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FR123 [14-15]

Essay - some advice

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FR123 - Litterature Et Societe Du Xxe Siecle 2 [2014-15]

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Essay - some advice

by Eamon O'Ciosain - Saturday, 2 May 2015, 5:39 PM
Chers tudiants, chres tudiantes,
Some of you have asked questions about how you should write or put together the essay.
You have probably had some talks on essay writing before now in the university, but I would
add a few suggestions which come from the French department's approach to critical
assignments. Firstly, you are being asked to relate the topic of the essay to the texts you have
read and to what has been said about them in the book we used. You may also use analyses
from the books listed in the bibliography about the short story in general, whether the critical
books you consult are in English or French. If you do quote from them, do so when it is
relevant, not just for the sake of mentioning them. Always acknowledge the quotation, either by
mentioning the source at the end of the quote, or by use of a footnote.
You are being asked to develop your own analysis of the stories, from your reading of them
and from what we have read in class. I am not expecting to see my own notes come back in
your essays. Those notes were by way of guiding you and are not the divine word or the last
word about the stories. I am more interested in reading your own critical analysis of the stories
than in hearing echoes! You should also try to follow the French method of essay-writing in one
respect: begin by defining what you take the subject to mean, what the words and terms in it
mean. If you do so, you are much less likely to stray off the subject, because you have clarified
it for yourself.
One further point on what your essay should contain: avoid summarising the stories: your
lecturer(s) have read the works and know what the stories are. It is more about using events,
details, passages from the stories to support your own point of view than telling the story over
again!

And finally, on what we call academic practice - originality issues, if you know what I mean.
Please do not use Google Translate or online translation software. The result is usually
unintelligible, surreal, a string of words which don't make sense, or are at best wacky, comical
and bear no relation to what you might have been trying to say. Also: avoid cutting and pasting
sources into the essay with a view to passing them off as your own. They stand out, we usually
know them and using such methods will lose you marks. It is your essay, not someone else's. If
you do use a quotation to support your argument, as I have said above, always indicate the
source. This will help your essay and not lose marks.
Bon courage
Eamon Ciosin
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