The four samples
Each card links to the annotated page for that assignment, where two or three passages are quoted and the reasoning behind them written out.
Nanomaterials
Model answer
From Flask to Plant: Engineering Challenges in Scaling Up the Synthesis of Inorganic Nanoparticles
A 2,370-word MSc essay arguing that nanoparticle scale-up fails for engineering reasons, not chemical ones. Three annotated extracts show how to locate a single controlling variable and build an argument on it.
- One controlling variable identified, then everything judged against it
- Mechanism traced to the symptom the engineer actually sees
- Names a standard heuristic and scopes where it fails
Epidemiology
Model answer
From Association to Causation: A Critical Evaluation of Epidemiological Study Designs
A 2,314-word MPH critical essay on the question epidemiology exists to answer. Three annotated extracts show how to use a historical case to teach a method rather than to tell a story.
- Uses the most familiar case in the field to teach method
- Designs introduced as answers to specific objections
- Treats Bradford Hill as historical, not current practice
Data Visualisation
Model answer
Clarity and Integrity in Data Visualisation: Redesigning a Healthcare Performance Chart
An MSc essay that redesigns a real-world chart and then asks what the redesign still hides. Three annotated extracts show how to engage with a canonical theory instead of reciting it.
- Treats Tufte as contested, and explains why the dispute persists
- Ethics section turns on its own redesign, not a textbook example
- Declares data provenance before critiquing