8/8/2019 Below is Some General Guidance on Essay Writing

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Below is some general guidance on essay writing.

Ø An introduction in which you identify key concepts in the question

and tell the reader how you interpret them. It is useful to put the

question in your own words as this shows the reader how you interpret the

question. You should also provide an agenda so the reader knows how you

are going to answer the question.

Ø The main body of your essay will marshal YOUR argument You would have

already identified key sources and my advice is to focus on a limited

number of examples that provide specific evidence to back up your general

arguments and to analyse these examples in some detail. This does not mean

providing a lengthy narrative, but rather addressing specifically the

relevance of the example and the light it sheds on the question. You will

need to reference your evidence and this will mean going back to the

Course Book. We recommend the Harvard method of referencing which occurs

within the text rather than as footnotes or endnotes.

Ø Remember to make your links between your points as explicit as you

can to build a picture of an evolving argument. Words and phrases like

'Similarly…,' 'Hence…,' 'On the other hand…,' 'Having looked at the

strengths of…,'are useful devices for helping your essay flow. This, and

the next point are ways of 'signposting' your argument.

Ø Remember to link your points back to the question by using key words

or phrases from the question at the start of particular sections of your

essay, thereby making the relevance of your points explicit, and by adding

phrases such as 'A limitation of this conceptualisation of …,' 'This would

appear to suggest that….'

Ø Finally, you need to draw your argument together in a fully rounded

conclusion. A conclusion should not introduce new evidence, and generally

will hold no surprises for the reader. It should draw together the salient

points of your argument and demonstrate explicitly how you have answered

the question by making direct reference to the question. You are rarely

going to agree or disagree with the question one hundred percent, so your

answer is likely to qualify it in some measure. How much is up to you, but

you need to provide a reasoned summary as to where the balance between the

argument lies.

Ø Remember to use the instructions on word length as a firm guideline

to the length of your answer. If you substantially exceed this limit you

will be penalised. We think writing to an agreed word limit is an

important skill at postgraduate level, encouraging you to select a balance

of evidence to answer the question, which necessarily means disregarding

other evidence. The selection is an individual thing, as is the synthesis

8/8/2019 Below is Some General Guidance on Essay Writing

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you achieve, and the argument you generate.

Happy writing!

Susan

Quantitative evidence could be good to include as would any new empirical detail. This should be used to back-up your main analysis in answering the question. In other words, do not use it

too descriptively. One or two figures, graphs or illustrations might help. I would think only the

title of the figure/table would count in the word count.

 Nick 

Dear Fred,

 thank you for accepting to be interviewed:

Hereunder you can find the relevant questions. Should you need any useful info about that, please let me

know.

- How can youth participation help strengthen social development, build organisational capacities that

changes our society for the better?

- What is the added value of youth participation? Give an example.

- What kinds of political actions are usually being encouraged by those who complain that youth are in

deficit when it comes to the political and civic realm and, in contrast, what are young people doing in this

realm?

- And, more controversially, could apathy, a refusal to vote, civil disobedience, and/or mass

resistance to government policies be more democratic alternatives than state-sanctioned or 

authoritarian ‘civic’ action?

 

- What contributions would your project give to your community?

Thank you very much in advance.

Best wishes,

Ina