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ecommended reading to give you an overview, or look at an alternative textbook
from the library to get a different approach to the topic.
Follow up any specific references from the lectures, from your tutor or from
your textbook first. The point of being on a course is to have a guide to introduce
the topic and point out for you the salient things to look for. If your lecturer
provides you with clear, up-to-date references you will only need to search the
literature independently when doing essays later on in your course, in order to
put some original icing on the standard cake. Supplement these by checking
anything basic you do not fully understand. You can do this on your own, by
using an appropriate search engine, such as Wikipedia, or a dictionary of
psychology (see Appendix 6).
Only then should you embark on a literature search of your own to fill in any
gaps, find more information about very specific points or check for very recent
developments (see also the section on ‘References and finding your own sources’,
page 35).
To summarize:
1 lecture notes first
2 then course textbook
3 follow up references from lectures
4 check understanding
5 look up anything that is not clear in your mind
6 literature search to embellish a few specific points.
TOMtip
❖ Lecturers are human, too, with particular interests and views. Bear this in
mind when writing an essay for them – not forgetting that they will also
appreciate originality.
Collecting additional material
ACHIEVING GOOD OUTPUTS 95
It is better not to embark on this until you have prepared the ground and know
exactly what you are looking for. You can waste vast amounts of time and become
completely overwhelmed with out-of-date, irrelevant material. The amount you
have to do will depend on the nature of the topic, the coverage in your prescribed
reading and the level at which you are working. A third-year essay or dissertation
will require much more original material than your first essay in the first year.
Annotate each item at the time so that when you come to write the essay you do
not forget why it is significant.