Hey-ho.
It occurs to me that I haven't blogged in a while, and yet a lot of you seem to be checking back once in a while to see if there's anything new. I've been really sick all day, so, for the second day in a row, not much essay-grading is getting done. I started out with the first dozen or so, marking nearly every problem, so that you could see where you went wrong and hopefully fix it. But I'm fighting in a losing cause in that regard, so, assuming I feel better tomorrow, I'll have to go in to hurry-up mode. At the pace I'm going, there is no way those research essays will get passed back to to my two 1101 classes by Wednesday. So I'll have to just start reading, with my red pen(found two more pens in my office with just a trace of red ink left in them. Note to self: clean office.) laid aside until I reach the end. Most of the time anyway. I hate doing it that way, but it's necessary.
That's all I have it in me to write tonight. Just wanted to say something.
I hope the stress of the semester is beginning to wane for most of you. It's been a long, hard slog, I realize, but pretty soon, you'll be done and I (and my wacky book selections) will be but a distant, pleasant memory as you dangle your feet in the swimming pool, soaking in the sun.
See you all Monday.
GC
Friday, March 30, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Hello from The Land of Essays! I'm scaling a mountain of essays at the moment and haven't had much time to blog, unfortunately. I've been getting tons of e-mails about the research essays, though, mostly asking question about topics I've already covered in class. I've pasted my response to some of those questions below in the hope that it will save you and me, or somebody, some time. Meanwhile, I hope the essays are going well for you. I'm halfway through the latest batch (ready to give back the essays to my ten o'clock class on Monday--they were mostly quite good) and ready now to tackle the next bunch from my noon 1101 class. Hopefully, they'll be just as good. It's nearly 7 p.m. Saturday evening, so it's debatable how much more I can do tonight after grading essays and answering e-mails all day. But I'll give it the old college try. As for those research essays:
The essay should be primarily your opinion on the novels. That is, compare and contrast the novels based on one subject, whatever it is you choose to discuss. As I've said in class on numerous occasions, your voice needs to be the most prominent in the essays. Use other voices (critics and writers) to support your ideas.You just have to show (when possible) what other people have to say in comparison to what you say. If those other people agree with you, then use a brief quote or two as backup for what you're saying; if they disagree with you, then suggest why your opinion works better or is just as good, just different. Again, when possible, you're researching what other people say about the novels.
Another way to research is simply look up information on various sub-topics that need explanation (the kind of thing you wouldn't necessarily know unless you looked it up somewhere--historical details, stuff about Greek mythology, or geography, that sort of thing). Also, you can simply look up what other writers have said about certain characters, rather than about entire novels. A short quote or two would suffice. And again, show it fits in with what YOU are trying to prove.
Hope this clarifies some issues for some of you. I'll try to write more in the next day or so, as issues arise.
For now, back to the salt mines. Oh, and for more info on write a research paper, check out the posts I wrote earlier in the week.
GC
The essay should be primarily your opinion on the novels. That is, compare and contrast the novels based on one subject, whatever it is you choose to discuss. As I've said in class on numerous occasions, your voice needs to be the most prominent in the essays. Use other voices (critics and writers) to support your ideas.You just have to show (when possible) what other people have to say in comparison to what you say. If those other people agree with you, then use a brief quote or two as backup for what you're saying; if they disagree with you, then suggest why your opinion works better or is just as good, just different. Again, when possible, you're researching what other people say about the novels.
Another way to research is simply look up information on various sub-topics that need explanation (the kind of thing you wouldn't necessarily know unless you looked it up somewhere--historical details, stuff about Greek mythology, or geography, that sort of thing). Also, you can simply look up what other writers have said about certain characters, rather than about entire novels. A short quote or two would suffice. And again, show it fits in with what YOU are trying to prove.
Hope this clarifies some issues for some of you. I'll try to write more in the next day or so, as issues arise.
For now, back to the salt mines. Oh, and for more info on write a research paper, check out the posts I wrote earlier in the week.
GC
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Joys of MLA Formatting
Happy Friday, folks.
I hope some of you are breathing a little easier this evening as a result of your reprieve with respect to the research assignment. Hopefully, those extra five days will allow you to do your best and take advantage of whatever help is available to you. I'd strongly urge some of you to go to the Writing Centre in the Science building for someone to look over your essay after you've written it.
Meanwhile, here's the URL for a website that you might find helpful for MLA formatting. I'm not sure there's much more I need to add to this regarding how to quote and how to cite sources and list a bibliography. It's all here at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01 . If you find this site helpful in your formatting, please leave a comment to let me know. If you don't think it's sufficient for your needs, again, please leave a comment to let me know. It's important.
I hope you all have a great Paddy's Day weekend!
GC
I hope some of you are breathing a little easier this evening as a result of your reprieve with respect to the research assignment. Hopefully, those extra five days will allow you to do your best and take advantage of whatever help is available to you. I'd strongly urge some of you to go to the Writing Centre in the Science building for someone to look over your essay after you've written it.
Meanwhile, here's the URL for a website that you might find helpful for MLA formatting. I'm not sure there's much more I need to add to this regarding how to quote and how to cite sources and list a bibliography. It's all here at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01 . If you find this site helpful in your formatting, please leave a comment to let me know. If you don't think it's sufficient for your needs, again, please leave a comment to let me know. It's important.
I hope you all have a great Paddy's Day weekend!
GC
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Searching and Researching...
A lot of you seem to be having trouble knowing how to go about doing a search for your research papers. I’m not sure why this is the case, as I’ve never had so many students in a class before who are so bewildered about how to conduct research for an essay. My hunch, based on the fact that so many of you have told me you’ve never done a research essay before, is that the high school system has never taught you how to do it. The best thing I can do, I suppose, is forget the source of the problem (or what I assume is the source) and try to tackle the problem itself.
I’ll try the Q & A technique again and see if we can sort some things out.
Q. I’ve tried researching my topic (e.g. “playing God” in the novels Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), but I can’t find anything.
A. Several students have said this exact thing to me. First of all, you’re going to have to become creative in your method of research. Creative. That means jotting down ideas. Brainstorming. That’s a part of this whole exercise. Ask questions about your subject. Then answer them. Critical thinking doesn’t mean coming up with the right answers so much as it means coming up with better quality questions.
Your method of research all depends on what angle you’re going to take in your essay. For example, what are you ultimately going to be saying about the concept of “playing God”? What does it mean to “play God” anyway? What is a God? What does a God do? And what kind of behaviours (and words) from a character would allow you to say, “Oh, yeah, see there: he thinks he’s a bloody God, that one there!” (picture a Monty Python character saying that. It helps ease the tension you’re probably feeling.) Just let your thoughts go on paper a little bit. Write to yourself. You’re not being judged on it, but you might unscramble something and come up with two or three good ideas. Give up on the notion that you’ve got to be right, or that you might be wrong. Just write. Ask those questions, even if they seem silly. Nobody sees your brain farts except you, or at least at this stage. They can be smelled at a distance if you don’t clean them up before presenting them publicly, though.
Next, how are you going to research this idea of yours? There are several possible approaches. You could just look up essays on the two novels you’re working with. Another way is to look up characters’ names, such as “Victor Frankenstein”. Or try “Victor Frankenstein and God” or “Sciences and God” or “Science and Victor Frankenstein” or “Science and Mary Shelley.” That kind of thing. Try different ways to get at your topic.
You might find articles on Victor and/or Dr. Jekyll that might have a useful quote or two. Or an article about scientists playing God that you can apply to your paper and show that Victor and Henry Jekyll are playing God, according to this particular article that talks about scientists in general. Look up "biogenetics and Mary Shelley". These ideas might get you started, but as I say, you'll just have to get creative in your approach. Or you might think that Victor and Henry J. both look at knowledge as a religion. Consider that possibility and use it to do some research.
Originality is in the combination of things. The thing is, I can’t tell you that all ought to take a certain approach because every paper will be different. What I can tell you is to break your idea down into components by doing some brainstorming. Talk to someone else. Look up your subject in a dictionary or thesaurus for related words, then look up some of those words. But focus on the characters. You might not find an article on “playing God,” per se, but you might find an article on Victor Frankenstein’s (or Henry Jekyll’s) character and find some mention of traits that you think are God-like. You might use another article (one on, say, definitions of gods in western religion, or something like that) to decide on the characteristics of a God (or isolation, alienation, fatherhood, motherhood, gender differences, or anything else) and then use other articles or books that talk about the characters (or ideas) you’re discussing.
Let’s try a different example. Say you’re doing “isolation” in The Divine Ryans and A Bird in the House. (You don’t have to actually say it, just read what I’m about to say.) Well, ask yourself (on paper) what is isolation? Define its characteristics. Then go a step further and define its characteristics as it relates to your two novels. Which characters exemplify isolation? Who’s isolated from whom? In what way(s)? Of course, that will go back, necessarily, to your definition and list of qualities of isolation (same as with a god, fatherhood, motherhood, prejudice, and so on). First, get your ideas straight (by brainstorming, using a dictionary and/or thesaurus, and so on) about what something is. Second, figure out how it applies specifically to your novel (i.e. which characters are implicated). Third, look at how this subject of isolation causes characters to interact with each other, whether they are isolated or not. Go through the exercise and see if anything interesting comes up. Foruth, ask yourself (assuming you’ve looked up “isolation and The Divine Ryans” as a subject—one on which you’re not likely to find much material) whether there are other approaches. Are there other words for isolation (such as alienation or separation or segregation, for example)? Also, in what ways are you saying the characters are isolated? Do you mean: from each other? From society? From themselves? Emotionally disconnected? Spiritually cut off from god and/or mankind and/or themselves? Alone in the world? If any of these, ask yourself: why? What’s caused this isolation? What are its specific characteristics? What is its implications? What is its outcome and what are the implications of that outcome (for the novel as a whole, for specific relationships in the novel, I mean)? Fifth, look up information on Donald Ryan or Draper Doyle, or articles about Margaret Laurence’s writing in general. Are any of her characters (including those in A Bird in the House described as being alone, loners, isolated, inward-looking, or survivalists, and so on?). Look up anything you can find on the authors (in this case Wayne Johnston and Margaret Laurence). Maybe their characters or novels are talked about in some article or book. Find out what you can use.
There are tons of other things you can do, but this should get you started. The thing is that there is no need to feel stuck. You’re only as limited as your imagination and your work ethic.
Q. Can you tell me where to find the books or articles I should be looking at?
Usually, I won’t do that, whether I know of something or not. But the idea is for YOU to do the research, to learn how this is done. At this stage, it’s not so important that you find the right articles as that you learn HOW to find the right articles. One thing you could do, if you find an on-line article or a lone book or essay on a subject is to look at the bibliography or Works Cited pages and see if there’s a list of potential sources there. There might be some. In most cases, published articles are using the best possible, most up-to-date sources. Learn from the best, I always say. (Actually, I never say that, but it works here.)
Q. How do I know if a book has anything useful in it?
A. One way is by reading it or just skimming it, looking for key words. But a more practical approach would be to look in the alphabetically-arranged “Index” for some idea of whether your subject is discussed and, if it is, on what pages. Shortcuts are our friend. Also, check out the Table of Contents as a way of identifying major sections that might deal with your topic.
Q. Can I use the editorial material at the beginning or end of my textbook?
A. Yes, you can, if it helps your essay. But I still will expect you to use three more sources, minimum.
Q. Do I have to list every book and article I’ve used in my bibliography?
A. Yes. If you’ve gotten any ideas or used any quotes or words from a book or article, then you have to list it as a source. Otherwise, it’s called plagiarism.
I’ll post this for now. But I’ll look over it in the next day or so and post some more if some ideas come to me.
The main thing is to brainstorm. Be creative in your approach. Think it through. And don’t just panic because you don’t find your specific subject in the library. If it were that easy, why would you even have to write a research paper to begin with?
The idea is to do your best to write something original. And the best way to be original is to come up with ideas of your own and then allow other voices to enter your paper, whether they agree with you or not. If they agree with you, fine: they support your thesis. If they disagree, that’s fine too: use them to show you’ve considered their arguments, but you still think that your ideas are right (not necessarily that theirs is wrong, although that is a possibility).
I hope this helps some. Leave a comment or e-mail me at gnc@nf.sympatico.ca if you have more questions.
Good luck!
Next up: citation and quotation methods.
GC
I’ll try the Q & A technique again and see if we can sort some things out.
Q. I’ve tried researching my topic (e.g. “playing God” in the novels Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), but I can’t find anything.
A. Several students have said this exact thing to me. First of all, you’re going to have to become creative in your method of research. Creative. That means jotting down ideas. Brainstorming. That’s a part of this whole exercise. Ask questions about your subject. Then answer them. Critical thinking doesn’t mean coming up with the right answers so much as it means coming up with better quality questions.
Your method of research all depends on what angle you’re going to take in your essay. For example, what are you ultimately going to be saying about the concept of “playing God”? What does it mean to “play God” anyway? What is a God? What does a God do? And what kind of behaviours (and words) from a character would allow you to say, “Oh, yeah, see there: he thinks he’s a bloody God, that one there!” (picture a Monty Python character saying that. It helps ease the tension you’re probably feeling.) Just let your thoughts go on paper a little bit. Write to yourself. You’re not being judged on it, but you might unscramble something and come up with two or three good ideas. Give up on the notion that you’ve got to be right, or that you might be wrong. Just write. Ask those questions, even if they seem silly. Nobody sees your brain farts except you, or at least at this stage. They can be smelled at a distance if you don’t clean them up before presenting them publicly, though.
Next, how are you going to research this idea of yours? There are several possible approaches. You could just look up essays on the two novels you’re working with. Another way is to look up characters’ names, such as “Victor Frankenstein”. Or try “Victor Frankenstein and God” or “Sciences and God” or “Science and Victor Frankenstein” or “Science and Mary Shelley.” That kind of thing. Try different ways to get at your topic.
You might find articles on Victor and/or Dr. Jekyll that might have a useful quote or two. Or an article about scientists playing God that you can apply to your paper and show that Victor and Henry Jekyll are playing God, according to this particular article that talks about scientists in general. Look up "biogenetics and Mary Shelley". These ideas might get you started, but as I say, you'll just have to get creative in your approach. Or you might think that Victor and Henry J. both look at knowledge as a religion. Consider that possibility and use it to do some research.
Originality is in the combination of things. The thing is, I can’t tell you that all ought to take a certain approach because every paper will be different. What I can tell you is to break your idea down into components by doing some brainstorming. Talk to someone else. Look up your subject in a dictionary or thesaurus for related words, then look up some of those words. But focus on the characters. You might not find an article on “playing God,” per se, but you might find an article on Victor Frankenstein’s (or Henry Jekyll’s) character and find some mention of traits that you think are God-like. You might use another article (one on, say, definitions of gods in western religion, or something like that) to decide on the characteristics of a God (or isolation, alienation, fatherhood, motherhood, gender differences, or anything else) and then use other articles or books that talk about the characters (or ideas) you’re discussing.
Let’s try a different example. Say you’re doing “isolation” in The Divine Ryans and A Bird in the House. (You don’t have to actually say it, just read what I’m about to say.) Well, ask yourself (on paper) what is isolation? Define its characteristics. Then go a step further and define its characteristics as it relates to your two novels. Which characters exemplify isolation? Who’s isolated from whom? In what way(s)? Of course, that will go back, necessarily, to your definition and list of qualities of isolation (same as with a god, fatherhood, motherhood, prejudice, and so on). First, get your ideas straight (by brainstorming, using a dictionary and/or thesaurus, and so on) about what something is. Second, figure out how it applies specifically to your novel (i.e. which characters are implicated). Third, look at how this subject of isolation causes characters to interact with each other, whether they are isolated or not. Go through the exercise and see if anything interesting comes up. Foruth, ask yourself (assuming you’ve looked up “isolation and The Divine Ryans” as a subject—one on which you’re not likely to find much material) whether there are other approaches. Are there other words for isolation (such as alienation or separation or segregation, for example)? Also, in what ways are you saying the characters are isolated? Do you mean: from each other? From society? From themselves? Emotionally disconnected? Spiritually cut off from god and/or mankind and/or themselves? Alone in the world? If any of these, ask yourself: why? What’s caused this isolation? What are its specific characteristics? What is its implications? What is its outcome and what are the implications of that outcome (for the novel as a whole, for specific relationships in the novel, I mean)? Fifth, look up information on Donald Ryan or Draper Doyle, or articles about Margaret Laurence’s writing in general. Are any of her characters (including those in A Bird in the House described as being alone, loners, isolated, inward-looking, or survivalists, and so on?). Look up anything you can find on the authors (in this case Wayne Johnston and Margaret Laurence). Maybe their characters or novels are talked about in some article or book. Find out what you can use.
There are tons of other things you can do, but this should get you started. The thing is that there is no need to feel stuck. You’re only as limited as your imagination and your work ethic.
Q. Can you tell me where to find the books or articles I should be looking at?
Usually, I won’t do that, whether I know of something or not. But the idea is for YOU to do the research, to learn how this is done. At this stage, it’s not so important that you find the right articles as that you learn HOW to find the right articles. One thing you could do, if you find an on-line article or a lone book or essay on a subject is to look at the bibliography or Works Cited pages and see if there’s a list of potential sources there. There might be some. In most cases, published articles are using the best possible, most up-to-date sources. Learn from the best, I always say. (Actually, I never say that, but it works here.)
Q. How do I know if a book has anything useful in it?
A. One way is by reading it or just skimming it, looking for key words. But a more practical approach would be to look in the alphabetically-arranged “Index” for some idea of whether your subject is discussed and, if it is, on what pages. Shortcuts are our friend. Also, check out the Table of Contents as a way of identifying major sections that might deal with your topic.
Q. Can I use the editorial material at the beginning or end of my textbook?
A. Yes, you can, if it helps your essay. But I still will expect you to use three more sources, minimum.
Q. Do I have to list every book and article I’ve used in my bibliography?
A. Yes. If you’ve gotten any ideas or used any quotes or words from a book or article, then you have to list it as a source. Otherwise, it’s called plagiarism.
I’ll post this for now. But I’ll look over it in the next day or so and post some more if some ideas come to me.
The main thing is to brainstorm. Be creative in your approach. Think it through. And don’t just panic because you don’t find your specific subject in the library. If it were that easy, why would you even have to write a research paper to begin with?
The idea is to do your best to write something original. And the best way to be original is to come up with ideas of your own and then allow other voices to enter your paper, whether they agree with you or not. If they agree with you, fine: they support your thesis. If they disagree, that’s fine too: use them to show you’ve considered their arguments, but you still think that your ideas are right (not necessarily that theirs is wrong, although that is a possibility).
I hope this helps some. Leave a comment or e-mail me at gnc@nf.sympatico.ca if you have more questions.
Good luck!
Next up: citation and quotation methods.
GC
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Help Is on the Way!
I know a lot of you have been checking out this blog in the past few days, looking for some advice and info on your upcoming essays. I've been awfully busy and haven't been able to find time for it. But in the days to come, I assure you, I will find time to talk about the research essays, quotation and citation methods, and how to prepare for the upcoming in-class essay. Thanks for being patient with me. I'll be writing something soon.
GC
GC
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Reminders: Library Class and Office Hours
Wednesday's English 1101 classes (March 7) have been moved to the library for an instructional session on how to research materials for your upcoming research essay for English 1101. Your instructor will be Ms. Wendy Rodgers. It's a good time to find out the answers to some of your questions regarding how to use the library to find sources. Room: L-1015/1016
Also, on Wednesday, please note that I've cancelled my office hour (11 a.m.-12 noon) for that day only.
Later this week, I'll be blogging about methods of quotation and citation for research essays.
GC
Also, on Wednesday, please note that I've cancelled my office hour (11 a.m.-12 noon) for that day only.
Later this week, I'll be blogging about methods of quotation and citation for research essays.
GC
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sunday News and Research Essay Proposals
Sunday morning and it's finally stopped snowing...for now. The sun is almost shining and the birds are almost singing (I'm sure the ones in Florida or some South American country actually are singing). But it's March madness time, which means I'm grading essays while you're writing them. It has always been thus and thus 'twill always be, I suspect.
The research essay proposals are due tomorrow and so I realized that I needed to blog a little about them.
The proposals aren't intended to be too formal; they're just meant to give me an idea of what you'll be writing about and also to get you started in thinking about your topic and approach. All I want is a working title, the titles of the two novels you're comparing (it is a comparative essay, after all), a thesis statement, and a paragraph about your intended procudure.
1. The working title.
This is subject to change, but do the best you can for now. The standard would be something like this:
Fathers and Children in A Bird in the House and The Divine Ryans.
You should try to work in the titles of the novels somehow, even if you have to use them in a subtitle:
e.g. Losing My Religion: A Study of Shifting Morals in Frankenstein and A Bird in the House.
2. List the novels you're working on.
3. Thesis statement: e.g. In both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House, various characters exchange their old beliefs for a new perspective on God and the place of religion in their lives.
4. The explanation of procedure: I intend to discuss the change that characters in these two novels undergo as a result of watching the people around them. In Frankenstein, major characters such as Victor, the creature, Elizabeth and Walton all begin life with a certain view of how the world should be, according to their own notions of fate and faith. In A Bird in the House, there is a similar shift in values, particularly for the narrator, Vanessa McLeod, as she grows up in Manawaka. In both novels, the characters lose innocence as a result of knowledge, but that sense of naivete is replaced by something more substantial and based on so-called reality rather than a fantasy or lies. I will also point out the differences between these characters and novels wherever possible.
That's all. Just show that you've give it some thought, even if you're just working your way through it. Notice in the last sentence, I suggested that I would show differences when, really, I only know generally that I will try while avoiding specifics for now. When you write your paper, of course, you will be more specific. For now, I just want to know that you have some idea of what you're going to do.
Hope this helps some. Oh, and write it on a single sheet of paper, keep it neat and legible. Your name, course number, and date should be at the top of the page.
Back to grading essays.
GC
The research essay proposals are due tomorrow and so I realized that I needed to blog a little about them.
The proposals aren't intended to be too formal; they're just meant to give me an idea of what you'll be writing about and also to get you started in thinking about your topic and approach. All I want is a working title, the titles of the two novels you're comparing (it is a comparative essay, after all), a thesis statement, and a paragraph about your intended procudure.
1. The working title.
This is subject to change, but do the best you can for now. The standard would be something like this:
Fathers and Children in A Bird in the House and The Divine Ryans.
You should try to work in the titles of the novels somehow, even if you have to use them in a subtitle:
e.g. Losing My Religion: A Study of Shifting Morals in Frankenstein and A Bird in the House.
2. List the novels you're working on.
3. Thesis statement: e.g. In both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House, various characters exchange their old beliefs for a new perspective on God and the place of religion in their lives.
4. The explanation of procedure: I intend to discuss the change that characters in these two novels undergo as a result of watching the people around them. In Frankenstein, major characters such as Victor, the creature, Elizabeth and Walton all begin life with a certain view of how the world should be, according to their own notions of fate and faith. In A Bird in the House, there is a similar shift in values, particularly for the narrator, Vanessa McLeod, as she grows up in Manawaka. In both novels, the characters lose innocence as a result of knowledge, but that sense of naivete is replaced by something more substantial and based on so-called reality rather than a fantasy or lies. I will also point out the differences between these characters and novels wherever possible.
That's all. Just show that you've give it some thought, even if you're just working your way through it. Notice in the last sentence, I suggested that I would show differences when, really, I only know generally that I will try while avoiding specifics for now. When you write your paper, of course, you will be more specific. For now, I just want to know that you have some idea of what you're going to do.
Hope this helps some. Oh, and write it on a single sheet of paper, keep it neat and legible. Your name, course number, and date should be at the top of the page.
Back to grading essays.
GC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
