“You Will Not Always Be The Smartest Person In The Room, And You Will Not Always Be The Strongest Or

Academic writing advice inspired by Umberto Eco’s ‘How to Write a Thesis’:

Planning

Determine primary sources/bibliography.

Determine secondary sources/bibliography. 

Find title.

Brainstorm a table of contents with as much detail as possible (with chapters, sections and even paragraphs and sub-paragraphs - see How to Write a Thesis’ own table of contents as an example at the end of this document) (if the first drafted table of contents is good enough, it will not be necessary to start the writing from the beginning).

Do a first draft of the introduction.

Note-taking and research

Use Google Scholar to make sure you do not miss important sources.

Keep the table of contents in mind when researching and take notes of which sources could go where.

While note-taking, differentiate which parts could be used as quotations from the ones that are simply important for the argument.

Eco underlines the importance of what he calls reading sheets, which can be understood as your notes on your readings. According to him, these should contain:

information about the author if he is not a well-known figure;

a brief (or long) summary;

they should mostly consist of quotations (accompanied by all the corresponding page numbers)

any commentaries you might want to add;

an indication of which part (or parts) of your table of contents the information mentioned belongs to.

Keep reading sheets on primary sources (which should be the longest) separate from those on secondary sources (which should only be 1-2 pages long).

In the end, re-read the notes and color-code all the different parts according to where they would fit in your table of contents.

Writing and editing

A good place to start would be by redrafting the introduction.

Define every key/technical term used/mentioned unless indisputably obvious.

General writing tips:

keep sentences short;

do not be afraid to repeat the subject twice (ex: Roberta went to the shop (…) Roberta bought carrots and tomatoes);

avoid excessive details;

avoid subordinate clauses (orações subordinadas);

avoid vague language;

avoid unnecessary adjectives;

avoid the passive voice.

While drafting, write everything that comes to mind. Leave the editing for the end.

Use your tutor as a Guinea pig. Make them read your first chapters (and, progressively, all the rest) well before delivery is due. 

Ask for as much feedback as possible. Ask colleagues, friends and/or family to read your work. They will provide you with more diversified feedback, as well as allowing you to know if your writing is clear to anyone.

Stop playing ‘solitary genius’.

Don’t insist on starting with the first chapter. Start with what you know best and feel more comfortable writing about, then fill in the gaps.

Leave time for editing and try to take at least a one or two days long break in between writing and editing. 

Do not forget to fill in the gaps. When you revisit your writing, go through it with all these writing tips in mind as well as a conscience of what your most common mistakes are.

Use Hemingway in the final editing phase.

Quotations and footnotes

Since there are two kinds of sources (primary and secondary), there are also two kinds of quotations: either we quote a text which we will interpret, or we quote a text which supports your interpretation.

Some quotation rules to know:

“Quote the object of your interpretive analysis with reasonable abundance.”

 “Quote the critical literature only when its authority corroborates or confirms your statements. (…)  when quoting or citing critical [aka secondary] literature, be sure that it says something new, or that it confirms authoritatively what you have said.”

“If you don’t want readers to presume that you share the opinion of the quoted author, you must include your own critical remarks before or after the passage.”

“Make sure that the author and the source of your quote are clearly identifiable.”

“When a quote does not exceed two or three lines, you can insert it into the body of the text enclosed in quotation marks. (…) When the quote is longer, it is better to set it off as a block quotation. In this case the quotation marks are not necessary, because it is clear that all set-off passages are quotes, and we must commit to a different system for our observations. (Any secondary developments [like the quote’s reference] should appear in a note.) (…) This method is quite convenient because it immediately reveals the quoted texts; it allows the reader to skip them if he is skimming, to linger if he is more interested in the quoted texts than in our commentary, and finally, to find them immediately when need be.”

Some footnote rules to know:

“Use notes to add additional supporting bibliographical references on a topic you discuss in the text. For example, ‘on this topic see also so-and-so.’”

“Use notes to introduce a supporting quote that would have interrupted the text. If you make a statement in the text and then continue directly to the next statement for fluidity, a superscript note reference after the first statement can refer the reader to a note in which a well-known authority backs up your assertion.”

“Use notes to expand on statements you have made in the text. Use notes to free your text from observations that, however important, are peripheral to your argument or do nothing more than repeat from a different point of view what you have essentially already said.”

“Use notes to correct statements in the text. You may be sure of your statements, but you should also be conscious that someone may disagree, or you may believe that, from a certain point of view, it would be possible to object to your statement. Inserting a partially restrictive note will then prove not only your academic honesty but also your critical spirit.”

“Use notes to provide a translation of a quote, or to provide the quote in the original language.”

What Happened To Kendrick Johnson and Why People Are Demanding Answers Even Now

On Jan. 11, 2013, the body of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found in the most unusual of circumstances: upside-down and rolled up in a school gym mat. The mysterious death of Kendrick Johnson was initially ruled an accident by law enforcement asserting the ridiculous theory that Johnson must have accidentally fallen into the center of the mat while reaching for a sneaker

Some inconsistencies in the case:

the black and white gym shoe that lay on the ground below Kendrick Johnson, the one he was presumed to be reaching for, was lying on top of a pool of blood, but there was no blood on the shoe itself.

A hoodie and a pair of orange and black gym shoes were also found lying on the floor of the gym 

traces of blood on the wall nearby that wasn’t Kendricks. 

A private pathologist revealed Kendrick Johnson had suffered hemorrhaging on the right side of his neck, which meant that he likely died from blunt force trauma

the second autopsy revealed that some of Johnson’s organs were missing and in their place, his body had been stuffed with newspaper.

A whole hour of footage from the gym was missing, right at the time which would have shed light on what happened that day

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

- Donate to his family! (they're nowhere near their goal)

- Sign the petition 

SPREAD THIS AND HIS STORY!!!

Follow for more news 

#StayWoke

#WhatHappenedToKendrickJohnson

Tom: *wants to play Spider-Man in the reboot of the reboot and wants to be in a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal*

Tom: *gets cast as Spider-Man and gets Jake Gyllenhaal to be in his movie*

Me: *wants to pass all of her exams and get enough sleep for once*

Me: *fails horribly as she types this at 1am*

It is what it is.

Yall really see the words pirates, cowboys, and homoerotic subtext and just smash that reblog huh

i like the sistine chapel ceiling a lot better now that i know it was painted by a gay man who was motivated entirely by spite

Just one thing 

— I’m happy for Jake no matter what he’s doing as long as he’s happy

JUSTICE FOR SHUKRI ABDI

Change.org

Sign the Petition

Justice for Shukri Abdi

south asian fitzwilliam darcy moodboard

"I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offences against myself. My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever."

[ image ID in alt text ]

no act of kindness is small and insignificant!!! if you choose to be kind and do good your choice matters and makes the world a better place. never underestimate a kind heart 

I am here And you are there And summer evening air Warm And close to the skin Like a lover’s breath And we have never said till death Do us part And partly cos We’re not a thing Yet waiting for that phone to ring The air The air This humid half affair This jungle deep It wants relief in rain And calling me You ask and ask again Is now for you A good time too? We can be friends You tell me as I walk Like children Can’t stop grinning when we talk An ocean and my caution Keep us free From plans to touch or try Or even see Our words in shadowed green This futile Fertile dream I still have so much fear Its on my skin That’s why I’m hidden here And why you’re in my head You read Every message Two ticks always blue So call me If you want We won’t ask what this is I cannot promise much Hotel robes hers and his But you have never asked For anything but time A million miles away You hold me on the line So see me as I am If you see me now at all Just waiting for the rain And waiting for your call

Kylie Flavel, “Summer Rain” (via random-someone-somewhere)