They won't, on the whole, have to read it: if they don't follow it or feel

offended by its scruffy presentation or even are having an off-day and are

not instantly seduced by its beauty and clarity, they will just throw it

away and do something else instead.

University teachers are somewhat in between these two classes. On the

one hand, they are in fact paid to read your essays. On the other, if you

can imagine the sheer labor of having to read a large number of long

assessed essays on the same topic, you can imagine that no-one really likes

doing it. It's extremely hard work, and they would normally rather be doing

something else. Therefore, if they're not immediately seduced by the

clarity and beauty of the thing they're reading, they may get irritated. If

this happens they won't be able to throw it away and do something else, so

they will get even more irritated. The end product of this will be: a lousy

mark. Or at least, a worse mark than you would otherwise get, even if the

ideas are good. This is a good thing, in fact, because you can use it to

train you to

ALWAYS PUT THE READER FIRST.

Therefore, make your essay as beautiful, compelling, and as

professionally presented as possible, is my advice. Here are some

guidelines.

6.1. The list of works consulted

Every essay without exception should end with a list of books and

articles used. Often a marker will look at this first, to see what kind of

work you've done: where, as it were, you're coming from. On the whole and

within reason, the longer this is, the better. As long, that is, as you can

reasonably show that you have indeed used the works on the list.

6.2. Styling references

This list should be set out in a particular and consistent way. The way

I use is like this:

Horace Hart, Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University

Press, Oxford , (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983) Main Library

General Reference 1 Z 253

A.S. Maney and R.L. Smallwood, MHRA Style Book, Notes for Authors,

Editors and Writers of Dissertations , (London: Modern Humanities Research

Association, 1981) Main Library General Reference 1 Z 253 Main Library

Lang. & Lit. Ref. 1 Z 253

MLA Handbook for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations ,

(New York: MLA, 1977) Gen. Ref. Z 253 and, appropriately enough, these are

the books that tell you how to do it properly.

There are various ways of styling (as printers call it) references (ie

book and article titles) and it doesn't matter which you adopt, but you

should learn one and adopt it. Hart's Rules is a beautiful little book,

the printer's bible and ultimate authority, and it's very nice to own a

copy; the MLA \f16 Handbook is more use for students (it has a chapter on

how to do indented outlines, for instance--see section 8 for more on

this.) I have both, right by my desk, all the time. These books will tell

you how to style your references and how also to lay out quotations in an

essay, how to refer to a book or an article in the body of an essay, how

to punctuate, and so on. I would buy one of them, if I were you, and use

it. I very rarely look at mine now: I more or less know what they say. So

should you: it's the essence of professionalism in writing.

Note (1997). The English Department has now published its own ideas

about how to do styling. There are here. My advice is, start using

this document NOW!

Check also the method for arranging references in the text. They should

be indented on each side and separated from the rest of the text with a

white line above and below, if they are longer than a line or so. And they

should have a reference: author, title, and page number.

6.3. Type it if at all possible

No, you don't have to type it. But if you do then it will be far easier

for the reader. And rule (iv) is? Right: put the reader first. In any case,

studies have shown that particular kinds of handwriting influence (without

their knowing it) readers of literary essays such that they get lower

marks. I would guess that typed essays tend to get higher marks, but this

is just a guess. But it is my honest and truthful opinion that if you hand

in an assessed essay (that is, an essay written for marks that will count

towards your final degree) and it's not typed, you would be making a

foolish mistake.

If you are using a word processor, take some time to get the layout

right. Double space, with an extra space between paragraphs. The first line

of a paragraph should be indented. Number the pages, and put in a header

with the short title of the essay and your name in it. A4 paper. If you

want to beautify it with illustrations, drop capitals, a beautiful title

page, hand illuminated or gold leaf embellishments, that's fine, though

it's not expected. (I should perhaps stress that the gold leaf is a joke.)

And: make sure you use the spelling checker, before you print it.

A note on safe computing. While you are actually working on a document,

it is held in RAM. All that you need to know about this is that RAM is

volatile. This means that if a passing friend trips over the power cable,

pulling it out of the wall, the computer will go down, and everything in

RAM will vanish utterly for ever. What you will lose is everything you

created since you last saved to disk. Moral: save to disk frequently. At

least every ten minutes. Secondly, you should develop the feeling that

whenever you switch the computer off, you are doing a dangerous thing.

Dangerous to your data, that is. When you switch it on again, there is no

guarantee whatsoever that it will come up and present you with your work.

It might crash. It probably won't, it's quite unlikely that anything bad

will happen, but nonetheless this is the time of maximum danger for your

essay. I have been working with computers equipped with hard disks since

1987, and in that time so far I have had three hard disk crashes. Wipeout.

Obliteration. Everything gone for ever. I have also had computers stolen

twice, from burglary: end result: once more, all the data on the hard disk

gone for ever.

As a result, I never switch off the computer without making sure that

all the data on it that I don't mind losing is backed up. Never. Ever. This

means that whatever I've worked on since the last time I switched the

machine off gets copied on to floppy disks or zip disks. If it's creative

writing, like your essay, I usually make two or even three copies. If I

feel really nervous about losing it, I print the file out on to paper, as a

final security. I really advise you to do the same.

One final point: the last time I had a computer burgled, I was

immaculately backed up, and I still lost some data. Why? I left one of the

backup disks inside the machine...

6.4. One side of the paper only

When I tell students to write on one side of the paper only, they give

me the same look that I frequently get from my cat: "Is this man totally

out of his mind?" it says. Look: it makes it easier for the reader. A lot

easier. Rule (iv) is? If that doesn't convince you, try sending any piece

of writing whatsoever to any form of publication whatsoever, written on

both sides of the paper, and see how long it takes for them to send it

back. Unread. (They'll also send it back unread if you don't type it,

incidentally.)

6.5. Spelling and punctuation

There is a simple but unpleasant rule about this.

(v) If you produce work that is mis-spelt and/or badly punctuated

and/or ungrammatical, however good the ideas are, people will tend to

think that you are stupid.

They will be wrong; it will just mean that you can't spell, or can't

punctuate, or don't know some of the grammar rules. Nonetheless, that's

what they will think. Since it will almost always be in your best interests

to show that you are intelligent, rather than stupid, if you have a problem

in any of these areas you should do something about it. If you have a word

processor, get a spelling checker. Persuade someone you know who can spell,

punctuate, etc. to read over your work first and check it: learn the sort

of mistakes you make, and don't make them again.

There are very good suggestions on how to manage punctuation in the Oxford

Guide to Writing. If you have a problem with punctuation, I strongly

suggest you get hold of this book.

Another much cheaper and also excellent book is Plain English, by Dianй

Collinson et al. (book details and current price) (Library reference).

There is one particular error that is very common, students quite often

are in the habit of running two or more sentences together and joining them

with commas, it is really a very bad idea to do this, a marker when he or

she sees it will become very irritated, I hope you are by now with the

strange breathless quality of this sentence. Don't do it. A sentence is a

sentence. It should end in a full stop. Putting two sentences together with

commas between them is becoming acceptable in creative writing, but it's

still a bad idea to do it in an essay.

6.6 Handing it in.

Controversy rages over the best way to bind the thing. My own view is

this. It should be simple, cheap, and easy for the examiner. The pages

should not be stapled, clipped, or in any way fastened together. They

should not be bound! Some people like to bind them in a presentation

folder, often designed by the same person who invented the rat trap,

featuring spiked and sharpened strips of brass. Sometimes the essays come

back with the examiner's blood on them. This doesn't necessarily guarantee

a lower mark, but there's always that possibility. I accept that the

motivation behind this kind of presentation is good, and appreciate it as

such, but it's really not a good idea. Go for loose sheets, each page

numbered, your name at the top of each page, of course written on one side

only, and held together in a simple plastic sleeve: the kind with punched

holes down one side and an opening in the top only. This keeps the essay

clean and coherent, is unlikely to lacerate the examiner, and takes up no

extra room, so the essays can be stacked without them falling all over the

place.

7. How to write

Style is not something I can prescribe in a set of notes like this.

Write well: if you have any problems in this direction, it is for your

tutor to tell you about them. But here are a few random points instead.

Register

This is what linguists call a style appropriate to the occasion. Be

aware: a certain scholarly gravity is called for. Not too heavy so that

it's uninteresting. But avoid colloquial abbreviations: should not, not

shouldn't. Jokes are hazardous: if they don't [do not follow my practice as

regards don't] work, they can cost you a lot. Avoid them, on the whole: or

at least don't be jokey. Don't for goodness sake imitate the way I'm

writing here, either the rather flippant colloquial style or the somewhat

overbearing tone, or the numbered subheadings. This is an essay on how to

write a literary essay, not a literary essay.

Quotations

Firstly, quote sufficiently but not too copiously. Not more than a third

of a (handwritten) page at the very outside, and usually just a few lines

at a time. It's your thought, not the quotation, that is the point. On the

other hand, never forget that your ideas should be tied firmly into the

text, and that you should demonstrate this by quotation. Secondly, always

give page numbers for your quotations: you will need to know where to find

them again.

Short paragraphs

No short paragraphs.

Length

A non-assessed essay should be about six sides of handwritten or four

sides of typed A4 at least.

Copy it

Always make a photocopy of any essay you do before you hand it in.

Academics are very unreliable, and not uncommonly lose essays.

8. Getting it back

Here is a summary of things to keep in your mind about writing an essay.

When I mark an essay, they are the things that I particularly look out for:

. Use of critics (ie don't slavishly agree with them)

. Range of reference to literary texts, including obscure ones

. Clear and perceptible structure

. Interesting ideas tied in to quotations

. The paragraph:

1. Length

2. Topic sentence

3. First sentence, last sentence

4. First paragraph (sets out themes)

. List of works consulted (properly styled)

. Quotations properly laid out, and references styled properly

. One side of the paper only

. Spelling and punctuation

9. Two how-to-do-it books

MLA Handbook for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations

, (New York: MLA, 1977) Gen. Ref. Z 253.

This is the most useful text to buy. It has notes on everything you

need, including how to do indented outlines. It's not as full or as easy to

understand as the next title below, but it's all there.

Update (27/3/99): you don't have to buy it any more. It's here, in a really

helpful frame format. This is wonderful. All students should use this site

all the time.

Kane, Thomas S, The Oxford Guide to Writing , (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1983).

This book has it all: how to make an indented outline, how to spell,

how to punctuate, how to write a paragraph, how to take notes, how to

sharpen your pencil--everything. The bad news is that (a) it's rather

American, and (b) it's out of print. Go and look at the short loan copy and

photocopy anything you find useful. It's of particular use if you have any

punctuation problems.

10. Read a different poem every day.

Finally. One of the key attributes of success in an English course is

knowledge of a wide variety of styles, periods, and topics in English

Literature. Here is a painless way of learning this. Subscribe to this site

and they will email you a different poem every day. Take time every day to

read the poem, think about it, and post a short comment on their bulletin

board. The site is frustrating and often bizarre, but the exercise is the

most useful single thing I can think of at the moment for an English

student to do.

Страницы: 1, 2