CILT MFL research training 2006

Prof Naomi Segal Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies

how to write

writing an essay or chapter

an essay/chapter has a form• UK: they tend to ‘flow’• French: highly structured: intro – thesis – antithesis – conclusion• something between the two is best

Who will read you?

a supervisor/tutor who knows the field and your way of thinking?an unknown ‘virtual’ reader?someone likely to be hostile – uninformed – easily impressed, etc

take them with you

no one knows what’s in your headlay out the facts and ideas clearlyThink where you want the essay/chapter to go… and take the reader there by stagesplease them – they will attribute it to your skill

an essay/chapter should have…

a beginning, middle and end:• an introduction• a number of reasoned paragraphs• a conclusion that adds something•(and so should a thesis)

the introduction

don’t just ‘show what you know’the question/topic: define key termslay out the assumptions of your argumentset out what the essay/chapter will do

each paragraph should (i)

begin incisivelycarry an identifiable pointexplicitly contribute to your overall argument

each paragraph should (ii)

use identifiable key-words (from the title)ensure each point carries (or is introduced by) an illustration keep the thread of the argument running

the conclusion

should round off – and ‘lead out’summarise the main pointbut also give a closing twist- end on a question?