Difference between revisions of "Literary and Cultural Studies:Writing academic texts"

Revision as of 14:41, 28 June 2009

Choosing a topic: Your paper has to be a contribution to the ongoing scientific debate

Do follow your interest and your curiosity. Think of something that startled you when first looking at the thing. Think, secondly, of readings you came across and that convinced you or did not convince you. Think of clarity you could try to offer.

Your paper is supposed to be a contribution to the ongoing scientific debate. Whatever you did, you will have to sell it to an anonymous audience of experts (e.g. at a conference or in a scientific journal). The story of how you dealt with the problem, what your learned in the seminar, what you felt when you first read the book... etc. is not part of your work.

Can you have personal views? Yes. But to win the audience you must sell these your results as results others can accept as simply advantageous in the ongoing debate. The absolute no go is the statement you define as personal with the assertion that others can have their own views and hence should not challenge yours. Some students feel they received a bad mark, because their professor did not like their view. You misunderstand the role of your professor and your work if you come to this conclusion. Your professor should discuss your work to find out: what is merely personal opinion and what has the power to make point in the ongoing debate (as for instance an interesting refutation of views, or a viable substantiation of positions you dealt with).

Cover page

See the style sheet for detailed information

Table of contents: Make statements, be transparent

The interesting piece of work is problem oriented. The headlines offer solutions to problems. See “Your Chapters: Make points” for further information.

Be aware of the following general problems:

• Some students feel compelled to offer a new introduction into “The Elizabethan Period” or “Shakespeare’s Life and his Work”. Do not offer any such chapter. Do not compete with handbooks.
• Avoid what is self evident rather than leading towards results. You are writing about the minor characters of Anthony and Cleopatra. It is self evident that you will have to take a look at them. Do not let this be into the reason why you will write a chapter on each of them, and finally a conclusion. Your paper is the result of your work. So write with the conclusion in mind. You can show that these characters have basically three functions in the play? If that is your conclusion, then do write chapters on these three functions and discuss them. It is your conclusion that research has misunderstood this play as one of love, whilst it is actually a work of social criticism as soon as one looks at the minor characters? If that is your conclusion, then do offer the conventional readings and your own on the basis of your observations.
• Be careful if you offer too many chapters. A 12-15 page assignment might have an introduction of three pages, three or four chapters of three to four pages each and a conclusion of another page. If your chapters are of one page each you will not have risked the scientific exploration with a debate of possible views and a reflection of your work.

Introduction: Justify your work

The introduction is almost the most important part: It is designed to sell your topic in front of an scholarly audience.

• Problem horizon: The field you enter

What is your question? Why is it or why should it be a question of scientific interest. Can we hope to get beyond personal views, that is towards positions a further debate will have to take into account?

• The aim of your work

You want to prove a certain position, to substantiate an observation, to balance a position with a look at a another work, to question an argument recently brought forth, to point at material that require a new interpretation...

• The debate: Research, discussions in the media

Give a summary of the ongoing debate. Differentiate between a public and the scientific debate (your audience is located in the latter, even if address a topic of wider public debate). Summarize the debate as an exchange: What positions have been prominent following whose interventions. Can one discern movements? Did feminist research change our perspective? Did a certain event create a watershed? See our Literary Studies:Research guide to find research.

• Your own work and its position in the debate

Give an outlook of what you are doing in the field you have just opened.

• Methodological assertions

Be aware of your own methodological decisions. If you feel that a certain interpretation failed to take an certain observation into account which you want to stress with your own work - then ask yourself: Was the interpretation you want to attack merely a personal point of view or rather made under assumptions we should not share. Be self critical at the same moment. You have a feeling like you know what character Jane Austen really was, and you want to re-interpret her work on the basis of this your view of her. Be aware that your reading will attract certain questions on your assumptions. (How have you created your picture of Jane Austen? Can you be sure that the work is like the author?) Reflect the validity of your own approach in about one paragraph of a 12-15 page assignment.

• A brief outline of the following

The paragraph to write here should reflect what you have said under the last two headings.0

The introduction is to some degree the most important part of your work. You sell yourself in front of an audience - as an isolated voice who wants others to accept her view without further words? As an observer of the debate who takes a modest step to reconsider some of its points? Aim at the second role if you are a beginner. Be able to summarise the debate and to make your own statement with a certain amount of self awareness: You want to make a point, you know of other positions, you know what approach you took to deal with the question, and you structured your work accordingly.

Your Chapters: Make points

• A good headline does already make a point
• Open your chapter with an outline of the following – What is the question? What will you do?
• Each chapter has to be based on a presentation of observations
• The observations remain worthless if they do not lead you to conclusions
• Make sure that you are aware of alternative readings. Read research in order to be aware.
• End your chapters with conclusions

• Avoid chapters of general background information: “The Elizabethan Period”, “Shakespeare and his Work” – you are supposed to deal with a question, every chapter should do that.
• Be critical of one or two page chapters. If you want to prove something you need space. A good chapter has an introduction “in this chapter I will try to show…”, your chapter will have observations and a debate plus a conclusion. It is hence obvious that you can possibly make a point in a chapter of less than three pages.

they are likely to lack vital ingredients: an opening of the question, research of yours, a discussion with a look at observations others have made, a conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography

Structure your argument

Your work should have

• a problem analysis
• a look into materials with the aim to give answers on the specific questions
• an evaluation of possible views
• a statement of your position in the particular field of observation

When you begin your work try to think of different answers one could give. Write with knowledge about them.

Streamline your presentation

Avoid any knowledge you just want to add for readers who know as little as you knew in the beginning

You offer such knowledge in a lecture if you feel your readers cannot understand you otherwise (they cannot look things up while you are speaking). In a written paper they can be expected to close information gaps themselves, you are not supposed to improve their general knowledge. You are, however, supposed to prove your points. (General information usually does not prove any new idea.)

Write Chapters that actually offer answers

Every chapter you write must strictly refer to your question. Begin each chapter with a look back on the question you are now about to answer. You move from chapter to chapter with a look at what you were able to prove and what questions arose with these your observations.

Use your headlines

• to state the respective field of your observation and
• to make a statement in the respective question

The conclusion and the introduction

Use the conclusion to think of questions you have or might not you have been able to answer. Evaluate your own work.

• It can be that the question imploded - there is no bigger work to write on this, you did not foresee the result
• It can be that you realised one has to do quite different work to answer your question - state what kind of work that would need, so that others can do it (or you yourself in a bigger piece of research)

Conclusion

Looking back on your work: Can you define what kind of contribution you eventually made with your work? There are different options:

• You may have recapitulated the debate in order to evaluate the different present positions
• You may have supported an existing argument with your own look at a certain text
• You may have modified a perspective you found in public statements choosing a more scientific approach
• You may have promoted research in a certain direction
• ...

How does your professor evaluate your work?

He or she will try to understand what you wanted to do and with what circumspection you did it.

• The excellent piece of work is one fully aware of present research and assuming a position in it - up to the point that your reader realises: you would defend this your work against critical questions - you anticipate them, you know why you would still say what you said as you have an aim to continue with that thought.

• The good piece of work shows that you have learned to evaluate research and to make your statement. The self critical option is not there, your work is not yet designed to lead you on.

• The moderate piece of work shows you understood the question, you were able to summarise other thoughts, you could arrive at at least one of these views with your own work.

Basically we aim at performances you can offer anywhere else in the public. Hence, do avoid references to "our seminar" and all thoughts of your professor as your reader. Think of a public audience.

Practical hints / Style sheet

• Observe the Literary and Cultural Studies:Style sheet
• Take a look at the Literary Studies:Research guide
• Remember the advice that helped you in your first assignments

Links

• Jack Lynch's advice to his students at Rutgers