Writing a BA Essay
Rules and
Guidelines
Yfirlit
• Seminar 1
– Rules of the Faculty of
Humanities
– The Purpose
– The Process
– Topic and Definition
– Choosing and working
with an advisor
– Thesis Proposal
– Organization
• Seminar 2
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Expository Writing
Academic Discourse
Sources
Outline
Tables and
Final Copy and Editing
Handbooks for Writing
Rules of the Faculty of Humanities
concerning BA Essays
• See: http://www.hug.hi.is/page/baritgerd
• Goals:
– „Lokaritgerð er ætlað að sýna hæfni nemenda til
sjálfstæðra vinnubragða, til skipulegrar úrvinnslu
efnis og heimilda, svo og til notkunar fræðilegra
hjálpargagna.“
– “The goal of a BA essay is to demonstrate
students´ abilities to work independently, to
organize and interpret the material and sources
and to utilize academic aids.”
Chosing and working with an
advisor
• An advisor should be a member of the
permanent staff of the department. Other
advisors are assigned by special
permission of the department.
• An advisor guides the student in
developing a thesis and identifying
appropriate sources, and oversees the
writing process.
Format and length
• Length
– 10 cr. essay: 8.000-10.000 words (20-30 pp)
(2 credits = 1 week of work, 10 cr = 5 weeks.)
– 20 cr. essay = 16.000-20.000 words (50-60 pp)
(20 cr. = 10 weeks of work. By special permission only)
• MLA Format
• A-4, 3 cm. margins, double spacing
• Front page and title page
• Academic discourse - carefully edited
• Bibliography - endnotes
Deadlines:
• Deadlines: see current schedule
– Turn in one unbound copy for the
second reader
• Turn in 4 copies of bound essay
Grades due: 2-3 weeks after the deadline
The Purpose of BA Essays:
• Three fold purpose:
– Training in methodology
– Conducting research
– The best BA essays are:
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an original contribution to the field
demonstrate independent work
include a good lit. review with the appropriate sources
arguments are logically presented,
is written in clear academic language
• A writer needs to consider the reader (the
audience)
– Who is the reader (audience) of a BA essay?
The Process: Overview
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Choosing a topic
Choosing an advisor
A plan of writing – an outline
Gathering and analyzing data
– Confer with advisor
• Writing the essay
– Advisor reads a draft and gives feedback
• Student revises as often as needed
– Content – Organization- Language- Format
• Student turns in final copy
Choosing and defining a topic
• What is the topic of the BA essay?
• What is the main thesis?
• Usually the thesis answers an academic
question
• Topics in the past include:
– The Critical Period Hypothesis and Second Language
Acquisition
– English for Specific Purposes
– English Influence on North American Icelandic
– Objectivity and the Media: The Discourse of Editorials
Choosing and Defining a thesis
Keep in mind:
– Confer with the advisor about narrowing the
topic to a thesis
– Make sure that the topic/thesis is doable
given the time and resources available
• 2 credits = 1 weeks work
• Too wide a topic is hard to manage
• Too narrow a topic may not be worth doing
The Thesis
• Interest
– Main thing is being interested or
curious about a topic?
– Best to think about the topic from a
theoretical or research standpoint as a
gap in current knowledge, an
unanswered question, paradox og
fallacy.
Thesis
• Originality
– Is this anything new?
• New facts?
• New and unique interpretation, view etc...
– Has someone already written about this?
What has been said about this?
– Do a Lit. review.
– What will your essay add to current
knowledge?
Originality
• Is not always a new
idea but a new way
of looking at things,
interpreting things…
Choosing and working with an
advisor
• Expertise
• Good relationship
• Independence: Not just
write what the advisor says
• The Role of the advisor
– Helps develop the thesis
– Advises on methods and
sources
– Guides the writing process
The Research Proposal and
Development of a Thesis
Defining and developing a thesis:
– A research proposal is a short description of
the topic, thesis, research methodology/
approach and main sources
• Length max. 1 page.
– Often the proposal needs to be revised or
changed slightly as the writing progresses
Organization
• The organization of
the essay must be
clear to the reader
from the beginning
• Good rule to organize
about 80% of the text
26-34 pages)
• More difficult to
shorten than
lengthening a text.
Organization
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Front page
Title page
Abstract
Index
Introduction
Main body of essay (Chapter 1, 2, 3,
4 etc...)
• Main body is about 75% of essay
7. Conclusions
8. Works cited
Organization
• Organization of Main Body of Essay
– Main chapters:
• They should be of equal length. Usually
there are 3 - 5 main chapters. Each chapter
has about 8-10 pages.
– Sub sections
• 2-4 subsections
• Common problems: Organization is too
loose or too tight or organization varies by
chapters.
Organization
• Chapter titles
– Short
– Describe the content
• Common mistakes:
– Limited content, unclear description, too
few or too many references
– Questions as titles
– Inadequate description of content
– Too much repetition
Organization
• Beginning and end of subsections:
– What is the section about?
– Consistency in length and importance
– Two levels of writing:
Working text,
Introduction can be written after the main text
– End with a descriptive sentence about the
content and transition to next section
Examples
• A good beginning of a chapter grabs the
reader´s interest. Ex. Posing a question or
problem... . Reader is enticed to read more...
– Not a good beginning for a main chapter:
• „In the last chapter I talked about bla bla bla”
• „ In this chapter I will discuss [title of chapter]
• As I said earlier...
• Conclusion of main chapter
• Concluding words where the main points made in the chapter
are reiterated in a general way
• Transition to next section.