Transcript CLAS/HIST1631 Essay Boot Camp Back to Basics  What is an essay  The heart of an essay is its argument  Formal writing:    full sentences, paragraphs, proper.

CLAS/HIST1631
Essay Boot Camp
Back to Basics
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What is an essay
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The heart of an essay is its argument
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Formal writing:
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full sentences, paragraphs, proper spelling, punctuation,
etc.
Avoid contractions like 'don't'
What is an essay not:
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Collection of facts, summary or introduction to topic
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Personal introspection
Read Your Topic Carefully
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e.g., “Read Books 1 and 2 of Thucydides'
Peloponnesian War. What was Pericles' plan for
the defence of Athens? Why did it fail?”
Note:
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Required reading
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Question in two parts
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Things you have to learn to even begin to answer
the question
The Structure of An Essay
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Introduction
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What do you need to know about this topic to join
me in considering it?
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“In 431, the Athenian empire began a war against
Sparta and its allies which was to last over twenty
years. Athens' democracy had as its leading
politician one Pericles ...”
The Thesis
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Thesis
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When the essay topic is a question, this is easy:
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An answer to the question
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Also tells the reader what the shape of the paper
will be, this is its argument
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Your argument and thesis cannot be wholly
personal
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“Pericles plan was to enlist the help of an army of UFOs. I
know this because a pink unicorn told me.”
It has to be something that you can argue from the
sources
The Body of the Essay
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Comprises paragraphs, each of which should
move the ball down the field
Ideally, these follow the progression of the
argument presented in the thesis
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Packages the thesis in bite-sized chunks
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With no paragraphs, you're probably rambling
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One-sentence paragraphs usually show that
you've run out of steam
What To Avoid
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Paraphrase or extensive quotation
If your main source is an historian, don't just
retell the historical narrative
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Every question requires analysis, just restating the
events doesn't give analysis
If your main source is literature, don't just say
what the literature is about
All this has to be packaged inside the argument
Think of your essay as the source text turned
inside-out, so that the seams are showing
Be Ruthless
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You are the general, and each essay paragraph
is a batallion
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Or, you are the District Attorney and your
paragraphs are witnesses for the prosecution
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If it isn't working for the whole, it goes!
If they aren't making your case for you, you need
new ones
Most long essays were full of junk:
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Don't waste your reader's time
Do Your Readings
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Take notes:
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What more would you ask?
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What don't you know that you should?
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Keep record of interesting quotations
Read Around Your Topic
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You need to make yourself informed:
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Who was Pericles?
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Why did Athens need to be defended?
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How had it defended itself in the past?
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Where is Athens?
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What natural defenses does it have?
Using the Internet, Course Notes
and Textbook
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Often these resources tend to be
encyclopaedia-style
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Statement of facts without supporting argument or
sources
Don't Put All Your Background
Reading into the Essay
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We call this 'gathering wool'
While Reading, Don't Look for 'The
Answer'
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Topics are chosen to not be subject of recent
papers or books
You'll still need to argue it from your readings,
etc.
There are many, many arguments that deserve
a 'A+'
(But there are even more that don't)
Evidence
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Forensic scientists “bag it and tag it”
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Scholars cite
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our chain of custody provided by citation of
references
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Not just to keep you out of trouble
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It also provides authority for your argument
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Otherwise, you present yourself as the
authority:
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“the walk from my house to Hart Hall is about 20
minutes”
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“the population of ancient Mycenae was about
7,000 at its peak”
Rules for Citing
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Basically, the only essays that got this right
used Zotero
Otherwise, fastidiously follow the MLA rules on
the university website
Mechanics
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Spell-check at the very end of the writing
Double-check the technical terms, names and
place-names you don't know
If you don't use Zotero, you have to:
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Check that all your sources are in your Works Cited
list, and that nothing in your Works Cited list is not
in your paper
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Format your works cited list
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None of my essays did this right
In General
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Write more than one draft
Have someone else read your writing, mark it
up
Use complete sentences
Spell-check, sensibly
Comma Splice
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Avoid comma splice:
X “The ducks are resting in the sun, the
swans are resting, too.”
Ok “The ducks are resting in the sun. The swans
are resting, too.”
This often results in run-on sentences
Sentence Fragment
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This is used all the time in advertisements.
X “I crept upstairs to find the source of the
noise. A cat.”
What does a sentence need?
Ok “I crept upstairs to find the source of the
noise, a cat.”
Avoid Passive Verbs
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X “I was kissed last night.”
Ok “Mari kissed me last night.”
Larger rule: avoid boring verbs like, is, are,
were, shows
When to Use a Semicolon
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Do you know what a balanced clause is?
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Really?
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Are you sure?
If so, then use a semicolon only when you are
separating two of these
If not, don't go near them
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Most semicolons in 1st year papers are ill-placed
If you want to know how to use a semicolon,
read any book on writing
Settle For Clarity
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Academic writing gets very few points for
beauty
Just settle for making yourself understood
Don't make up phrases or use extended
metaphors, search for the right word or words
that are already part of English
If English isn't your first language, you need the
help of someone for whom it is
More Advanced: Be Artful
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Words like 'segue', 'evidences' and phrases
like 'the fact that' are like putting the drivetrain on the outside of a car.
Transitions (segues) are meant to be hidden!
Evidence is integrated, not painted orange
and put on the roof.
If you find these in your text, revise.