Student Handbook - The School of Language, Linguistics and Film

Writing essays
The School is active in the College’s ‘Writing in the Disciplines’ programme, and some of its
modules are designed to be writing intensive, that is, to provide serious instruction on essaywriting
as an integral part of the module; you are encouraged to take at least one of these
modules during your studies here. Essays are the main type of work that you will be
producing throughout your undergraduate career. It is essential that you develop the skills of
writing essays of university standard as quickly as possible. The process is not an instant
one, and students come to university with different skills and approaches; moreover,
lecturers have different ideas about essay writing as well. The following notes are intended
as general help and orientation. They should be treated as ancillary to the guidance and
feedback that you will get from your teachers throughout your studies in the School. The
English Language and Study Skills section of the Language Centre (Room 1.24 on the first
floor of the Bancroft Building) offers a number of free courses on academic writing, which
you may find useful if you wish to improve your writing skills.
The purpose of essay-writing
Perhaps the first point you should be aware of is that at university level literature, linguistics,
film, and cultural studies are not disciplines which look for black-and-white, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
answers to problems. It is accepted that problems will produce many interpretations, and
disputes among experts are a sign of a healthy interest in the subject.
Essay-writing requires you to organise your thoughts on a given topic, and to put forward
your own argument in response to a particular question. It also gives you valuable
experience in expressing your ideas in a clear, logical and structured way —a skill which
obviously has countless applications beyond undergraduate studies.
A further benefit from writing essays is that practice is gained which can be drawn upon in
examinations, and the essays you write during term-time can be very useful revision aids
(although, obviously, you may not answer on the same topic in an exam as you have
already written for assessed coursework). Moreover, it is through the comments you receive
on your essay (either written or oral) that you can gauge your own progress, discovering
which areas are your particular strengths, and ones to which you may need to give more
attention.
Analysing the question
Essays are written as responses to specific questions, rather than just general discussions
of a topic. This is quite different from the system in many countries of continental Europe.
Both in coursework essays and in examinations, relevance to the question is one of the
most important criteria on which essays are judged.
The first and most crucial step before embarking on writing, therefore, is careful thought
about the question and analysis of it. What are you being asked to do? Essay questions
can be of different types. Some are survey questions (‘Discuss the role of women in the
Spanish Golden Age plays you have studied’); some focus on change over a period of time
and ask you to assess questions of causation (‘Account for the development of the passive
in French’); some invite you to engage in a debate on an issue which has generated critical
controversy and on which you are expected to come down on one side or other (‘Do you
agree that classicism is an outmoded concept?’); some may ask you to concentrate on
aspects of form (‘Discuss the use of colour in the films of Claude Chabrol’); and many
expect you to combine these approaches.
It is essential, therefore, before beginning to write, to clarify in your mind what the question
is asking. Make absolutely sure that you understand the question. If you do not, then ask
your teacher, or choose another question.
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