Most recent edit on 2008-03-11 14:48:28 by FemkeSnelting
Additions:
(Scroll naar beneden voor info in het Nederlands)
Essay writing is a core component of this programme. The following guidelines will help you structure your essay into a clear argument.introduction:
Deletions:
Essay writing is a core component of this programme. The following
guidelines will help you structure your essay into a clear
argument.introduction:
Edited on 2008-03-11 14:39:58 by FemkeSnelting
Additions:
How to Write an Essay
Essay writing is a core component of this programme. The following
guidelines will help you structure your essay into a clear
argument.introduction:
* Every good research paper or book, regardless by whom and on which
academic level it was written, essentially boils down to investigating
a single question. What is the question you are going to investigate in
your paper? If you only have a subject you want to write on, but not a
question, you need to rethink before starting your essay.
* Why do you have an interest in this subject? What is interesting about
the question? Some reasons can be directly related to your work or it
can simply be related to your more general interests... nonetheless
state explicitly what these interests are.
* You might (but don't always have to) say what your method of analysis
will be; in other words, map out the journey your reader is going to
have to take with you. Is your method analytical and predominantly data
based? Or is your method more intuitive in structure and based on story
telling, memory and the weaving together of personal experiences and
more analytical reading?
* Why are you approaching the subject in the particular style or manner
you have chosen? For example because parallel narrative parallels the
subject matter you are addressing. Because you take a similar approach
with your work. Etc.
Despite the above points: Keep the introduction as brief as possible. It
shouldn't be longer than one page; one paragraph is better. the body of
your text:
* The body of your text is the journey you undertake in writing: it is
how you get from point A to point B, with the conclusion as the final
destination. In other words: Derive sub-questions from your major question
and have your text logically go from one to the next.
* Keep your research question, as outlined in your proposal and reworked
for your final text as a point of reference in editing your material.
* An important element of the body of your text is giving examples,
working through them and analysing them. Always base your arguments on
observations you make in the material you investigate. Conversely, your
body of text should not be an accumulation of examples and citations,
but develop your own original argument.
* It is about comparison and contrast; this is not the same as that,
that implies not the same as this... Make clever juxtapositions that
give nuance to your argument.
* Descriptions are useful but don´t overdo the detailing:
Details are important when they give evidence either through their fact
or poetry. Too many details however can be fatally distracting from your
main point. Use them to enhance not derail your argument or research. Some
details may actually be detours which unnecessarily complicate or obscure
your argument; if you really need to go off track, put this information
in a footnote as a `by the way did you know...´. In placing it there
you don´t destroy the flow of your main text.conclusion:
* A conclusion is intended to recapitulate all of the information you
have gone through in the paper. Conclusions answer, in a more general way,
the ideas or questions raised in the introduction.
At this point you should be asking yourself: Did I answer the questions
I sought to explore in my introduction statement (and my proposal
statement)? Was I successful in going through examples or case studies
to prove my point?
* A conclusion can never introduce totally new concepts as part of its
argument. That would mean that you haven't done your homework in the main
text. Introducing a totally new concept as part of your conclusion is like
telling someone that you are driving them to the cinema (introduction
statement) and when you arrive you don´t let them out of the car
but instead you drive off to a vacant lot. Needless to say that as a
passenger this can be pretty irritating. Readers are also not very keen
on this type of journey.
* That does not mean that your conclusion might not raise particular
questions, which are crucial to your conclusion. For example: "In
seeing how meaning shifts in the way objects displayed, certain key
questions arise about curatorial responsibility. It is clear that we
must question how history is being constructed through the contextual
and literal framing of objects." Or: "In analysing these mechanisms
at work we must ask the following: Who or what is being framed and by
whom for what purposes?"
* Do your conclusions have any relevance to you or anyone else? They
should and you should say why. You should expand on the effect or
implication of your research for your own work, as well as on the position
you take within the larger debate on the subject you have addressed. This
is the real point of the project report, and it should not be missed!
* No paper, not even a 1000 pages book, will ever answer all
questions about its central question. You will have to live with
incompletion. Sometimes, it can be useful though to point to open
questions or issues, in other words, left-overs from your thought process
that didn't fit into the essay proper. Phrase these points, if you like,
as open questions and potential directions of future research as an
addendum to your conclusion.referencing
Give credit where credit is due! Never borrow thoughts, quotes, or
even paraphrase without properly crediting the source. This is done
through footnotes and through a list of references at the end of your
paper (a bibliography is optional). Accurate, clear referencing offers
the reader the opportunity to engage in the process of your research,
and to understand how your arguments and ideas have been initiated and
developed. Other people may use your paper as a resource to learn more
about its topic and pick up related literature from your references. It
is also, of course, essential that you distinguish between your own
ideas and arguments, and those of other people; the more clear you are,
the better you can shape your own ideas.
Conversely, citations do not replace your own thoughts and ideas. Never
use sources as unquestioned authorities. The fact that a certain opinion
was voiced by a well-known scholar, artist or intellectual doesn't make
it true - all the more in the field of media studies with its high
amount of speculative (and sometimes half-baked) theories. Theories are
there to show you things in a different light, but never to replace your
own ideas and opinions.Plagiarism
Not properly referecing your sources is plagiarism. Plagiarism means
to present work done by others as your own. While plagiarism has been
tactically advocated and used in experimental arts to question ideologies
of intellectual property, not crediting your sources is unacceptable
in course work because it is dishonest to your advisors and fellow
students. Plagiarism invalidates your essay and may result in further
disciplinary procedure, including possible expulsion from the course.lay
out for quotations
Short quotations can be written as part of the flow of the sentence,
with quotation marks.
Longer quotations (three or more lines) should be separated from the
main body of the text by means of indention. In this case quotation
marks are not needed. For example:
"I agree with Hal Foster when he says:
I supported a postmodernism that contested [...] reactionary cultural
politics and advocated artistic practices not only critical of
institutional modernism but suggestive of alternative forms of new ways to
practice culture and politics. And we did not lose. In a sense the worse
thing happened: treated as fashion postmodernism became démodé. (Foster,
1998, p.20)
Going further from this point, I would suggest that theory, a key feature
of the postmodern enterprise, became démodé only after becoming
convention..." - Be careful not use too many block quotations in
your paper. Your should never write a text which just consists of short
remarks between block quotations!The Harvard System of referencing
We do not have a compulsory system of referencing essays. However,
we do recommend that you follow the Harvard System.
The Harvard System of referencing works within the text itself and not
in footnotes or endnotes. Whenever you quote, or refer to someone´s
words (directly or indirectly), or use someone´s argument, or refer
to a source, you should use the system described below.
Whenever you quote you write the surname and the date of publication in
brackets. When you quote directly, you should also add the page number:
In studying the anatomy of brains of early man, some 19th century
anthropologists came to a conclusion which one writer reminds us was
`at the time considered highly provocative but which is now obvious
to every anthropologist´ (Wendt, 1974, p.12).
If the name of the writer is part of the sentence itself, put the date
in brackets after the name: Wendt (1974, p.12) reminds us that the
conclusions of some 19th century anthropologists were `at the time
considered very provocative´.
The same applies when you are not quoting directly:
Wendt (1974) reminds us that the conclusions of some 19th century
anthropologists were considered very provocative when they were published.
Sometimes, you find a useful quotation from one author in a book by
another. In such cases, reference like this:
Johnson sweeps aside this argument: `His expressed view of the world
has more style in it than sense - or evidence´ (quoted in Mason,
1990, p.44).
In this case, you are quoting Johnson from a book which you have not
read and which you therefore cannot quote directly. So the reference is
to Mason´s book, which you have read.
You will sometimes need to refer to more than one book or article by
the same author, each published in the same year. In this case, put a
letter after the date to show which of the publications is referred to
in this instance:
Peterson (1989b, p.45) was risking the wrath of her profession by
suggesting that `there is more to be gained by restraint than by
rushing headlong into open debate´.list of references
At the end of your text, you should list all sources you have used. They
are normally set out as follows:
Surname, initials of author(s) (date) Title, place and name of
publisherbook
For example the complete reference for a book will look like this:
Gilbert, S and Gubar, S (1988) No Man´s Land New Haven, Yale University
Pressarticle
When referring to an article in a journal, you should put the title of the
article in quotation marks, and the journal title should be underlined:
Rollerton, F (1989) `Wordsworth´s Secret Dreams´ in Citations
Vol.12, No.4 (pp.113-124)
If you are citing an article from an author from a book edited by a
different author, the reference works as follows:
Silvershum, P (1978) `Fellowship Societies´ in Donaghue, P. (ed.) The
Roots of Masonry Sidney, Outback Books
The list of references or bibliography should be in alphabetical order.
When you refer to more than one work by the same author, these should
be set out in chronological order.
When you refer to more than one work by the same author from the same
year, they should be differentiated by adding `a, b, c´ to the dates:
1989a, 1989b, etc.bibliography
The reference list should include only those works you have cited in your
text. There may, however, be reasons why you would with to offer a list
of works which have informed your general thinking and understanding. If
you want to cite works in addition to your references, this should be
done in a separate list headed `bibliography´.illustrations
If you use illustrations of work by others or by yourself in your text,
make sure you use accurate referencing. Referencing for illustrations
will normally include (elements of) the following:
Name of the artist, title of the work, date, materials, size
For example:
Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min.
You may add if appropriate:
Site, exhibition, collection or commissioner; place
For example:
Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min. Installation at
Manifesta, Luxembourg, 1999.
Fiona Banner, Le Bar du Peuple, billboard, Marseille, 1995. Further
reading
For guidance on writing essays and good research practice,
you are advised to consult: Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay,
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞. For
a more advanced introduction, read Rob Barnes, Successful Study for
Degrees, Routledge, 1992, chapter 6, p. 64-87. (This book can be found
in the course library.)
NEDERLANDS
Als je probeert om te bedenken wat het verschil is tussen 'een gewone tekst' en een essay of scriptie die je in het kader van je opleiding schrijft, dan worden een aantal handvatten voor het schrijven van zo'n tekst duidelijk.
Bijvoorbeeld, een van de belangrijkste verschillen met 'een gewone tekst' is dat de lezers je onderzoeksvraag, jouw stelling, je onderzoek, de beweringen en conclusie kunnen natrekken, in zekere zin verifieren.
Met andere woorden je hebt een vraag, je interesseert je voor iets in het bijzonder en naar aanleiding daarvan doe je een bewering, een stelling en onderzoek. In het kader van de opleiding aan de Piet Zwart academie is het belangrijk dat het navolgbaar is wat jij als argumenten aanvoert om jouw bewering te staven. Het is geen wetenschappelijk onderzoek zoals op de universteit waardoor je meer vrijheid hebt in het aanvoeren van 'bewijs', ook beelden kunnen een argument vormen voor een van je beweringen.
De inleiding wordt gebruikt om kort je onderzoeksvraag, dat waar je onderzoek naar doet uiteen te zetten, kort een indruk te geven van je onderzoek en de geraadpleegde bronnen(hoeft niet alleen literatuur te zijn)
Sommige auteurs voegen voor de inleiding een kort onomwonden samenvatting van de vraag en de gevonden resultaten in, in wezen wordt ze verteld wat ze kunnen verwachten als ze de tekst willen lezen. Vervolgens gebruiken deze auteurs ook een inleiding en dat is een wat uitgebreidere , vrijere beschrijving van de onderzoeksvraag en uitleg van het onderzoek
Een andere manier om je bronnen te verifieren zijn de voetnoten, citaten en parafraseringen die op een juiste manier worden verwezen naar de bronnen. De website van de UVA geeft hier goed een inzicht in, voor beelden van hoe je citeert (bijvoorbeeld bij het gebruik van websites als bron moet je de datum noteren waarop je de website raadpleegde)
http://www.student.uva.nl/mwijs/object.cfm/objectid=C9CC2E29-93D2-498F-943A646A3533E2B7∞
In algemene zin geeft de website van de universiteit een goede handleiding over hoe je een essay schrijft, onder het kopje tekstsoorten en tekstconventies kan je het essay vinden wsaar je veel handige tips vindt.
http://www.rug.nl/noordster/schriftelijkevaardigheden/voorstudenten/index∞
Deletions:
| How to Write an Essay
|
| Essay writing is a core component of this programme. The following
| guidelines will help you structure your essay into a clear
| argument.introduction:
|
| * Every good research paper or book, regardless by whom and on which
| academic level it was written, essentially boils down to investigating
| a single question. What is the question you are going to investigate in
| your paper? If you only have a subject you want to write on, but not a
| question, you need to rethink before starting your essay.
|
| * Why do you have an interest in this subject? What is interesting about
| the question? Some reasons can be directly related to your work or it
| can simply be related to your more general interests... nonetheless
| state explicitly what these interests are.
|
| * You might (but don't always have to) say what your method of analysis
| will be; in other words, map out the journey your reader is going to
| have to take with you. Is your method analytical and predominantly data
| based? Or is your method more intuitive in structure and based on story
| telling, memory and the weaving together of personal experiences and
| more analytical reading?
|
| * Why are you approaching the subject in the particular style or manner
| you have chosen? For example because parallel narrative parallels the
| subject matter you are addressing. Because you take a similar approach
| with your work. Etc.
|
| Despite the above points: Keep the introduction as brief as possible. It
| shouldn't be longer than one page; one paragraph is better. the body of
| your text:
|
| * The body of your text is the journey you undertake in writing: it is
| how you get from point A to point B, with the conclusion as the final
| destination. In other words: Derive sub-questions from your major question
| and have your text logically go from one to the next.
|
| * Keep your research question, as outlined in your proposal and reworked
| for your final text as a point of reference in editing your material.
|
| * An important element of the body of your text is giving examples,
| working through them and analysing them. Always base your arguments on
| observations you make in the material you investigate. Conversely, your
| body of text should not be an accumulation of examples and citations,
| but develop your own original argument.
|
| * It is about comparison and contrast; this is not the same as that,
| that implies not the same as this... Make clever juxtapositions that
| give nuance to your argument.
|
| * Descriptions are useful but don´t overdo the detailing:
|
| Details are important when they give evidence either through their fact
| or poetry. Too many details however can be fatally distracting from your
| main point. Use them to enhance not derail your argument or research. Some
| details may actually be detours which unnecessarily complicate or obscure
| your argument; if you really need to go off track, put this information
| in a footnote as a `by the way did you know...´. In placing it there
| you don´t destroy the flow of your main text.conclusion:
|
| * A conclusion is intended to recapitulate all of the information you
| have gone through in the paper. Conclusions answer, in a more general way,
| the ideas or questions raised in the introduction.
|
| At this point you should be asking yourself: Did I answer the questions
| I sought to explore in my introduction statement (and my proposal
| statement)? Was I successful in going through examples or case studies
| to prove my point?
|
| * A conclusion can never introduce totally new concepts as part of its
| argument. That would mean that you haven't done your homework in the main
| text. Introducing a totally new concept as part of your conclusion is like
| telling someone that you are driving them to the cinema (introduction
| statement) and when you arrive you don´t let them out of the car
| but instead you drive off to a vacant lot. Needless to say that as a
| passenger this can be pretty irritating. Readers are also not very keen
| on this type of journey.
|
| * That does not mean that your conclusion might not raise particular
| questions, which are crucial to your conclusion. For example: "In
| seeing how meaning shifts in the way objects displayed, certain key
| questions arise about curatorial responsibility. It is clear that we
| must question how history is being constructed through the contextual
| and literal framing of objects." Or: "In analysing these mechanisms
| at work we must ask the following: Who or what is being framed and by
| whom for what purposes?"
|
| * Do your conclusions have any relevance to you or anyone else? They
| should and you should say why. You should expand on the effect or
| implication of your research for your own work, as well as on the position
| you take within the larger debate on the subject you have addressed. This
| is the real point of the project report, and it should not be missed!
|
| * No paper, not even a 1000 pages book, will ever answer all
| questions about its central question. You will have to live with
| incompletion. Sometimes, it can be useful though to point to open
| questions or issues, in other words, left-overs from your thought process
| that didn't fit into the essay proper. Phrase these points, if you like,
| as open questions and potential directions of future research as an
| addendum to your conclusion.referencing
|
| Give credit where credit is due! Never borrow thoughts, quotes, or
| even paraphrase without properly crediting the source. This is done
| through footnotes and through a list of references at the end of your
| paper (a bibliography is optional). Accurate, clear referencing offers
| the reader the opportunity to engage in the process of your research,
| and to understand how your arguments and ideas have been initiated and
| developed. Other people may use your paper as a resource to learn more
| about its topic and pick up related literature from your references. It
| is also, of course, essential that you distinguish between your own
| ideas and arguments, and those of other people; the more clear you are,
| the better you can shape your own ideas.
|
| Conversely, citations do not replace your own thoughts and ideas. Never
| use sources as unquestioned authorities. The fact that a certain opinion
| was voiced by a well-known scholar, artist or intellectual doesn't make
| it true - all the more in the field of media studies with its high
| amount of speculative (and sometimes half-baked) theories. Theories are
| there to show you things in a different light, but never to replace your
| own ideas and opinions.Plagiarism
|
| Not properly referecing your sources is plagiarism. Plagiarism means
| to present work done by others as your own. While plagiarism has been
| tactically advocated and used in experimental arts to question ideologies
| of intellectual property, not crediting your sources is unacceptable
| in course work because it is dishonest to your advisors and fellow
| students. Plagiarism invalidates your essay and may result in further
| disciplinary procedure, including possible expulsion from the course.lay
| out for quotations
|
| Short quotations can be written as part of the flow of the sentence,
| with quotation marks.
|
| Longer quotations (three or more lines) should be separated from the
| main body of the text by means of indention. In this case quotation
| marks are not needed. For example:
|
| "I agree with Hal Foster when he says:
|
| I supported a postmodernism that contested [...] reactionary cultural
| politics and advocated artistic practices not only critical of
| institutional modernism but suggestive of alternative forms of new ways to
| practice culture and politics. And we did not lose. In a sense the worse
| thing happened: treated as fashion postmodernism became démodé. (Foster,
| 1998, p.20)
|
| Going further from this point, I would suggest that theory, a key feature
| of the postmodern enterprise, became démodé only after becoming
| convention..." - Be careful not use too many block quotations in
| your paper. Your should never write a text which just consists of short
| remarks between block quotations!The Harvard System of referencing
|
| We do not have a compulsory system of referencing essays. However,
| we do recommend that you follow the Harvard System.
|
| The Harvard System of referencing works within the text itself and not
| in footnotes or endnotes. Whenever you quote, or refer to someone´s
| words (directly or indirectly), or use someone´s argument, or refer
| to a source, you should use the system described below.
|
| Whenever you quote you write the surname and the date of publication in
| brackets. When you quote directly, you should also add the page number:
|
| In studying the anatomy of brains of early man, some 19th century
| anthropologists came to a conclusion which one writer reminds us was
| `at the time considered highly provocative but which is now obvious
| to every anthropologist´ (Wendt, 1974, p.12).
|
| If the name of the writer is part of the sentence itself, put the date
| in brackets after the name: Wendt (1974, p.12) reminds us that the
| conclusions of some 19th century anthropologists were `at the time
| considered very provocative´.
|
| The same applies when you are not quoting directly:
|
| Wendt (1974) reminds us that the conclusions of some 19th century
| anthropologists were considered very provocative when they were published.
|
| Sometimes, you find a useful quotation from one author in a book by
| another. In such cases, reference like this:
|
| Johnson sweeps aside this argument: `His expressed view of the world
| has more style in it than sense - or evidence´ (quoted in Mason,
| 1990, p.44).
|
| In this case, you are quoting Johnson from a book which you have not
| read and which you therefore cannot quote directly. So the reference is
| to Mason´s book, which you have read.
|
| You will sometimes need to refer to more than one book or article by
| the same author, each published in the same year. In this case, put a
| letter after the date to show which of the publications is referred to
| in this instance:
|
| Peterson (1989b, p.45) was risking the wrath of her profession by
| suggesting that `there is more to be gained by restraint than by
| rushing headlong into open debate´.list of references
|
| At the end of your text, you should list all sources you have used. They
| are normally set out as follows:
|
| Surname, initials of author(s) (date) Title, place and name of
| publisherbook
|
| For example the complete reference for a book will look like this:
|
| Gilbert, S and Gubar, S (1988) No Man´s Land New Haven, Yale University
| Pressarticle
|
| When referring to an article in a journal, you should put the title of the
| article in quotation marks, and the journal title should be underlined:
|
| Rollerton, F (1989) `Wordsworth´s Secret Dreams´ in Citations
| Vol.12, No.4 (pp.113-124)
|
| If you are citing an article from an author from a book edited by a
| different author, the reference works as follows:
|
| Silvershum, P (1978) `Fellowship Societies´ in Donaghue, P. (ed.) The
| Roots of Masonry Sidney, Outback Books
|
| The list of references or bibliography should be in alphabetical order.
|
| When you refer to more than one work by the same author, these should
| be set out in chronological order.
|
| When you refer to more than one work by the same author from the same
| year, they should be differentiated by adding `a, b, c´ to the dates:
| 1989a, 1989b, etc.bibliography
|
| The reference list should include only those works you have cited in your
| text. There may, however, be reasons why you would with to offer a list
| of works which have informed your general thinking and understanding. If
| you want to cite works in addition to your references, this should be
| done in a separate list headed `bibliography´.illustrations
|
| If you use illustrations of work by others or by yourself in your text,
| make sure you use accurate referencing. Referencing for illustrations
| will normally include (elements of) the following:
|
| Name of the artist, title of the work, date, materials, size
|
| For example:
|
| Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min.
|
| You may add if appropriate:
|
| Site, exhibition, collection or commissioner; place
|
| For example:
|
| Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min. Installation at
| Manifesta, Luxembourg, 1999.
|
| Fiona Banner, Le Bar du Peuple, billboard, Marseille, 1995. Further
| reading
|
| For guidance on writing essays and good research practice,
| you are advised to consult: Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay,
| http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞. For
| a more advanced introduction, read Rob Barnes, Successful Study for
| Degrees, Routledge, 1992, chapter 6, p. 64-87. (This book can be found
| in the course library.)
|
Edited on 2008-03-11 11:34:30 by StephanieVilayphiou
Additions:
| http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞. For
Deletions:
| [http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm]∞. For
Edited on 2008-03-11 07:50:22 by ReneeTurner
Additions:
From The University of Birmingham, Department of English /Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay: http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞
Deletions:
From The University of Birmingham, Department of English /Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay/: http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞
Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2008-03-11 07:49:44 by ReneeTurner []
Page view:
From The University of Birmingham, Department of English /Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay/:
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm∞
Purdue's writing resource, The Owl:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/∞
Here is PZI's text on how to write an essay:
| How to Write an Essay
|
| Essay writing is a core component of this programme. The following
| guidelines will help you structure your essay into a clear
| argument.introduction:
|
| * Every good research paper or book, regardless by whom and on which
| academic level it was written, essentially boils down to investigating
| a single question. What is the question you are going to investigate in
| your paper? If you only have a subject you want to write on, but not a
| question, you need to rethink before starting your essay.
|
| * Why do you have an interest in this subject? What is interesting about
| the question? Some reasons can be directly related to your work or it
| can simply be related to your more general interests... nonetheless
| state explicitly what these interests are.
|
| * You might (but don't always have to) say what your method of analysis
| will be; in other words, map out the journey your reader is going to
| have to take with you. Is your method analytical and predominantly data
| based? Or is your method more intuitive in structure and based on story
| telling, memory and the weaving together of personal experiences and
| more analytical reading?
|
| * Why are you approaching the subject in the particular style or manner
| you have chosen? For example because parallel narrative parallels the
| subject matter you are addressing. Because you take a similar approach
| with your work. Etc.
|
| Despite the above points: Keep the introduction as brief as possible. It
| shouldn't be longer than one page; one paragraph is better. the body of
| your text:
|
| * The body of your text is the journey you undertake in writing: it is
| how you get from point A to point B, with the conclusion as the final
| destination. In other words: Derive sub-questions from your major question
| and have your text logically go from one to the next.
|
| * Keep your research question, as outlined in your proposal and reworked
| for your final text as a point of reference in editing your material.
|
| * An important element of the body of your text is giving examples,
| working through them and analysing them. Always base your arguments on
| observations you make in the material you investigate. Conversely, your
| body of text should not be an accumulation of examples and citations,
| but develop your own original argument.
|
| * It is about comparison and contrast; this is not the same as that,
| that implies not the same as this... Make clever juxtapositions that
| give nuance to your argument.
|
| * Descriptions are useful but don´t overdo the detailing:
|
| Details are important when they give evidence either through their fact
| or poetry. Too many details however can be fatally distracting from your
| main point. Use them to enhance not derail your argument or research. Some
| details may actually be detours which unnecessarily complicate or obscure
| your argument; if you really need to go off track, put this information
| in a footnote as a `by the way did you know...´. In placing it there
| you don´t destroy the flow of your main text.conclusion:
|
| * A conclusion is intended to recapitulate all of the information you
| have gone through in the paper. Conclusions answer, in a more general way,
| the ideas or questions raised in the introduction.
|
| At this point you should be asking yourself: Did I answer the questions
| I sought to explore in my introduction statement (and my proposal
| statement)? Was I successful in going through examples or case studies
| to prove my point?
|
| * A conclusion can never introduce totally new concepts as part of its
| argument. That would mean that you haven't done your homework in the main
| text. Introducing a totally new concept as part of your conclusion is like
| telling someone that you are driving them to the cinema (introduction
| statement) and when you arrive you don´t let them out of the car
| but instead you drive off to a vacant lot. Needless to say that as a
| passenger this can be pretty irritating. Readers are also not very keen
| on this type of journey.
|
| * That does not mean that your conclusion might not raise particular
| questions, which are crucial to your conclusion. For example: "In
| seeing how meaning shifts in the way objects displayed, certain key
| questions arise about curatorial responsibility. It is clear that we
| must question how history is being constructed through the contextual
| and literal framing of objects." Or: "In analysing these mechanisms
| at work we must ask the following: Who or what is being framed and by
| whom for what purposes?"
|
| * Do your conclusions have any relevance to you or anyone else? They
| should and you should say why. You should expand on the effect or
| implication of your research for your own work, as well as on the position
| you take within the larger debate on the subject you have addressed. This
| is the real point of the project report, and it should not be missed!
|
| * No paper, not even a 1000 pages book, will ever answer all
| questions about its central question. You will have to live with
| incompletion. Sometimes, it can be useful though to point to open
| questions or issues, in other words, left-overs from your thought process
| that didn't fit into the essay proper. Phrase these points, if you like,
| as open questions and potential directions of future research as an
| addendum to your conclusion.referencing
|
| Give credit where credit is due! Never borrow thoughts, quotes, or
| even paraphrase without properly crediting the source. This is done
| through footnotes and through a list of references at the end of your
| paper (a bibliography is optional). Accurate, clear referencing offers
| the reader the opportunity to engage in the process of your research,
| and to understand how your arguments and ideas have been initiated and
| developed. Other people may use your paper as a resource to learn more
| about its topic and pick up related literature from your references. It
| is also, of course, essential that you distinguish between your own
| ideas and arguments, and those of other people; the more clear you are,
| the better you can shape your own ideas.
|
| Conversely, citations do not replace your own thoughts and ideas. Never
| use sources as unquestioned authorities. The fact that a certain opinion
| was voiced by a well-known scholar, artist or intellectual doesn't make
| it true - all the more in the field of media studies with its high
| amount of speculative (and sometimes half-baked) theories. Theories are
| there to show you things in a different light, but never to replace your
| own ideas and opinions.Plagiarism
|
| Not properly referecing your sources is plagiarism. Plagiarism means
| to present work done by others as your own. While plagiarism has been
| tactically advocated and used in experimental arts to question ideologies
| of intellectual property, not crediting your sources is unacceptable
| in course work because it is dishonest to your advisors and fellow
| students. Plagiarism invalidates your essay and may result in further
| disciplinary procedure, including possible expulsion from the course.lay
| out for quotations
|
| Short quotations can be written as part of the flow of the sentence,
| with quotation marks.
|
| Longer quotations (three or more lines) should be separated from the
| main body of the text by means of indention. In this case quotation
| marks are not needed. For example:
|
| "I agree with Hal Foster when he says:
|
| I supported a postmodernism that contested [...] reactionary cultural
| politics and advocated artistic practices not only critical of
| institutional modernism but suggestive of alternative forms of new ways to
| practice culture and politics. And we did not lose. In a sense the worse
| thing happened: treated as fashion postmodernism became démodé. (Foster,
| 1998, p.20)
|
| Going further from this point, I would suggest that theory, a key feature
| of the postmodern enterprise, became démodé only after becoming
| convention..." - Be careful not use too many block quotations in
| your paper. Your should never write a text which just consists of short
| remarks between block quotations!The Harvard System of referencing
|
| We do not have a compulsory system of referencing essays. However,
| we do recommend that you follow the Harvard System.
|
| The Harvard System of referencing works within the text itself and not
| in footnotes or endnotes. Whenever you quote, or refer to someone´s
| words (directly or indirectly), or use someone´s argument, or refer
| to a source, you should use the system described below.
|
| Whenever you quote you write the surname and the date of publication in
| brackets. When you quote directly, you should also add the page number:
|
| In studying the anatomy of brains of early man, some 19th century
| anthropologists came to a conclusion which one writer reminds us was
| `at the time considered highly provocative but which is now obvious
| to every anthropologist´ (Wendt, 1974, p.12).
|
| If the name of the writer is part of the sentence itself, put the date
| in brackets after the name: Wendt (1974, p.12) reminds us that the
| conclusions of some 19th century anthropologists were `at the time
| considered very provocative´.
|
| The same applies when you are not quoting directly:
|
| Wendt (1974) reminds us that the conclusions of some 19th century
| anthropologists were considered very provocative when they were published.
|
| Sometimes, you find a useful quotation from one author in a book by
| another. In such cases, reference like this:
|
| Johnson sweeps aside this argument: `His expressed view of the world
| has more style in it than sense - or evidence´ (quoted in Mason,
| 1990, p.44).
|
| In this case, you are quoting Johnson from a book which you have not
| read and which you therefore cannot quote directly. So the reference is
| to Mason´s book, which you have read.
|
| You will sometimes need to refer to more than one book or article by
| the same author, each published in the same year. In this case, put a
| letter after the date to show which of the publications is referred to
| in this instance:
|
| Peterson (1989b, p.45) was risking the wrath of her profession by
| suggesting that `there is more to be gained by restraint than by
| rushing headlong into open debate´.list of references
|
| At the end of your text, you should list all sources you have used. They
| are normally set out as follows:
|
| Surname, initials of author(s) (date) Title, place and name of
| publisherbook
|
| For example the complete reference for a book will look like this:
|
| Gilbert, S and Gubar, S (1988) No Man´s Land New Haven, Yale University
| Pressarticle
|
| When referring to an article in a journal, you should put the title of the
| article in quotation marks, and the journal title should be underlined:
|
| Rollerton, F (1989) `Wordsworth´s Secret Dreams´ in Citations
| Vol.12, No.4 (pp.113-124)
|
| If you are citing an article from an author from a book edited by a
| different author, the reference works as follows:
|
| Silvershum, P (1978) `Fellowship Societies´ in Donaghue, P. (ed.) The
| Roots of Masonry Sidney, Outback Books
|
| The list of references or bibliography should be in alphabetical order.
|
| When you refer to more than one work by the same author, these should
| be set out in chronological order.
|
| When you refer to more than one work by the same author from the same
| year, they should be differentiated by adding `a, b, c´ to the dates:
| 1989a, 1989b, etc.bibliography
|
| The reference list should include only those works you have cited in your
| text. There may, however, be reasons why you would with to offer a list
| of works which have informed your general thinking and understanding. If
| you want to cite works in addition to your references, this should be
| done in a separate list headed `bibliography´.illustrations
|
| If you use illustrations of work by others or by yourself in your text,
| make sure you use accurate referencing. Referencing for illustrations
| will normally include (elements of) the following:
|
| Name of the artist, title of the work, date, materials, size
|
| For example:
|
| Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min.
|
| You may add if appropriate:
|
| Site, exhibition, collection or commissioner; place
|
| For example:
|
| Pierre Huyghe, Sleeptalking, 1998, 16mm film, 15 min. Installation at
| Manifesta, Luxembourg, 1999.
|
| Fiona Banner, Le Bar du Peuple, billboard, Marseille, 1995. Further
| reading
|
| For guidance on writing essays and good research practice,
| you are advised to consult: Tom Davis, How to Write an Essay,
| [
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htm]∞. For
| a more advanced introduction, read Rob Barnes, Successful Study for
| Degrees, Routledge, 1992, chapter 6, p. 64-87. (This book can be found
| in the course library.)
|