INTRODUCTION: ABOUT THE EXAM
To be admitted to the exam, you must send the following to your teacher at least two weeks before the exam date:
1)A 500 word mini-conference paper: Your paper can either be an abstract for a larger research project (your graduation thesis or a re-working of your undergraduate degree thesis), a thoroughly researched summary of one of the courses you have attended during your postgraduate studies or an analytical presentation of your work placement. It must be fully referenced, using either the MLA or the Chicago style (see page ______below).
2)Any visual material with which you intend to support your exam presentation:e.g. a power-point presentation, or handouts.
For the purposes of the oral exam, students should try to form thematically-linked conference panels. They should present their panel topic and introduce each other (see page ______below). Each student should give an oral presentation of their mini-paper. Presentations should last no longer than 5 minutes. Students are allowed to keep a copy of their paper in front of them as they give their presentation, but presentations should be neither read aloud nor memorised. The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session, during which students should answer questions from fellow panel members and from examiners.
CHAIRING A CONFERENCE SESSION
Chairing a Session: Introducing Speakers
General, special and roundtable sessions at conferences are usually linked by a theme, which is described in the session title. Sessions are presided over by a chairperson, who introduces the session theme and the speakers, makes sure that speakers keep to their time limit, thanks the speakers and the audience and manages question-and-answer sessions. The chairperson will normally choose whether to allow questions after each paper or to leave all questions until the end of the session.
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
Welcome and Preliminaries
–Good morning / afternoon / evening, everyone.
–Welcome to this session on ------.
–I am delighted to be welcoming delegates to this session on ------.
–It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this session entitled------.
–I am delighted to be chairing this session on ------.
–------is a very important issue at the moment / is attracting a great deal of scholarly attention at the moment. It is therefore with great pleasure that I welcome you to this session entitled------.
–------has been the subject of extensive study recently, with key scholarly contributions from ------.
–Central issues related to ------, which I hope to see addressed in the course of this session, include ------
Questions
–As the papers we will be hearing today treat of a common theme and should comment on each other in an interesting manner, I think we can postpone questions until the end of the session.
–As usual, we have to keep to a tight schedule during this session. The speakers and I have therefore decided that we will only be taking questions at the end of the session.
–The speakers and I have decided that, for the purposes of this session, we will have a brief question-and-answer session after each paper.
Introducing Speakers
It is with great pleasure that I introduce you toI am delighted to introduce you to
First of all / Next / Last but not least, I’m very happy to introduce you to / our first / second / third / fourth / next / last speaker, ---, / who is going to give a paper on ----
who will be presenting a paper entitled ---
–As an undergraduate / graduate student ------studied at the University of ------in ------.
–He / she took a BA / BSC degree / a Masters in ------at ------University.
–He / she graduated / completed his / her Masters / PhD in ------.
–He / she has published articles in ------.
–He / she is the author of a book, entitled ------, which is published / forthcoming with ------.
–He / she is currently a masters student / doctoral student / research fellow / junior professor / associate professor / full professor at the University of ------.
–His / her research interests include ------.
–He / she is currently working on ------.
Time Limits
–As you know, we have ------papers to get through today, and I want to have plenty of time for questions and answers at the end. I would therefore ask all three speakers to stick to the time limit.
–As always, time is of the essence. It is therefore very important that you all stick to the time limit.
–Although this fascinating subject would deserve a much more lengthy treatment, for the time being we only have one hour available. I would therefore ask all the speakers to try to stick to their allotted time.
ACTIVITY
Form a group of two or three people with other course participants who more or less share your research interests. Exchange information on your career and educational histories. Choose an appropriate session title for each of your papers.[1] Take turns at being the session chair person and introducing your colleagues and their research.
Asking Questions
–I was wondering if you had considered …
–I was interested to know if …
–I would like to ask …
–I would very much like to hear what you have to say about …
–I would greatly appreciate your opinion on …
–First of all, I would like to congratulate your paper. It made me wonder if …
Criticising
–I’m afraid I can’t agree with you on that point.
–I’m not sure your argument quite holds on that point.
–But surely …
–I very much enjoyed your paper. However, I couldn’t help feeling it had some weak points.
–I absolutely disagree with you.
Responding to Questions
–That’s a very good point.
–That’s a very interesting question.
–Thank you for that question.
–Thank you for that observation.
Asking for Clarification
–I’m not entirely sure I fully grasped your point.
–I don’t think I completely understood what you meant by …
–I was wondering if you could explain the term “…”
–I would very much appreciate some more details on …
REFERENCING: THE CHICAGO AND MLA STYLES
All sources should be clearly cited in your papers, using either the MLA or Chicago style systems. The following is a summary of the MLA and Chicago Guidelines. For further information, check online or in the faculty library. Please make sure your sources are suitably “academic” and / or authoritative. Do not cite dictionaries unless they play a central part in your research. Do not cite websites such as Wikipedia.
Avoid generalisations such as:
“Most people think …”
“It is common knowledge that …”
“Many critics / scholars have argued that …”
Any ideas and, above all, any words which are not your own should be clearly sourced.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style[2]
Works Cited
Note that, for a short research paper, you should always refer to your list of sources as “Works Cited”, not as a “Bibliography.” Book titles should be either in italics or underlined. Article and chapter titles should be given “in inverted commas.”
Single Author Book
A basic entry should be as follows: Author surname, author first name. Book Title. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.
Examples
Fukuyama, Francis. Our Post-human Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution. New York: Farrar, 2002.
Berlage, Gai Ingham. Women in Baseball: The Forgotten History. Westport: Greenwood, 1994.
Two or More Books by the Same Author
Note that titles should be given in alphabetical, not chronological order.
Examples
Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1957.
---, The Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Religion. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.
---, ed. Sound and Poetry. New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1957.
A Book by Two or More Authors
Names should be given in the same order as on the title page. Only the name of the first author should be reversed.
Example
Rabkin, Eric S., Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander, eds. No Place Else: Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction. Carbondale: Southern IllinoisUniversity Press, 1983.
A Book Chapter
Examples
Allende, Isabel. “Toads Mouth.” Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88.
Breuer, Heidi. “Being Intolerant: Rape is not Seduction (in “The Reeve’s Tale” or Anywhere Else).” The Canterbury Tales Revisited – 21st Century Interpretations. Ed. Kathleen A. Bishop. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008. 1-15.
A Journal Article
Journals should be listed as follows: Author. “Article Title” Journal TitleIssue Number (Year of Publication): Page numbers.
Example
Hanks, Patrick. “Do Word Meanings Exist?” Computers and the Humanities 34 (2000): 205-15.
A Translation
The translator’s name should be given after the book title. Only the author’s name should be reversed.
Example
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Trans. Leonard Tancock. London: Penguin, 1954.
A Multivolume Work
Cite the total number of volumes after the title.
Example
Blanco, Richard L., ed. The American Revolution: 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Hamden: Garland, 1993.
An Unpublished Dissertation
The title should be given in italics and the descriptive label “diss.” should be added, together with the university and the year.
Example
Rossi, Marco. “Second Language Acquisition in Italian Students: A Corpus-Based Appraoch.” Diss. U of Turin, 2001.
An Article in an Online Journal
Articles in online journals should be listed as follows: Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title Issue (Year). Name of Website. Date of Access <URL>
Example
Zeki, Semir. “Artistic Creativity and the Brain.” Science 6 (2001). American Association for the Advancement of Science. 24 September 2002
In-Text Citation
Please note that the MLA style guidelines favour in-text citation over footnotes. Footnotes or endnotes should only be used for long passages of additional information.
If the author’s name is cited in the text, just provide the page number in brackets.
e.g. Marco Rossi has already made this point (222).
If the author’s name is not given in the text, it should be placed in brackets before the page number.
e.g. This point has already been extensively argued (Rossi 222).
If you are quoting more than one text by the same author, provide a short version of the title after the author’s name.
e.g. Northrop Frye was perhaps responsible for introducing this idea (“Anatomy” 156).
Chicago Style
The Chicago Manual of Style favours the so-called “author-date” system, whereby the author’s name is followed by the date of publication in both the bibliography and the footnotes / in-text citations.
Bibliography
Some Examples
Curtius, E. 1991European Literature in the Latin Middle Ages. Trans. Peter Goodman. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press.
Donati, R. 1988“The Threefold Conception of Love in Usk’s Testament” in Boitani and Torti eds. Genres, Themes and Images in English Literature from the Fourteenth to the Fifteenth Century. Tübingen: Narr, 59-72.
Knapp, E. 1999“Bureaucratic Identity and the Construction of the Self in Hoccleve’s Formulary and La Male Regle.” Speculum 74.2, 10-20).
In-Text Citation / Footnotes and Endnotes
The Chicago Style allows for footnotes, endnotes or in-text citation. References should be structured as follows: Author Date, page. (e.g. Curtius 1991, 256 // Knapp 1999, 18).
BASIC PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE AND TOPIC STATEMENTS
A paragraph is usually divided up into three main structural parts:
- An Introductory Sentence
- Supporting sentences
- A Concluding Sentence
E.G. – An introductory paragraph
Introductory Sentence: Although Chaucer’s use of the dream vision genre has already attracted a great deal of critical attention, his exploration of the teacher-pupil dialogue form still merits further study.
Supporting Sentences: While scholars such as A.C. Spearing and Brian Cherniss have already explored Chaucer’s sensitive reading of Macrobius’ De Somnium Scipionis and his deployment of Boethian conventions, his treatment of the philosophical dialogue form per se has yet to be fully explored.
Concluding Sentence: In this paper, I will argue thatChaucer employs the didactic dialogue genre in order to subvert the hierarchies implied by the form.
The introductory and / or concluding sentences usually form the topic statement / sentence, stating controlling idea which the author wishes to convey. Look at the example above again. Where is the topic statement? Is it situated in the introductory or the concluding sentence, or is it divided “sandwich-style” between the two?
Look at the following examples. Identify the topic statement.
- Synonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the same emotional meaning. For example, the words “stingy” and “frugal” both mean “careful with money.” However, to call a person stingy is an insult, while the word frugal has much more positive connotations. Similarly, a person wants to be slender but not skinny. Therefore, you should be careful in choosing words because many so-called synonyms are not really synonyms at all.
- Biostatisticians routinely work closely with physicians and scientists in many branches of medical research and have unique insight into data. In addition, they have the methodological competence to detect fraud and could be expected to have a special professional interest in the validity of results. Biostatisticians therefore could provide unique and reliable information on the characteristics of fraud in medical research.
- Some form of written communication has been used throughout the centuries. In the earliest times, people carved or painted messages on rocks. Later on, people began to write on pieces of leather, which were rolled into scrolls. In the Middle Ages, heavy paper called parchment was used for writing. With the invention of the printing press in the middle of the fifteenth century, the modern printing industry was born.
Put the following sentences into the correct order to form coherent paragraphs. Find the topic sentence.
Paragraph One
–This move challenged the barrier between the practical focus on child abuse and services perceived to be for women, although Women’s Aid refuges have always housed more children than women and employed children’s workers from their inception.
–The 1990s saw renewed attention to domestic violence, with an added focus on its impact on children.
–However, the process of gaining awareness of the needs of children affected by domestic violence has tended to marginalize recognition that domestic violence is a legitimate concern for social workers in adult services as well.
Paragraph Two
–On the one hand, there is the teacher.
–On the other, there are the student participants.
–He or she plans the learning opportunity and assists the learning, with a specific educational purpose in mind.
–In education, there is thus purpose and planning on both sides.
–They too usually intend certain outcomes from the activities in which they are engaged.
–Education involves at least two parties.
–They are motivated by a willingness to engage in a range of activities in order to achieve a particular learning goal.
Paragraph Three
–Many people would attribute this fact to their ability to fly.
–Birds are instantly recognisable creatures.
–Others would consider their shape their most distinguishing feature.
–Everyone, however, agrees upon the characteristics that a bird possesses: two wings, feathers, a toothless bill or beak, warm blood and laying eggs.
INTRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Writing Introductions
The introduction to a humanities research paper or essay should not usually exceed one paragraph. The introductory paragraph can usually be roughly divided up into four sections:
–Announcing the Subject: State the subject (often a problem or a question) which you will be dealing with in your paper. Note that in defining your subject, you will probably also be delimiting it (i.e. referring briefly to the areas of your subject or of related subjects which you will not be covering.
–Providing Background: Provide enough background for the reader to fully understand what the question is and why it is necessary to ask it. You will probably here make brief reference to the work of other scholars.
–Overview of Methods: i.e. How your study was carried out / How your argument will be structured
–A Brief Thesis Statement
Introductory paragraphs are very important. They should serve to arouse the reader’s interest and curiosity. You may well want to begin your introduction with an intriguing fact, a short narrative / anecdote, a quotation or (where appropriate) a touch of humour in order to grasp your reader’s attention. NB: In seeking to make your paper attractive to readers, do not risk allowing it to become too gimmicky!
Writing a Conclusion
In a conclusion you will need to (1) summarise the main points of your essay again (2) provide a detailed conclusion to your paper (which you will have only hinted at in your introduction (3) paraphrase (i.e. don’t simply copy and paste) your thesis statement. As is the case with introductions, the length and structure of conclusions will vary from one academic field to another. Generally speaking, though, it is important to make sure that your conclusion is not anticlimactic and that it does not simply reiterate your introduction. You might want to hold back a final comment on the subject until the very end of your paper, or to suggest some directions which future research might take on the basis of your paper.
Your teacher will give you some examples of articles from various different fields. Identify and analyse the content of the introduction and conclusions. Do you think the writers of these articles have been successful in structuring their introductions and conclusions?
Some Useful Words and Expressions
STRESSING THE INDIVIDUALITY OF YOUR RESEARCH
It is / GenerallyWidely / Accepted
argued
held
believed / that …
While / Whereas / Although / Even though + verb phrase
E.G.
While / Whereas / Although ______has argued that all Americans are fat and arrogant, I would like to suggest that this isn’t always the case.
Despite / In spite of + noun
E.G.
In spite of the common-held scholarly consensus that the world is round, in this article I will posit a theory that it is, in fact, flat.
ACKNOWLEDGING DEBT TO THE WORK OF EXISTING SCHOLARS
As ______has / Insightfullywisely
brilliantly / demonstrated, …
illustrated, …
shown
GIVING OPINIONS
In my opinion …
I would argue that …
I maintain that …
In this thesis / paper / article I intend to demonstrate that …