Stage 4: Guide to Academic Presentation

Contextual and Critical Studies

Gray’s School of Art

2007-08

CONTENTS: Page

  1. Title Page 3
  2. Table of Contents 3
  3. Main Text 4
  4. Appendices 4
  5. Referencing 4
  6. Bibliography 5
  7. Referencing Illustrations 6
  8. The Use of Questionnaires 6
  9. Contacting Individuals or Organisations 6
  10. Plagiarism 7

STAGE 4

GUIDE to ACADEMIC PRESENTATION

General

Your final text should:

  • be typed using a legible font and reasonable font size – e.g. 10+
  • be securely stapled or bound, if appropriate, with no loose elements

You are required to make two copies of your final work for submission. (Consider backing up your work frequently when word-processing text, to minimise any losses resulting from technical problems)

Core requirements and sequence of elements

The Critical Evaluation should include all of the following elements in the following sequence, unless indicated otherwise:

  1. A Title Page or means of identifying the work
  1. A Table of Contents (when relevant)
  1. Main Text
  1. Appendices (when relevant)
  1. Referencing
  1. Bibliography

Further information and guidance on each follows:

1.Title Page or means of identifying the work

Include: The title of your Critical Evaluation; name of author; degree course and subject; University and School, (i.e. RobertGordonUniversity, GraysSchool of Art); year of submission.

2.Table of Contents

A Table of Contents will be relevant in most instances at Stage 4, but if you consider it inappropriate, please discuss this with your tutor.

The Table of Contents should simply list the main elements in your submission and the pages on which these elements appear. It might include: Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2…..Conclusion, Appendices, References, Bibliography, List of Illustrations etc.

3.Main Text

The contents of your main text will vary with your approach and final format, but in most instances these should follow a logical sequence. An Introduction and Conclusion are usually standard and the main body of the evaluation can be divided into Chapters or other sections (to be titled if you wish)

4.Appendices

These are optional. Appendices usually include supporting information or materials considered additional to the main text – e.g. information from questionnaires or surveys, transcripts from interviews, copies of correspondence, studio diaries etc. If you have a lot of supporting information, think about dividing it into Appendix 1, Appendix 2 etc.

Only include material which is referred to and supports your main text. It should not be excessive in quantity.

5.Referencing

It is standard practice in academic writing to cite ideas and quotations from the work of others. Well established writers and texts need to be quoted to support an argument or augment a particular line of thought. As a student, referencing sources indicates that you are aware of good quality writers, understand the arguments and have done your research. You must reference your sources for two main reasons. It allows your reader to trace further information for themselves and also ensures you are not accused of plagiarism. See Section 10.

The recommended referencing system at Gray’s is “numeric” and the style is Vancouver. The Guide to Academic Presentation, available from the Contextual and Critical Studies website, provides good advice on referencing and a series of examples. See Contextual and Critical Studies Support Files/General CCS Documents at:

You can also consult the University Library website for additional detailed information on Vancouver and general advice on using

references, as well as links to other helpful websites. The Library website address is:

For Vancouver style, please follow the linkprovided

6.Bibliography

The Bibliography lists all sources used, in a separate section at the back of the final text. It should include all items which appear in your Footnotes, as well as all material used for background reading or as a source of images. All Bibliographic material should be grouped together in alphabetical order by author’s surname, or where no author is specified, in alphabetical order of title. It can be useful to group material by sections, for example:

Books

Periodicals

Catalogues

Internet Sources

Videos, etc.

Again, the appropriate referencing format is Vancouver. Please see 5. above for recommended websites.

Only include materials in your bibliography which you have read in reasonable depth and which have contributed to your understanding.

  1. Referencing Illustrations

Illustrations can include all images and visual diagrams. You must reference the sources of all your illustrations, either in a caption next to the image, or in a list of illustrations at the back, after the Bibliography. If you list the illustrations at the back of the text, please ensure that you label the images within your text, with a number. (e.g. Ill. 1, Ill. 2 etc.). With either option the following details, if relevant, should be included:

- title of image, (artist/designer, if relevant) and date

-the author of the publication from which it was sourced, the publication, year of publication and page on which the image appears

- full website listing if images are taken from the internet

Example/...... :

Example:

Chapter One

1.1Barcelona Stool, Mies Van der Rohe, 1929, page 12

Marcus, G. H. Functionalist Design - An Ongoing History, 1995, p. 35

1.2Station Furniture for London Transport, 1933, page 26, Forty, A.

Objects of Desire - Design and Society1750-1980, 1989, p. 67

Chapter Two

1.2Bertoia Chair for Knoll International, 1950, page 30, Sudjic, D. Cult Objects,1985, p. 137

  1. The Use of Questionnaires

Questionnaires can, in some instances, be a useful way of gathering information. If you are using questionnaires, please ensure they are well designed, as they may otherwise provide misleading and unreliable results. For a questionnaire to be effective and produce valid results it needs:

-to be carefully and appropriately worded

-to address and target an appropriate ‘control group’

-to address a large enough ‘control group’ to give accurate results (there may be no point in only ten people filling out a questionnaire)

-to allow enough time to compile or receive feedback from your ‘control group’

You are advised to discuss the use and suitability of questionnaires in general, as well as the appropriateness of your questions, with your tutor before distribution.

  1. Contacting Individuals or Organisations on Behalf of Gray’s School of Art

Before contacting any individual or professional organisation for research purposes, please discuss your approach (and any questionnaires you intend to send) in advance, with your tutor. In some instances, it may be advisable to secure an introduction from the School, and any contact made in the name of Grays, needs prior approval.

10.Plagiarism

This is generally defined as the deliberate attempt to pass off another's writings or ideas as your own and this includes copying a passage directly from an article or book without acknowledging the source. It also, and more regularly now, involves the unacknowledged use of materials sourced via the Internet. A paraphrase or quotation ceases to be plagiarism when a proper source reference is provided (normally in a Footnote).

It is a University ruling that work found to contain plagiarism will be failed and further penalties may apply, particularly at Stage 4 which may affect final graduation. For further information please see the Library web page on referencing which provides a direct link to the University policy statement on plagiarism:

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