Difference between revisions of "Literary and Cultural Studies:Writing academic texts"
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==How do I find a good topic?== | ==How do I find a good topic?== | ||
| − | A good piece of academic work challenges existing views. There is more than one way do do this. You can attack general notions, you can offer insight into a subject matter that has | + | A good piece of academic work challenges existing views. There is more than one way do do this. You can attack general notions, you can offer insight into a subject matter that has been underestimated and hint at blind spots in existing research, you can question existing debates by opening new ones, you can just as well support a position... these are thoughts for a dissertation rather than a 15 page seminar essay, yet they give you an idea of the direction you are supposed to take during your studies. |
| − | + | For student purposes it is enough to find a topic you will be able to advertise as interesting - your interest can be personal, yet to sell it to others you have to find arguments why others should share your fascination, and these must be independent from all personal views. | |
| − | + | A very good thing to to is to look back. What were your first thoughts about the subject matter? Dis your views change? Are there questions you would no longer answer the same way? | |
| − | + | A topic is most often inspired by research - you read someones statements and you feel you would not arrive at the same view if you had to present the case. Why did your author arrive at his or her view? Why did he or she not reach the conclusions you would draw? | |
| − | + | If there simply is a thing you'd like to know more about - wonder why you might want to know more and try to find out whether others have already done the research with the very result you would aim at (you must not do work others have done with very same result). | |
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==How do I structure my work?== | ==How do I structure my work?== | ||
Revision as of 17:38, 5 March 2008
Contents
How do I find a good topic?
A good piece of academic work challenges existing views. There is more than one way do do this. You can attack general notions, you can offer insight into a subject matter that has been underestimated and hint at blind spots in existing research, you can question existing debates by opening new ones, you can just as well support a position... these are thoughts for a dissertation rather than a 15 page seminar essay, yet they give you an idea of the direction you are supposed to take during your studies.
For student purposes it is enough to find a topic you will be able to advertise as interesting - your interest can be personal, yet to sell it to others you have to find arguments why others should share your fascination, and these must be independent from all personal views.
A very good thing to to is to look back. What were your first thoughts about the subject matter? Dis your views change? Are there questions you would no longer answer the same way?
A topic is most often inspired by research - you read someones statements and you feel you would not arrive at the same view if you had to present the case. Why did your author arrive at his or her view? Why did he or she not reach the conclusions you would draw?
If there simply is a thing you'd like to know more about - wonder why you might want to know more and try to find out whether others have already done the research with the very result you would aim at (you must not do work others have done with very same result).
