angrydagget said:
thanks alot ill porbably be picking hist 112 as i am interested in history but i have a little trouble in writing essays so ill have to work on dat
The convener of the course is very good with people who aren't ace at essays; she holds a few optional classes on history essays and gives excellent feedback. She's also willing to go over a draft or one page as to see whether you're in the right direction.
The Linguistics department also holds a day that introduces academic writing, which I would recommend.
Lastly, I'll always be willing to read over an essay if you ask nicely. I did quite well in the course and can give you pointers. Good essays usually come from good habits -- writing a plan, doing research properly, handing in a draft, and not leaving it to the last moment.
For history, you need to follow this exact order:
1. The question - write down points about the question that you already know, as well as points that you think you'll have to cover. Make sure you look at every part of the question and understand it's explicit and implicity ideas. If the question askes 'Detail the beginning of the universe'; it is asking not only for a narrative, but an analysis of the evidence presented. Ie 'it happened this way, but the evidence could also say x because...' Make sure you look at any hints or guides that the lecturer has given you. Make sure you ask questions of your tutor to ensure you're going in the right direction.
2. Research - the first thing to do is to go back over any relevant lecture/tutorial notes. Generally, you'll find that a lecturer has addressed the central issues which you need to expand on with your research. If you have a textbook (HIST112's is
Maps of Time by David Christian), read that first. That would also give you the central issues and ideas which you need to expand on. Between the lectures and the textbook, you should be able to locate other relevant sources, usually in the bibliography at the end of the book. If you can't find any sources, you should contact your tutor.
Initially, research into the general (wider) areas of the question, and once you've figured out the area, do more specific reading. Take notes of everything you want to mention; photocopying and highlighting is probably the best.
Go source by source (usually book by book), and write down notes on a separate sheet of paper, which can refer to the photocopied book. Each note should be with a page number, under the heading of the book it's taken from, so you know where to find it again in your photocopies. Always photocopy/print out sources that you'll want to use. Always photocopy the front page of the book, so you can put it in full in your bibliography.
At the end of this process, you'll have a bunch of photocopies and a few sheets of paper with random points of what you want to include.
3. From the random pages of research points ('What I want to include.'), write out the list into a logical order so the essay has a natural flow - even just number each point. This is to structure your essay.
Think of an essay as a slinky rather than a jack-in-the-box - rather than exploding with all your points, you want the essay to consistently hammer home relevant information in logical steps.
Since history is based on evidence, for each point, you need evidence to back it up, whether it's primary or secondary. Since your initial list of 'What I wanted to include' came from your research, you should have a source for every single separate point.
5. Using your last pieces of paper, filled with points and research locations, write your essay. Ignore the introduction and the conclusion until you've finished your essay. Throughout the typing process, you'll find that you'll need to refer back to the photocopies, so you can get a quotation or the exact point. Hence, why putting the points under headings and with page numbers is important.
This process also minimalises accidental plagiarism, as your 'What I want to include' sheet refers to the book where you got the source from, and, of course, makes typing the actual essay much easier. From the points you have, all you need to do is 'flesh out' the points and explain them.
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If you do research and write out random 'what I want to include', you've ensured that your essay covers all the points. If you write out the structure, you've ensured that your essay presents the points in a logical way.
Really, an essay is 1. Good information, and 2. Good presentation. If you use the two-sheet method, you really can't lose!
