I’m back at school to be the best writer I can be. Prior to starting the course I had always considered myself a ‘discovery’ writer, happy just to let the story unfold on the page. You can’t get away with this (for long) in academia and I’m finding that the disciplines I’m learning in order to write a well constructed, well researched essay are transferable to my fiction writing. Here’s a copy of of the notes I include as a reminder to myself when starting an assignment.
Essay Structure
- An essay is made up of Intro – Body – Conclusion.
- Body is made up of paragraphs.
- Paragraphs are made up of point, quote, comment.
- Each paragraph should transition into the next one smoothly.
Essay Process
- Read Essay Title / Question (Twice)
- Read guidance notes and corresponding materials
- Brainstorm / Mindmap / Freewrite
- Collect evidence for your argument (Only use the best pithy quotations) Summarise the other evidence and cite.
- Write a thesis statement (Bottom Line Up Front – BLUF)
- Create an essay outline
- Write a draft
- Copy / Edit
- Ensure good presentation.
Note Taking
I also started using the Cornell Note Taking Method for steps 1-4 above and when attending tutorials. The notes are thick and fast but the review sections afterwards are really helping. Here’s a link to the Cornell page but you can get lots more information about it from Google. http://lsc.sas.cornell.edu/Sidebars/Study_Skills_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf
NoteBooks
I’m very disorganised. High-lighters, post-it notes, files and folders. I’ve lost them all. I’ve learned that I need to keep my note taking as simple as possible. I now use a single notebook with the Cornell template. On each page I have the subject in the top left of the page and the date in the top right so I can find it later. After a lot of experimentation I settled on using Moleskine notebooks. These can be quite pricey but are the best notebooks I have ever used. Beautiful to write in and will last for years of referencing afterwards. The best price I have found for them is on Amazon.co.uk.
Assessing Historical Evidence
Answer the 5 questions when accessing a historical piece of text. Don’t ask them, just answer them. Set the scene about where it came from.
1.Who wrote it.
2. who was the intended audience.
3.When was it written (how close to the event).
4. Why type of document is it (public, private, official etc).
5.What is it’s historical context?
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