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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– 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:
• 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
• 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.
Organization1. Front page2. Title page3. Abstract4. Index5. Introduction6. Main body of essay (Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4
etc...)• Main body is about 75% of essay
7. Conclusions8. 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.