1. Research, Reasoning and Rhetoric: Thinking with History from feedback and reflection Lecture 5: Presenting your arguments – mastering academic writing

2. Contact details - reminder Dr Ted Vallance Office – Ho 301 E-mail = edward.vallance@roehampton.ac.ukedward.vallance@roehampton.ac.uk Tel ext 8106 Office hours 10-12 Weds or Fri 12-1

3. Session structure –Lecture Pt 1. Academic writing – structure Pt 2. Academic writing – style and presentation Pt 3. Academic writing – reflective journals –Seminar Assessing past journals and commentaries –Task for next week – draft portfolio!

4. Draft portfolio due 1 st Nov Draft portfolio should be made accessible to me via the Mahara group It should contain at least –Journal covering weeks 1-6 –Your source or a link to it –An initial bibliography (min 6 items) –Your hypothesis (what it is that you propose to investigate) But you may include as much other material as you like (plans, notes, images) etc.

5. Academic writing - structure How would you structure an answer to this question? ‘Why did some people at the time describe the Revolution of 1688/9 as ‘Glorious’? Why have many historians now abandoned this label?’

6. Different questions – different approaches Q. What factors led to the First World War? –This question asks you to enumerate key factors Q. To what extent did the First World War signal the end for European colonial empires? –You are being asked to evaluate the degree to which this statement is true Q. Discuss the importance of the tank in bringing WWI to an end. –Discursive questions not only ask you to think about whether the issue under discussion was significant but also whether other factors were as or more important.

7. DO Pay close attention to the terms of the question and make sure you keep your response relevant to that question throughout your assignment Develop an analytical approach to the question – using evidence to support an argument Provide an answer to the question at the end of your assignment

8. DON’T Do not begin with a dictionary definition unless the question actually asks you to define a term (‘nationalism’) Narrate – you are not being asked to tell us everything you know about event x

9. Beginning/middle/end Introduction –Critical to a good essay –Should include 3 things 1.Gen statement about topic (historiography) 2.Your hypothesis (indication of overall arg) 3.How you will make that arg Hypothesis = your working theory/arg about a question/topic

10. Intros – DON’T Jump straight into the historical detail – remember, we need an argument not an avalanche of facts Need to show the ‘wood’ not the ‘trees’

11. Middles This is where you flesh out your argument Keep it connected to the question (signposting) Use topic sentences to indicate the purpose of individual parastopic sentences

12. Middles – DON’T Don’t think of the middle of your assignment as ‘filler’ – material that does not develop an argument/is not targeted at a question will receive low marks

13. Conclusions A good conclusion is vital to good academic assignments The conclusion should give a clear answer to the question posed It should support your hypothesis by referring back to the main body of your essay

14. Conclusions – DON’TS Don’t introduce new material – conclusion should be supported on the basis of material/arg already presented Don’t use quotations – should be your statement Don’t just produce a summary

15. Planning Good essays need planning Brainstorm first (perhaps using spider diagrams) Then detailed paragraph plan (refer to notes)

16. Academic writing: style and presentation Academic writing does not have to be overly elaborate Remember that clarity is better than complexity Write in a ‘voice’ that you feel comfortable with

17. Presentation Spelling, grammar and punctuation are all important Work must also be properly referenced Poor presentation/referen cing can be the difference between 2.1 and 2.2

18. Proof reading! It is very important that you check your work before submitting it This can help you avoid losing marks for bad presentation and plagiarism Also ensure your text reads smoothly Tips – read your work aloud to yourself. If you are pausing for breath in mid-sentence, your sentences need shortening! Print out and annotate drafts, don’t edit on screen

19. Academic Learning Advisor Remember that you can get additional help from our ALA, Nicola O’Keefe (nicola.okeefe@roe hampton.ac.uk)nicola.okeefe@roe hampton.ac.uk Includes one-to-one tutorials to discuss how to improve written work Academic skills workshops (Mon 1- 2) Next is on essay planning All in Hirst Hi 001 No need to book, just turn up

21. Reflective learning – the Journal In contrast to ‘descriptive writing’ – saying what you did - your journal should reflect on what you have done Think about what you have learnt from seminars/lectures/your own study Think about what you could do better Even ‘metacognition’

22. Reflective practice represents “a set of abilities and skills, to indicate the taking of a critical stance, an orientation to problem solving or state of mind” (Moon, 1999: 63)

23. In your journal... Descriptive ‘Week 3: I went to the library today to start building up my project bibliography. I keyword searched the library catalogue for my topic and then picked up some books.’ Reflective ‘Week 3: Researching my bibliography. Using a simple keyword search of the library catalogue gave me a lot of results, many of them irrelevant. Overall, I struggled with researching independently. I need to develop my searching skills in order to use the catalogue more effectively.’

24. General questions that you may want to reflect upon What attracted you to this project? What were your preconceived ideas? Has your research challenged these? What have you learnt about the topic you have been researching? Did your research project go according to plan? Remember –it is just as valuable (perhaps even more so) to reflect on what didn’t go well.

25. Format of the journal You may present the journal as a diary or as one continuous piece of writing. Length – no more than 1500 words References and bibliography should not be necessary as this is about personal reflection It can be informal but spelling, grammar and punctuation still matter! Remember – reflection not description: don’t tell us just what you did, but why you did it and what you learnt from the experience

26. At the end of the module… You may wish to reflect upon skills you have learnt by re-reading the Learning Outcomes for this module and see which you feel you already had, which you have developed, and which you need to develop further. Think about when you used these in the course of your project

27. Tasks for next week Develop research hypothesis in relation to your source – what is it that you are interested in investigating about your topic through this source? Update your Mahara portfolio in preparation for the submission of the draft 1 st Nov