Writing the research-theoretical text

1. Writing the research-theoretical text Linda Lai April 9, 2009 SM4140

2. What is a “research-theoretical text”? *It is a written document in which you provide a general discussion of your Final Work. *Information you have used in your proposal or interim report… Personal or informed reason for the design of project + theorist, artists and their sample works you have consulted + Progress (how your proceed, your plan, problems encountered…) …should now be condensed and restructured into a concise “background” session

3. Research-theoretical text A general statement (about 4 - 6 pages) describing the motive, creative concept and a summary of what you have achieved. Certainly, in the case of many projects, it may even be reasonable and necessary to describe how the project changes along the process and what you have learned with the changes. There is no standard way to write a research-theoretical text. But think of what may help a stranger in a few pages to grasp a general understanding of your work before s/he actually sees it. Think of how to prepare your potential audience in case your work is shown elsewhere and audience need a good introduction. To your advisers, it is a statement to re-assure them your work is based on in-depth research and grounded on some conceptual thinking you acquired at SCM.

4. What is a “research-theoretical text”? A theoretical text should comprise of the following: *a thesis paragraph (1st paragraph) that is the summary of everything that is important to the project using appropriate keywords forming athesis statement. (see later session…) It should be an assertion OR key questions + a concise answer *background (see last slide) (Ask yourself the question at the end of the compilation of content: what is the one key point I want to communicate with this? In what sense is this background significant? Anything I can drop?) *a thorough discussion of your work (There is no standard model way to do this. It is about how well you understand your work and its significance. However, the following are reasonable components…) Design of your work: physical   conceptual What questions does it raise and answer? What existing works can form a dialogue with yours? (your own and famous works)

5. outline A research-theoretical text is a general statement (about 4 - 6 pages) describing the motive, creative concept and a summary of what you have achieved. For a more thorough outline, you may consider: (1) State your thesis. (2) Background: what have you learned, experienced, and come across that take you to conceive your current project? (3) What have people done who have a similar concern as yours? (This is also where to summarized the key theoretical or creative examples you have researched.) (4) Your own approach: describe, methods, processes, …use anecdotes (little stories showing your experience) whenever relevant. (5) What you have discover…/ important discoveries… (6) Use theoretical terms and concepts to restate your motive, concept, method and discovery.

6. The process of writing the research-theoretical text *start with identifying the keywords for our project. *the most important of the keywords should form and be included in the thesis statement. *the thesis statement itself is the outline and summary conclusion of the research-theoretical text.

7. Keywords Diversity Hierarchy Paradigm ↓ Thesis (working thesis) ↓ Work title

8. Keywords Diversity Hierarchy Paradigm (1) List all the keywords you can come up with for your project. Show the list of keywords to your classmates… How does the list sound? What kind of impression does it deliver? Very personal? Intellectual? Very institutional-oriented? Full of binary oppositions? Etc. (2) Classify your key words (with the help of a divergent mind map), give a (class) name to the different types. • a/ do you have too few types or too many types? What “class names” are missing? Any need to add more classes? • b/ Within each class, any need to expand the number of keywords? Any need to reduce the keywords? The collection of keywords are crucial as the list would give us a clearer picture of what compounds our project. It also alerts us to fill in the gaps.

9. Keywords Diversity Hierarchy Paradigm “Hierarchy” means a structure of relations that shows what is higher and what is lower. Another way to use the keyword list to help you is to check whether they form a vertical relationship • Some keywords are simply synonyms of others… • Some keywords elaborate other keywords and should be brought under them… • Some keywords are examples of other keywords The idea of “hierarchy” should help you to turn all your keywords from a list into a TREE. This exercise is especially helpful if you have too many ideas and you want to find out what the one single (or several) idea(s) is (are) that is (are) central and cannot do without. The words at the top or first two lever of your trees are those that you must include in your thesis statement.

10. Keywords Diversity Hierarchy Paradigm While “hierarchy” shows vertical relation in the form of a tree, “paradigm” is a horizontalview of the inter-relation between the keywords. The paradigm your keywords form can be imagined as: • A venn diagram • A process (journey) in steps a procedures • Oppositional pairs, triads, … • A sequence that shows a process of transformation The point is NOT to form a paradigm for its own sake. It is an additional mental exercise to sharpen your understanding for your own project. For those of you whose project involves multiple tasks and more than one objectives, this exercise challenge you to see the dynamic relation between the different tasks and maintain the right balance.

11. Now before discussing the purpose of a thesis, please: • Identify those keywords on your list that are inevitable, i.e. so important that they must be kept no matter what. Confine yourselves to 3 to 4 keywords. 2. Use the keywords you pick to form a complete sentence that summarizes the discovery of your project. This is your thesis.

12. Keywords into thesis statement Keywords Thesis A complete sentence that describes a position. The sentence should include the most important of the keywords. The position contained in the thesis should be something that forms an argument and therefore needs justification / illustration / the creation of a work to explore it. A thesis is comparable to the final conclusion or discovery of your GT. [a tentative working thesis…]

13. Check your thesis (statement)… *Is it a complete sentence? *Are all the keywords in significant positions of the sentence? *Is this telling us too much? *Is any of the words used misleading? *Does the overall sentence give a fair impression of the type of project you’re working on? This is NOT just purely a writing exercise. It is a test of how clear you are already regarding the discovery of your project, and whether the theory, methods and argumentation hang together logically.

14. An example The following is a possible thesis statement of Linda’s own Ph.D. dissertation: Looking at the story of time (history) from a spatial approach,(1) I discover the city of HK and traces of cinema in 1934 (2)by taking a few virtual walks through a few main transportation routes,(3)supplemented by an interdisciplinary analysis of the paradigm of ideal citizenship in the 14 local films made that year.(4) (1) This phrase describes the theoretical position I use: to invent a view of history that emphasizes space over time. This position decides the research and writing method I use, and the kind of material I need to study and collect. My theoretical position sets up space and time in contrast. (2) This describes the outcome of my thesis. Emphasis is given to: a/ “discover” – my thesis demonstrates the process that takes me through to my conclusion, i.e. I did not begin with stating what I have discover; and b/ “traces” – which is a key theoretical position I argue for in contrast to realism in history-writing. (3) This describes the methodology, also the writing (narrative) method of my dissertation: indeed, construct what I see and hear as I imagine myself walking through the main roads of HK in 1934. This also suggest the kind of raw material I collected in my archival research. (4) A chapter of the thesis + my revision on the use of textual analysis in a historical study on film culture. In italics are my keywords.

15. motive Background Purpose Queries Which of the keywords on your list belongs here?

16. creative concept The work Treatment to the work Theories covered in your work Which of the keywords on your list belongs here?

17. What you have achieved The work produced… The theories explored, debated… Experience created… The issues explored and your NEW insights… Creative method you have invented… What’s strong and special about your work? Which of the keywords on your list belongs here?

18. It may even be reasonable and necessary to describe how the project changes along the process and what you have learned with the changes.

19. changes

20. process

21. what you have learned with the changes

22. To your advisers, it is a statement to re-assure them your work is based on in-depth research and grounded on some conceptual thinking you acquired at SCM.

23. based on in-depth research Start early to select useful quotes from your theoretical and creative research… Cite them in your research-theoretical text.

24. conceptual thinking It is a good test to describe your ideas with terms you have learned. It is also a good exercise to try to come up with an analogy or a metaphor to describe the process and method of your work.

25. Think of what may help a stranger in a few pages to grasp a general understanding of your work before s/he actually sees it. Use the simplest way possible to describe your theories. Use wordings that an ordinary person would understand.

26. a stranger’s position Turn your theory into easy-to-understand questions. e.g. “perception”  Why do we call a circle the moon?

27. general understanding Make connection between your work (exploration) and everyday life. Find the linkage

28. Monica Chan (2007) a personal approach (a personal quest) + issue-oriented theoretical discussion Jolene Mok (2007) KEYWROD THESIS governing the overall plan of essay http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/fyp/0607/50454430/GT/index.html Lilian Fu (2007) KEYWROD THESIS / “I”-oriented / writer-as-thinker, in self dialogue, appealing for help from other thinkers Chan Kwun-yee (Arfee) (2008) Theoretical questions + detailed strategies to challenge existing views http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/fyp/0708/50692653/fyp/index.html sample essays…