project writing seminar

1. camelia elias project writing seminar

2. making roadmaps and dividing the labor • you simply translate your problem formulation into a table of contents, chapters, roadmap • you divide the labour • don’t make crude distinctions: ‘I do history, you do theory, you do analysis’. • collaborate on all the parts in your project if you want your project to be coherent and cohesive

3. developing the problem formulation • the thesis statement or problem formulation is that sentence or two in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the essay is going to be about. • the problem formulation is also a good test for the scope of your intent. • the principle to remember is that when you try to do too much, you end up doing less or nothing at all

4. types of questions for the formulation of a topic of interest • what, how, and why • what fascinated you about your topic? • what connections did you see among the various sources you read • how does your general idea match the other ideas in your preliminary outline • why is it significant to conduct a study on your topic?

5. the point of a research question • a research question will have to reflect the way in which you try to advance your own argument. • a good ‘problem formulation’ will contain: • either an assumption, or a problem • a thesis • a method • a point of view

6. the research question in context • make a general assumption • narrow down your premise • back it up with evidence  demonstrate by illustrating • limit the discussion to engaging with one idea at a time • the thesis statement/research question should remain flexible until the paper is actually finished.

7. writing the first draft and creating an introduction • try to formulate an introduction in each part that asserts a straightforward thesis • the introduction: • establishes the focus of your subject • attracts the attention of your readers • asserts the purpose of your paper

8. things NOT to do in an introductory paragraph • apologize • let the reader guess what your purpose is • make unfounded generalizations • deviate from your focus • make irrelevant statements • quote uninspiring texts

9. quoting sources • you quote ad verbatim when a passage is essential to the advancement of your argument • or you need it to illustrate exactly what you need to demonstrate • you don’t want to quote uninspired and unintelligent writing • you don’t quote just for the sake of dropping names • if your quotation is less than 4 lines, than you may place it along your own writing (still in quotation marks and with a parenthetical source of reference) • summary and paraphrase also need to be accredited

10. plagiarism • is the use of a direct quotation without indicating the source • copying a table, chart or other data • summarizing and paraphrasing in your own words without mentioning what texts inspired you • read more here: http://www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/pages/plagiarism.html

11. references • use the author/date system (the Harvard Style or the APA style) • see a webpage with examples here: • http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/apa/ • EX: • in-text citations • (Garner, 2003: 33) • in your bibliography list: • Garner, B. A. (2003). Garner's Modern American Usage. New York: Oxford University Press.