
An honest comparison of the three main reference managers: cost, what each is actually good at, where each breaks, and how to switch.
- Study skills9 min read
How to read an academic paper efficiently
A three-pass method for reading papers, what to look for in each pass, how to read a methods section critically, and how to decide what not to read.
- Subject skills9 min read
Nursing assignment help: what support is allowed
Why the rules are stricter on a professional programme, what the regulator adds to your institution's code, and what support is legitimate.
- Writing9 min read
Rhetorical devices with examples
Twenty devices with definitions and examples, grouped by what they do, plus how to write about them analytically rather than just naming them.
- Referencing7 min read
et al. rules: how many authors before you shorten
The author thresholds for et al. in every major style, what changed in APA 7, and what to do when two papers shorten to the same citation.
- Writing10 min read
Paraphrasing without plagiarising
What a real paraphrase is, the close-the-book method that produces one, and why synonym-swapping is treated as plagiarism.
- Referencing9 min read
IEEE referencing: numbered citations done properly
How numbered styles work, the citation order rule, formatting entries for papers, standards, datasets and code, and the differences from author-date styles.
- Referencing8 min read
Citing clinical guidelines, NICE and drug formularies
How to reference NICE guidelines, the BNF, WHO documents and Cochrane reviews in Vancouver, APA 7 and Harvard — sources no generator can handle.
- Subject skills10 min read
How to write a nursing reflective essay
How to write a nursing reflective essay that analyses rather than narrates: Gibbs' cycle stage by stage, the 20/80 rule, anonymisation, an example.
- Subject skills9 min read
IRAC and ILAC: how to answer a law problem question
How to structure a law problem question using IRAC or ILAC, with a worked example, the difference between them, and why essay-style answers cap marks.
- Writing6 min read
Adviser or advisor? 30 spellings students get wrong
Adviser or advisor, practice or practise, affect or effect, and 27 more pairs students get wrong — with the rule and the UK, US and AU variations.
- Study skills9 min read
Extenuating circumstances applications
What counts as extenuating circumstances, what evidence is needed, what the outcomes actually are, and why applying late is why claims fail.
- Writing9 min read
How to write an essay introduction
The four things an introduction must do, why you should write it last, how long it should be, and the openings that waste your first paragraph.
- Career10 min read
Writing a graduate scheme application
How graduate applications are actually screened, writing competency answers with STAR, and what assessment centres are looking for.
- Study skills9 min read
Time management that survives a deadline week
Why most study timetables fail, planning backwards from deadlines, protecting the hours that matter, and what to do when several deadlines land together.
- Career9 min read
Cover letters that are not a repeat of your CV
What a cover letter is for, the four-paragraph structure that works, how to evidence a requirement without listing your CV again, and the openings to avoid.
- Referencing8 min read
How to cite lecture slides, seminars and recordings
The format for citing PowerPoint slides, a lecture you attended and the VLE they sit on — and when to cite the source your lecturer used instead.
- Study skills9 min read
Note-taking methods compared
Cornell, outline, mapping, charting and Zettelkasten compared by what each is good for, and what actually makes notes useful months later.
- Career10 min read
The UCAS personal statement: the three-question format
How the restructured statement works, what each question asks for, and how to write about a subject you have not studied yet.
- Referencing8 min read
How to cite a YouTube video, podcast or TikTok
Citing video and audio: who counts as the author, what to do about channel names, how timestamps work, and the format in eight styles.
- Study skills9 min read
Working while studying: the rules and the reality
How student work restrictions are structured in the five markets, where to check the current limits, and what counts toward them.
- Referencing9 min read
How to cite ChatGPT and other AI tools
The exact format for citing ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, Chicago and Vancouver — plus when a citation is not enough on its own.
- Study skills7 min read
Debate topics that actually produce a debate
Sixty debate topics grouped by level and subject, plus the test for whether a motion will produce a real debate and how to build a case for either side.
- Study skills7 min read
Speech topics, and how to pick one that works
Fifty speech topics for persuasive, informative and short-notice speaking, plus how to choose one for your audience and structure it so people remember it.
- Writing7 min read
Personal essay topics, and how to write one that is not a diary
Forty personal essay prompts, plus what separates a personal essay from a diary entry: a specific moment, honest reflection, a point beyond you.
- Referencing9 min read
Which Harvard does your university actually use?
Harvard is not one style. How Cite Them Right, Leeds, Coventry and Australian AGPS Harvard differ, and how to find which one your department wants.
- Referencing7 min read
APA 7: everything that changed from APA 6
Every change from APA 6 to APA 7 with before-and-after examples: no publisher location, up to 20 authors, et al. from three, and the new DOI format.
- Study skills8 min read
The first six weeks: a study system that survives the semester
What to set up in your first six weeks at university: a note system, a reading method, a reference manager, and the deadlines nobody warns you about.
- Writing6 min read
Is this sentence grammatically correct? How to check your own writing
How to check whether a sentence is grammatically correct, the six errors behind most academic writing mistakes, and a free checker that uploads nothing.
- Referencing7 min read
The referencing mistakes that cost the most marks
The referencing errors markers penalise most: unattributed paraphrase, mismatched in-text citations, inconsistent Harvard, and fixing a similarity score.
- Business9 min read
How to write a PESTEL analysis (with an Apple example)
How to write a PESTEL analysis that earns marks: the six dimensions, how to evidence and rank factors, and a worked Apple example.
- Career8 min read
How to write a CV in the UK
UK CV format explained: two pages, no photo, personal profile, quantified achievements and ATS-safe formatting. Includes how a UK CV differs from a US resume.
- Career6 min read
How to write a character reference
What a character reference must contain, how it differs from an employment reference, and a worked example. Includes court and rental character references.
- Writing10 min read
Reflective writing: how to do it properly
How to write a reflective essay that analyses rather than narrates: Gibbs' cycle explained, the 20/80 rule, topics and a worked example.
- Writing9 min read
Essay structure: how to build an argument
How to structure a university essay: an arguable thesis statement, paragraphs built on topic sentences, integrating evidence, and essay length.
- Dissertation8 min read
How to write a dissertation abstract (with examples)
What a dissertation abstract must contain, how long it should be, and three worked examples across disciplines, with the six-element structure.
- Dissertation7 min read
How to write a dissertation conclusion
The five-part structure of a strong dissertation conclusion, how long it should be, what to leave out, and how it differs from the discussion.
- Dissertation9 min read
How to structure a literature review
How to organise a literature review by theme rather than by source, what a synthesis actually looks like, and the structures that work.
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