I found John Swales' article on creating a research space to be quite useful, because there is nothing worse than feeling as though you are rewriting something that has been said a billion times before (or having to read a paper like that). Finding my own niche is really the only motivating aspect of writing papers for me; to spend ten pages merely rewording what is already out there is the most dismal task I can imagine. I like that he presents us with different options for each step of the process. These will probably be pretty useful when it comes to our upcoming assignment.
I couldn't bring myself to read the entirety of Margaret Kantz's article because I know what she is getting at and I don't need to read a 10 page anecdote to understand. Most students, when they first start writing, simply summarize the information that they have found in their academic papers. They do not realize that they need to add their own original twist on the information that is already out there in order to avoid summary. I know this article because this was my own experience upon coming to college. My freshman composition teacher taught us that we needed to have an argument. Since then I have prided myself on coming up with original arguments for my paper, as well as a structure that is loosely based on logical syllogisms. If A and B then C. I get what she's saying, because my entire English degree has been comprised of writing these kind of papers all the time. If I had known this going into it, I probably would have chosen a different major.
How often do you research criticism about a work in literature before you come up with your own argument?
ReplyDeleteI agree there is no worse feeling than that of when you feel like you're saying something that has been said over and over, as if everything has been said and there is no hope for further original thought. I also agree about the Kantz article. I read the whole thing but by the last half I felt that the point had pretty much been made.
ReplyDelete