Writing and scholarship development Archives - Enhancing Postgraduate Environments

How to write an academic argument

Sibusiso Ncanywa — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:17:47 +0000

Every thesis is an argument; watch this video to find out what an argument is in the academic world.

Other resources on building an academic argument can be found here:

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What attributes should a postgraduate candidate have once they graduate?

Sibusiso Ncanywa — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:51:02 +0000

In this series of videos, a group of postgraduate scholars from different fields of study reflect on graduate attributes. They use the graduate attributes in South Africa’s Doctoral Standard to ask: “Who am I becoming through my research?”

Introducing Post-Graduate Students

1) Graduate Attribute: Broad Knowledge

2) Graduate Attribute: Specialised Knowledge

3) Graduate Attribute: Insights into Related Fields

4) Graduate Attribute: Ethical Awareness

5) Graduate Attribute: Original Contributions

6) Graduate Attribute: Appropriate Methodologies

7) Graduate Attribute: Reflection and Autonomy

8) Graduate Attribute: Communication and Digital Literacy Skills

9) Graduate Attribute: Critical Thinking for Problem Solving

10) Advice for postgraduate students from postgraduate students

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Trust in Postgraduate Education

PostGrad — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 08:07:05 +0000

Video 1: Why do we need trust in higher education?

This video was produced by Sinethemba Oz Konzaphi, Sioux McKenna, and Shiloh Marsh

Here’s a few questions that might guide your viewing:

Grant Cyster points out that trusting someone doesn’t mean you trust them to always get everything right, rather it means trusting them to try with integrity. What does the relationship between trust and creating space to make mistakes mean for postgraduate supervision?
Chrissie Boughey distinguishes between leading the academic project and managing the university. How does this distinction pertain to postgraduate education?
Anthea Adams makes a connection between trust and being seen and valued. How does this play out in higher education?
A few speakers indicate how trust is significant because education is a relationship. What are the implications of this for postgraduate supervision?
Masixole Booi indicates that trust is needed if universities are to decolonise. How can we be open to diverse forms of knowledge and making knowledge while maintaining a strong critical perspective?
Patrick Onyango points out that the university is an eco-system. What aspects of the university inspire trust in you, and which foster mistrust?

Video 2: Why do we need trust in higher education?

This video was produced by Sinethemba Oz Konzaphi, Sioux McKenna, and Shiloh Marsh

Here’s a few questions that might guide your viewing:

Abongile Sonkosi suggests that students need to be careful in placing trust in the university. What are your views on this?
Jan McArthur suggests that students are often deliberately mistrusted and asks how they then learn to be trustworthy. How can we explicitly build trust in supervisory relationships to ensure that trustworthiness is a graduate attribute?
Olebogeng Mokgantshang suggests that universities do not inspire or instil trust and calls for us to reflect on how to address this. What examples can you think of where universities undermine trust in our postgraduate students?
Marike Kluyts suggests that our focus on the knowledge content is sometimes at the cost of building trust in the university as a social good. Do you agree?
Disa Mogashana calls for universities to shape an inner person who is trustworthy. Is this part of our role?
Yanela Ndabula suggests that sometimes mistrust emerges because we do not make our expectations and peculiar ‘ways of doing’ explicit to students. How can we build trust through more transparency about the postgraduate journey?

Thanks to all who attended the Higher Education Close Up conference and provided their inputs into this video. Visit the conference website to learn more about the theme of Trust: https://tinyurl.com/hecu11

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The ‘being’ of the postgraduate student

PostGrad — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:24:04 +0000

This series of videos emerges from the Enabling Quality Postgraduate Education project, which brings together Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Research, Directors of Postgraduate Studies, and Deans to reflect with postgraduate scholars on quality in postgraduate education. You can learn more about this project, funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa and led by Professors Sioux McKenna and Stephanie Burton by visiting the project website.

In this video, the focus is on how the disposition of the postgraduate student. Professor Notyatyambo Pearl Dastile from Walter Sisulu University shares her views on the student dispositions needed for success.

This video was produced by Sinethemba Oz Konzaphi. Thanks to Professor Notyatyambo Pearl Dastile

Who might find this useful?

This might be a useful video for a supervision development course.

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What is researcher positionality?

PostGrad — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:57:21 +0000

This 23-minute video presents three academics’ comments about positionality in research. Increasingly researchers are expected to state their considerations on positionality in their research design and ethical clearance processes. But such reflections should go beyond trite compliance statements to genuinely engage with how who they are as researchers influences what they research, how they research it and how they present the data they collect. While positionality is more frequently grappled with in qualitative research, this video suggests that all forms of research require choices by the researcher, which may be affected by the positions they hold in society as well as ideological positions they may ascribe to.

This video is produced by Rox Chiappa, through conversation with academics, Rethabile Mawela, Sioux McKenna, and Ken Ngcoza; all of Rhodes University

Explore these additional resources

Who might find this useful?

This video is made for postgraduate scholars and supervisors.

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How to avoid plagiarism (and why we reference in academic writing)

PostGrad — Wed, 12 May 2021 13:28:37 +0000

Students are often told that we reference to avoid plagiarism. They are also told that if they plagiarise, they can be excluded from the university. Both of these statements are unhelpful in developing as academic writers. This video looks at what plagiarism means before providing practical examples of how we can take on the referencing practices of our fields to become better academic writers (and in the process avoid plagiarism).

Developed by Sioux McKenna, Centre for Postgraduate Studies, Rhodes University

Explore these additional resources

Who might find this useful?

This video is made for postgraduate scholars and supervisors but might be useful for undergraduates too.

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What is intentional plagiarism and why do people do it?

PostGrad — Wed, 12 May 2021 13:28:36 +0000

Plagiarism happens along a continuum from intentional to unintentional. Learning how referencing is used to build claims can help to prevent unintentional plagiarism, but what about plagiarism that is done on purpose? This video looks at why people may choose to plagiarise and why universities need to act on intentional plagiarism.

Written by Sioux McKenna and produced by Samantha Carolus, Rhodes University

Explore these additional resources

Who might find this useful?

This video is made for postgraduate scholars and supervisors but might be useful for undergraduates too.

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Information literacy: How supervisors can help students develop their information literacy skills

PostGrad — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 14:59:30 +0000

In order to complete a quality research study, you need to know how to find and use relevant literature, and ethically incorporate these into your study. This presentation introduces you to information literacy, a topic which is often neglected by both supervisors and postgraduate students. It elaborates on the role of the supervisor in identifying students’ abilities in terms of information literacy and reflecting on the support they need in order to find and use information effectively for their research studies. The resources referred to in the video are shared below in the Additional Resources section.

Frea Haandrikman at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University wrote and narrated the presentation. The material was originally developed for a postgraduate supervision course.

Explore these additional resources

Who might find this useful?

This material is mainly for supervisors, although postgraduate students would benefit from the discussion on the importance of information literacy and where they can get support in this regard. The additional materials would also benefit both students and supervisors.

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Working towards social inclusion: A humanising pedagogy

PostGrad — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 14:17:31 +0000

Supervisors often make assumptions about what their students are able to do. The assumption is that their undergraduate learning provided them with a solid foundation for the kind of work required at postgraduate level. This presentation challenges that view and calls supervisors to reflect on their assumptions about their students and what each of their students brings into the supervisory relationship. Supervisors are challenged to think about supervision differently – as a way of inducting students into a disciplinary knowledge community and reflecting on which students are excluded or often struggle with postgraduate studies in their disciplines.

Prof Sioux McKenna put together this presentation. The material was originally developed for a postgraduate supervision course.

Explore these additional resources

Gee on Discourses
Wheelehan on powerful knowledge
A review of this book can be found here.

Who might find this useful?

This material is mainly for supervisors.

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Reading for a PhD

PostGrad — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:06:34 +0000

Postgraduate students often ask How much reading they should be doing. There is no one answer but this brief audio recording offers a few ideas as to what is a suitable length. Importantly, it argues that you cannot make a contribution through your research if you don’t know about the current debates in the literature.

This audio and transcript offer a means of assessing how much reading is enough for postgraduate studies. It looks at the hours that should be spent reading and the purpose of reading. The transcript also offers links to a number of other resources.

https://postgradenvironments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/65A-Reading-for-a-PhD.m4a

Developed by Sioux McKenna, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Rhodes University. Download the transcript here.

Explore these additional resources

I strongly recommend watching the video on how to keep reading journal to help you with this process.
Writing resources book – see especially the section on keeping a reading map
Two minute tips – these short videos outline how your relationship to the literature changes at postgraduate level:
Just Write video – this video shows the indivisible link between reading and writing at postgraduate level (Remember the mantra: “For every reading there must be a writing.”)

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