Week 10 was mainly about academic writing and structure, especially how research is organised and presented in a critical report. The session made me realise that writing is not only about what you say, but how clearly the reader can follow your thinking.
In class, we looked at the overall structure of a critical report, including sections like the introduction, literature review, main discussion, and conclusion. Seeing the structure laid out helped me understand how each part has a different role. The literature review is not just background reading, and the main discussion is where my own ideas should be more visible.
We also spent time on writing approaches, such as summarising, paraphrasing, and synthesising sources. I realised that I often understand the reading, but translating that understanding into my own writing is more difficult than I expected. It is easy to fall into describing what an author says without clearly connecting it to my own argument.
Another important point was how referencing supports the structure of writing. Referencing is not just about avoiding plagiarism, but about guiding the reader and showing how ideas are connected. This made me think more carefully about how and why I use sources, rather than adding them at the end.
This week made academic writing feel more concrete. Instead of seeing it as one large task, I started to see it as a series of smaller decisions about structure, clarity, and how ideas are supported.