University of Dublin

UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN TRINITY COLLEGE

School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences Centre for Language and Communication Studies

Guidelines for the preparation and submission of undergraduate term essays

Each student taking part in a CLCS course has to submit a term essay (or equivalent assignment) as part of the assessment process.

Preparing the essay: the pre-writing stage  When you are reading in the subject area, be a clever reader: observe the ways in which writing styles, conventions or rhetoric are different from what you are used to in other subjects.  In the essay you will need to show that you understand key theoretical concepts, so make sure that you do so before the end of the course.  The course textbook or other prescribed texts should be regarded as the skeleton upon which lectures/discussions/workshops/presentations hang. Good attendance (in any case a course requirement) and a receptive attitude in class will help to start you thinking for the essay.  An effective line of argument is crucial; when you have done all your reading and have taken notes, sketch out a plan of what you want to say, including section headings if appropriate.

The writing stage  Have an introduction (your statement of purpose and an overview of what follows) – you may use ‘I shall…’; a sub-sectioned middle part; and a short conclusion which draws things together.  Show evidence that you understand the key issues related to your topic. You may feel you need to cite definitions of key constructs as well.  Refer systematically to research in the area. (It is better to articulate the point yourself and then refer to evidence from research or cite others; don’t let quotations do the talking for you).  Show that you can reflect on yourself as a language learner/language user (but avoid long personal anecdotes).  Write in a coherent way (e.g., use linking sentences and give the reader ‘signposts’).  Summary of your goal: to demonstrate a full understanding of key issues, an ability to construct a coherent argument, and also an ability to stand back and reflect on the topic yourself. Presentation (please note marks may be deducted for poor presentation)  Whenever you refer to an author by name, immediately cite year of publication and page number. Make a distinction between direct quotations and paraphrase:  Example a) Milroy (1992, p.151) states: ‘These rules, however, are not categorical, but variable’. Example b) According to Milroy (1992, p.39), such rules are variable.  The complete reference to Milroy must go in the References (appended and in alphabetical order of (first) author’s/editor’s name): Milroy, L., 1992: Linguistic Variation and Change. Oxford: Blackwell. (always include place of publication and name of publisher, in that order).  If you cite a study you read about in Milroy, you might say in the main text: ‘A study by Bertz (1974, cited Milroy 1992, p. 67) shows that…’. Then include as a separate entry in your References list a proper reference for Bertz (take all the details from the reference list in Milroy).  Make a final check that you have a complete match between whom you refer to in your text and who is listed in your References. Don’t add to the list extra authors you have read but not cited.  If you use data from languages other than English, please provide a word for word gloss and a translation into English, as shown in the following example for Portuguese . Examples should be consecutively numbered. (1) Não gosto deste vinho not like of.this wine ‘I don’t like this wine.’  There must be no plagiarism. The following will be treated as such: copying without acknowledgement, close summary without acknowledgement. Please note that it is compulsory for all students to complete the ‘Ready, Steady, Write’ online tutorial on plagiarism at http://tcd- ie.libguides.com/plagiarism/ready-steady-write  Type the text using double or 1.5 spacing.  Insert a title page: your name, student number, title and term of course, name of lecturer, title of essay.  Give a word count: the normal requirement is 2,500 words of discursive text.  All pages should be clearly and sequentially numbered and stapled together securely.

Submission  Essays must be submitted to the CLCS Secretary (room 4091).  Please make sure you sign the appropriate submission form.  If there is failure to submit on time due to illness, a medical certificate must be submitted to the CLCS office and the lecturer informed.

October 2015