Essay writing FAQs, 4SSPP104 - Introduction to Political Theory PDF

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Introduction to Political Theory Essay writing FAQs Substance Can I just repeat in my essay what you said in your lecture? - No. Your essay should display evidence of independent reading and independent thought. Are we allowed to disagree with the lecturer and/or TA in our essays? - Yes (please do!). We want to see well-argued essays, whether we agree with them or not. Do I have to answer the question set? - Yes; failing to do so is one way students often lose marks. Do I need to provide a general overview of the topic, or should I get straight to answering the question? - Get straight to answering the question. When checking back over your essay, read each paragraph and ask yourself: ‘what does this contribute to my answer?’ If the answer is ‘not a lot’ then you probably need to revise or remove that paragraph. Writing style, structure and formatting Can I write in the first person? - Yes. Can I break my essay down into different sections and subsections? - Yes, but make sure it is still clear how each section follows from the previous one. In an essay of 2,500 words, you should probably have no more than five or six different sections and subsections in total (but you don’t need to have this many). How long should my introduction be? - For an essay of 2,500 words, one or two paragraphs should be sufficient. Good introductions are concise. They clarify the problem or question being addressed and state what will be argued (and usually provide a brief indication of how the argument will proceed). How long should my conclusion be? - For an essay of 2,500 words, one or two paragraphs should be sufficient. Avoid introducing new arguments in your conclusion. How should paragraphs be formatted? - Either leave one line between paragraphs or indent the first line of a new paragraph. What font, size and line spacing should I use? - Within reason, this is up to you. Your essay should be easy to read and not too crowded. You cannot go wrong with Times New Roman, font size 11, 1.5 line spacing, but as long as it is not too far away from this then it should be fine. Should I use definitions from academic sources or come up with my own? 1

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This varies from case to case. In general, using definitions from academic sources (or, in some cases, the Oxford English Dictionary) is the safest option, but sometimes these will be inappropriate or unavailable, in which case it is fine to come up with your own definition.

How many academic sources should I reference? - What matters is the quality of your engagement with the academic literature, rather than the quantity of sources referenced. If you have found four or five relevant sources and engage critically with them then this is far preferable to referencing nine or ten sources, which are either not particularly relevant or to which you uncritically defer. If you have read widely then you should be able to make a judicious decision about which sources to include and which to leave out, so don’t assume you should be referencing everything you have read. Should I just use the sources on the reading list provided? - You may be able to write a very good essay just using these sources, but it is good practice to search more widely as well for other relevant academic sources. We expect to see some critical engagement with some of the most relevant sources on the reading list, but don’t feel like you have to reference them all just for the sake of doing so. Should I quote text directly or paraphrase? - Again, this varies from case to case. Most good essays contain a few quotes, but not too many. You should only quote text directly if the precise wording used is important. Often you display more skill by paraphrasing, but make sure you really are rewriting the ideas in your own words. If you copy a passage from a source and just change a few words then the unchanged words still needs to be placed between quotation marks, otherwise this constitutes plagiarism. You must provide a reference whenever you paraphrase or quote directly from another source. Referencing technique What referencing system should I use? - You may use any widely-used referencing system – but don’t make your own system up – as long as you do so consistently and provide all the relevant information. Cambridge and Harvard systems are recommended, but as long as your referencing looks like something you would find in an academic journal or book then you should be fine. Should I give page references even when I am not quoting text directly? - Yes, in most cases (even though lots of academics fail to do so). One of the main purposes of references is to allow readers to identify and locate the material referenced, so if you are referencing some material that is contained on a specific page, or page range, then you should reference the relevant page(s) (p. for one page, pp. for a page range). If you are referencing an idea that is developed throughout the source in question then you do not need to provide specific page references. Should I use ibid. and op cit.? - Ibid. is fine, but double-check that it refers back to the correct source. Op cit. is less widely used now and I recommend avoiding it. Never use it for Harvard-style referencing, and if using footnotes it is easier to give a shortened reference for repeat

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entries (i.e. author surname, year/short title, page number/range). Indeed, you can do this rather than using ibid. as well if you prefer. What should I include in my bibliography? - Include all sources you have referenced directly in the essay and nothing else. You may prefer to call this a List of References. For this module, there is no need to break your bibliography down into different sections; instead, it should be arranged alphabetically by author surname. Do I need to include a bibliography even if full publication details are contained in the footnotes? - Yes. This helps markers to check quickly which sources you have consulted, even though bibliographies, or lists of references, do not accompany footnotes in some academic journals. What should be italicised, and what should be placed in ‘inverted commas’? - The titles of books and of journals should always be italicised. The titles of book chapters and articles within journals are usually placed in inverted commas (‘single’ is customary in the UK, “double” in the US – either is fine, as long as you are consistent). There is no need to underline anything or place anything in bold. Other Can I submit a first draft of my essay for feedback? - No. However, you are advised to visit either your seminar leader or the lecturer in their office hours to discuss your essay ideas. Your seminar leader may read over a brief outline structure of your essay, or the introduction, but this should not come to more than one side of A4. What does my Turn-it-in percentage mean? - Turn-it-in identifies passages that are very similar to, or the same as, passages from other sources (including other papers that have been submitted to Turn-it-in). It does not differentiate between passages that are properly referenced, and those that are not, which means that the Turn-it-in percentage is not an indication of plagiarism. Instead, Turn-itin highlights passages that will be checked by whoever is marking your essay. Essays often have similarity matches of around 40% without there being any plagiarism, and sometimes essays with a similarity march of only 5% contain plagiarised passages.

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