handout honours 2011

7/30/2019 Handout Honours 2011

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2011AncientHistoryHonoursThesisWritingSeminar 1

NotesonWritingtheLiteratureReview

Whatitisnot

Itisnotsimplytoconvincethereaderthatthewriterisknowledgeableabouttheworkofothers

Itisnotalistofsummaries

Whatitis

Providesacontextfortheproposedwork

Demonstrateswhyitisimportantandtimely

Convincesthereaderthatyourthesisisdistinctive,different,andworthwhile

Demonstratesyourcriticalabilities

Demonstrateshowyouhavedrawnontheworkofotherstoformulateyourownquestions/developyourownarguments

Yourargumentintheliteraturereviewisadialoguebetweenyouandthereader.Tobeeffectivethismustanticipatethekindsofquestionsthereader

mighthavewhenexaminingyourargument.

Itisaprocessofdevelopingacoherentframeworkofconcepts

Bytheendofityourreadershouldconclude:Ofcourse,thisistheexactthesis

thatneededtobedoneatthistimetomoveknowledgeinthisfieldalong.

Youshouldnotonlyreportclaimsmadeintheexistingliteraturebutalso

criticallyexaminetheresearchmethodsusedandhistoriographicalapproach

takentobetterunderstandthebasisoftheseclaims.

Yourreviewmay

Seektofillagapintheliterature

Demonstratehowyourworksitsinwithinthemaintrendsofscholarship

Seektoextendthosetrends

Takeadifferentdirectionfromthosetrends

Aimtoconfirm/challengeotherswork

Forecastthatyouwilluseatheoreticalframeworkormodelfromtheliterature

foryourownwork


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Sometips

Yourliteraturereviewnottheplacetodefertotheauthorityofothersadoptingacriticalperspectiveisvital.

TrytoavoidbeginningsentenceswithMommsensaid,Bartheobserved

andthelikethisshiftsthefocusofyourreviewsfromyourownargumentto

theworkofothers.

Trytodevelopathemeandthencitetheworkofrelevantauthorstosupport

yourargumentsortoprovideexamplesorcounter-examplesofyourpoint.

Avoidexcessivequotingthislessensyourauthority.

Youdonothavetobeexhaustiveyouarebuildinganargumentbasedon

relevantmaterialsnotalibrarycatalogue.

Beobjectiveenoughtoreportbothsidesofanargument.Clarify

problems/debatesinthefieldratherthanglossingoverthem.

Makeuseofsignpostingthroughouttoguidethereaderthroughwhatyouhave

doneandwhatconclusionsyouhavedrawn.

Allowtimeforyoutodevelopastructurethatworks.

Yourliteraturereviewneedstobeuptodateatthetimeofsubmissionso

doingitforAprildoesnotmeanitisdone.


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10TipsforBetterInformationManagement

1)Createabibliographicrecordforeveryarticleorbookyouread,everypictureyouconsiderusing,andeverynoteyoumake.Thisisimportantnotonly

formodernstudies,butalsoforancienttextaseditionsvarywildly.

2)Regularlyback-upthisrecord.

3)Citeasyouwrite.

4)Chooseabibliographicstyleearly.ThisshouldNOTbetheAncientHistoryDepartmentguidelinespdf.Itwillbefarbetterforyouinthelongruntofollow

(inconsultationwithyoursupervisor)thestyleusedinoneofthemajorjournals

ofyourfield(JournalofBiblicalLiterature,JournalofRomanStudies,JournalofEgyptianArchaeologyetc.).Asyouenterbibliographicdetailsyoushouldkeep

createastylesheetthatyoucanusetoensureconsistencythroughoutyourthesis.

5)FortitlesinlanguagesotherthanEnglish,thegeneralruleistocapitaliseonlythefirstwordofthetitleorsubtitleandanywordsthatwouldbe

capitalisedinanormalsentence.Formostlanguages,onlypropernouns(but

notproperadjectives)arecapitalised.InGerman,nounsarecapitalised,andinDutch,properadjectivesarecapitalised.

6)EditorsineverycountryhaveatendencytocapitaliseLatintitlesinaccord

withtheirrulesfortheirownlanguage.Itwillprobablybebesttocapitaliseonly

thefirstwordofthetitle(orsubtitle)andanypropernouns(butnotproperadjectives-abriefguidelineisthatiftheterminquestionhasthesameendingas

thenounitfollows,itisprobablyanadjectivalform).DittoforGreek.

7)Youareveryunlikelytowriteadiv.1thesisthatonlyengages

anglophonescholarship.Thereforeyoumustdevelopstrategiesfordealingwithforeignlanguages.Itmaybebesttoconsultabookreviewofaworkyou

thinkmightbeinterestingbeforebreakingoutthedictionary!Itmayalsobe

helpfultocreateanOCRversionofyourpdfandusetheautomatictranslationfeatureongoogledocstoquicklydistinguishimportantpartsofanargument

fromdigressions.

8.Overthecourseofwritingyourthesisyouwilllikelyamassalargenumberof

copiesofworks,bothprintedandelectronic.Theseareuselesstoyouifyoucannotlocateandcross-referencethosedealingwiththeparticulartopicyouare

writingontoday.ThereforeyouMUSThaveasystemforfilingthem,eitherby

author,topic,orrelevancetoaparticularthesischapter.Forphotocopiesafilingcabinetwillbeagreathelp-trygumtreeorebay!

9.Forpdfs,renamingfilestotheauthor'ssurnameandthetitleisagreat

start,however,asoftwarepackagelikeendnotethatcantiethepdffiletoits

bibliographicrecord,yournotesandanumberofkeywordsisevenbetter.


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10.Considergradingthepapersyoucollectbytheirrelevancetoyourtopic

tohelpyouprioritiseyourreading.Thus,an'A'paperispertinenttoyourtopic,a'B'issomewhatrelevant,a'C'isinterestingbutnotimmediatelyrelevant(but

mayprovidecontextorinformyourunderstanding).Whenyouhavetimetoreadyoushouldread'A'papersfirst(althoughtheymaynotbeasexcitingas'C'

papers).Resourcesrecommendedbyyoursupervisorshouldalwaysbelabeled'A'.


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20TipsforWritingyourThesis

1.Beginwithsomethingunresolved,somequestionaboutwhichyouaretruly

curious.Makecleartoyourselfandyourreaderstheunresolvedquestionthatyousetouttoresolve.Thisisyourgoverningquestion,thequestionthatdirects

thestructureofthepiece.Keepyoureyeonyourgoverningquestion.Youmightwanttoputthatquestionsomewherewhereyouwillseeiteverytimeyousitdowntowork--e.g.,ona

pieceofpaperyouattachtoyourcomputer,yourbulletinboard,orthewall.This

willserveasyourlighthouse,yourbeacononthehorizonthathelpsyoustayoncourse.Youneednotbeboundtotheoriginalformofthisquestion;youmay

needtoreviseitorsupersedeitseveraltimesasyoumovealong.Keeparecordofhowyourgoverningquestionevolves.

2.Showyourreaderswhatleadsyoutoposeyourquestioninthefirst

place.Yourgoverningquestionderivesfromcompetingobservations,i.e.,

observationsthatappeartoyoutobeintensionwithoneanotherandtoindicate

anapparentpuzzle,problem,discrepancy,oversight,mystery,contradiction,orsurprise.Intheintroductiontoyourpiece,letyourreadersknowhowwhatyou

observeleadsyoutoaskthequestionyouask.

3.Identifyyoursubordinatequestions.Justasthethesisasawholeisa

responsetoagoverningquestion,eachchapter,eachsection,andeachparagraphofthethesisisaresponsetoasubordinatequestion.Subordinate

questionsarethequestionsyouwillneedtoaddressorresolveonthewaytoaddressingyourgoverningquestion.

Makecleartoyourselfandyourreadersthesubordinatequestionstowhicheachchapterisaresponse.Whenyouarehavingdifficultydevelopinganideaorstructuringyourpiece,makeaquestionoutline,i.e.,anoutlineintheformof

questions.Writeoutthequestionstowhicheachparagraphisaresponse;

questionstendtobegetmorequestionsandtoformanaturalpeckingorderandnestingorder.

4.Freewrite.Writebrief,uncensoredpiecestoloosenyourmind(likestretches

beforerunning)andtoletyourselffollowtheplayful,associative,non-linear

logicofyourmind.Oftenwedon'tfollowthatassociativelogicveryfarbecausewedismissitearlyonasentirelyillogicalanduseless.Whileitistruethatinour

finalproductideasneedtobeintheformoflinearlogicsothatotherscanfollowourthinking,weneedtodrawuponourassociativelogicinthecreative

process.Associativelogicisthelogicofdreams,ofthosetimeswhenourmindis

freetowander(e.g.,justbeforewefallasleep,intheshower,whilewe'redriving),andofthosegenerative,free-flowingconversationsthatleadus

seemingly--yetnotentirely--farafieldfromwherewestarted.Ifwefollowour

mind'swanderingsandassociationsfarenough,theyoftenleadtosomethingcreativeanduseful.Freewriting--withoutthinkingaboutwhetherwhatweare

sayingiselegantorgrammaticalorconciseorlogical--promotesthegenerationofideasandofcreativeconnectionsbetweenideas.Thinkoffreewritingassoil,

notseed.Soilisthemuckthatnurturesagerminatingidearatherthantheperfectseedsthatbecometheactualsentencesandparagraphsofthefinal


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product.

Sometimesfreewritingworksbetterwithafocusand/orarunningstart.Considerusingthefollowingquestionsandsentencestemsaspromptsforyour

freewriting.Completethesentenceandcontinuewritingfromthere.

1.WhenIstartedthisproject,thethingthatreallyinterestedmewas...2.WhatmakesithardtoengagewithwhatI'mdoingisthat...3.OfallthestuffI'mdoingthesedays,whatreallyinterestsmeis..

4.ThequestionsIfindmyselfthinkingaboutthesedaysarequestionslike...

5.IfIhadtoputmypaperintotheformofasinglequestion,itwouldbe...6.TheobservationsImakethatleadmetoposethatquestionare...7.Iwantto

know...8.Iwanttofigureouthow...

9.Ihaveahunchthat...

10.IwishIcouldsayinmypaperthat...11.IdoubtIcansayinmypaperthat...

12.IfthingswereasneatandtidyasI'dlikethemtobe,...

13.I'mstuck.I'mstuckbecauseIcan'tfigureout...14.[Alettertoafriendortoyourreader]Dear____,I'mtryingtowritethispiece

about_____.Anddoyouknowwhat?...15.WhatstandsouttomeaboutallthestuffI'vebeenreadingisthisideathat...

16.Dialoguebetweenmeandtheexperts:

Thisauthor/professor/theorist/expertsays...And/butIsay...Heorshealsosays...And/butIsay...

17.WhatI'vebeenreadingmakesmewonder...18.I'mlearningthat...

19.Whatmakesmyquestionhardtoreckonwithordifficulttoresolveisthat...20.OnewayinwhichIcouldattempttoreckonwiththosedifficultiesis...21.IfIcouldsaywhatIreallywanttosay,...

22.IfIcouldapproachthisprojectinthewayIreallywantto,...

23.IfIcouldwriteaboutthequestionthatreallyinterestsme,...

5.Makeregularwritingpartofyourroutine.Somehavefound200wordseverydayisanachievablegoal.Ifitbecomesaruleinyourlifeyouwillfinish

yourthesisontime.

6.Workinsmallbursts.Wetendtoapproachbigjobsbythinkingweneedbig

amountsoftime.Wesaytoourselves,"Ineedtowritethispaper.It's1:00now.I'mfreeuntildinnerat6:00.That'sfivehours.Ishouldgetalotdone."Butinfact,

webarelymakeadent.Webrushourteeth,doourlaundry,checkfacebook,pay

afewbills,straightenourroom,makealistoferrands,hangoutwithourfriends,checkfacebook.Butwespendverylittletimeontask(thetaskofwriting).That's

becausefewofuscanworkforfivesolidhoursononething,especially

somethingasdifficultandanxiety-provokingaswriting.Especiallyifyouarehavingdifficultygettingstartedorstayingwithwriting,try

toworkforverysmallstretchesoftime.Mostofuscandoanythingfortenminutes.Workforten,breakfortwoisnotabadguideline.Bythetimeyouhave

donethis5timesyouwillhaveworkedforanhour!Youmaybesurprisedathowmuchyoucangetdoneintenfocusedminutes.Itismuchbettertoworkfor


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tenminutesandgetsomethingdone,howeversmall,thantokeepthinkingfor

fivehoursthatyoushouldbeworkingandbesodauntedorscaredthatyougetnothingdoneandthenfeeldiscouraged,demoralized,andguilty.

7.EmploytheSOSstrategy:Specific,ObservableSteps.Thinkintermsof

specific,fifteen-minutetasksthatyoucanpictureyourselfdoingandcompleting."Iamgoingtotakefifteenminutestowritedownalistofaquestionsthatmythesiswillneedtoaddress";"IamgoingtotakeaninventoryofallthethingsI

cansay,allthethingsIwishIcouldsaybutdon'tknowifIhavetheevidenceto

support,andallofthehunchesIhave";and"Iamgoingtowriteamemotomyselfaboutwhatmakesmyquestionahardonetoanswer"areexamplesof

suchtasks."I'mgoingtoworkonmythesisforfivehoursbetweenlunchanddinner"isanexampleofaplanthatisneitherspecificnorobservable:withsuch

avagueintention,thereisnothingspecificyoucanpictureyourselfstarting,

doing,andfinishing.

8.UsetheSo/AndEvenSoExercise.Wheneveryoufindyourselfsaying"Ihave

onlyfifteenminutes,soIcan'tdoanythingproductive,"trysaying,"Ihaveonlyfifteenminutes,andevenso...IcouldsubmitaVDX/jotafewnotesaboutwhat

questionsImightaddressinthissection/skimthebeginningandendofthischaptertoidentifythequestionthewriter'saddressing."

TheSo/AndEvenSoExercisecanalsoworkwhenyouarefeelingtired,sad,

lonely,scared,discouraged,overwhelmed.Whenyoufindyourselfsayingthingslike"I'msleepy,soIcan'tworkonthis";"Ihaven'tcalledmybestfriendina

week,soIcan'tworkonthis";"Ihaverehearsalinhalfanhour,soIcan'tworkonthis";"Ireallywanttoseeamovie,soIcan'tworkonthis";"I'mscaredI'm

goingtofail,soIcan'tworkonthis,"tryreplacingthe"so"with"andevenso":"...andevenso,Icouldworkforfifteenminutesontracingthelineofthinkingthatleadsmetoposemyquestions";"Icouldtranslatejust10linesoftext";"I

couldskimthischaptertoseeifIcangetthegoverningquestionthatthewriter

setsouttoaddress";"Icouldreadforfifteenminutestoseehowthisauthordefinesthistrickyterm."

9.Saveoften.Justasyouneedtosaveoftenwhenyou'reworkingonacomputer,

youneedtosaveoften(inyourbrain)whenyou'rereadingandstudying.The

waytosaveyourthoughtsistojotthemdown.Otherwiseyourideasmaygetdeleted,especiallyifyouhaveapowersurge(getcaughtupinanotheridea)ora

crash(fallasleep).Believethatsomenotesarebetterthannonotes.Asyoureadorlisten,jot

downevenbriefnotesaboutwhatisstandingouttoyou,puzzlingyou,or

botheringyou.Theseneednotbeextensiveorgrammaticallycorrectorstylisticallyelegantnotes.Theirpurposeistwo-fold:tohelpyoudosomething

activewiththematerialtomakeityourownandtoleaveyouwithenoughofa

recordofyourreadingandthinkingthatyoucanrecallitlater.Writenotestoyourself. Onewayofsavingoftenistokeepathesisjournalor

memosfolderonyourcomputer.Useyourthesisjournalormemosfolderforfreewriting(promptedorunprompted).

Alsouseyourjournalorfoldertowriteyournotesintheformofbriefmemostoyourselfaboutyourlatestresponseto,orfurtherquestionsabout,ormusings


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onaparticularquestion.Ifyourword-processingprogramallowsyoutokeep

twowindowsopen,keepamemowindowopenwheneveryouarewritingatyourcomputer(nomatterwhatyou'reworkingon).Thisdouble-window

approachallowsyoutocatchthosefleetingthoughtsthatflythroughyourmindinthemiddleofwhateverelseyourdoing.

Createtwothesisjournalsorfolders:oneonyourcomputer(i.e.,afolderformemos--seeabove)aswellasoneforhand-writtenentries(i.e.,anotebook,bigenvelope,manilafolder,orbigpieceofpaperonthewall)torecordthesis

thoughtsthatcometoyouinmomentswhenyou'renotatthecomputer.Great

ideasdon'talwayscomeatappropriateorconvenienttimes,soyouhavetologtheminastheyarrive.Youmaydosomeofyourmostcreativethinkinginthe

spacesinbetweenyourofficialworksessionsandendupjottingsomeofyourbestideasoncocktailnapkins,thebacksofoldenvelopes,scrapsofpaper,and

receipts.Justmakesureyouhaveonceplaceor"bin"whereyoukeepthemall

together.Somepeoplekeeponesuchbinfortheintroduction,anotherfortheconclusion,oneforeachchapter,andonemiscellaneousfileforwhatwriting

teacherLarryWeinsteincalls"gemswithoutasetting."

10.Letyourreaderinonyourreasoning,yourthinking,yourunderstanding.

Letyourreaderknowwhatyouwanthimorhertotakeawayfromorlearnfromachapterandfromyourthesisasawhole.Don'tjustpresentdata.Showyour

readerhowyouwanthimorhertomakesenseofthedata,whatyouwanthim

orhertoseeasmeaningfulaboutallthatdata.Showyourreadertheinferencesyoumake,thethingsyouseeasyoureadbetweenthelines.

11.Makeapoint.Manythesiswriterstendtorelyonsummarizing,describing,

narrating,andcategorizingandnevergetaroundtomakingapoint.Whileanelegantandclarifyingsummary,oracarefulandsensitivedescription,orawell-chosenandillustrativenarrative,oranewandintriguingcategorizationmaybe

acontributiontoyourfield,chancesareyouwillbeexpectedtodevelopsome

sortofargumentorpoint,thatis,touseyoursummary,description,narrative,orcategorizationintheserviceofananalyticresponsetosomeunresolved

questionorproblem.Ifyoufindyourselfrelyingonsummaries,descriptions,narratives,andcategorization,askyourself,"Whatlargerquestionisthisinthe

serviceof?"

12.Reckonwiththecomplexityofyourquestion.Youdon'tnecessarilyneed

toresolveyourquestioncompletely.Sometimesitisenoughtotalkclearlyabouthowandwhythingsarecomplexratherthantoclearupthecomplexity.

13.Showthesubtletiesofyourthinking.Manypeoplerelyonvariationsof"and"toconnecttheirideas:"and";"inaddition";"also";"next";"another

example";"later";"plus";"besides";"yetanotherthing."Itisasthoughtheyknit

oneverylongpiecewithabasicknit-one-purl-onestitchandthendecideafteritislongenoughthattheywillcastoff,addafewtassels,andcallitascarf.Thatis

finewhenwearejustlearningtoknitortowrite,buttoconstructcomplexgarmentsandarguments,weneedtomakemorecomplexconnectionsbetween

things.Don'tsay"and"whenyoumeantoformamorepreciseconnection:"even


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though";"seemslike,but";"isinsignificantunlessweconsider";"isbasedonthe

problematicassumptionthat";"doesnotadequatelyaddressthequestionof";"goesevenfartheranddemonstratesthat"'"despiteitsproblemsisnonetheless

usefulfor";"butthisdefinitiondiffersinonecriticalrespect";"addressesthatquestionbutdoesnotaddressthematterof."Ananalogyormetaphorcanalso

helpyouclarifyaconnectionbetweenideas.14.Usechaptertitlesandsubheadsasimportantsignpostsforyourreader

andaswaysofchallengingyourselftosummarizeyourthoughts.Tonameisto

know.

15.Letreadersofyourdraftknowthequestionsyouhaveaboutthedraft.

Whileyoumayalsowanttogiveyouradviserandfriendscarteblancheto

respondtowhateverstrikestheminyourdrafts,sometimesspecifyingsomeof

thequestionsyouhavehelpsyoufeellessvulnerabletogettingfeedback.Youcanaskpeopletotellyouwhattheyseeasyourgoverningquestion,ortoname

threethingstheylearnedinreadingyourchapter,ortotellyouwhattheyliked

mostandwhattheyhadthemosttroublewith,ortotellyouwhereyourargumentisweakestandwhereitisstrongest,howthetoneworksina

particularplace,etc.

16.Acceptthatanxietyandanxiety-managementarepartofthewriting

process.Uponthecompletionofhisdoctorate,agraduatestudentcommentedthat80%ofthetimeandenergyinvolvedinwritingadissertationgoesto

anxietymanagement.Youcan'twaituntilyouarenotafraidornotanxioustobeginwriting.Youneedtofindwaystowriteevenwhenyou'reanxious.Writing

inyourthesisjournalaboutyourfearoranxietycanbeawayofkeepingyourselfcompanyinyourfear,discoveringwhatyourfearisabout,lettingthefearbetherewithoutlettingitstopyoufromdoingwhatyouneedtodo.Inadditionto

writingaboutyourfearorstuckness,workingin15-minutestretches,taking

frequentbreaks,gettingregularexercise,meditating,usingtheSOSstrategy,usingtheSo/AndEvenSoExercise,andtalkingwithpeopleareallwaysof

managingyouranxiety.

17.Takefrequentbreaks.Tosustainyourfocusandconcentration,youneedto

paceyourself.Pacingrequireswell-timedbreaks.Takeabreakbeforeyougettothe"breakingpoint,"thatis,thepointatwhichyouaresoexhaustedthat

youcollapseorsofrustratedthatyouavoidgettingbacktothetask.Manypeoplesay,"Butmy'little'breaksinevitablylastforhours."Youcanavoid

thepotentialfordangerouslylongbreaksifyoua)developarepertoireof

refreshingactivities;b)experimentwithbreaksofdifferentsizes;andc)developasensitivitytowhenyouneedabreakandtowhatkindandwhat

lengthofbreakyouneedatanygivenpoint.Yourrepertoireofbreaksmight

includetalkingwithafriend,meditating,dancinginyourroomtoafavoritesong,readingthemail,makingaphonecall,gettingsomethingtoeatordrink,takinga

briefnap(noticehowlongis"justright"foryou),readinganoveloranewspaper,doingthedishes,takingawalk,doingsomeartwork,startingalettertoafriend,

gettingexercise,orrunninganerrand.Whenyoutakeabreak,askyourselfwhatexactlyyouneedrightnow.Doyouneedachangeofactivity(e.g.,todo


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somethingphysicalratherthansomethingsedentaryortoworkonanartproject

ratherthanaproblemset)?Doyouneedachangeofenvironment(e.g.,togetsomefreshairortoworkinafriend'sroom)?Achangeofperspective(e.g.,to

talkwithafriendortoseeamovie)?Sleep?Company?Nourishment?Distraction?Entertainment?Noticewhichsortsandsizesofbreaksaremost

responsivetoparticularneeds.Sometimesonlyalongbreakwilldo.Butfrequent,briefbreakscanbesurprisinglyrestorative.

18.Thinkofyourworkintermsofrelationship,aprocessofcontinually

connectingandre-connecting.Thingsgetoutofperspectivewhentheyfalloutofrelationship:wecannottellhowbigorsmallthingsareunlessweseethemin

relationtosomethingelse.Tokeepyourworkinperspective,ortobringyourthesisbacktoscaleonceyou'velostperspective,trytostayinrelationshipwith,

i.e.,connectedwith:

yourcuriosityandyourcaring(alsoknownasyourinterest,yourpassion,

yourdesiretounderstandortoknow)--byrememberingwhatdrewyoutoyour

questioninthefirstplace.yourquestion--byfreewriting,beingplayfulwithideas

yourcoaches(i.e.,teachers),colleagues(i.e.,fellowstudents),andloyal

fans(i.e.,friends,parents,pets)bytalkingwiththemaboutyourideasand

aboutyourexperienceoftryingtowrite.

19.Rememberthattherearesometirednessesthatcannotbefixedwith

food(evenchocolate)orcaffeine.Therearealsosomeanxietiesthatcannotbefixedwithalcohol.

20.Negotiatewithyourself.Whenyouseemtobesabotagingyourowneffortstodowhatyouintend,listenforinternalvoicesthatexpressyourcompeting

needs,desiresandfears.Partofyoumightbesaying,"Me,Ireallydowantto

dowellonthisproject.Iwanttogetdowntowork."Butanotherpartmightbesaying,"Me,I'mgoingtomakesureIgetsometimetohangoutwithfriendsno

matterwhat."Andyetanotherpartmightbesaying,"Me,I'mafraidI'mreallynotcompetenttodothisproject.I'mafraidthatifIworkonitnow,I'lljustdiscover

thatIreallydon'tknowwhatI'mdoingorthatIcan'tdoasgoodajobasIwant

to."Attimeslikethis,itisasifourbehaviorisbeingguidedbyaninternalcommittee

whosememberseachhaveavestedinterestintheirownparticularpreferredactivity.Thecommitteeasawholehastroubleeitheraccomplishingataskor

enjoyingitselfwholeheartedlybecauseitsmemberskeepquibblingoverwhich

activityshouldhavepriority.Worktimetendstobecompromisedbythedesiretorestorplay,andplaytimetendstobecontaminatedbyguiltandanxietyover

notworking.

Toworkandplaywithlessinternalconflict,youneedtoformalliancesamongvariouspartsofyourself--forexample,amongthepartofyouthataspirestodo

yourbest,thepartthatvaluesotherthingsinlifebesidesachievement,andthepartthatisafraidoffailure,compulsiveworking,loneliness,orotherpotential

risksofengagingwithyourwork.Toformsuchanalliancerequiresthatalloftheseparate,uncooperative,"me/I"voicesjointocreateagenerative"we/let's"


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voice(e.g.,"Okay,wehavealotofdifferentthingsthatmattertous.Let'sfigure

outhowcanwegetgoingonthisprojectandalsohelpmanageourfearaboutnotbeinggoodenoughandalsoguaranteethatwecanhavetimetoplay").In

creatinga"we/let's"voice,youbringtogetherallofyourenergiesintheefforttolivealifethatfeelswholeandtruetothecomplexityofwhoyouare.


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ConnectingwithYourCuriosity

Whatreallyinterestsmeis...(OR,alternatively,WhenIstartedthisproject,the

thingthatreallyinterestedmewas...OR,alternatively,Whatreallydrewmeto

thistopicinthefirstplacewas...)


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PuttingVagueThoughtsintotheFormofQuestions

Hereisalistofquestions--largeandsmall,nearandfar,grandandmodest,and

innoparticularorder--thatImightwanttoconsiderinmythesis:


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IdentifyingYourGoverningQuestion

IfIhadtoputmytopicintotheformofasinglequestion,thatquestionwould

be...(OR,alternatively,WhatIreallywanttoknowis...)


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QuestionsandPromptstowardanIntroduction

Mygoverningquestionderivesfromcompetingobservations,i.e.,observations

thatappeartometobeintensionwithoneanotherandtoindicateanapparent

puzzle,problem,discrepancy,oversight,mystery,contradiction,orsurprise.

Thecompetingobservationsthatgiverisetomygoverningquestionare...

...ontheonehand...

...butontheotherhand/andyet...

Thisproblem/puzzle,discrepancyetc.andmygoverningquestionareofinteresttootherscholars/researchersbecause...


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QuestionsandPromptstowardaLiteratureReview

Whoelse(orwhatotherbodyorbodiesofliterature)hasattemptedtoaddress

mygoverningquestion(orrelatedquestions)?

Thequestiontheyaskedwas...

Thewaytheyapproachedtheirquestionwasto...

Whattheyendedupsayinginresponsetothequestiontheyposedis...

Whatremains

unasked/unresolved/overlooked/unexplored/unaddressed/misunderstoodis...

Myprojectaddressesthatgapby...


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VisualisingaLiteratureReview

Howhaveotherstriedtoanswerthequestion?

LiteratueA

LiteratueBLiteratueC

MyTopic


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QuestionsandPromptstowardaMethodSection

Icanthinkofmymethodsasbeing,inpart,theactualtasks(e.g.,libraryresearch,

interviews,viewingofvideosorfilm,fieldobservations)Iwillneedtoundertake

toapproachthequestionIamposing.

Thosetasksare(andIwilltrytobeasspecificasIcan)...

OthermethodsIcouldpotentiallyuse(i.e.,othertasksIcouldpotentially

undertake)toapproachthequestionI'mposingare...

MyreasonsforchoosingtousesomeofthemethodsIlistaboveandnotothersare...

TermsIwillneedtodefinetodothisresearchinclude...

Someofthemethodologicalissues/problems/challengeswithwhichIwillneedtocontendare(theseincludebothquestionsothersmightaskabouthowIam

approachingmyquestionaswellasquestionsImyselfhaveabouthowIamapproachingmyquestion)...

Imightrespondtoordealwiththosemethodologicalissues/problems/challengesby...


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QuestionsandPromptstowardaConclusion

TheheadwayI'vemadetowardresolutionofmygoverningquestionis...

Whatremainsunresolvedis...

Itremainsunresolvedbecause...

Myresearchhasimplicationsfor...

Forinstance,myresearchhasmethodologicalimplicationsforfutureresearch,thatis,implicationsforhowweframethequestionsinthisfieldandimplications

forthemethodsweusetoaddressthosequestions.Thoseimplicationsinclude...

Otherimplicationsinclude(e.g.,implicationsforspecificpracticesorpolicies,

implicationsforhowweinterpretresultsofpreviousresearch)...


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ReckoningwithComplexity

Whatmakesmyquestionaparticularlycomplexonewithwhichtoreckonis

that...

Iwillattempttoreckonwiththosecomplexitiesby...


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NarrowingtheScope

Itisbeyondthescopeofmypaperto...

Therefore,Iwon'tconsider/explore/analysethatissueindepthinthispiece.For

thepurposesofthispaper,Iwill...(e.g.,assume.../workonthepremisethat...

/summarizeothers'thinkingonthismatter.../referthereaderto...)

Imakethatparticularassumption/workonthatparticularpremise/summarizethatparticularperson'sthinking/referthereadertothatparticularliterature

because...


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GemswithoutaSetting

HerearesomeoftheideasthatImightnotbeabletoincludeinthisthesisbut

thatdeservesafekeepingbecausetheyarebrilliantandpreciousthoughts--orat

leastinterestingthoughts--thatmightcomeinhandyforsomeotherproject:

handout honours 2011

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