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

Revision as of 12:44, 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 excellent piece of work is transparent after a look at the table of contents. There are certain details that promise a lack of reflection:

• If you have chapters on “The Elizabethan Period”, “Shakespeare’s Life and his Work” etc. – you promise to have avoided the focus on you special question.
• If your chapters are not longer than one or two pages each, you promise superficial work (see what is said under “Your Chapters: Make points” to understand why.
• If you offer chapters that stay at the beginning of your work:

• e.g.: If you are writing about the minor characters of Anthony and Cleopatra do not offer a table of contents with all the 27 minor characters receiving a headline. The interesting piece of work (of 15 pages) will have about three chapters on possible interpretations of, let us say, the functions of these characters.
• e.g.: If you are comparing Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness with Copola’s Apocalypse Now again: avoid the structure that promises Part one, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Part II Copola’s Apocalypse Now, part three conclusion. Rather create chapters built on observations, on tendencies you have seen.

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

• The aim of your work
• The debate: Research, discussions in the media
• Your own work and its position in the debate
• Methodological assertions
• A brief outline of the following (based on what you said under the last two points)

The introduction shows to what extent you yourself can evaluate and control your achievement. Ideally the evaluation your professor gives is

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

How to deal with research done by others

Summarise the present view(s) in a section at the end of the introduction, or (if more specific) in greater detail at the beginning of a respective chapter

• Are there different viewpoints?
• Is it possible to present them in a discussion?
• Did certain arguments evolve in the course of the debate? (This will enable you to state more clearly where you are with your contribution.)

Quote research (only) where this is necessary

• Common knowledge (as presented in dictionaries and handbooks) remains unquoted. Mention it casually where it clarifies a point you make: Marlowe wrote his Jew of Malta (1589 or 1590) without knowing Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice (1600). Get out of further summaries of common knowledge as soon as you realise they are designed to help students, whilst those within the debate want to hear what you have to add.
• Common perceptions and views (on "the Elizabethan period" or "morals of the Victorian age") are strictly off-topic. Refer to them only where you want to criticise them. (And criticise them only if you can show that they still influence scholars.)
• Knowledge we would not have without the work of a particular scholar (e.g. archival information he/she made available, a book he/she first moved into the debate) has to be referenced with that respect.
• All Views and opinions of other experts must be evaluated: What led this scholar to formulate such a view? Does your research substantiate this particular view?

A golden rule on this topic: Consider your own paper and reflect where you would feel exploited and disrespected by readers using your thoughts, your analysis... without stating that they received this insight out of your work.

See our Literary Studies:Research guide and our Literary Studies:Style sheet for specific hints.

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