Requirements for coursework: structure and formatting

A coursework is one of the most common types of academic work, as well as one of the most important methods of assessing students' knowledge and skills. In order to write a high-quality coursework, it is necessary to take into account the requirements set by the department of the higher education institution. In our article, we have prepared the current requirements for the structure and volume of a coursework.

What is coursework?

Coursework is an independent educational and academic study carried out by a student at the end of the academic year, mainly in the second and third years of study, and sometimes in the first year. The writing of the paper is undertaken with the aim of consolidating, deepening and generalising the knowledge acquired by students during their studies, as well as applying it to the comprehensive solution of a particular task.

Coursework is the first step for students in the practice of conducting independent research. It makes it possible to identify the level of a student’s educational and general academic preparation. This implies the ability to apply acquired knowledge when solving specific issues, analytical skills, and the independent generalisation of material on the research topic.

The key objectives of coursework are:

• deepening and consolidating theoretical knowledge, as well as acquiring the skills to independently resolve specific situations
• acquiring the skills of analytical processing and description of specific problems that exist in a particular field of science
• developing the student’s skills to independently analyse literature sources on the topic of the paper, as well as to work on the methodology and logic of presenting the material

The main tasks of the student when completing coursework are:

• to demonstrate solid theoretical knowledge of the chosen topic and the ability to apply it
• to justify the relevance of the topic, its correspondence to the current state of development of the field of science, etc.
• to be able to analyse monographs and periodicals on the topic of the paper; to generalise the selected material; to draw conclusions and make proposals for solving a specific academic problem, etc.
• to demonstrate the ability to generalise the obtained results, apply modern methods of academic research, and formulate appropriate conclusions, etc.

Current requirements for coursework

It is worth noting that the requirements for the structure, subject matter and length of coursework are determined individually by university departments and depend on the discipline. In most cases, students are given the opportunity to choose the topic of their coursework from the list of topics defined by the department.

The requirements for coursework may differ depending on the higher education institution and the discipline.

Requirements for the structure of coursework

• title page
• contents
• introduction
• main body (sections and subsections that reveal the issue under study)
• conclusions
• list of references
• appendices (if necessary)

The length of coursework is generally 20-35 pages.

Formatting of coursework

Rules for formatting coursework 

1. Pagination of coursework

It is indicated in the top right-hand corner of the page and begins from the third sheet, that is, the page with the Introduction. The title page and the page with the Contents are not numbered. 

2. Title page

The first page of coursework is the title page. It indicates the name of the educational institution, the type of paper, the name of the department or discipline, the title of the paper, the year of study, the student’s and lecturer’s details, the year of writing, and the city of the educational institution. 

3. Introduction

The section must begin on a new page and comprise at least one full sheet. The Introduction must describe:

• the relevance of the paper
• a review of the literature in which other scholars have studied the issues related to the topic
• the object and subject of the study
• the aim and objectives of the paper
• the research methodology 

4. References to the sources used

The text of the paper must necessarily contain references or footnotes to the sources used. The citation style is specified in the coursework formatting requirements issued by the department of the higher education institution. For example, a reference may be formatted using square brackets indicating the number of the source in the reference list, and additionally the page or pages from which the information was taken may be indicated. 

5. List of references

The list of sources used may include different types of academic works, including articles, dissertations, books, etc. The list must be arranged in alphabetical order and in accordance with the citation style established by the requirements of your higher education institution. Please note that the use of Russian or Belarusian literature sources in research papers is not permitted by Ukrainian higher education institutions.

It is also worth adding that your paper must be original. On average, higher education institutions require at least 75-85% originality of coursework.

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