Department of Languages and Culture
January 2008
Guidelines for Writing
Essays in English
Table of Contents
1. General information……………………………………………… 1
2. Structure…………………………………………………………. 2
2.1 The form of the essay……………………………………….. 3
2.1.1 Title…………………………………………………….. 3
2.1.2 Table of contents……………………………………….. 3
2.1.3 Introduction…………………………………………….. 3
2.1.4 Background…………………………………………….. 4
2.1.5 Main body……………………………………………… 4
2.1.6 Summary and conclusion……………………………..... 4
2.1.7 Bibliography…………………………………………… 4
3. Other technicalities………………………………………………. 5
3.1 Quotations…………………………………………………… 5
3.2 References…………………………………………………… 5
3.3 Plagiarism……………………………………………………. 5
3.4 Language…………………………………………………….. 6
3.5 Paragraphs…………………………………………………… 7
3.6 The pronoun ‘I’……………………………………………… 7
3.7 Edit carefully………………………………………………… 7
4. Defending your essay……………………………………………. 8
5. Specific information for essays in literature…………………….. 9
5.1 Works cited………………………………………………….. 9
5.1.1 Some general rules……………………………………... 9
5.1.2 Books…………………………………………………… 9
5.1.3 Articles in periodicals………………………………….. 12
5.1.4 Other sources…………………………………………... 12
5.2 Endnotes and footnotes……………………………………... 13
6. Specific information for essays in linguistics…………………… 15
6.1 References…………………………………………………... 15
6.2 Bibliography………………………………………………… 15
Appendix 1: Guidelines for a literature essay plan (PM)………...... 18
Appendix 2: Guidelines for a linguistic essay plan (PM)………….. 19
Appendix 3: Literary C- and D-essays…………………………...... 20
Appendix 4: Linguistic C- and D-essays…………………………... 22
Appendix 5: Final projects (examensarbeten)……………………... 23
1. General information
One of the aims of writing an extended essay – whether it be on the B, C, or D level – is
to learn how to use scholarly methods in your work and in your writing. There are some
basic requirements and conventions which must be followed irrespective of the subject
matter under consideration. Even though writing an essay is a process, it is also a form
of organisation. It is a paper which argues a case. The essay presents an argument
(thesis), develops the argument, and supports the argument. An academic essay is not a
crime novel where the reader is surprised by the ending: your task is to convince the
reader of the validity of the argument you present at the beginning – your thesis.
You do not have to come up with a revolutionary or unique idea. The originality of
your essay will lie in your choice of organisation, your presentation of an issue, and
your selection of source material to reinforce the points you want to make. The primary
aim is for you to show that you master the formal aspects of essay writing, and that you
are capable of approaching your subject in a scholarly way, relating your research to
existing knowledge, theories and criticism.
Your paper is supposed to be an independent work of research, which essentially
means two things:
(i)
It is your responsibility to do the necessary work by, for example collecting
material, finding literature, working on the material, organising the
contents of the paper, etc. This does not mean that you are left entirely to
your own devices. You will be supervised by a teacher who has a good
knowledge of the subject in question. It is his/her responsibility to help you
with the various aspects relating to the development and completion of
your paper. However, you are ultimately responsible for the completion of
your essay.
(ii)
Your paper should be an independent work in relation to other works in the
same subject area, that is, it must not be a slavish imitation of previous
works. You should form an opinion of the subject and make a critical
examination of previous writings in the same field. You can find support
for your own ideas in the works of other scholars but equally, you should
criticise ideas that are not in accord with your own.
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In other words, an independent and critical attitude is a prerequisite for good
scholarship. In addition, a good paper should also adhere to scholarly principles, be
correctly structured, written in good English and follow the rules laid down for
scholarly style.
Note that the essay is not a book report, not an assessment or appreciation of a text,
not an opportunity for you to describe your feelings or impressions of something you
find interesting. A critical essay must present an argument, analyse a specific theme and
search for and evaluate significant characteristics among seemingly trivial details.
Traditionally, extended essays deal with three main subject areas: literature,
linguistics and social/cultural studies. When choosing a subject, there are two issues in
particular to which you must devote particular attention:
(i)
definition of the subject
(ii)
limitation of the subject
The first point may appear to be self-evident, but in reality many papers suffer from the
author making a sloppy definition of the subject and writing about matters other than
those mentioned in the title of the paper. You should therefore think carefully about
what your paper is supposed to deal with before you start it.
The second point is closely related to the first. Your essay should be of a specified
length, which implies that you will have to limit the subject in various ways. In terms of
length, the English 2 methodology report should be between 7 and 10 pages (excluding
title page, table of contents, bibliography and appendices) and the B essay should be
between 10 and 15 pages in length. The C essay should contain between 20 and 25
pages and the D essay between 25 and 30.
2. Structure
In the overall design of your essay, the manner in which you structure the material is
most important. You will be asked to submit a plan to your supervisor, which should
consist of a provisional title, how you will organise your findings (number of chapters,
for example) and a bibliography containing a comprehensive list of those primary and
secondary sources which are relevant to your research topic (see Appendices 1 and 2).
Obviously, the more detailed an outline you make, the easier it will be to do the actual
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writing. You will be asked to hand in your outline to your supervisor on a specific date.
However, remember that you must have had your disposition approved by your
supervisor before that date and that you can consult him/her if you feel you have
something you need to report or discuss.
The supervisor you are given depends entirely upon the subject area you choose to
write about.
2.1 The form of the essay
By following certain writing conventions your essay will gain in clarity and precision
and consequently its readability will increase. Therefore, your paper should contain the
following elements, in the following order:

Title page

Table of contents

Introduction

Background

Main body (analysis)

Summary and conclusion

Bibliography
2.1.1 Title
The function of the title is to inform the reader about the topic and content of the essay.
It cannot simply be the title of a text, and it should not be a general title such as “Our
Need for Love and Understanding”. Formulate a title which shows that you will focus
on a certain theme or idea. Do not make it unnecessary long. Try to awaken the reader’s
interest by means of a relatively short and catching title.
2.1.2 Table of contents
A long essay also needs a list of contents. Place this list immediately after the title page,
and before the introduction.
2.1.3 Introduction
The introduction explains the purpose of the paper, awakens the reader’s interest, gives
general background information, forecasts the contents of the paper and introduces the
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thesis statement. The aim, method and information regarding the primary and secondary
material that will be used in the essay are also to be included here.
2.1.4 Background
In the background, you inform the reader about previous works conducted within the
subject of study chosen for the purpose of your essay. You might want to inform the
readers what has been done and what remains to be done. Your own work may
contribute to the fulfilment of the latter.
2.1.5 Main body
The main body of your essay contains and develops arguments which support your
thesis statement. It also contains supporting examples from the material you are dealing
with. Make sure that you show how each argument is relevant to your thesis statement.
The body of your essay also contains views and information from secondary sources
and your comments on this material. Sometimes you may use secondary sources to
support your argumentation, but on other occasions they may function as contrasts to be
argued against. Equally, in a long essay, it may be useful to divide the body of the text
into sections or chapters. Use chapter headings or subheadings to show what each
chapter is about.
2.1.6 Summary and conclusion
The conclusion summarises the main points analysed in the essay. No new material and
no new points should be introduced in the conclusion.
2.1.7 Bibliography
In the bibliography (works cited is another common term), you must list all the works
you have referred to in your essay with the names of the authors in alphabetical order.
You should also make separate lists of your primary and secondary sources. A primary
source contains the material that is the object of study, for example a novel published by
the author whose work you are studying for your essay. Secondary sources are books or
articles written by other authors dealing with the same subject field or other fields of
interest for your study. In the B essay, between 5 and 8 secondary sources should be
used. For the C and D essays, the number is 10 and 15, respectively.
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3. Other technicalities
Paginate your essay consecutively, starting with the introduction. Indent the first word
of a new paragraph 0.5 centimetres, except when the paragraph comes directly under a
heading. Use 1.5 spacing and font size 12.
3.1 Quotations
As a rule, no more than 10-15% of your text should consist of quoted material. When a
quotation is longer than four lines, set it off from your main text by indenting it 1
centimetre from the left-hand margin. Since it is clear to the reader at once that it is a
quotation, no quotation marks should be used, unless the text you quote has quotation
marks which is the case when you quote dialogue.
When a quotation is shorter than four lines, type it into your main text, setting it off
by double quotation marks at the beginning and at the end. You are entitled to leave out
words or even sentences in a quotation, provided you indicate the ellipsis with three
spaced dots […] or with three dashes [---] if a whole sentence or more is left out. You
are also entitled to add your own words in a quotation, provided that you indicate this
by using square brackets.
Be sure to check all your quotations. No matter how careful one is when copying
passages from texts, small mistakes often occur. It is your responsibility to see that all
quotations are correctly transcribed.
3.2 References
The purpose of references is to enable an interested reader to be able to go to the work
you refer to and check the context of the quotation or read up on the subject.
Consequently, your references must be accurate and complete so that the reader finds
the correct edition without difficulty.
3.3 Plagiarism
In the CED plagiarism is defined as “[…] the practice of using or copying someone
else’s ideas and pretending that you thought of it or created it”. It implies using another
author’s work as if it were your own. The most obvious form of plagiarism is when you
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copy somebody else’s words without giving credit to the original author, but you also
plagiarise when you paraphrase an argument without showing where it originally comes
from. To avoid plagiarising, paraphrase, summarise and add your own comments when
you take notes while you read, so that you distance yourself from the expression of the
original author. You still have to acknowledge the source if you use ideas which were
not originally your own, so as to be very careful when you document material from
primary and secondary sources.
It is not necessary to document general information. E.g.: “Today, Doris Lessing is
perhaps most well-known for her novels, but she began her writing career as a poet”.
This kind of information can be found in most encyclopaedias and handbooks and states
a generally known fact.
3.4 Language
In many cases an extended essay which is very good in terms of content and
presentation is so badly marred by language and grammatical errors that it seriously
diminishes the quality of the work. Of course your argumentation, your organisation of
the material and your ability to communicate your ideas to the reader are the most
important components of your essay. However, lack of precision, accuracy and poor
spelling, let alone sloppy grammar, detract from the overall impression. It is important
therefore that you devote a great deal of time and thought to the style and grammar of
your essay. Every writer has to revise his/her manuscript – often several times – to
make sure that the language is of an acceptable standard. It is essential therefore that
you use a suitable tone and correct language.
Do not use incomplete sentences, that is, sentences without a main clause. E.g.:
“Marie finally understands that she does not know everything she needs to know about
William. Like when she finds out that William writes magnificent poetry”. The easiest
solution is to use a comma instead of a full stop. E.g.: Marie finally understands that she
does not know everything she needs to know about William, like when she finds out
that William writes magnificent poetry”.
Other language issues:

Do not write run-on sentences (two or more main clauses connected only with a
comma).

Vary the length of sentences but avoid very long and complex examples.

Avoid contracted forms.
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
Avoid colloquialisms.

Avoid slang and jargon.

Avoid obscure words.

Avoid sexist or otherwise prejudiced language.
3.5 Paragraphs
A paragraph is a series of sentences unified by one controlling idea or topic. As it is
hardly possible to develop a thought in three or four lines, such short paragraphs should
be avoided. A paragraph usually begins with a sentence that presents the main idea – a
topic sentence. The following sentences then extend, develop and support the topic
sentence by giving examples and supporting evidence. Make the logical links between
sentences and paragraphs clear by using transitional words or phrases such as:
furthermore
in addition
moreover
in comparison
in contrast
however
nevertheless
similarly
as an example
in other words
this illustrates
finally
to begin with
consequently
for this reason
therefore
fortunately
thus
naturally
strongly enough
undoubtedly
in conclusion
in my opinion
to sum up
3.6 The pronoun “I”
Use the pronoun “I” extremely sparingly. If seldom used, it lends force and emphasis to
your argument. Remember that the reader realises that all you write comes from you,
unless otherwise stated. You should find that it is only when you state your aim, or
argue your case, or state your own interpretation that you really need the pronoun “I”.
3.7 Edit carefully
Do not expect your supervisor to correct all your mistakes for you. Therefore, before
you submit the essay ask yourself the following questions:

Have I fulfilled the aims of the essay, that is, have I done what I have stated in the
introduction?

Have I made my argument clear?

Are my points clearly developed with the help of a clear structure?

Is there a logical development between the main idea of each paragraph (the topic
sentence) and the rest of the paragraph?
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
Are there any irrelevant pieces of information?

Have I given enough examples to support my argument?
Remember to check the language carefully before you hand it in. Your paper will be
assessed both as a scholarly work and as a language exercise.
4. Defending your essay
When you have submitted your essay and are about to participate in a seminar, you will
be asked to critically read and comment upon one or possibly more, other completed
essays. When you are preparing to offer a critical evaluation of another student’s essay,
assess the essay from the following perspectives:

What is the thesis of the essay?

Does the essay develop this thesis in an orderly, logical fashion?

Does the essay stimulate the reader?

Does the conclusion really conclude the essay and does it agree with the thesis of the
essay?

Each paragraph should be built round an idea. Are there paragraphs in the essay that
should be: (a) amalgamated into one? (b) split into two?

Do the quotations from the primary source support and illustrate the author’s
argument?

How does the author use secondary sources? Is it always clear whether views
expressed are his/her own, or come from a secondary source?

Is the essay written in good English?
To conclude, despite the obvious difficulties and challenges involved in writing an
extended essay, it is important to view it as an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of
a research area that stimulates you. The process of collecting material as well as
organising and editing this material is not only intellectually stimulating but offers the
possibility of greatly improving your language abilities. So, enjoy it!
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5. Specific information for essays in literature
In literature studies the MLA referencing system is used. What follows is a summary of
the main guidelines relating to the MLA system.
5.1 Works cited
5.1.1 Some general rules
(i) Titles of independent sources, such as books, CD collections, films, TV series,
and journals, are written in italics. If italics are not available, then underlining is used
instead. Other terms that are italicised are names of ships and planes.
(ii) A source within a source, such as an essay in a collection of essays, poems,
short stories, songs in a CD collection, articles in a journal are written in double
quotation marks.
(iii) When
in italics:
-
quoting titles in English, the first letter of the following words is written
First letter of the first word in the title.
First letter of the first word in the subtitle.
Content words, i.e.: nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.
Some prepositions.
(iv) Subtitles are always introduced by a colon.
(v) Any quotation marks within double quotation marks will be single quotation
marks.
(vi) All sources will be alphabetically organised.
(vii) If the title of a source in italics, such as a book title, is part of another title
which should also be written in italics, such as the title of a book on literary
criticism, the title of the primary source is written in normal typeset. E.g.:
Schlueter, June, and Enoch Brater, eds. Approaches to Teaching Beckett’s Waiting
for Godot. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1991.
5.1.2 Books
1. Book by a single author
Threadgold, Terry. Feminist Poetics: Poiesis, Performance, Histories. London:
Routledge, 1997.
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2. An anthology or compilation
Spafford, Peter, comp. and ed. Interference: The Story of Czechoslovakia in the
Words of Its Writers. Chettenham: New Clarion, 1992.
3. Two or more books by the same author
In this case the different books are alphabetically organised according to the first
letter of the first word in the title – definite and indefinite articles do not count.
Instead of repeating the name of the autor for every single entry, three dashes are
used. When the book has been written or edited by the autor already mentioned and
another autor, the name has to be griten in full again. E.g.:
Tannen, Deborah, ed. Gender and Conversational Interaction. New York: Oxford
UP, 1993.
---. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York:
Morrow, 1990.
Tannen, Deborah, and Murel Saville-Troike, eds. Perspectivas on Silence. Norwood:
Ablex, 1985.
4. One book by two authors
Notice that in this case the order of name and surname is only inverted for the first
name of the entry. E.g.:
Jakobson, Roman, and Linda R. Waugh. The Sound Shape of Language.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1979.
5. One book by more than two authors
Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language.
London: Longman, 1985.
6. A book by a corporate author
National Research Council. China and Global Change: Opportunities for
Collaboration. Washington: Natl. Acad., 1992.
7. A work in an anthology
Allende, Isabel. “Toad’s Mouth.” Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock
beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New
York: Plume, 1992. 83-88.
Franklin, Benjamin. “Emigration to America.” 1782. The Faber Book of America.
Ed. Christopher Ricks and William L. Vance.. Boston: Faber, 1992. 24-26.
Frye, Northrop. “Literary and Linguistic Scholarship in a Postliterate Age.” PMLA
99 (1984): 990-95. Rpt. in Myth and Metaphor: Selected Essays, 1974-88. Ed.
Robert D. Denham. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990. 18-27.
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8. An article in a reference book
“Ginsburg, Ruth Bader.” Who’s Who in America. 48th ed. 1994.
Mohanty, Sitendra M. “Indian Philosophy.” The New Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Macropaedia. 15th ed. 1987.
9. An introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword
Drabble, Margaret. Introduction. Middlemarch. By George Eliot. New York:
Bantam, 1985. vii-vxii.
Segal, Lynne. Introduction. Changing Masculinities, Chaning Men. 1990. London:
Virago, 1997. xxxiii-xxxvii.
10. An anonymous book
Encyclopaedia of Virginia. New York: Somerset, 1993.
11. An edition
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Bernard Lott. 1968. London: Longman, 1990.
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage: an Episode of the American Civil War.
1895. Ed. Fredson Bowers. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975.
12. A translation
Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. George
Gibian. New York: Norton, 1964.
Coulson, Jessie, trans. Crime and Punishment. By Feodor Dostoevsky. Ed. George
Gibian. New York: Norton, 1964.
Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity. Trans. Stuart
Woolf. New York: Collier-Macmillan, 1987.
13. A book published in second or subsequent edition
Murasaki Shikibu. The Tale of Genji. Trans. Edward G. Seidensticker. Abr. ed. New
York: Vintage-Random, 1985.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Ed. F. W. Robinson. 2nd ed..
Boston: Houghton, 1957
14. A multivolume work
Lauter, Paul, et al., eds. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 2nd ed. 2 vols.
Lexington: Heath, 1994.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Oxford Sherlock Holmes. Ed. Owen Dudley Edwards.
Vol. 8. New York: Oxford UP, 1993.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “Sojourner Truth, the Libyan Sibyl.” 1863. The Heath
Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol 1.
Lexington: Heath, 1994. 2425-33.
15. A republished book
Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. 1972. New York: Fawcett, 1987.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. London: Faber, 1989. New York: Knopf,
1990.
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16. A book in a series
Hill, John Spencer, ed. The Romantic Imagination. Casebook Series. 1977. London:
Macmillan, 1993.
17. A book in a language other than English
Martín Gaite, Carmen. Lo raro es vivir. Barcelona: Anagrama, 1996.
Mann, Thomas. Der Tod in Venedig. 1913. Frankfurt: Fischer, 1997.
18. A pamphlet
Best Museums: New York City. New York: Trip Builder, 1993.
5.1.3 Articles in periodicals
1. An article in a scholarly journal
Luján, Martínez, Eugenio Ramón. “Pragmatcis and Indo-European Linguistics.”
Journal of Pragmatics 28 (1977): 189-204.
Sullivan, Nell. “Righting Irish Poetry: Eavan Boland’s Revisionary Struggle.” Colby
Quarterly 33.4 (1997): 334-48.
2. An article in a newspaper
Manegold, Catherine S. “Becoming a Land of the Smoke-Free, Ban by Ban.” New
York Times 22 Mar. 1994: 4.
3. A review
Hadari, Ata. “Written in His Blood.” Rev. of Handwriting, by Michael Ondaatje.
Poetry Review 89.2 (1999): 86-87.
5.1.4 Other sources
1. A publication on CD-ROM
“Brontë, Emily.” Discovering Authors. Vers. 1.0. CD-ROM. Detroit: Gale, 1992.
2. Material accessed through a computer network
Lindsay, Robert K. “Electronic Journals of Proposed Research.” EJournal 1.1
(1991): n.pag. Online. Internet. 10 Apr. 1991.
Readings, Bill. “Translatio and Comparative Literature: The Terror of European
Humanism.” Surfaces 1.11 (Dec. 1991): 19 pp. Online. Internet. 2 Feb. 1992.
<harfang.cc.umontreal.ca>
3. An e-mail communication
Danford, Tom. “Monday Greetings.” E-mail to Terry Craig. 13 Sept. 1993.
Lancanshire, Ian. E-mail to the author. 1 Mar. 1994.
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5.2 Endnotes and footnotes
Endnotes and footnotes can have two main functions:
1. they contain additional information on some point of the main text. The
information contained in the footnote or endnote is necessary to complete the
information, but cannot be introduced in the main text because it would interrupt
its flow and coherence.
2. they provide bibliographic information.
To introduce footnotes and endnotes use the option provided by your word
processing programme. If you do not have such an option, remember that you need to
use superindexed numbers, that the text of your footnotes and endnotes should be
separated from the main text with a straight horizontal line, that the text of the footnotes
should be single spaced and written in a smaller font – normally size 10, which comes
by default when using the option in your word processing programme – and that they
have to be justified on both sides.
To provide bibliographic information in footnotes or endnotes the same rules used to
write the list of works cited are followed, but only with slight variations. Here are some
of the main variations:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
The order of name and surname is not inverted.
Quite often points are replaced by commas.
Place of publication, publisher and year of publication are written in
brackets
The page reference where the quote is taken from is included at the end of
the reference.
Here are some examples where the note form is provided together with the
bibliographic form so that the differences are more easily identifiable:
A book by a single author
 Bibliographic form
Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.
New York: Morrow, 1990.
 Note form
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Deborah Tannen. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.
(New York: Morrow, 1990) 52.
A book with multiple publishers:
 Bibliographic form
Duff, J. Wight. A Literary History of Rome: From the Origins to the Close of the
Golden Age. Ed. A.M. Duff. London: Benn, 1953; New York: Barnes, 1967.
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 Note form
2
J. Wight Duff, A Literary History of Rome: From the Origins to the Close of the
Golden Age, ed. A.M. Duff (London: Benn, 1953; New York: Barnes, 1967) 88.
An article in a scholarly journal
 Bibliographic form
Gardinier, Suzanne. “Two Cities: On the Iliad.” Kenyon Review 14.2 (1992): 5.
 Note form
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Suzanne Gardinier, “Two Cities: On the Iliad,” Kenyon Review 14.2 (1992): 5.
An article in a newspaper
 Bibliographic form
Manegold, Catherine S. “Becoming a Land of the Smoke-Free, Ban by Ban.” New
York Times 22 Mar. 1994: 7.
 Note form
4
Catherine S. Manegold. “Becoming a Land of the Smoke-Free, Ban by Ban,” New
York Times 22 Mar. 1994: 7.
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6. Specific information for essays in linguistics
The information in this section also applies for the English 2 methodology report and B
essays on social and cultural studies.
6.1 References
In linguistics, the Harvard system for referencing is used. This means that references to
other scholars’ work are given in parentheses in the text, for example:
According to Tsohatzidis, have has at least two meanings which must be kept apart: “one in
which it implies possession without necessarily implying ownership, and one in which it implies
ownership without necessarily implying possession” (1995: 83). Creissels, however, points out
that a ‘have’ verb does not necessarily represent a possessive relationship but is rather “a verb
whose most important characteristic is to permit the presentation, with a minimum of precision,
of the attachment of an entity to an individual’s personal sphere” (1996: 157, my translation).
Furthermore, Baron and Herslund claim that “a verb HAVE has emerged in order to allow the
abstract conceptualisation and expression of a local relation”, a relation they regard as “the
fundamental meaning of HAVE” (2001: 85).
In the Harvard system, footnotes are used for explanatory purposes only.
6.2 Bibliography
In the bibliography you list all the works you have mentioned in your essay with the
names of the authors in alphabetical order. Instead of Bibliography, some scholars write
References or Works cited. You should make separate lists of your primary and
secondary sources. A primary source contains the material that is the object of study, for
example a novel which is analysed from a linguistic point of view. Secondary sources
are books or articles written by other authors dealing with the same subject. The
division into primary and secondary sources is presented in the following way:
Primary sources
Archer, Jeffrey. (1986) A Matter of Honour. London: Hodde and Stoughton.
Christie, Agatha. (1939) Murder is Easy. Glasgow: Fontana/Collins.
Forsyth, Frederick. (1971) The Day of the Jackal. London: Corgi Books.
Secondary sources
Baron, Irène & Michael Herslund. (2001) Semantics of the verb HAVE. In Baron, Irène,
Michael Herslund & Finn Sørensen (eds), 85-98.
Baron, Irène, Michael Herslund & Finn Sørensen (eds). (2001) Dimensions of Possession.
Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
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Bod, Rens. (2001) Sentence memory: storage vs. computation of frequent sentences. Retrieved
19 October 2003 from http://turing.wins.uva.nl/~rens/cuny2001.pdf.
Bolinger, Dwight. (1980) Language – The Loaded Weapon. The use and abuse of language
today. London: Longman.
Creissels, Denis. (1996) Remarques sur l’émergence de verbes avoir au cours de l’histoire
des langues. In La relation d’appartenance. (Faits de langues, 7.) Paris: Ophrys, 149-158.
Fromkin, Victoria et al. (2007) An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson/Heinle.
Grady, Denise. (2004) Alzheimer’s steals more than memory. The New York Times 2
November.
Heine, Bernd. (2001) Ways of explaining possession. In Baron, Irène, Michael Herslund &
Finn Sørensen (eds), 311-328.
Lakoff, George & Mark Johnson. (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press.
Newman, John & Sally Rice. (2004) Patterns of usage for English SIT, STAND, and LIE: A
cognitively inspired exploration in corpus linguistics. Cognitive Linguistics 15-3, 351-396.
Longman = Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 3rd ed. (1995) Harlow: Longman.
ODEI = Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. (1993) Cowie, Anthony P. et al. (eds). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Tsohatzidis, Savas L. (1995) What lack needs to have. In Taylor, John R. & Robert E.
MacLaury (eds), Language and the Cognitive Construal of the World. Berlin and New York:
Mouton de Gruyter, 81-93.
Comments on the principles used in the bibliography above:

Use somewhat smaller print than in the main text.

The second line should be “hanging”, that is, indented 0.5-1 cm.

Sometimes only the initial is used to refer to the author’s first name.

If you refer to more than one book of the same author they should be listed
chronologically, i.e. starting with the oldest one.

Note how books written by more than one author should be referred to.

Year of publication should be written in parentheses after the author’s name. Note
that a book may have been printed more than one time. If it is the same edition the
original year of publication should be given.

Titles of whole works in italics.

After the title of the whole work the place of publication followed by the publisher’s
name should be given (see Bolinger above). Note that place of publication is not the
same as the place where the book has been printed.

If the book has more than one edition you must state which one you have used (see
Fromkin above).

Titles of articles, chapters, etc. can also be referred to in single inverted commas
‘ - ’, but never in italics.
16

If
the
article
is
found
in
a
conference
volume
or
anthology,
you
write “In” before the name of the editor(s).

If there is only one editor remember to write ed + full stop (ed.).

If you refer to more than one article in a conference volume or anthology, you can
give only the names of the editor(s) in connection with the article and write a
separate entry with all the details (see Baron & Herslund; Baron, Herslund &
Sørensen; Heine above).

If
the
article
is
part
of
a
journal,
periodical,
etc.,
you
write
the
title of the journal without “In”. Remember to write the volume and number of
edition (see Newman & Rice above).

Remember to indicate the pages where articles from periodical, conference volumes
etc. are to be found.

See Bod above for references to the Internet.

If you refer to a dictionary with the editor(s) explicitly mentioned, the name(s)
should be included in your reference.
17
Appendix 1: Guidelines for a literature essay plan (PM)
A good literature essay plan should contain the following information and details:




A short description of why you have chosen the particular subject area in
which you intend to write your essay.
A preliminary title which should make clear the theme/s that will be
analysed in the essay. For example, ‘Elements of Feminism in three novels
by Doris Lessing’ or ‘The Search for Identity in the Work of William
Faulkner’.
An outline of how many chapters the essay will contain, together with a
detailed description of what each specific chapter will contain.
A list of primary and secondary sources (for the relevant number of sources
applicable to your essay, see page 9).
18
Appendix 2: Guidelines for a linguistic essay plan (PM)
A good linguistic essay plan should contain the following information and details:





An introduction where you briefly describe why you have chosen the
particular subject area in which you intend to write your essay. If possible,
also a preliminary title.
Your preliminary aim, which should be as precise and well-defined as
possible. It is important that you are very careful when formulating your
aim since it is a statement of your intentions of writing the essay.
Remember that the main body of your essay is governed by the aim.
The material and method you are going to use for your work should be
presented.
A short background which provides a basis for your preliminary aim. The
background should contain information on previous research conducted
within your particular subject area.
A list of sources.
19
Appendix 3: Literary C- and D-essays (2003 – )
C-essays
Ambursley, Ulla. (2006) The Search for Identity in The Black Album.
Andersson, Lena. (2005) Divided Hearts: How an Image of Africa is Created by two
Different Authors in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Buchi Emecheta’s
Destination Biafra.
Andersson, Yvonne. (2005) What Makes an Empire Rise and Fall?: A Comparison
between Isaac Asimov’s Empires and the Roman and British Empires.
Assadnassab, Sara. (2005) Hemingway’s Depiction of Women in A Farewell to Arms.
Björkén, David. (2006) Madness and Murder in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Brännström, Carina. (2006) An Analysis of the Theme of Alienation in Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein.
Engström, Tormod. (2006) Black Humour, Irrationality and Immorality in Joseph
Heller’s Novels Catch 22 and Something Happened.
Fjällborg, Carina. (2004) “Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time": An Analysis
of the Hidden Story in The Chronicles of Narnia by Clive Staples Lewis.
Fjällström, Eva. (2007) The High School Shooting at Colombine Seen from Francie
Brady’s Perspective.
Gustafson, Kristoffer. (2005) Beyond the Mountain of Madness: A Look at the Shared
Themes of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.
Henriksson, Mari. (2003) To Be Sane or Not to Be Sane: An Exploration of the State of
Mind of the Main Characters in Hamlet and The Butcher Boy.
Holmgren, Cecilia. (2005) Children’s and Adult’s Behaviour and Characteristics in
Pippi Longstocking and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Holmqvist, Kristin. (2003) Rowling’s Use of Family in Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban.
Höglin, Jonna: (2007) The View of Women in The Da Vinci Code.
Ignatowicz, Anna. (2007) Depictions of Dystopia in Brave New World, 1984 and The
Handmaid’s Tale.
Jansson, Ulrik. (2006) Tools of Power: On Individual Resistance in Arthur Miller’s The
Crucible and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
Karlsson, Camilla. (2007) Cracks, Fragments and Disintegration in Midnight’s
Children by Salman Rushdie.
Korhonen, Jani. (2006) The Portrayal of Women in the Novels of Charles Bukowski.
Larsson, Johanna. (2005) Ambivalent feminist views in John Irving’s ‘The World
According to Garp’ and ‘The Hotel New Hampshire’.
Nooij, Adrianus. (2007) The Chief Seattle Speech: An Authentic Indigenous American
History or a Symbolized Fabulation?
Nordlund, Erika. (2003) Children and Adult Characters in Four Novels by Roald Dahl.
Nordström, Christina. (2005) "Them" and "us": Working-class Attitudes to Society in
Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.
Roast, Lind. (2003) The Individual against Society in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons,
Death of a Salesman, The Crucible.
Stenberg, Ulf. (2006) Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Morse: Two Contrasting
Detectives.
Sundqvist, Anna-Karin. (2003) The Concept of Guilt in Macbeth.
Wiklund, Berit. (2003) Means of Survival in The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984.
20
Wiklund, Roine. (2003) The Racial Heritage: Slavery and Racism in I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison’s Sula and Beloved.
Wiklundh, Stina. (2005) Jane and Elizabeth Bennet: Female Characters of
Contemporary Society.
Åberg, Mattias. (2006) Social Awareness in the Works of Arthur Miller.
D-essays
Ambursley, Ulla. (2006) The Search for Identity in Anita and Me and The Buddha of
Suburbia.
Assad Nassab, Sara. (2006) A Postcolonial and Psychological Approach to Heart of
Darkness.
Bartosch, Jessica. (2003) Writers from Elsewhere: An Examination of Three PostColonial Works: Burger’s Daughter by Nadine Gordimer, Midnight’s Children by
Salman Rushdie and Wild Cat Falling by Mudrooroo.
Hyving, Carin. (2007) John Fowles’s Theory of the Garden of Eden.
Johansson, Tobias. (2004) The Crucible and the Reasons for the Salem Witch Hunt.
Larsson, Johanna. (2007) Gender and Ageing Characters in Literature: Similarities and
Differences between Male and Female Conceptions of Ageing.
Salmi, Eva. (2003) Women’s Struggle for Independence and Equality: Main Female
Characters in Charlotte and Anne Brontë’s Novels.
Sundström, Noomi. (2004) Open Guilt and Secret Shame: The Difference between Guilt
and Shame as Depicted in The Scarlet Letter.
Wiklund, Lena. (2006) The Catcher in the Rye and The Children’s Island: Two
Portraits of a Growing Boy’s Confrontations with Reality.
Wiklund, Roine. (2004) The Black Family: Family Relations in I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison’s Sula and Beloved.
21
Appendix 4: Linguistic C- and D-essays (2003 – )
C-essays
Andersson, Ingela. (2005) American Political Rhetoric: A Study of Selected Speeches
by George W.Bush.
Andersson, Sofia. (2003) y’all niggas be scramblin, gamblin...: On the Use of
African American Vernacular English in Rap Lyrics.
Andersson Palola, Emma. (2007) A Comparison of the Morphological Typology of
Swedish and English Noun Phrases.
Bergdahl, Malin. (2007) Though Many Foes Beset Your Road: An Analysis of Two
Putative Conceptual Metaphors Depicting the Christian Life Through the Concepts
WARFARE and JOURNEY in English Hymns.
Bäckström, Ann-Marie (2006) Prescriptivism and Descriptivism. A Study on
Attitudes Towards Language.
Czerpa, Dorota. (2006) Cosmetics Advertisements in the Woman’s Magazine ELLE:
A Comparative Study of Metaphors in the English and Swedish Editions.
Koulikova, Iourita. (2006) A Contrastive Componential Analysis of Motion Verbs in
English and Swedish.
Källhammer, Katarina (2005) A Study of the English Translation of Populärmusik
från Vittula.
Lundmark, Angelica. (2006) Verbs in the Domain of Transactions: A Lexical and
Semantic Study of Borrowing and Lending.
Nordlund, Ida. (2005) Bilingualism – An Asset to Future Language Acquisition?
Odén, Pia. (2005) Gender in English Teaching Books.
Olsson Anna. (2003) Stunning Looks and Abnormal Power: A Study of Gender Related
Language Differences in Advertisements.
Riekkola, Annika. (2005) A Study of Thomas Tidholm’s Translation of The Hitch
Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Salomonsson, Anna. (2007) A Cross-Linguistic Analysis of the English Verb Cut and Its
Swedish Counterparts.
Sandström, Karin. (2005) Is an Opportunity a Possibility and a Chance? A Semantic
Study of Three Similar Nouns.
Thorgren, Sara. (2003) Gender in Disney Books.
Vestermark, Ida. (2007) Metaphors in Politics: A Study of the Metaphorical
Personification of America in Political Discourse.
D-essays
Czerpa, Dorota. (2006) Language and Image: A Comparative Study of
Advertisements in English and Swedish Magazines for Adult Women and Teenage
Girls.
Duvsten, Linda (2007) The Subjective Progressive in Everyday Written English: A
Study in Pragmatics.
Forsberg, Caroline. (2006) Cross-Linguistic Analysis of the Word “break”.
Holmqvist, Kristina. (2003) The Forms of Address That Agatha Christie’s Hercule
Poirot Uses in The Mysterious Affairs at Styles.
Karlsson, Susanne. (2007) Gender-Related Differences in Language Use.
Lundmark, Angelica. (2006) Adjectives Describing Attitudes to Possession: Generous
and Greedy.
Magnusson, Sara. (2003) Translation of English Idioms into Swedish As Seen in the
Movie “You’ve got mail”.
22
Modin Vidgren, Sara. (2007) Mio, My Son and Karlsson-On-the-Roof: A Study of the
English Translation.
Nordlund, Marie. (2003) Linguistic Manipulation: An Analysis of How Attitudes are
Displayed in News Reporting.
Olsson, Anna. (2003) A Study of the Translation of Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets.
Sandström, Karin. (2006) When Motion Becomes Emotion: A Study of Emotion
Metaphors Derived from Motion Verbs.
Thorgren, Sara. (2005) Transaction Verbs: a Lexical and Semantic Analysis of Rob
and Steal.
Thornberg, Maria. (2003) African American Vernacular English in the Lyrics of Tupac
Shakur.
23
Appendix 5: Final projects (examensarbeten)
Ambursley, Ulla. (2005) English and Other Languages: An Attitude Study among
Upper Secondary School Students.
Andersson, Ingela, Christina Mononen & Helena Sundqvist. (2004) Everyday English:
An Attempt to Connect the English in the Student’s Spare Time to the Lessons in
School.
Fåhraeus, Henrik. (2007) Acquiring English Vocabulary in Swedish Upper Secondary
Schools.
Nordlund, Erika. (2004) Oral Communication in English Classes at Senior High
School.
Nylund, Sofie & Anneli Wernersson. (2005) Second Language Acquisition Through
Verbal Communication: A Study of how Senior High School Students Acquire
the English Language.
24