Style Sheet and Guidelines for the Essay
The essay should be about 2500 words in length. Use double or 1,5 spacing. Leave a
wide margin. Proofread your essay carefully. There should be no grammatical or
spelling mistakes. As papers can and sometimes do get lost, you should always keep a
copy.
When writing on one (or more) of the course’s themes, try to relate to the read texts
during the seminars, especially as to theoretical framework. Do use at least 4 new
articles/books for your essay.
HOW TO WRITE THE ESSAY
Planning
1. A good essay is a unity; all the parts fit. A clear plan of your argument will help
you to find the best words to convey it and the most effective form with which to
express it. Clear thinking and successful expression are always linked.
2. Be aware of your topic. A clear aim is essential, with a firm grasp of your argument.
This can be sketched out in headings that provide a map of your essay.
3. Writing can clarify and improve thinking. At an elementary stage you may
assemble words and constructions as if you were compiling a catalogue; as you
advance in confidence and skill your statements will become more fluent, more
coherent. So your plan should be general enough to allow for the development of new
ideas, but exact enough to guide you in each stage.
4. Planning your essay, then, is a fundamental part of writing, whatever language you
intend to use. Good planning means effective writing.
Putting it into words
1. Writing is a special kind of communication. It involves you with a reader. When
you speak you have a range of supporting skills – your tone of voice, your facial
expression, your hands, a shrug of your shoulders. Above all, you can try different
words until you are understood.
2. When you speak you have a listener whose reactions help you to convey your ideas.
Successful speech involves two parties, speaker and listener. In writing you also have
two parties, writer and reader, but the relationship differs because the controls have
changed. You no longer have the chance to repeat yourself, or to use physical gestures.
3. You may not see your readers, but you must always anticipate their reactions. A
good writer will always be able to put him- or herself in the reader’s position. The
writer must, in fact, lead a double life, projecting himself into the reader’s role.
4. It is important to remember that in writing you have only the words on the page.
Therefore the words you choose and the arrangement you impose on them must
reflect most accurately the point you want to get across. Avoid self-evident statements
and sweeping generalizations.
The essay should be about 2500 words in length. Use double or 1,5 spacing. Leave a
wide margin. Proofread your essay carefully. There should be no grammatical or
spelling mistakes. As papers can and sometimes do get lost, you should always keep a
copy.
When writing on one (or more) of the course’s themes, try to relate to the read texts
during the seminars, especially as to theoretical framework. Do use at least 4 new
articles/books for your essay.
HOW TO WRITE THE ESSAY
Planning
1. A good essay is a unity; all the parts fit. A clear plan of your argument will help
you to find the best words to convey it and the most effective form with which to
express it. Clear thinking and successful expression are always linked.
2. Be aware of your topic. A clear aim is essential, with a firm grasp of your argument.
This can be sketched out in headings that provide a map of your essay.
3. Writing can clarify and improve thinking. At an elementary stage you may
assemble words and constructions as if you were compiling a catalogue; as you
advance in confidence and skill your statements will become more fluent, more
coherent. So your plan should be general enough to allow for the development of new
ideas, but exact enough to guide you in each stage.
4. Planning your essay, then, is a fundamental part of writing, whatever language you
intend to use. Good planning means effective writing.
Putting it into words
1. Writing is a special kind of communication. It involves you with a reader. When
you speak you have a range of supporting skills – your tone of voice, your facial
expression, your hands, a shrug of your shoulders. Above all, you can try different
words until you are understood.
2. When you speak you have a listener whose reactions help you to convey your ideas.
Successful speech involves two parties, speaker and listener. In writing you also have
two parties, writer and reader, but the relationship differs because the controls have
changed. You no longer have the chance to repeat yourself, or to use physical gestures.
3. You may not see your readers, but you must always anticipate their reactions. A
good writer will always be able to put him- or herself in the reader’s position. The
writer must, in fact, lead a double life, projecting himself into the reader’s role.
4. It is important to remember that in writing you have only the words on the page.
Therefore the words you choose and the arrangement you impose on them must
reflect most accurately the point you want to get across. Avoid self-evident statements
and sweeping generalizations.
STRUCTURE
Beginning
Your introductory paragraph should contain a thesis statement, the one main point you
will develop and support. The first sentences of your paper must serve two functions:
a) they must lead up to your thesis statement, and b) they must provide enough
context for a reader not familiar with the text to understand your remarks. The
opening sentences usually also introduces the title and author(s) of the work to be
discussed. A sentence like: ‘In various essays Oliver Goldsmith and David Hume, two
eighteenth-century British philosophers, argue that national identity is shaped by
diverse factors’ is to be preferred over a sentence like: ‘Oliver Goldsmith and David
Hume have differing views’.
Supporting paragraphs
The main body of your paper will consist of paragraphs providing evidence to support
your thesis statement. In each paragraph no more than one topic should be discussed.
Each paragraph should end with one, or possibly two, transitional sentence(s)
[‘linker(s)’]. This will make the connection clear between one paragraph and the next.
Sometimes a ‘linking’ word is helpful: a word used in the final sentence of one
paragraph and repeated in the topic sentence of the next.
Final paragraph
In your concluding paragraph should sum up your argument and provide some final,
strong evidence in support of your thesis statement. You should, however, avoid
providing comments which are personal, colloquial or mere empty phrases. ‘I am
shocked by the ideas of Oliver Goldsmith’ would be an inappropriate ending.
References
References to and quotations from texts should always be acknowledged, usually by
means of a footnote.
For instance: Oliver Goldsmith, ‘A Comparative View of Race and Nations’(1760). In
Arthur Friedman
(ed.). Collected Works by Oliver Goldsmith (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), p. 68.
Bibliography
A bibliography list should be included at the end of the essay.
On the use of Ibid. and op.cit. in footnotes
Ibid. means ‘the same’. Example:
1 Author A, Title A (place of publication: publisher, year), p. 5
2 Ibid. p. 8.
Op.cit. means ‘cited before’. Example:
1 Author A, Title A (etc.)
2 Author B, Title B, (etc.)
3 Author A, op. cit., p. 11.
A CAUTIONARY NOTE: AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
In all those cases where outside material (critical essays etc.) has actually influenced
what you say about the literary work in question (or how you say it), credit must be
given where it is due. Avoid plagiarism (borrowing someone else’s language without
Beginning
Your introductory paragraph should contain a thesis statement, the one main point you
will develop and support. The first sentences of your paper must serve two functions:
a) they must lead up to your thesis statement, and b) they must provide enough
context for a reader not familiar with the text to understand your remarks. The
opening sentences usually also introduces the title and author(s) of the work to be
discussed. A sentence like: ‘In various essays Oliver Goldsmith and David Hume, two
eighteenth-century British philosophers, argue that national identity is shaped by
diverse factors’ is to be preferred over a sentence like: ‘Oliver Goldsmith and David
Hume have differing views’.
Supporting paragraphs
The main body of your paper will consist of paragraphs providing evidence to support
your thesis statement. In each paragraph no more than one topic should be discussed.
Each paragraph should end with one, or possibly two, transitional sentence(s)
[‘linker(s)’]. This will make the connection clear between one paragraph and the next.
Sometimes a ‘linking’ word is helpful: a word used in the final sentence of one
paragraph and repeated in the topic sentence of the next.
Final paragraph
In your concluding paragraph should sum up your argument and provide some final,
strong evidence in support of your thesis statement. You should, however, avoid
providing comments which are personal, colloquial or mere empty phrases. ‘I am
shocked by the ideas of Oliver Goldsmith’ would be an inappropriate ending.
References
References to and quotations from texts should always be acknowledged, usually by
means of a footnote.
For instance: Oliver Goldsmith, ‘A Comparative View of Race and Nations’(1760). In
Arthur Friedman
(ed.). Collected Works by Oliver Goldsmith (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), p. 68.
Bibliography
A bibliography list should be included at the end of the essay.
On the use of Ibid. and op.cit. in footnotes
Ibid. means ‘the same’. Example:
1 Author A, Title A (place of publication: publisher, year), p. 5
2 Ibid. p. 8.
Op.cit. means ‘cited before’. Example:
1 Author A, Title A (etc.)
2 Author B, Title B, (etc.)
3 Author A, op. cit., p. 11.
A CAUTIONARY NOTE: AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
In all those cases where outside material (critical essays etc.) has actually influenced
what you say about the literary work in question (or how you say it), credit must be
given where it is due. Avoid plagiarism (borrowing someone else’s language without
identifying the exact source). When you read outside material and copy out quotations,
make sure you note down all relevant information such as you might need for a
footnote
make sure you note down all relevant information such as you might need for a
footnote
nstructions paper ‘Making Sense of Europe’
In this course, you’ll write a paper based on your own research, including coming up
with your own research question. In this paper, you analyse a part of European
culture using (at least) one of the methods you’ve familiarised yourself with in this
course. We take ‘culture’ broadly: it can be anything from food and beverages to
classical music, from poetry to architecture, from film to political comedy. The link to
‘Europe’ is similarly expansive, and may include – in addition to culture produced by
European makers – Hollywood films set in Italy, colonial travel writing from the ‘heart
of Africa’ and representations of lunar Nazis (yes, there is a film based on this
premise). If you are unsure about your topic or want to check, do approach your
seminar lecturer.
In addition to the object you’re analysing and the method you’re using to analyse it,
you also need to think about the larger theme of topic of your analysis. You never
analyse without an idea in mind of what theme you are speaking to. A sonic analysis
of Beethoven’s ‘Ode an die Freude’ (adopted by the EU as ‘its’ hymn) will help you
make an argument on how this song exemplifies unity, for example; or a narrative
analysis of the Eiffel Tower’s reception helps you argue something on French
identity. Your seminar lecturer will help you align object, method, and topic.
The paper is 2,500-3,000 words in length, excluding bibliography. It is due on 14
June 2024, 23:59.
Referencing
You may use any referencing style, as long as you use it consistently. We
recommend using the Chicago Manual of Style.
Structure
The paper should contain the sections outlined below. Use this overview to order the
content of your paper, do not use it as section headings. Do note that the order of
these differs from the essay you wrote in ‘European Integration’, but preserves the
main elements.
1. Introduction (ca. 10% of word count)
Introduction of the topic and research question. Overview of the structure of
the text, with a hint to your ultimate conclusion.
2. Background, incl. methods (20%)
Describe what is the larger theme or topic you are speaking to, and how your
chosen method(s) helps you connect your selected European culture to this.
3. Body (analysis) (60%)
Answer your research question by applying your method and other relevant
secondary sources to your object in a structured manner.
4. Conclusion (10%)
In this course, you’ll write a paper based on your own research, including coming up
with your own research question. In this paper, you analyse a part of European
culture using (at least) one of the methods you’ve familiarised yourself with in this
course. We take ‘culture’ broadly: it can be anything from food and beverages to
classical music, from poetry to architecture, from film to political comedy. The link to
‘Europe’ is similarly expansive, and may include – in addition to culture produced by
European makers – Hollywood films set in Italy, colonial travel writing from the ‘heart
of Africa’ and representations of lunar Nazis (yes, there is a film based on this
premise). If you are unsure about your topic or want to check, do approach your
seminar lecturer.
In addition to the object you’re analysing and the method you’re using to analyse it,
you also need to think about the larger theme of topic of your analysis. You never
analyse without an idea in mind of what theme you are speaking to. A sonic analysis
of Beethoven’s ‘Ode an die Freude’ (adopted by the EU as ‘its’ hymn) will help you
make an argument on how this song exemplifies unity, for example; or a narrative
analysis of the Eiffel Tower’s reception helps you argue something on French
identity. Your seminar lecturer will help you align object, method, and topic.
The paper is 2,500-3,000 words in length, excluding bibliography. It is due on 14
June 2024, 23:59.
Referencing
You may use any referencing style, as long as you use it consistently. We
recommend using the Chicago Manual of Style.
Structure
The paper should contain the sections outlined below. Use this overview to order the
content of your paper, do not use it as section headings. Do note that the order of
these differs from the essay you wrote in ‘European Integration’, but preserves the
main elements.
1. Introduction (ca. 10% of word count)
Introduction of the topic and research question. Overview of the structure of
the text, with a hint to your ultimate conclusion.
2. Background, incl. methods (20%)
Describe what is the larger theme or topic you are speaking to, and how your
chosen method(s) helps you connect your selected European culture to this.
3. Body (analysis) (60%)
Answer your research question by applying your method and other relevant
secondary sources to your object in a structured manner.
4. Conclusion (10%)
Summary of the main insights of the essay, in which you give a clear answer
to the research question
to the research question
Hello,
I wanted to make this essay which is attached to showcase how wine is essential for the culuture and social cohesion in Europe and more specifically in France. It is part of European culture since the middle ages and I think that it can be very important in bringing people together. We had to have a theme which for me is social cohesion and an object to desciribe it and the obcjet is the wine (French wine) since I am from Croatia plese mention that aswell.