How to Write an English Language Dissertation

How to Write an English Language Dissertation An English language dissertation is a substantive academic piece of writing at postgraduate level – Masters or Doctoral – that aims to defend a thesis or position and, by doing so successfully, contributes original research and insight to the field of English language studies. Understanding how to write an English language dissertation is the first step in achieving the demanding academic objectives of original and significant research in your field. Learning how to write an English language dissertation then, is probably the most important part of postgraduate studies. How to begin to write an English language dissertation. There are two major components to learning how to write an English language dissertation. These are: The planning, research and note-taking phase The structuring, organising and writing phase Understanding how to write an English language dissertation begins with the deceptively simple task of developing a clear and achievable objective within a given topic or area of research. When writing an English language dissertation, the topic will change over time, as research and reading brings to light new ideas and questions, until it develops into a very specific focus based within the original research topic of interest. The planning, research and note-taking phase should begin as soon as possible, but the structuring, organising and writing phase should also begin sooner rather than later. This is because both phases are mutually supportive. It is important to remember that learning how to write a successful and significant English language dissertation requires numerous drafts. With each new draft, the topic of the thesis becomes clearer and directs the student to further research. Both phases of writing an English language dissertation should occur simultaneously. Planning how to write an English language dissertation. The initial planning, research and note-taking phase begins with developing a topic, usually in collaboration with the student supervisor. The supervisor will be the first point of contact and this is where you begin by sounding-out your ideas for a suitable topic. The topic chosen for an English language dissertation will be general, at first, for example you may be interested in the sociolinguistic aspect of the English language. Begin by reading widely in sociolinguistics until you uncover a specific aspect that might come up in the literature, but that has yet to be explored further. This gap in the research is where you may focus your own research project and offer something new in the field of sociolinguistics. For example, a more appropriate research topic would be to consider how sociolinguistic theory of the English language may offer insight into the fiction of migrant novelists. When you have decided on a narrower topic of interest, you must be able to write it up in about eight words. This will be the title of your English language dissertation. Learning how to write an English language dissertation, however, is not just about coming up with a topic and writing about it. A student faced with the task of writing a dissertation must balance two things: theoretical research and practical activity. The theoretical aspect simply refers to reading, research, analysis and evaluation. The practical aspect involves personal and time management, setting deadlines and meeting them. It is important to address the practical aspects of writing your English language dissertation as soon as possible, by doing the following: Develop a draft title for your dissertation Write up an initial reading list Write an outline of the dissertation Set a date for completion of initial reading list Set a date for a first draft Set dates for subsequent research deadlines Set dates for subsequent drafts How to write an English language dissertation with effective structure. Learning how to write an English language dissertation also includes learning about structure. Individual universities and supervisors have their own expectations of how a dissertation should be structured, so in all cases it is best to refer to your supervisor and to your departmental handbook for writing an English language dissertation. In general, however, your dissertation should be structured like this: Title page: Include the title of your dissertation, your name, your supervisors name, and department and course information. Abstract: Summarise the introduction, body and conclusion of your dissertation in around 125 words. Acknowledgements: Thank the people who have been instrumental to you during the writing of your English language dissertation. Table of contents: List the chapters and sections of your dissertation with page numbers. Introduction: Introduce your thesis, outline the scope and structure of your dissertation and anticipate your conclusion. Main body: Present in complete detail your research and reading, respond with your analysis and evaluation of the research, and argue your new and significant perspective. Conclusion: State your response to the original thesis of your English language dissertation and conclude your argument. Remember that your conclusion must present something completely new in the field of English language studies. You may also make recommendations for further research along the lines of your topic. Bibliography: List your sources according to the style preferred by your university. Consult the style guides before doing this. Because this is an English language dissertation you will most likely use the styles preferred by the Humanities, such as CMS, MLA, Harvard or Oxford. Acknowledging your sources is as important as writing and researching, because it shows the breadth of your background reading and accumulated knowledge and avoids accusations of plagiarism. Appendices: Add information that is not necessary to your central argument but may be of interest to your reader for further exploration and research. How to write an English language dissertation with effective style. When writing an English language dissertation it is important to remember that this is a significant piece of academic work, no less than an intellectual and critical achievement. As such, your work must not only be original and give evidence of superior research skills and critical thinking and analysis, but it must also be written with style and quality that is indicative of your flair for academic reasoning. The purpose of writing an English language dissertation is to present your ideas in a clear and concise fashion, using vocabulary that is suitable to your purpose, and executed in an appropriate style to your subject. It is important to write well at both the sentence level and the overall level. Sentences should be grammatically correct and linked together to effectively present your analysis and argument. At the larger level, paragraphs should be organised in a way that allows the argument to flow naturally and logically to its conclusion. The style and quality of your writing is the main tool that will help you showcase your research and critical thinking skills. Learning how to write an English language dissertation in the style appropriate to the field is the best way to exhibit the desired academic ideals of critical thinking and and significant research at the culmination of your studies. 2/ 4

Book of Eli Social Commentary Essay

The film The Book of Eli directed by the Hughes brothers is a cinematic display of dystopian genius. Many dystopian films critique government involvement, privacy issues, and ethical concerns. However in The Book of Eli, the Hughes brothers take a jump to a different part of modern society: religion. Numerous religions are practiced in society as they are protected under the first amendment. The written word can be interpreted many different ways whether it is for good or evil and this film does a great job outlining the interpretations. The Book of Eli is a dystopian symbol for how organized religion is abused in modern society. Religion as a whole is seen throughout the film. Eli, the main character, believes that his purpose on Earth is to bring the Bible out West and to protect it. He is a religious man, regularly reading and praying from the book. He is devout and puts the books’ protection before other ethical issues. In the film, Eli encounters a woman being gang-raped. He proceeds to say† follow the path, follow the path.† He continues moving because his only mission is to get the Bible to the West. Eli believes that God put him on Earth to carry the book to the West, so he will do anything to get it there. The beginning of the film outlines Eli as having the inclination of protecting the book, yet he doesn’t quite understand the message of compassion found within the words. In this same way, we see religious zealots who â€Å"believe† in their religion so strongly that they sometimes ignore those that have less than them. Eli could’ve helped the woman being raped but instead continued with his journey, not straying in the least. These days, people go to church to hear preachers talk of compassion and loving forgiveness but once Mass is over, sure enough there is always a fight in the parking lot when everyone is trying to leave in a hurry. For many, these scriptures go in one ear and out the other and only certain passages are held on to because they deal with the problems faced only at that very moment. Carnegie’s mission is one of the most important parts of the film. He is in a long search for the Bible and is one of the only people who can still read. He yearns to rebuild civilization and become a dictator to many towns. He believes that the Bible holds power. With the book, Carnegie believes that he will be able to gain followers as long as he uses the written word. Carnegie and his men only see the Bible as a means of control, and do not see the true meaning of the written word: compassion, devotion, and freedom. This also mirrors the current situation with the Vatican. The Pope claims that condoms will worsen the African AIDS crisis. He believes â€Å"The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.† The Pope is trying to use his religion to keep power over the African people. 67% of people with HIV live in Africa, so by him preaching to not use condoms, he will reach a significant amount of people. In a dire situation like this, the Pope will use his religion to convey his message of God. Religions like this one could be used to build morality in people by taking stories and finding the values in them. However, they can also be used to attack certain individuals and be used as a means of control. Eli and Carnegie resemble both sides and warn of the evils that can come from an otherwise useful tool to teach from. Sunglasses also play a powerful role in the film as Eli wears them mysteriously throughout. The audience does not know why this is until the end of the movie when it is revealed that Eli is at least partially blind, if not completely. Looking back at the film, hints are dropped to suggest that Eli lacks vision. A significant line he says is â€Å"I walk by faith not by sight.† This can be interpreted in many ways. Eli walks with the Bible, his faith, to the west coast. He feels God put him on Earth to bring the bible to the west to preserve it along with other important books of faith that will later be used to recreate civilization. While walking, he is guided by God’s message instead of what he is able to see in front of him. Only two people in the film are able to read the book: Eli and Solara’s mother. Those who can’t see are the only ones who can truly read from the book. They are the most pure in the sense that they cannot see the corrupt society around them, so all they have to guide them through life is their faith. In today’s society people are surrounded by the deviant behaviors of sexual activity, drug usage, and violence as entertainment. In order to stay grounded to their own morality, people rely on their faith to guide them. These people are blind to the ills of society because they are confident in their values. The Book of Eli does a phenomenal job of describing abuses of religion in modern society, however, the concept it much bigger than that. In a perfect world, there are perfect people and no problems. In today’s society people do whatever they want with their money, time, religion, etc. There are no ground roots to fall back on. The people are the ones creating chaos; it’s not any one specific event. However, people place the blame on anything they can think of: money, time, religion, etc. Most people use this blame to gain control, and then it becomes a power struggle. This film was meant for the audience to think beyond the religious undertone, and realize the real issue: themselves.

Marginal Costs and Benefits

Marginal analysis is a technique used in microeconomics by which very small changes in specific variables are studied in terms of the effect on related variables and the system as a whole. Marginal costs and benefits are a vital part of economics because they help to provide the relevant measurement of costs and benefits at a specific level of production and consumption (McCain, 2008). This is the reason why I’ve chosen this topic for my paper. We use economics in our daily lives without knowing it. It would be nice to have an unlimited source of income, where one doesn’t have to worry on how they spend. Of course to most cases, we don’t have that luxury so we must live on a budget. Analyzing the marginal costs will benefit us in the long run because when we live on a budget, we spend most of our lives trying to find the most out of our spending. Let’s say that one person who lives on a tight budget, but they would like to have a nice vacation in one point of their lives. They would work toward that point and find out how much they would need for the costs of the trip. Every dollar now becomes crucial to their spending because we must know how much we can afford and have to be wise about it. We cannot go out there and start spending like mad because in the end we’ll ask ourselves, â€Å"Now how are we going to pay this off? † So calculating within the budget is necessary, but keeping in mind that we should be able to actually enjoy the vacation without being tedious of every single cent that is coming out of our pocket. Let’s say that we have a budget of $2000 total to go on this trip. Looking at the prices of the airfare, transportation, food, lodging etc. , we have to see much this would all cost us so therefore we can know how much money is left to us to spend on certain material items we may come across to when we are on vacation. There’s always something that one could find that raises the question, â€Å"I should buy this because I wouldn’t be able to find it where I am currently living. † When we calculate all the costs, we will see how much it would benefit us in the long run. The benefits of this situation is that if we find deals and discount for the necessary factors of our trip, we have more spending money to enjoy our vacation, buying things without that guilt factor because we know it’s within our budget.

`` The Chrysanthemums `` By Kate Chopin - 1359 Words

Here in the 21st century, infidelity has become the new norm. Statistics show that about 60 percent, that is more than half, of committed couples have reported acts of infidelity (Stafford). However, back in the 19th century, there was a social stigma surrounding infidelity; more often than not its participants were ostracized by the community. Times have certainly changed. In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Storm† and John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums†, both written approximately during the 19th century, the characters of both stories depict unfaithfulness in their marriages. Through the use of the plot, imagery, and the 19th century time period, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† and â€Å"The Storm† depict a revolutionary era in which women not accept their sexual†¦show more content†¦The color black has been known to be associated with seduction and sexiness that stems from the allusion to the color of lingerie. Consequently, after her se xually charged encounter with the tinker, Elisa’s whole demeanor changes. She is no longer hiding her sexual desires but acting on them. She put on her â€Å"newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was a symbol of her prettiness† (Steinbeck 213). Bonding over the chrysanthemums and the wandering life suddenly left Elisa burning with sexual desire for another man. Immediately, changing her daily routine by wearing new underclothing made Elisa feel like a new woman; sexy and bold. Similarly, Kate Chopin’s use of imagery in â€Å"The Storm† describes Calixta as a married woman who is confident and sexy but only in the presence of her former flame, Alcee. Chopin illustrates Calixta as a woman with a fuller figure but with â€Å"lips as red and moist as a pomegranate seed† (107). The pomegranate fruit has always been considered a sexy, exotic fruit. It is an aphrodisiac, with a tempting red color that delivers passion and incre ases libido. Calixta, emanated sexual desire and promiscuity by painting her lips. She definitely feels comfortable in displaying her femininity as well as her beauty. Back at home, Calixta peers out the window just as a bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree, causing her to stumble backwards. Alcee quickly catches her in his arms; the