Modes of Reading Essay writingWeek 10

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Academic essay Addresses a specific question Uses academic English Meets criteria

Relevance Logical structure Personal response and evaluation Engagement with contextual and critical

material

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Process (big picture) Critical Reading of the primary text (s) Critical Thinking (about the essay title) Critical Writing (planning) Critical Reading (of the secondary

sources) Critical Thinking: (relationship of

primary source / essay title / secondary) Critical Writing

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Asking the right questions what cultural problem is being set up? why might readers at a particular time and

place find this work compelling? are there differences between my values

and the values implicit in the text? what kind of cultural intervention is this text

making? how does this text position me as a reader?

That is, what assumptions must you have to be an insider to this text?

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Asking the right questions what is the text setting up as “normative”? what is

being set up against the normative as “different”? are these linked to class ideology, race, gender, sexual behaviour, etc…? in what ways? How is the text constructing “woman /female”

(is it in opposition to man/ male? To other women who are not “normative”? is the normative notion of woman of any particular class, race, ethnic group or sexuality?

How is the text constructing “man/male” Is there any other social unit being privileged in

the text? Any geographical, historical, or ideological location that is privileged (e.g. “the city”, the “provinces”, the academy, the past, the home, the family, the nation…)

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Process (big picture) Critical Reading of the primary text (s) Critical Thinking (about the essay title) Critical Writing (planning) Critical Reading (of the secondary sources) Critical Thinking: (relationship of primary

source / essay title / secondary) Critical Writing

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Critical thinking (re: title) Decoding the essay title

“In Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia, individual growth and development are shown to be inseparable from social influences”. Discuss.

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keywords“In Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia, individual growth and development are shown to be inseparable from social influences”. Discuss.Shown = they are shown to you; you are watchingShown = proved, demonstratedDistinguish between the “WHAT” and the “HOW”

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Writing as a process INVENTING PLANNING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING

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INVENTING Decoding essay titles:

Define the key terms Write down the assignment in your own

words Write down what you already know Identify 3 questions you could pursue on

this topic Use these questions to generate a

tentative thesis statement

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NOW to the library Collect secondary sources OR Use the theoretical essays we have

studied

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PLANNING Read the sources you collected

How does this material relate to what I already know about the subject?

How does this material relate to other sources?

How can I use what I am reading? How can I build on this existing

knowledge?

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PLANNING

Practice analytic reading (for example) How does the author introduce the text? Does she spell out what she is going to discuss Is the author assuming that you have a particular

background knowledge? Can you pick out the central argument of the

article? What sort of evidence does the author use to

support her argument?

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PLANNING = OUTLINING You will probably draw a number of

outlines before you finalise the structure of the essay

Outlining = logical order Outlining = finding the gaps Outlining = staying on track

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What makes a good essay? States a clear purpose Alerts us to its aim Keeps us informed of the progress of the

argument Has an easily identifiable structure Engages with the context and

scholarship where necessary Avoids ambiguity ANSWERS THE QUESTION

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Criteria Relevance Logical structure:

Dialectical analysis THESIS + ANTITHESIS = SYNTHESIS

Personal response = own critical response

Use of texts and critics

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Use of evidence if you are going to use a quote, you

should, incorporate it into your argument.

Use only necessary quotes which help move your argument forward.

Don’t rely on the critics to prove your point. Use them to back you up.

Use them to refute their ideas and challenge their arguments.

Use critics to enrich the discussion.

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Quoting Summarising Critiquing

Incorporating critics

Many critics (Bell, 1992; Marx, 1982) endorse the view that Victorian fiction was concerned with the conflict between science and religion. In fact, Bell specifically cites Victorian pamphlets and book reviews arguing the merits and evils of Darwinism. He concludes that while adventure stories focussing on the rags-to-riches trope dominated the literary scene for part of the century yet the influence of Darwinism had lasting effects… (57). This position is further endorsed by Marx whose controversial article posited that Victorian fiction’s obsession with money and class could be explained as a “struggle for the survival of the fittest” (142-45). Although these studies provide a valuable perspective on Victorian attitudes, yet more recent findings have challenged their validity.

In-text citations

J.A. Cuddon (1998) defines an enchiridion as “a book that can be carried by hand” (258).

In this essay a “domestic tragedy” refers to “a play about middle or lower-class life which concentrates on the more personal and domestic element of tragedy ” (Cuddon 235).

In-text citations: Quoting

In his seminal article entitled “Cosmopolitan Writing” (1998), Cuddon argued that such writing is concerned with global / universal themes and issues and also with the attitudes and language involved in any discourse on such themes and issues.

Recently, it has been argued that “Cosmopolitan Writing” is concerned with the plight of individuals such as immigrants (Cuddon 182-184).

In-text citation: Summarising

Although Cuddon’s (1998) essay on “Cosmopolitan Writing” detailed the various features of this mode of expression, yet it failed to engage with the significant issue of crossing boundaries and frontiers of nations raised by Hoffman (2003).

In-text citation: Critiquing

REVISING LARGE SCALE CHANGES Check the logic of the central

argument Check the validity of your evidence Check the accuracy of your

statements Check that you have answered the

question Check the word count

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EDITING Small scale changes Proofreading Quotations and references Presentation Structure and layout

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Typical Revising Questions Does my essay fulfil the assignment? Have I provided a clear and

appropriate thesis statement? Have I offered adequate support for

my points? Have I considered reasonable

opposing viewpoints where appropriate?

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Is my introduction clear and concise?

Is my document well organised? Can I outline it?

Can readers follow my organisation?

Have I made use of an organising principle?

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Typical Editing Questions Is my text easy to read? Do I use effective paragraphing

and paragraph structure? Are my transitions smooth? (have

I used transitions?) Does my conclusion provide more

than a summary of my document?

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Are my sources integrated and acknowledged in my text and in a works or bibliographical list?

Have I distinguished between my work and that of others?

Have I used the computer’s in-built (Shift+F7) spell check?

Have I set the language to English UK? Have I abided by the department’s

requirements with respect to presentation?

Have I used the department’s resources to help me with my essay

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Summary Writing is a process

Inventing Planning Drafting Revising Editing

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