Essay writing guide
Essay writing: In writing an essay you are being asked to do three things: • Demonstrate your understanding of material; • Respond to the issues and themes that define an academic discipline; and • Produce a clearly written and analytic argument in response to a specific issue. Writing an essay thus provides you with the chance to analyse a musical practice in light of what you have learnt, or to work out what you think about an important question or text. Working on the essay will provide you with the opportunity to reflect on and clarify your thinking, and to develop, strengthen and express your own opinions. It also provides you with the opportunity to learn about and critique the views of thinkers and writers who have become influential in specific academic disciplines. Thus, writing an essay provides you with the opportunity to present your views in a form appropriate for public discussion. It requires you to provide reasons why others should accept your views; it also means that your views are subject to critical scrutiny. Lectures provide you with examples of the critical concepts and methods that are used in a specific academic discipline. Your essay will draw on this methodology to present an argument that will convince your reader of the logic of your views. Much work in the humanities consists of arguments about how things are to be defined and interpreted. Understanding often advances through disagreement about contrary viewpoints. This structured argument gives academic work much of its vitality and interest. Few issues in the humanities have been resolved in any simple sense. You won’t find many generally accepted ‘answers,’ and there are no single authorities who can tell you all you need to know. This means that your essays need to demonstrate not just factual knowledge but also some ability to present and assess arguments and counter-­‐arguments. Research: You are expected to do thorough research for your written essays. This means not simply grabbing one or two references the night before it is due, but methodically finding a range of references on the topic at an early stage, and giving thought to opinions and debates. Here are some tips to help you with your research: • Read the question carefully: Before you start reading, you should think carefully about the topic. Make sure you know what you are being asked, and ask your lecturer or tutor if you are unsure. A dictionary definition of key terms is usually not enough. You must interpret the question as a whole. If the question uses terms that have been introduced in the lectures (or even a familiar word used in a new or specific way) go back over lecture material and make sure you know what a word means in the discipline you are studying.
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Work out the reading you will have to do: The major research required is reading – carefully and critically – the books, articles etc. listed in your course guide. You are encouraged to seek other relevant material in the library, although you need to be discriminating in your reading. If you are in doubt about a source’s relevance, consult your teacher. You need to make sure that you read enough. It is crucial to get more than one point of view. If you limit your reading to only a few books and articles, then you will not get the full picture, and your essay will reflect that. A reference list that consists of a small number of works is unlikely to be impressive. It is also important that you don’t read too much. If your reading is becoming repetitive, then it’s time to stop. It is useful to be thoroughly aware of the library resources, and how to use them. Librarians are a fantastic learning resource, so make good use of their expertise. Create a reading strategy by working out what information you need, and the most efficient ways of getting that information. Work out which sources to use: You need to be selective about the material you use in academic work and evaluate it carefully. Sources should be up-­‐to-­‐date (unless you’re looking at a topic from a historical angle). It’s important to refer to the latest research because accepted knowledge is continually changing. Choose reputable and reliable sources, such as books and journal articles mentioned in your course outline, academic journals that are peer-­‐reviewed, or government publications. An assignment may require you to use sources such as newspapers, magazines, movies etc. Be guided by the assignment instructions, and if in doubt about what kind of information is acceptable, ask your teacher. Be wary of using advertising posing as fact (e.g. a company pushing its products), biased opinion of propaganda aimed to persuade others to a particular point of view, and web-­‐based information where the authors are unknown. If you use materials from the Internet, be aware that much of the material published there is unedited and self-­‐published and so may be of little intellectual value. You must use reliable scholarly resources for your research -­‐ NOT resources that have not been peer-­‐reviewed, such as Wikipedia. Wikipedia and similar sources are not appropriate as academic texts. While useful for background information, you must use academic sources for key histories, definitions and theoretical debates. There are 2 types of relevant sources: the academic and the non-­‐academic ones. The relevant academic sources are seminal; they generate or systemize ideas best; they have the highest impact and are the most quoted. The relevant non-­‐academic sources are primary; they are original and empirical; they first provide information, facts and proofs. Relevant reference means that you always quote the most authoritative, primary and seminal source. Relevant references may be academic ones, which originally define an idea and usually influence – and are quoted by – many other sources. Non-­‐academic references (eg. databases, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, ads, posters, leaflets etc.) which refer to the first discovery of new facts or data may also be relevant. It is not safer not to quote at all because you are not familiar with the primary and seminal sources in a research field. In this case, your teacher will assess your not-­‐quoting as a lack of knowledge. For the same reason, it is not good to cite for citation’s sake. This is the reason why Wikipedia references are not suitable for this unit. They are neither primary empirical nor seminal theoretical (academic) sources. The most common mistake students make is to University of Otago, Department of Music 2015 2 •
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randomly over-­‐use Internet sources (with the possible exception of Google scholar). They may be the easiest sources to access, but they are the hardest to select relevant material from. You can informally use Wikipedia and other Internet sites as initial guides to other, more relevant sources, but you should only read and quote the most relevant sources for your essay. This course expects you to find and use a range of academic sources, including: • Journal articles (in library and in online journals) • Books The following are appropriate as background sources that can add to your core research / analysis: • Magazine articles (e.g. Rolling Stone) • Personal web sites (histories, opinions, blogs, etc) • TV, radio and film sources Read closely and carefully: It is very important to read with care and attention. Try to work out what the author is saying and what his/her reasons are. Take special care to read and consider authors with whom you disagree. Think about how you might criticize their arguments, and imagine how they might respond to your criticisms. Also ask yourself whether an author’s arguments give you reason to reconsider your own position. Think of reading as a way of entering into a dialogue with the author. Make notes. What I like to do when taking notes is: o Start with a fresh piece of refill for each different source you are taking notes from o Write the full bibliographic citation (ie. reference, as it would appear in your bibliography) of the source at the top of your paper o Fold the piece of paper in half, and then rule a line down the centre fold – below where you have written the reference o Write the page number(s) of the material you are noting down in the margin o On the left hand side of your paper, write down paraphrased material and direct quotes from your source. Make sure that you put direct quotes inside speech marks (ie. “…………”), and copy them down exactly. On the right hand side of your paper (perhaps in a differently coloured pen) write down your own thoughts and observations on the material you are making notes on. You don’t have to use this note-­‐taking method by any means, but I’ve found it to be really useful. Here are some tips to help you with your writing: • Always plan your writing: before you start writing, draw up a plan of your projected essay, covering all the relevant issues, and working out how the parts of your essay will fit together. The easiest way to confuse a reader is to confuse yourself. A plan makes sure you always know what you are trying to say, and when you are going to say it. Before you put pen to paper, give yourself time to think. Look at the question again and consider it in light of what you have read. It might be helpful to have a chat with your teacher to see if you are on the right track. University of Otago, Department of Music 2015 3 •
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Organise your essay clearly: Remember that paragraphs are the organizational ‘building blocks’ of an essay and that each paragraph should have a main idea or theme. Good organization can only be achieved by careful planning and frequent re-­‐reading and revision of your writing as you proceed. Authors who haven’t taken the trouble to review and revise their essays before submitting seldom succeed. In order to structure your ideas clearly, your essay must have a clear introduction, main body and conclusion. o Your introduction should outline your interpretation of the question that you are going to address, and how you are going to address it (ie. outlining the main points that you are going to cover, and thereby giving the reader an idea about the way your essay is structured). In other words, your introduction should foreshadow your argument. After writing the essay, check the introduction again to make sure that it does reflect what the essay is about. Alternatively, write the introduction last. o The main body should be structured so that there is a logical order and sense of flow to your discussion, from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. This will enable your audience to clearly follow your line of reasoning. You should structure your paragraphs so that the main idea of the paragraph is introduced (at the start of the paragraph) in the topic sentence, and then elaborated on in the supporting sentences (eg. topic sentence, followed by statement of position, followed by evidence/quote , followed by summary). Your argument should develop progressively and coherently. o Your conclusion should draw together the key threads of your argument and provide a final answer to or assessment of the problem (eg. it may be that your position is to recognize that more research needs to be done, or that one point of view once had merit but is now outdated, or that all the theories you have examined have weaknesses and strengths). o NOTE: Your introduction and conclusion are places to express your own thoughts. You should not be referencing the ideas of others in these sections of your essay. Leave time to change your mind, and change as you plan: as you write, you will find that issues which seemed easy are more difficult than you had thought, and sometimes you will find that you want to change direction, or even your mind, as you write. It is not uncommon to discover that you need to do more reading. So it is very important to leave yourself enough time to do this. Take advantage of all the time you have available to work on your essay – don’t just leave it to the night (or even a couple of days) before. Always write more than one draft: when you have completed a draft of your essay, you need to make sure that you have covered all the issues, and that it develops in a coherent fashion from beginning to end. Often you will find that you have changed course half way through and that the early material is no longer relevant to your conclusion. Spend a day or two thinking about your first draft, and then rewrite it for submission. It is very clear to a reader which essays have been drafted and redrafted: the improvement in quality is very noticeable, and is reflected in improved marks. University of Otago, Department of Music 2015 4 •
Make sure your writing is clear: your final aim should be to present your views in a way that makes them comprehensible and plausible to your reader. By and large, your marker will be less concerned with the positions you adopt than with your ability to provide reasons for them, although there are some views and positions that are more difficult to support than others. So, whatever view you argue for, make sure that you have provided reasons why your reader should take it seriously and that you have taken into account possible objections to it. That you believe it is not a reason for your reader to believe it. Use argument rather than assertion, and reason rather than rhetoric. Tips: • The written essays for this paper demand that you provide a considered opinion on the topic. It is not enough to simply regurgitate key theorists; I am looking for your opinion based upon wider reading and consideration of different views. This includes solid definitions of key concepts, and the ability to critically discuss readings, and not take academic /industry / government positions at face value, but attempt to understand the heart of debates. • Make sure that you have covered all the required aspects of the essay topic. If there are specific questions asked, make sure that you have answered them all. • Avoid pretentiousness. Try to write as simply as is compatible with what you are trying to say. Do not try to impress your reader with inflated language and terminology. Having said that, though, you do need to write in a formal academic register, and avoid the use of colloquial language. • Most academic disciplines have their own technical terms (jargon). Before you use these terms, make sure that you understand them. • If possible, don’t sit on the fence, but make a critical judgement. Try to argue for a position, though taking into account its problems and the criticisms that have been made of it. • Do not assume that your reader already knows what you are talking about. If you are talking about an author or example, provide enough detail for someone who does not know your source to understand what you’re talking about (and incidentally, to show that you know what you’re talking about). • Do not simply reproduce lecture notes. • Make sure that you reference your work correctly, and that you have a bibliography listing the references that you have used; essay writing is a professional academic exercise. Marker’s ticks (if you want to annoy your marker, please ignore the information below): • In the main body of your text (not in your references), you must use the full names of people the first time their name appears in your essay, and then their surnames only for every subsequent time you use their name (e.g. the authors of texts you refer to, the names of theorists, artists etc.). o E.g. According to Jennifer Cattermole, ….. Cattermole also states that … • It’s a good idea to include the year of birth (and death if applicable) of the theorists and/or artists that you are discussing. These go after the person’s name the first time you mention it, in parentheses. o E.g. Joe Bloggs (1928-­‐1980) asserted that … University of Otago, Department of Music 2015 5 •
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If you are using a language other than English, put the non-­‐English words in italics, and then afterwards put the translation in parentheses. o E.g. New Zealand Maori are the tangata whenua (people of the land) of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The best way to find out whether your essay is well-­‐written (and has the correct punctuation, spelling, grammar, formatting etc) is to give your essay to someone to proof-­‐read before you submit. However, it’s generally not a good idea to give it to one of your friends who’s doing the same paper (if they plagiarise your work, you can land in serious trouble even if you weren’t aware they did this). Alternatively, try reading out your essay aloud to yourself. When you find yourself pausing, or taking a breath, that’s usually a good indication that you need to add a comma or a full-­‐stop. It can also help you to recognize the syntactically awkward bits, and may help you to see that mis-­‐spellings and other errors. The Student Learning Centre can also offer you training and advice on grammar, syntax etc. Do not use contractions (eg. use do not instead of don’t) Do not use abbreviations such as e.g. (use for example or such as instead) i.e. (use that is or that is to say instead) or etc. (use etcetera instead). However, you may abbreviate the names of places or organizations. For the first time you mention the name, put the full name followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. For every subsequent time you use that name, you can just use the abbreviation. o E.g. The World Health Organisation (WHO) … The WHO also organizes … Be careful about the difference between its (something belonging to ‘it’) and it’s (a contraction of ‘it is’). If you are using the title of a book, journal article or CD in your essay, use the same formatting as you would for your bibliography. For example, because you would use italics for a book title in your bibliography, you would also use italics if you were mentioning a book title in the body of your essay. Avoid using the word ‘interesting.’ Your reader will either find your ideas interesting or they won’t; you don’t have to spell this out to them. Avoid using ‘feel’ unless you are talking about emotions, and avoid using the word ‘unique’ – unless what you are talking about literally is one-­‐of-­‐a-­‐kind. Some terms – like ‘native’ or ‘primitive’ have derogatory connotations, so need to be used with caution. Likewise, terms like ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ need to be explained carefully in the context of your work, as the definitions of such terms can be contentious. Don’t use italics, capitalization, bold type or underlining for emphasis. Don’t start your sentences with conjunctions (eg. and, but, so, also). Using words like however, therefore, and additionally is OK. Don’t use numbers (eg. use five instead of 5, Twentieth Century instead of 20th Century) Your paragraphs should be longer than one sentence, and shorter than one (or more) pages Avoid using incomplete sentences (eg. sentences missing verbs, subjects, objects or even entire clauses). All sentences should contain a verb, an object and
a subject.
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Be careful when using words like it and this. Make sure it’s always 100% unambiguous as to what it or this refer to. Avoid making sweeping generalizations (e.g. all Samoans think x). Any assertions you make should be supported with some kind of evidence. Be consistent in your use of tense. Don’t switch between different tenses. Avoid writing in the passive tense. If you’re using Word, your spellcheck will pick up on this. Generally, if you’re using words like of, by or from a lot, you’re probably writing in the passive tense. Writing in the active tense makes your arguments much punchier. It makes you sound more assertive and confident, and therefore more persuasive. For the same reason, you should also avoid expressions like “this essay will attempt to” Instead, use “this essay will” Use speech marks (“…………”) for quotes, and single inverted commas (‘……….’) for terms and figures of speech. Use English rather than American spelling Be really careful about how you use words such as ‘quotes’ and ‘cites’ – these are not synonyms for ‘states.’ Avoid using rhetorical questions. Answer questions if you pose them, or re-­‐
phrase your questions as statements instead. It is permissible to write in the first person (eg. to say ‘I argue that …’) All proper nouns should be capitalized. Twentieth Century is a proper noun (ie. there was only one of them), as are the names of people, places organizations etc. In general, ‘western’ should be descriptive (e.g. from a western country) and therefore NOT capitalized – unless it is used as a proper noun (e.g. Western Europe). Colons and semicolons: o Use colons to separate headings from subheadings (e.g. The hippopotamus: Breeding and eating habits). Colons can also be used to stand in for ‘these are’ – as in “There are 3 main principles: x, y and z.” I always capitalize the first letter of the first word after a colon, but there is no hard and fast rule about this. I don’t mind whether you do or don’t capitalize, so long as you are consistent. o Semicolons can be used to separate clauses in long lists. For example, “There are 3 main research areas: firstly, …..; secondly, …..; and thirdly, ……” Semicolons can also be useful for separating two sentences where the content is closely related (e.g. “The software market is rather new; it is
not even 70 years old”) – although in such instances, a fullstop does the job just as well. University of Otago, Department of Music 2015 7