Assignment 2 - I-Lecture: Essay Writing and Perspective

Comments:
From the topics discussed in Lecture 1, take your favourite and discuss it as follows:
The way in which every day life and Internet is interlaced and how one affects the other
Social change on the Internet
Ways in which everyday life and the Internet may NOT be interlaced (minor and optional, but good for balance. Don't put too much emphasis on this - the focus is on the contrary of NOT.

Use the outline of Module one (incorrectly numbered 1.1) to find an analytical approach on the topic of choice. Particularly the introduction and Study Guide.

The essence of an essay is a set of assumptions. The key about assignments is having a brief moment where you spread out these assumptions prior to starting on the essay. Present them to critique. These are the foundations for my thesis.

Use the patterns you have recognised running through the topics of module 1.

NOTE!! Read the stuff presented on Blackboard at Net102 about essay writing. It will be recognised in your work.

1. Personal experience - where you are encouraged to value, but critically assess, the way you see issues and events from your own experience and individual contexts.
2. Public debate and discourse - where we look at how events and issues are reported, made 'public', in ways that transform the 'experiences' into material that reflects discursive norms and expectations
3. Academic critique - where we are to explore assumptions, not take things for granted, to look beyond both the 'I' of personal experience and the 'we' of normative society (the first 2 perspectives)

Take this into account and use it to plan the essay before actually writing it.

Introduction: Topic & context, thesis - 'I think that...', '...my opinion is that...' Underline with two or three major points.

Middle section with paragraphs each supporting and explaining the statements I made in the introduction. Start with a claim supporting one of the points made in the introduction. Then provide examples and explanations to support this point. Organise in the same sequence as tghe broader points made in the introduction.


State what makes you think this is - supporting my argument. Link to the thesis.

Conclusion: Should be almost a mirror image of the introduction. Restate the thesis. A projection of the future is not expected in a University Essay!


Hint on paraphrasing:
Dunn & Bradshaw (1997) said that ......
It was Abe Lincoln (1887) who first stated that...

Paraphrasing on material that has been cited in other sources:
Dunn & Bradshaw (cited in Livingstone 2001) said that...
It was Abe Licoln (cited in Williams 1960) who first stated that...

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

Not using an introduction in which you briefly lay out for the reader what your main conclusions are, how you will demonstrate why you believe them, and engage the reader’s attention.
Solution: write the introduction last, once you know exactly what it is you argue and conclude, and when the essay is finished, make sure the first paragraph is an introduction to YOUR essay!

Not being consistent throughout the essay in their approach, views and arguments
Solution: go back over your work to make sure you haven’t changed your mind halfway through.

Writing ‘sweeping generalisations’ that, very easily, can be shown to be incorrect (for example ‘These days, it’s easy for everyone to access to the Internet via the World Wide Web’)
Solution: be more precise and careful in how you write; add qualifiers to such generalisations (The WWW has made it easier for many people in Australia to access the Internet). Back up your claims with referenced examples, or supporting evidence.

Not giving reasons for claims ( example ‘The WWW has made it easier for many people in Australia to access the Internet’)
Solution: write to make your point and back it up (‘The WWW has made it easier for many people in Australia to access the Internet because it requires much less technical sophistication than previous Internet applications’

Apostrophes
Solution: never write “it’s”. If you mean “it is” then write “it is”; if you mean “of it” then write “its”. “It’s cold today = It is cold today”; “The cost of its operation… = The cost of the operation of it…”

Not referencing properly because they either (a) use the words of someone else and don’t acknowledge it (cheating) or (b) don’t realise that, even if they are not quoting exactly, they still need to reference where they got the idea from.
Solution: whether you quote exactly or simply use the ideas from somewhere else, reference: provide details of the book/ article and the page number if appropriate in the body of the essay NOT just in a bibliography

Not using signposts, and thus the essay moves from one point to the next with no sense, to the reader, that it is connected.
Solution: Include short phrases and words that create a ‘flow’ between and within paragraphs (ie, “Given the problem just outlined, it is important also to consider…”). The reader needs to be told where they are going and why.

Relatedly, paragraphs that are too long, too short, not clearly relevant.
Revisit Dawson's powerpoint on paragraphing, and also work through this site on Constructing Effective Paragraphs.

Not including a conclusion that ties your essay together.
Solution: go over your essay making sure your argument is clear. Then reassert this in your conclusion explaining briefly what it is that you have done/what is the answer to the question.