Writing Skills

Juan José Prat Ferrer, Ph.D.

 Contents

INTRODUCTION v
THE PROCESS OF WRITING 1
Researching 5
Sources 6
The library 9
Research on the Internet 11
Use of a dictionary 12
How to record a source 13
How to record information from a source 17
Identifying the purpose and limits in a discourse 19
Skimming and scanning 20
Looking for specific information 20
Techniques for taking notes 21
The outline 25
Explicit and implicit information 27
Summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing 30
Revising your notes 35
Adapting your text for the reader 36
The writer’s image through the text 37
Purpose and means 38
Types of academic texts 40
WRITING THE PAPER 45
Topic and thesis 45
Selecting the material 46
Sequencing materials: The outline 50
The title 50
Defining and describing 52
Supporting ideas 55
Informative style 57
Scientific style 58
The sentence and the paragraph 60
The sentence 60
The paragraph 64
Expository paragraphs 65
Enumerative paragraphs 68
Mixed paragraphs 70
Argumentative paragraphs 71
Delimiting and transitional paragraphs 75
Size and organization of paragraphs 76
Relating main and secondary ideas 79
Focusing 80
Text markers 81
How to develop ideas through comparing and contrasting 83
Choosing details 84
Analysis 84
Statements and theses 85
Explaining 86
 ii 
 

Presenting data 86
From the general to the specific and vice versa 88
Classifying 89
Organizing supporting evidence 90
Clarifying through paraphrase 93
Analysis, hypothesis and synthesis 93
The experiment 95
Reservations 95
Argumentation 96
Anticipating possible objections 99
Counterarguments 99
Debating and refuting 100
Conclusions 104
Closure 105
The introduction 106
THE PROCESS OF REVISING 109
Organizing main and supporting materials 109
Economy and redundancy 109
Concision and vagueness 109
Objective language 110
Ambiguity 110
Style 110
Computer revising tools 112
Coherence 112
Transitions and connectives 112
Intent 114
Acceptability 115
Interest 115
Intertextuality 115
Appropriateness 115
Revising the structure 116
Spelling and punctuation 116
The final outline 116
Revising the title 117
Quotations, notes and bibliography 118
Second and third revisions 118
THE MANUSCRIPT 119
Font, pagination 119
Spaces between words 121
Use of illustrations, tables and figures 121
Order and style in bibliographies 122
Academic styles 125
The abstract 126
PUNCTUATION 129
Period (.) 129
Semicolon (;) 130
Colon (:) 130
Coma (,) 133
Question and exclamation marks (?!) 135
Ellipsis (...) 135
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Parentheses and dashes (( ) – –) 135

Slash (/) 137
Square brackets ([ ]) 138
Apostrophe (’) 138
Quotation marks (‘’ “” «») 138
Hyphen (-) 140
Italics 141
Numbers 142
Most common abbreviations 143
REFERENCES 145
Books 145
Articles in journals 146
Articles in periodicals 147
Article in an anthology or compilation 147
Part of a book 147
Speeches & lectures 148
Doctoral dissertations 148
Music scores and recordings 148
Electronic sources 149
QUOTES 151
What to quote 151
Precision in quoting 152
Long and short quotes 153
Length of the quote 153
NOTES 155
Types of notes 155
Explanatory notes 155
Bibliographic notes 155
Where to place the call number for a footnote 156
Ancient works and the Bible 156
EXAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS 157
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 v 
 

INTRODUCTION

This book is designed to serve as a guide for academic writing at

University level. It could be used in class as a text book or it could also be used
individually by those who may need help in writing articles, papers or
dissertations.

Writing is a process, in which the text is constructed by rewriting, each

time a t a different level. This work reflects this cyclical structure and is
presented in three main parts: The process of writing, which includes
researching, working with ideas, taking notes, and making an outline for a
project, and finally revising the material according to specific needs. Writing
the paper helps the student in the process of developing the discourse by
constructing paragraphs and linking them to form a well-structured text. The
process of revising helps the student to read critically and make the necessary
corrections to the text. Finally, there is a section on the manuscript, which
deals with the presentation of the work created. There are three appendices,
one deals with the mechanics of punctuation, the second examines different
cases of referencing works in a bibliography, and the third offers examples of
different types of discourse organization and text punctuation.

I would like to express my deepest appreciations to Elizabeth Cook for

her careful reading of the manuscript and intelligent comments on this book. I
am also grateful to the students I have had in my classes at IE University; they
helped me conceptualize the structure and contents of this book.
 1

THE PROCESS OF WRITING

An academic paper is the result of a process of elaboration. Composing a text,

whether it is artistic or academic, is very similar to the process of creating and
producing any other work, be it musical, pictorial or architectural. This process has
five fundamental phases: reflection, research, planning, writing and revising. The last
phase will take us back to the beginning, and thus authors advance as if in a spiral
until they feel satisfied with their work. The first thing we write will never be the final
product; writing as a craft implies a lot of revising and rewriting.

Let’s start by analyzing the beginning of this process; let’s reflect on what we
are going to do. The type of language we are going to use in our academic work can be
classified as learned written expression. This type of language is quite different from
the oral language we use in everyday conversations; it is also different from the type of
language we use for writing notes, letters and e-mails to friends and family, and SMS.
Anyone who wants to be considered part of the academic world needs to master
different types of languages, both oral and written, according to the occasion, and this
includes written academic language. To learn how to write at university level consists
of learning rules about grammar, composition and style, and incorporating a more
complex and exact vocabulary than that used in common speech.

We must be conscious not only of the language we are going to use but also of
the way we are going to use that language. The way we organize our written discourse
or speech will be different than when we speak because there is no possibility that the
reader and the writer can establish a dialogue that could serve to explain and clarify
what is not understood; your text has to be well thought out, and very clear. We must,
therefore, assume that writing, especially academic written expression is a craft that
must be learned. It is not a bad idea to observe the way scholars who write well
express their thoughts on paper and in articles, the techniques they use, the way they
organize their texts, and the vocabulary and expressions they use. We need models.

In order to master the art of writing correctly and elegantly, we should strive to
express ourselves carefully, using an accurate vocabulary and a clear structure to
communicate ideas in a precise and organized way that should serve to distinguish
 2

concepts and to develop ideas, not by adding one to another, but by integrating them
into a well-constructed text.

In order to write an academic paper, we must reflect on what we are going to

write about; if we want to create an acceptable piece of work, we cannot just sit down
and begin writing without having thought of what we are writing about, and why we
are writing about it. If we do this, the result will be a chaotic text without any logical
organization and where the ideas are not clear.

One of the first things we must do is to choose the topic we are going to write
about and to narrow it so we can handle it; then we should look for questions to
answer and statements to propose. It is also necessary to create a structure that
contains what we want to say and that possesses all the properly supported ideas we
want to communicate. We have to ask ourselves if we have gathered all the necessary
material to work with. If we don’t, we should search for information and look for texts
that support what we are going to write or that offer us a different perspective. When
we feel that we have all the information needed, we should look for a communicative
strategy for organizational purposes.

Think of your text as a road that another person can travel down with you. Who
is this person? You cannot write to everybody at the same time—people’s minds are
very different—; therefore, you must think of the characteristics your reader may have.
How much should others know in order to be able to travel down your road? How
much information must you provide so your reader can follow what you are trying to
express? What opinions will your readers have if they consider your topic
controversial? The answers to these questions will influence the way your paper is
developed.

Once we have considered who is going to read our work we can begin to
establish a dialogue with our reader. Keeping with our metaphor, we must also face
some important issues, such as: How can I draw this up? How should I divide the
journey? And, if you take into account the reader’s perspective, we could anticipate
the questions he or she may have when reading our text: Where will this take me?
Where to begin and when to stop? Why should I go through this text? What is the
writer trying to tell me?
 3

All of this will help our text take shape so we can begin to partially design our
work. Maybe we have imagined our text as a series of elements or, on the contrary, as
a whole unit. Be it as it may, we cannot present the reader with a mixed up collection
of various unconnected and irregular elements, because it will make little sense and
will be difficult to follow and to understand. We have to think of one or several trains,
sequences of connected elements, that could provide unity and meaning to our text,
and that could be developed effectively. This wholeness can be obtained through
diverse methods: 1) we can adopt a chronological approach, 2) we can organize our
text through cause-effect relations, or 3) we can adopt an inner evolution, showing the
reader how we discovered the information and how we arrived to our conclusions. We
can also combine these three options or choose other ways of organizing our text.
What is important is to create a way that can be traveled from beginning to end and
that this journey takes us somewhere with little detours.

When we have thought of all these issues, we can begin the process of writing.
Remember that the first and most important phase of this process is the elaboration of
ideas and the creation of a structure that organizes them; searching for our written
expression, although being very important, comes after, and will be the result of the
first creative phase. A writer who does not have clear ideas will not produce a clear
text. Let us look at each one of the elements of a rather long list of subjects related to
the process of writing:

 Researching: gathering, cataloguing, relating, evaluating and choosing

information
 The library: How to use it
 How to record information from a source
 Techniques for taking notes: building sequences, paraphrasing,
structuring in a hierarchical manner, relating, highlighting, reviewing
(inserting, deleting)
 Techniques for introducing ideas: summarizing, paraphrasing,
synthesizing
 Revising your notes
 Adapting your text for the reader
 The writer’s image through the text
 4

 Aims and objectives.

Exercise:
Examine the following examples of texts directed to different types of readers. Try to
define the type of reader.
Chlorophyll-protein complexes and electron transport activities were measured during iron nutrition-
mediated chloroplast development in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. cv F58-554H1). Results showed that the
chlorophyll-protein complexes associated with the reaction centers of photosystem I (CP1) and photosystem
II (CPa) and the electron transport activities of these two photosystems per leaf area increased rapidly during
the first 24 to 48 hours of iron resupply to iron-deficient sugar beet plants. Bulk chlorophyll and the amounts
of light-harvesting chlorophyll-proteins increased after a lag period of 24 hours. The changes in chlorophyll-
proteins with time were apparently the cause of an initial increase, then decrease, in the chlorophyll a/b ratio
during iron resupply. There was evidence that iron deficiency diminished photosystem I more than
photosystem II. We propose that there are two distinct phases in iron nutrition-mediated chloroplast
development: (a) the commencement of the synthesis of the lipid matrix of the thylakoid membrane,
including a fully functioning electron transport (and photosynthetic) system, during the first 24 hours of iron
resupply; and (b) after 24 to 48 hours, the formation of the bulk of the thylakoid proteins, including the light-
harvesting chlorophyll-proteins with which the large increase in total chlorophyll is associated.
Nishio, John N.; Javier Abadía Bayona; Norman Terry (1985): “Chlorophyll-Proteins and Electron Transport
during Iron Nutrition-Mediated Chloroplast Development.” Plant Physiology 78(2): 296-299.
***
The recent rediscovery of an early seventeenth-century mural painting hidden beneath an eighteenth-century
painting on canvas on the nave crossing arch of the Church of Santo Domingo provides striking visual
evidence of individual and corporate identities and shifting devotional contexts at the Dominican monastery.
Complementing and clarifying the visual evidence in the paintings, recently recovered archival documents
confirm the identities, roles, and activities of the major protagonists in the Dominican artistic and building
campaigns of the early seventeenth century.
Webster, Susan B. (2009): “Art, Identity and the Construction of the Church of Santo Domingo in Quito,”
Hispanic Research Journal: Iberian and Latin American Studies 10, 5: 417-438.
***
Economics textbooks invariably describe the important economic choices that all societies must make by the
following three questions: What goods are to be produced? How are these goods to be produced? Who is to
get what is produced? This way of stating social choice problems is misleading. Economic organizations
necessarily do resolve these issues in one fashion or another, but even the most centralized societies do not
and cannot specify the answer to these questions in advance and in detail. It is more useful and nearer to the
truth to view a social system as relying on techniques, rules, or customs to resolve conflicts that arise in the
use of scarce resources rather than imagining that societies specify the particular uses to which resources will
be put.
Alchian, Armen A., and Harold Demsetz (1973): “The Property Right Paradigm,” The Journal of Economic
History, 33, 1: 16-27.
***
It gives a great pleasure to be able to speak at the conference on higher education here at UNESCO and to
speak not only as President of a country, a member state of UNESCO, but also as a former professor,
professor of international law at the University of Ljubljana. As you can very well imagine I have been doing a
great deal of thinking about higher education, its importance and its relevance today. And I think it doesn't
take too much effort to realise that higher education has throughout history been the breeding ground of
ideas and knowledge, and therefore a critical agent in the generation of development. If one looks at the
human history in a longer-term perspective it is equally easy to discover that creation of universities and other
institutions of higher learning has probably been the most important achievement in human development of
the entire humankind.
 5

If one thinks about the institutions of higher learning today and the requirements for their success and their
contribution to human development, then obviously there are a number of factors which influence their
achievement and which helped in the process. I decided to speak in particular about three areas, which need
to be involved in every reflection on the importance of higher education in the context of development. The
first among them is academic freedom, the second is academic quality and excellence and the third is the
academic contribution to international dialogue, to dialogue among civilizations.
Türk, Danilo (2009): Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, at the UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education. Paris, 5 July.
Researching
Once we have chosen our subject or topic, formulated questions about it and
looked for propositions, we must gather information—do some research—to obtain all
the data we need in order to develop our text; this involves gathering, cataloguing,
relating, evaluating and choosing information. Not all the information we get is good;
we must study, understand and evaluate each piece of information that gets into our
hands. In order to evaluate a piece of information, we must ask ourselves if it is
pertinent, that is to say, if it is relevant or appropriate to the matter we are dealing
with, or if it is useful for our purposes; we must decide what can be used and what
should be rejected. By relating each datum obtained to the other data we already have,
we can begin to form our own ideas or hypotheses; they will lead us to our
conclusions. A list of data is good if we can relate them and obtain ideas from them; if
it takes us nowhere, maybe we should restate the topic we have chosen. On the other
hand, a hypothesis (that is to say, a question properly formulated or a suggested
statement) that is not based on data has no value. In this case, we should ask
ourselves if the information we have at hand is valid.

This is how we can prepare ourselves to write academic papers and articles for
academic or scientific journals. We cannot write about something we do not know, so
in order to master a topic, it is necessary to question the information we have at hand:
Is it necessary? Is it sufficient? If the answer to these questions is affirmative, we will
be able to go on with our work. Many times we wrongly think that we know enough
about a subject, and when we sit down to begin writing, we realize that we need more
information. So we must go back to the process of gathering information.

Doing research on a subject does not consist of piling up information. The data
gathered must serve our purpose, some of it may not be convenient, some may not be
accurate, some may contain errors and some may have been replaced by new data
resulting from the latest research. We should learn to distinguish between what is
 6

meaningful and what is insignificant or commonplace, what is necessary and what is

superfluous. If we develop our capacity to perform precise and careful evaluations, we
will also develop the capacity to formulate solid opinions. The idea is not to just put
forward information that comes from different sources, we must also evaluate it. We
must go beyond just checking and confirming, and judge the material we have at
hand.

Once we have acquired all the information and evaluated it, we should put all
the data in order. We have to choose some criterion, some standard or rule, that will
help us find an appropriate order. There are many criteria, and we should choose one
that will best help us to move forward. By doing this, we will get new ideas that should
also be written down. All this work is very useful. We must bear in mind that our aim
is to produce a research paper that includes different sections, with footnotes and
bibliography. The amount of pages needed to cover the material may seem excessive
and the material itself difficult to control if we are not used to doing this type of
previous work. By arranging the information in a logical way, we can easily find the
material we need as we write. The idea is to be able to control the elements we need for
our composition. Good organization means good handling and a feeling of control. We
should avoid losing time trying to find information we know we have but we do not
remember where.

Sources
Now we need to ask what kinds of sources of information the academicians use
for their research. According to Umberto Eco, an Italian university professor of
Semiotics and a famous novelist, there are three types of sources of information:

Primary sources are texts that offer original information. They can be divided
into firsthand information (the original work of the author) and second hand
information (translations and anthologies). Translations, even though they try to
express the same thing, alter the original text by changing the language; anthologies
offer only extracts, that is to say, incomplete texts. It may be difficult to access
firsthand information, either because the original work is not available, or because the
original language cannot be understood. In that case, second hand information is a
good choice.
 7

Secondary sources offer an interpretation of primary sources where they are

either elaborated upon or criticized. The same subject is dealt with, but the
perspective is that of another writer who judges the primary source. Many times they
provide citations of the original work. We must ask if the information we obtain from
these sources is biased or out of context. Sometimes errors are repeated over and over
because people repeat wrong information obtained from secondary sources, which are
not used in a rigorous and accurate way. The information obtained from this type of
source must always be confirmed.

Tertiary sources are the ones that offer information about primary and
secondary sources. They usually consist of bibliographical works. They are very useful
for finding books and articles about a subject.

Unless we are very lucky and find the sources we need by chance, we have to
do a search in order to get to the sources we need. This search is usually done in
libraries or on Internet. We can also ask experts and obtain advice from those who
have experience. Many times, by asking, we get leads to very useful information on the
subject we are dealing with.

A piece of advice: Do not underestimate the time it takes to carry out your
research. Start early.

Exercise:
State what kind of source are these texts:
As in his edited collection The Oral Performance in Africa (Spectrum, Ibadan, 1990), Okpewho is particularly
impressive on this aspect. His chapter 'The oral performance' is brilliant, vividly integrating both earlier and recent work
to demonstrate the varieties and histrionics of performance, paralinguistic features, music (a particularly stimulating
analysis), audience interaction, effects of recording and the 'risks' encountered by performers. All this is far from the older,
and insufficient, analyses in terms of text alone. As Okpewho characterizes oral performance, 'the words spoken are only
part of a general spectacle designed to please both the ears and the eyes . . . For instance, in describing a fight between two
combatants, an oral narrator is apt to tell us of the action of one or the other: "He stabbed him, and stabbed him, and
stabbed him." Part of the background to the repetitiveness of that statement comes from the fact that the narrator
repeatedly stabbed his or her own hand (or perhaps head) while making the statement. Writers . . . simply write something
like;'He stabbed him many times."' (pp. 48-9). The relation of oral (or previously oral) forms to written literature is also
now.

Finnegan, Ruth (1995): Review of African Oral Literature: Backgrounds, Character, and Continuity by
Isidore Okpewho and Orature in African Literature Today (African Literature Today 18) by Eldred Durosimi
Jones; Eustace Palmer; Marjorie Jones. African Affairs 94, 374: 124-125: 125.
***
 8

African artists live cheek by jowl with the politicians, not only switching roles as I have
indicated earlier but equally conscious of their privileged and exceptional place as educated
members of their developing societies. Sometimes it seems that if you go to a typical party at an
African university (or in an embassy) you will find that half the room comprises politicians and the
other half writers. Go to the same party a year hence and the same situation will prevail except that
the half who are writers have become politicians and the politicians have stepped back into being
writers. I exaggerate only slightly, for it is hard to think of many writers or other kinds of artists in
Africa who have not held a political, administrative or pedagogical post in their country. Inevitably,
therefore, the subject matter of their art, and this is almost invariably true of the writers especially,
has a political or educative dimension.

Niven, Alastair (1985): “Africa and the Arts,” African Affairs 84, 335: 183-193: 184.

***

1980 - Joseph J. Duggan. "Legitimation and the Hero's Exemplary Function in the Cantar
de Mio Cid and the Chanson de Roland." In Oral Traditional Literature: A Festschrift for
Albert Bates Lord. Ed. John Miles Foley. Columbus: Slavica Publishers. Rpt. 1983. pp.
217-34.

Examines the traditional pattern of possible incestuous ancestry in the epics of Roland and the
Cid, noting "how singers have distorted history" (p. 231, italics deleted; cp. Lord 1970). The epic
heroes serve as models, men who have overcome the disadvantages of ancestry through heroic
and paradigmatic action.
Area: HI, OF, CP

1977a - Alain Renoir. "The Armor of the Hildebrandslied: An Oral-Formulaic Point of

View." Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 78:389-95.

Argues from the oral-formulaic quality of the poem (hero's return, "hero on the beach" theme
[after Crowne 1960], formulaic diction) against a suggested emendation. Sees the author of this
text of the poem as a literate composer using traditional materials.
Area: OHG, CP

1980c - Albert B. Lord. "The Mythic Component in Oral Traditional Epic: Its Origins and
Significance." Proceedings of the Comparative Literature Symposium. Texas Tech
University, 11:145-61.

Treats the survival of the mythic patterns of (1) the initiatory hero and (2) the returning hero
from earliest times, in the Babylonian Enuma Elish and the Sumerian Gilgamesh through the AG
and medieval European epics to SC epic songs still performed in the twentieth century. Remarks
 9

on divine and semi-divine heroes, the source of the Balkan Return Song, and the "death of the
substitute" pattern.
Area: AG, BY, SU, ARM, SC, OE, OF, CP

Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography. “Summative Bibliography. The Hero.”

Center for Studies in oral Tradition. http://www.oraltradition.org/bibliography

The library
A library is an organized collection of books, periodicals, other types of
publications and documents. It is the traditional place where academic research is
done. Public library employ people who help users obtain information, and though not
all libraries are the same in terms of collections, catalogues, rules regarding loans and
services offered to the user, they all are a good place to look for information, they can
usually be very helpful if you take the correct steps. There are public libraries that do
not allow their materials to be taken off premises and as such have reading rooms to
do research. Usually they have very few copies of important material. Many times the
use is restricted to investigators who must obtain a permission in order to work on
their premises. There are libraries where books can be borrowed by users. Most
university libraries offer this service to undergraduate students. Many libraries have
an interlibrary loan service which consists of one library lending a book to another to
satisfy the needs of a user.

We can look for information in encyclopedias, bibliographies, databases,

catalogues, journals, and books about the subject we are researching. Through these,
we can see if there are works that deal with the issues we are researching. Librarians
can indicate the best tools available for our use and let us know about sources of
information that we may not be familiar with. When we get a book, we should look at
the title, the reviews, the summaries written on the back cover or on the flaps of the
dust jacket, the index, the prologue, the introduction, and the conclusion. We can leaf
through it looking for key words that may offer information.

There are traditionally two ways of reading (in academic tradition), slowly,
paying close attention to what the text says and how it says it, and quickly, or
skimming, glancing quickly through the pages just to get an idea what the text is
about. We pay more attention to the beginning and the end of paragraphs, which is
where main messages are concentrated. This technique allows us to review many texts
without wasting too much time. A book may deal with the subject, but if it is written
 10

just for experts, it can be too difficult for us to follow because we may not have enough
knowledge and practice in this matter. In this case, it is better not to use one text,
because it may confuse us more than help us. If it is very important, we may want to
get a secondary source that explains it in a simpler and more understandable
language. In this case we should also question if we are prepared to deal with the
subject we have chosen or if it would be a better idea to change it.

When we come to a text that deals with the subject of our research, we must try
to understand the text. To help us understand a written text we should pay attention
to its organization, the meaning of words (especially technical terms) and sentences,
and the way sentences are connected,

We must pay attention to the use of links and text markers and their function
in the text (segmenting, highlighting or contrasting, or relating items in terms of time,
cause, consequences). By knowing the way sentences are related to each other we can
distinguish facts, truths, and real events from examples or analogies; we can also
discriminate between important and less important information, relevant and
irrelevant information, explicit and implicit information, and separate premises from
conclusions.

In this way, understanding a text we are reading will allow us to take notes. It is
very important to know how to write all the data needed to build a bibliography:
authors, titles, editorial, year, page where the information appears, etc. In order to use
a piece of information we must be able to show the reader exactly where we got it.
Therefore, we must be able to confirm the exact source. Each bibliographical reference
should be written down according to acceptable academic styles; the most important
of them are the MLA (Modern Language Association) for humanities and the APA
(American Psychological Association) for social sciences. We should also write down
interesting bibliographical references that are present in the texts we read, as we may
need them.

Once we have a number of references about sources we must evaluate them

according to two criteria: importance and value (this can be considered by the number
of times a work is referred to in other texts), range (if it focuses on the subject or not?
(just passes by it), and accessibility (if it is possible to access it and in how much
time).
 11

Research on the internet

Research can also be done on the internet or by looking at databases that will
offer summaries or abstracts of works dealing with the subject. The search can
usually be done by subject, by author, by titles or by key words. Depending on what
we are looking for, we will choose one of these methods. We can also do research on
Google or Google Books by typing one or more key words related to our subject.
Through the internet we can obtain lots of information, but we must be careful, not
everything found through internet is truthful, valid o rigorous. We have to learn to
discriminate good quality information from the rest.

We must be very careful as to the value of the information we obtain through

the internet. In order to consider the information valid, we must judge the following:

 The author. You must be able to identify them and find their credentials
as to educational credits and associations they work at or belong to.
 The sponsor of the page. They should be fully identified and contact
information provided. Look at the way the site name ends: “.gov” means
it is a government site, “.edu” means it belongs to a university, “.org” is
used by non-profit organizations, “.com” can be anything, but mostly
commercial. Trust only reliable sources. Find if there is an “About us”
link.
 The purpose of the page. Try to avoid pages where there could be a bias
for or against the information you are looking for.
 Find if there is a way of verifying the ideas expressed in the page. Are
there notes? Does it provide a bibliography?
 The last update. Zombie pages are those no longer updated; its
information may be obsolete.
 Some of the pages could be a good first step for collecting ideas,
Wikipedia is the case, but being the work of multiple authors, they are to
be treated with great care.

Remember that to avoid plagiarism you must cite all sources you use from the
web. For more information about this, go to “Electronic sources” on page 151.
 12

Use of a dictionary
The making of a dictionary is both a science and an art. Imagine all the
thousands and thousands of words and meanings a person or team has to collect and
classify. Imagine also the enormous amounts of definitions that have to be made with
the constraints of being accurate, effective and economic in terms of space.

What a dictionary offers is word meanings. But since words have more than one
meaning according to the way people use them, it is of primary importance to find the
right meaning, but also the right level of usage or register, according to the context.
Dictionaries are also guides for spelling and pronouncing words, and give grammatical
information to the reader. But in order to understand this, you should know what the
editors’ intention is. Organizing words and communicating meaning and usage is not
an easy task. Look at the part each entry may have:

Main entry: Words put in alphabetical order. Sometimes they are divided and the
stress is shown. Look also at the ways they treat words that have the same
spelling and different meanings, derivatives and phrasal entries.

Pronunciation: English dictionaries usually give you a phonetic transcription of the

word. Do you understand the symbols?

Parts of speech: They are usually abbreviated; (v.) means verb, for example. See how
this information is organized.

Inflected forms: This is done to show irregularities in the inflection (parts of verbs,
plurals, comparative and superlative). Look if an inflected form that is
alphabetically distant or requires a different pronunciation is listed separately.

Definitions: The order may be according to the frequency of usage. How are they
separated?

Restrictive labels: They can be divided into Currency (identifies the actual use: rare,
archaic or obsolete), Locality (identifies where it is used: US, Brit.), Field
(identifies the activity where it is used: Bot. Chem. Mil. Photog.) Foreign
(identifies naturalized words or expressions: Ger. Fr. Sp.). Level (identifies the
register Standard (no label) Informal, Dialect, Slang, Illiterate or Incorrect)
 13

Variant forms: They show you if there is more than one spelling used, if two different
expressions have the same meaning, if there are two or more pronunciations to
a word. Also they may tell you if there is some locality restriction to the variant.

Cross references: They tell you where to look for more information, as with synonyms
and near-synonyms. Usually they are introduced by the word “see.”

Etymology: Tells you where the word comes from.

Derivatives: They give you words that have been created by adding or replacing a
prefix or suffix.

Usage notes: They show you special grammatical points when they are necessary to
correct usage, like use of prepositions, for example.

What a dictionary says should never be treated as ex cathedra

pronouncements. A dictionary is a reference book and its authority derives from the
way data is collected and interpreted.

How to record a source

Sometimes inexperienced research paper writers find that once they have
written their text there are many citations, references to authors or to their ideas that
are not properly recorded. Since crediting sources is one of the most important aspects
of academic writing this may probably invalidate those parts of their texts or worse,
the author may be accused of plagiarism, that is, of presenting the work of another
person as if it were his or her own work. In order to avoid this problem, we must learn
how to write down all the data about the source.

We may decide to take notes on paper or to use a computer. Be it as it may, we

have to make a separate record for each entry. There are two types of records,
bibliographical and text. Bibliographical records will give us all the necessary
information about the source, text records may consist on quotes (reproducing a text
word by word), paraphrasing (writing in our own words what a text says), or
summarizing (condensing the text in fewer words). In order to avoid confusion, all text
records must have the same format. These are the data we must write down in a
bibliographical entry:

Author: Invert their names (last name –surname– first and given name last). If there is
more than one author, write them all down if they are five or less: Invert just
 14

the first author. Separate authors by using semicolons (;)for the last author.
You may use “&” or “, and” before the last author.

Title: We must find out if the work is a book, a chapter from a book written by
different authors, or an article in a journal. In the last two cases, write down
the title of the chapter or of the article inside quotation marks (“”). Make a note
of the first and last page of the article or chapter. Write down the title of the
book or journal in italics. If you are writing by hand, underline it (this means
that when typing it, we must use italics). If the book has been put together by
an editor, write down his or her name.

Publication data: Note down the city or cities, publishing company, and year of
publication (edition) if it is a book. For journals, make a note of the number and
the year.

Here are some examples:

Entry for a book from one author

ASHLIMAN, Dee L. (1987): Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the
Aarne-Thompson Classification System. New York and Westport (Connecticut):
Greenwood.
GATTO, Giuseppe (2006): La fiaba di tradizione orale. Milan: Edizioni Universitarie di
Lettere Economia Diritto.
KAMENETSKY, Christa (1992): The Brothers Grimm and Their Critics: Folktales and the
Quest for Meaning. Athens: Ohio U. P.
ZIPES, Jack (2007): When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their
Tradition. New York: Routledge.
Entries for a book from more than one author
ALEXANDER, Tamar, & Dov Noy (1989): The Treasure of Our Fathers: Judeo-Spanish
Tales. Jerusalem: Misgav Yerushalayim.
GRAVES, Robert, and Raphael Patai (1964): Hebrew Myths. New York: Anchor-
Doubleday.
SWAN, Charles, & Wynnard Hooper, eds. (1959): Gesta Romanorum, or Entertaining
Moral Stories. New York: Dover. First edition: 1876.
BEKKER-NIELSEN, Hans; L. K. Shook, & Ole Widding (1963): The Lives of the Saints in
Old Norse Prose: A Handlist. Toronto: Mediaeval Studies 25.

Entries for a chapter of a book

 15

ALLEN, Louise H. (1959): “A Structural Analysis of the Epic Style of the Cid,” Structural
Studies on Spanish Themes. H. R. Kahane and Angelina Pietrangeli, eds. Urbana and
Salamanca: University of Illinois Press and Universidad de Salamanca: 341-414.
HOLBEK, Bengt (2003): “Hans Christian Andersen’s Use of Folktales,” A Companion to
the Fairy Tale. Ellis Davidson y Anna Chaudhri, eds. Rochester (New York): DS
Brewer: 149-158.
NEUMANN, Siegfried (1993): “The Brothers Grimm as Collectors and Editors of German
Folktales,” The Reception of Grimm’s Fairy Tales: Responses, Reactions, Revisions.
Donald Haase, ed. Detroit: Wayne State U. P.
STEIN, Nancy L., and Christine Glenn (1979): “An Analysis of Story Comprehension in
Elementary School Children: A Test of a Schema,” New Directions in Discourse
Processing, 2, R. Freedle, ed. Norwood (New Jersey): Ablex: 53-120.
Entries for an article in a journal
ANDERSSON, Theodore M. (1962): “The Doctrine of Oral Tradition in the Chanson de
Geste and Saga,” Scandinavian Studies 34: 219-236.
HEUSCHER, Julius E. (1967): “A Critique of Some Interpretations of Myths and Fairy
Tales,” The Journal of American Folklore 316: 175-181.
LARIVAILLE, Paul (1974): “L'analyse (morpho)-logique du récit,” Poétique 19: 368-388.
Johnson, Nancy S., and Jean M. Mandler (1980): “A Tale of Two Structures:
Underlying and Surface Forms in Stories,” Poetics 9: 51-86.
If the item comes from the internet, we must write down the author and the
year (if this last information is given), the title of the text inside quotation marks, the
uniform resource locator (URL) and the date of access, which is the date you obtained
the information. Here you have some examples of entries from electronic texts:

DELEHAYE, Hyppolite (2000): The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography

Paul Halsall, ed. Medieval Sourcebook. <www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/delehaye-
legends.html> Accessed June 28, 2005.
HAFSTEIN, Valdimar Tr. (2000): “Biological Metaphors in Folklore Theory: An Essay in
the History of Ideas,” Section: “Folk Organism: Enlightenment and Romanticism.”
April. <www.hanko.uio.no/planses/Valdimar.html>. Accessed June 18, 2002.
HEINER, Heidi Anne (2005): “The Fairy Tales of Abjorsen and Moe,” Sur la Lune Fairy
Tales Page (electronic edition of Popular Tales from the Norse. 3rd ed., 1888, by George
Webbe Dasent). Modified in April, 2005. <www.surlalunefairytales.com /authors/
asbjornsen_moe.html>. Accessed May 6, 2005.
Exercise:
Look at the seven different sets of bibliography; state the characteristics in each style.

1.
Hatch, M. J. 1994. Narrative and rhetorical style in the discourses of organization theory.
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Dallas, TX.
 16

Hazen, M. A. 1993. Towards polyphonic organization. Journal of Organizational Change

Management, 6 (5): 15-22.
Hazen, M. A. 1994. Multiplicity and change in persons and organizations. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 7 (5): 72-81.
Herold, D. M. 1972. Long-range planning and organizational performance: A cross valuation study.
Academy of Management Journal, 15: 91-102.
Hiley, D., Bohman, J., & Shusterman, R. (Eds.). 1991. The interpretive turn: Philosophy, science,
culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
2.
O'Neill, Sean
1997 "Sprung" Fever: Triple-Threat Rusty Cundieff Directs, Scripts and Stars in His Third Film,
Trimark's "Sprung" Boxoffice Online, April 1997. Electronic document, http.//www.boxoff.
com/apr97sneak3.html, accessed March 3, 2000.
Roberts, John W.
1989 From Trickster to Badman: The Black Folk Hero in Slavery and Freedom. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Rogin, Michael
1996 Blackface, White Noise: Jewish Immigrants in the Hollywood Melting Pot. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
3.
Edwards, Mark. 1992. Homer and Oral Tradition: The Type-Scene. Oral
Tradition 7:284-330.
Foley, John Miles. 1990. Traditional Oral Epic. Berkeley: University of California
Press.
___________. 1991. Immanent Art. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hymes, Dell. 1981. In Vain I Tried to Tell You. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. 1992. Becoming Homer. New York Review of Books March
5:52-57.
4.
Schwab, Raymond. 1984. The Oriental Renaissance: Europe's Rediscovery of India and the
East, 1680-1880. Tr. Gene Patterson-Black and Victor Reinking. New York: Columbia Univ.
Press.
Stetkevych, J. 1969. Arabism and Arabic Literature, Self- View of a Profession. JNES 28:145-
56.
___________. 1980. Arabic Poetry and Assorted Poetics. In Islamic Studies: A Tradition and
Its Problems, ed. Malcolm H. Kerr. Pp. 103-23. Malibu: Undena.
 17

5.
Kraus, Walter. 1955. "Die Auffassung des Dichterberufs im friihen Griechen-tum." WS
68:65-87.
MacLeod, Colin. 1982. Homer: Iliad 24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marg, Walter. 1956. "Das erste Lied von Demodokos." In Navicula Chiloniensis, 16-29.
Leiden: E. J. Brill.
___________. 1971. Homer iiber die Dichtung. Münster.

6.
Wolfe, Charles, ed. 1981. Children o f the Heav'nly King: Religious Expression in
the Central Blue Ridge. Record Album AFS L69 L70. Washington, D.C.:
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
Yoder, Don. 1974. Toward a Definition of Folk Religion. Western Folklore 3 3:2-
15.
Zumwalt, Rosemary Levy. 1988. American Folklore Scholarship: A Dialogue of
Dissent. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

7.
Nora, P. 1992. Entre mémoire et histoire. In Les lieux de mémoires, vol. I (ed. P. Nora). Paris:
Gallimard.
Pingeot, A. 1982. Les Gaulois sculptes (1850-1914). In Nos ancêtres les Gaulois (eds P.
Viallaneix and J. Ehrard).Clermont-Ferrand: Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de
l'Université de Clermont-Ferrand II , pp. 255-82.
Pomian, K. 1992. Francs et Gaulois. In Les Lieux de mémoires, vol. III(1) (ed. P. Nora). Paris:
Gallimard, pp. 42-105.
Potier, R. 1973. Le Génie militaire de Vercingétorix et le mythe Alise-Alesia. Clermont-Ferrand:
Editions Volcans.

For more information on how to record sources and build a bibliography, see the
section “References” on page 147.

How to record information from a source

Text entries consist of two parts; the text and the reference. The first one is a
quotation, paraphrase or summary of a text. The second part consists on the author
and the year, and the page or pages where the original reference comes from. We can
get more than one entry from a source, but we should add the reference to each one of
them in order to avoid future problems, because the page number will most probably
be different.

Look at the following two examples, the first is a quotation from an author you
will find in one of the previous lists. Note that the text is inside quotation marks:
 18

“Although Wilde did identify with the protagonists of his tales ― the spurned
artist and lover, the iconoclast, the innocent victim ― he did not wallow in self-pity.
Rather, he transcended his own problems in these tales and created symbolical
analogues to the real contradictions between avant-garde artist and British society of
his time.”
ZIPES, Jack (2007): 173

The second example is a paraphrase from the same source. Note that the text
has no quotation marks and that where the reference is an abbreviation cf. (compare)
is used:

Many fairy tale writers during the time of Louis XVI, although they appear to us
with aristocratic names, were in fact marginalized and either they were banished from
the court, not accepted in it, or condemned to exile.
Cf. ZIPES, Jack (2007): 43

Exercise:
Distinguish summarizing from quoting in the following text:

In his pioneering study The protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber pointed out that even in
his own time in countries of mixed religious composition such as Germany there were among business
leaders and capitalists, and also among managers and skilled workers with technical and commercial
qualifications, proportionately far more Protestants than Catholics.1 He further noted that in the past
Protestant individuals and groups and especially those of a Calvinist persuasion not uncommonly
combined an ‘extraordinary capitalistic business sense’ with ‘the most intensive forms of piety’ which
penetrated and dominated their whole lives.2 For Weber the ethos to be explained consisted of ‘the
earning of more and more money’ not as a means of satisfying material needs but as an end in itself
combined with ‘the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life’.3
__________________
NOTES
1
Weber, Max (1930): 35-39.
2
Ibid.: 53.
3
Ibid.
________________________________________________________________________
Bibliography:
Weber, Max (1930): The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Talcott Parsons, trans. London:
Allen and Unwin. [Originally published in German in 1904-5 and reprinted with considerable revisions in
1920].

Davies, Christie (1992): “The Protestant Ethic and the Comic Spirit of Capitalism,” The British
Journal of Sociology 43, 3: 421-442: 422.

For information about quoting see the section “Quotes” on page 153”; for information
about footnotes and other types of notes, see section “Notes” on page 157.
 19

Identifying the purpose and limits in a discourse

When you are about to read an article or a chapter, you may want to inform
yourself about what you’re going to read. First of all, read the title and try to
understand what it is about. Then glance rapidly through the material to discover the
purpose and organization. Once you’ve done this, you should have an overall idea on
the subject. Now, turn back to yourself. Do you have any questions or opinions on the
subject? Try to recall them. This will give a purpose to your reading; you will know
what to look for.

Start reading. The text is organized in paragraphs. The main ideas are usually
placed at the beginning and at the end of them. The purpose or the main idea is found
at these strategic points. Stop when you’ve read the paragraph. Try to answer these
two questions: What is the author writing about? What is he saying about it? Keep
reading. Bear in mind these other questions: What is he leaving out? What are the
secondary ideas? Distinguish between facts and opinions. Distinguish about ideas and
examples. What is their relationship?

Exercise:
Analyze the following text as to the structure of its ideas.
You don’t have to be a specialist in folklore to know if a story is a fairytale or not. Any
child can do it. The special artistic style and construction of the fairytale is constant, and
various tellers will always show certain uniformity in the way they construct their stories.
Orally transmitted narratives are never the same, but they tend to be similar to one
another. They are similar in the way they are told, and they are similar in the way their plots
develop. And while each story may appear to offer its own way of representing reality, one is
still left with the impression that the fairytale as a genre offers its hearers places, situations
and characters that transcend the individual story. They reappear over and over again in many
other narratives. Compare, for example Snow White and the seven Dwarfs with Cinderella or
with Sleeping Beauty. Isn’t it the same world?
Anyone interested in the fairytale is not concerned with whether the sequence of events
reflects real social or psychological happenings, whether the narrative reflects cultural or
economic backgrounds or whether it encourages revolutionary or conservative thinking. Those
who get into this kind of study are interested in the fairytales themselves. They have been told
time and time again not because they are easy to tell, but because they have provided pleasure.
For hundreds or even thousands of years they have fascinated humanity. And if professional
taletellers have disappeared from society, we still have mothers, or, if you want, books and
videos that keep telling the same stories.
A study of the fairytale must, then, be concerned with the reasons why these narratives
have been and still are a source of pleasure. But literature is more than just a pleasing form, it
presents scenes from a world where people act and react in a certain way. This reflects a
particular view of the world and of human existence. Therefore, a serious study of this kind
must also include the portrait of the reality and its beings that the fairytale projects on the
hearer.
 20

Skimming and scanning

Do you read fast? Is fast reading good? Are you an efficient reader? How do you
read? These are frequently asked questions in reading speed books and courses. Rapid
reading considers many factors. Some are purely mechanical, like eye movement, or
have to do with brain functions, like capacity for comprehension. There are habits of
recognizing meaning, like reading word by word or in word groups. There can be eye
regressions (going back). Some people use their finger for pointing to words, others
vocalize or “mouth” words, or sub-vocalize (say the words silently). Some are able to
predict what comes next, others don’t. Other factors are: vocabulary range and general
culture.

The ideal thing is to be able to combine two goals: fast, and efficient reading.
These two could oppose each other, or could be combined. It all depends. It is good to
be aware of the factors I have said before. You may improve them if you know how
they help or hinder you in your reading capacity.

The best two techniques in reading are called “skimming” and “scanning.”
Skimming is reading superficially and fast. You don’t read every word. What you look
for is the general meaning. Some words are full of meaning; others show a
grammatical or structural function (articles, prepositions). Words that have meaning
are always nouns and verbs. Scanning is going fast through a text to stop at the
specific information you want to examine in detail.

You should be able to integrate these two techniques in order to improve your
reading skills. Think about them. If you are faced with lots of reading material you
may be at a disadvantage if you can only read slowly.

Looking for specific information

There are times when you have to do some amount of research to find the
information you need when you have to write about something. The usual thing is that
you find material that gives you some information, but that also presents information
that you do not need, because your purpose may be different. Why some information
is important?

Because it says something relevant:

in favor
or your arguments
against
 21

Because it is a good
analogy
or for your ideas
example

Why some information is not important?

Because what it presents
is too little
is not representative
is ill founded
is too emotional
is not proven
is incorrect.

Exercise:
You have to prepare a two-hundred-word presentation for Médecins Sans
Frontières (Doctors without Borders). Your purpose is just to present this organization
so people understand what they do. You have found a source of information: a
newspaper article about the Noble Prize this Institution has won. What you have to do
is to find the messages that you can use to make this presentation. A good idea is to
underline the parts that you can use, and then build your text:

Humanitarian Ideals get the Nobel Peace Prize

David Morley, executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières in Canada has contributed this comment to the
International Herald Tribune:
TORONTO— Much to my role in building world peace. It intimidate others, but we could
surprise, winning the Nobel is also a recognition that peace not give them back their limbs.
Peace Prize was a bittersweet needs more than politicians: it Women in the Republic of
experience. needs countless individuals to Congo are still being violated in
carry out acts of kindness horrific numbers, and we have
At first there was the when there has been injustice not been able to stop it.
delightful shock of the early and war.
morning phone call on Oct. 15 In a real and practical sense,
to learn that Médecins Sans The Nobel citation expressed nothing has changed.
Frontières was the winner of its recognition of the
the world’s most prestigious importance of humanitarian Nevertheless, we still have a
peace award. As the day went ideals and the dignity of the reason to celebrate. I
on the shock turned to victims who suffer needlessly remember the words of a man
disbelief. Camera crews came because of war. It praised in a refugee camp in Central
into our office for a chance to Médecins Sans Frontières’ America, talking about
ask questions. Winning the independence from civil and international relief workers.
prize suddenly meant that military authorities. “You come here to help, but if
people wanted to hear what we you don’t celebrate our small
had to say. Meanwhile, children in Angola triumphs, if you don’t see the
are still threatened by measles lives we have saved as well as
This has been a wonderfully and we cannot get the vaccines the lives we have yet to save,
exhilarating affirmation of our there in time to save them all. then you won’t last. If you want
work. It is a recognition that We helped innocent victims of to be with us for some time,
ordinary people who are willing the war in Sierra Leone whose then celebrate with us too.”
to go to sad, desolate and hands and feet had been
forgotten places play a vital brutally chopped off to
 22

This prize is an opportunity to principle that “all disaster before Oct. 15, 1999, but
celebrate the human spirit of victims, whether the disaster is perhaps in five or 10 years’
mothers and children in a natural or human in origin, time we will see this as a
Mozambican refugee camp who have a right to professional pivotal moment, when the
can sing and play despite their assistance, given as quickly global importance of
atrocious wounds. To celebrate and efficiently as possible.” humanitarian ideals, action
the commitment of and law is recognized.
humanitarian workers from It added that “by intervening
around the world who make a so rapidly, Doctors without There is a primary school in
difference every day. To Borders calls public attention Toronto where children have
celebrate the financial to all humanitarian been particularly active fund-
donations made by people who catastrophes, and by pointing raisers for Médecins Sans
cannot be on the front lines to the causes, of such Frontières. When they heard
but who want to participate in catastrophes, the organization about the Nobel Peace Prize,
some way. helps to form bodies of public they ran around the school,
opinion opposed to violations calling out “We won! We won!”
The Nobel Peace Prize is a and abuses of power.” Maybe that is the point of this
great honor for all people year’s peace prize: We all win
committed to humanitarian Nevertheless, we must not let when humanitarian principles
relief and development. The ourselves be led into silence by are honored, implemented and
Nobel Academy’s citation that complacency over this celebrated.
Médecins Sans Frontières won apparent victory. The killing
for its adherence to the fields and refugee camps seem
the same today as they did
 21

Techniques for taking notes

When you read looking for information, you may use one source or, more often
in university studies, you may have to search for the information in different books or
articles. In order to organize that information one must develop a good way of note
taking. Note taking is also essential when you are listening to a lecture, conference,
etc. In order to work with effectiveness when dealing with information we must master
diverse techniques for note-taking. Many people have learned these techniques the
hard way, through trial and error. There are many different techniques: building
sequences, paraphrasing, structuring in a hierarchical manner, relating, highlighting,
inserting, deleting; let’s see which may adapt to our personality and interests.

At the beginning:

Predicting
Reading quickly
Finding specific information

Understanding the text:

Organization
Semantic aspects
Relationships between sentences
Discourse markers and their function (segmentation, temporal. casual,
contrast, emphasis)
Graphic representation (data, diagrams, etc.)
Deducing unknown words

Distinguishing between:

Factual and non-factual information

Important and less important information
Relevant and irrelevant information
Explicit and implicit information
Ideas, examples and opinions
Drawing inferences and conclusions
 22

Knowing how a discourse is organized can help you taking notes. A way of
understanding a text or of organizing our notes is by identifying the functions of the
diverse parts that make up discourse, not necessarily in the order they appear here:

 Introducing the idea

 Developing the idea
 Giving examples
 Comparing ideas
 Contrasting several ideas
 Results of ideas
 Transition to other ideas
 Chronology of ideas
 Emphasis on one idea
 Summary of ideas
 Making a list of the ideas and its components
 Analyzing its components
 Emphasizing an idea
 Examining transitions from one idea o another
 Asking questions
 Explaining a process
 Offering a solution
 Explaining or defending a point of view
 Summarizing ideas
The main structure for an academic paper is that of topic and thesis. When we
answer the question, “what is the text about?” we state the topic. When we answer the
question “what is the author saying about the subject?” we get the thesis. Then, if we
ask for related subjects we find limits, and this also lets us know the context. If we ask
about ideas that support the thesis we begin to see what material has been used to
structure the text, especially if we pay attention to the way these ideas are related. We
must distinguish between ideas and examples that support these ideas. Finally we
should ask about the purpose and intentions the author had to write the text.

These are the things we should identify and note down from a text:
 Purpose
 Range
 23

 Main subject
 Development of the subject
 Social, political, cultural or religious context of the text and its author
 Relations between the different parts of the discourse: main ideas,
generalizations, hypotheses, supporting ideas, ideas indirectly related,
examples
 Function of connecting words that help us understand the structure
of a text
 Types of relations (cause, effect, conclusions, etc.)
 Key words used in the text

Furthermore, we must also be able to:

 Infer the approximate meaning of words through the context

 Identify the elements that hold together the text
 Tell apart non relevant matter.

There are several types of note-taking strategies. Let’s look at some:

 Topicalizing: writing down a word or sentences that represent a whole

section of the text.
 Translation into your own language
 Copying: writing down what is written
 Transcribing: writing down what is said
 Schematizing: organizing the discourse using diagrams, branching
 Numbering: putting topics in a certain order
 Hierarchy cueing: labeling notes as main idea, example, contrast,
anecdote, conclusion, etc.
 Relation ordering: using indentations, arrows, and other signs to
indicate relation among ideas
 Highlighting: underlining, placing asterisks, circling ideas
 Dehighliting: using small letters, placing ideas in parenthesis
 Revising notes: inserting, erasing or crossing out

The general method we follow when doing research work is that while we collect texts
from different sources, we write down the ideas that come to our minds. All of this
material allows us, when revising it, to take down more notes. The next thing to do is
 24

to create a structure that would give a logical order to our paper. This structure
should also be revised.

A word of advice: When you take notes, omit messages that are not essential,
concentrate on the important ideas and on important words. Write in short sentences.
Use symbols and abbreviations. Show connections and importance by using spaces,
numbers, underlining and symbols.

Exercise:

Take notes on these two texts to show how the writers organize the information to
present their ideas?

A personality theory applied to marketing is self-concept (or self-image) theory. This theory holds that
individuals have a concept of self, based on who they think they are (the actual self) and a concept of who they think
they would like to be (the ideal self). Self-concept theory is related to psychoanalytic theory, since the actual self is
similar to the ego and the ideal self is similar to the superego. It is more empirical than psychoanalytic theory:
Consumers are asked to describe how they see themselves or how they would like to see themselves.
Self-concept theory is governed by two principles: the desire to attain self-consistency and the desire to
enhance one’s self esteem. Attaining self consistency means that an individual will act in accordance with his or her
concept of actual self. For example, a consumer may see himself as a practical and self-controlled individual. He buys
conservative suits, drives a large four-door sedan and spends quiet evenings at home. Deep down, however, he would
like to be more carefree and reckless. If he were to act more like his ideal self, he might own a small sports car, dress
in jeans and sport shirts, and go to rock clubs. Such actions would enhance his self-esteem by drawing him closer to his
ideal self.
Adapted Assael, Henry (1992): Consumer Behavior & Marketing Action. Boston: PWS-Kent.

***

In the northeastern United States, as in most of the remainder of the country, about one plant species in five
is threatened by a significant reduction in numbers or even with total extinction. Here are the names of several: New
England boneset, Furbish’s lousewort, threadleaf sundew, fairy wand and hairy beardtongue. Many people still ask the
question: Of what possible value, except to a few botanists, is a plant like hairy beardtongue ? Why money and effort
should be spent to save this and other strange plants?
Let me tell the reasons. Consider periwinkles, of the genus Catharanthus, flowering plants that live on
Madagascar, a great island off the East coast of Africa. Inconspicuous in appearance, located all the way around the
world, the six species of periwinkles would seem to be even less worthy of attention. But one of them, the rosy
periwinkle (Catharantus rosens), is the source of alkaloid chemicals used to cure two of the most deadly forms of
cancer: Hodgkin’s disease, especially dangerous to young adults, and acute lymphocytic leukemia, which, before the
periwinkle alkaloids, was a virtual death sentence for young children. These anti-cancer substances are now the basis of
an industry earning more than 100 million dollars a year. Ironically, the other five periwinkle species remain largely
unexamined for their medical potential. One of them is near extinction due to the destruction of its habitat in
Madagascar. On a global scale, one out of ten plant species has been found to contain anti-cancer substances of some
degree of potency. A much higher percentage yield pharmaceuticals and other natural products of potential use as well
as basic scientific information. If we dismiss beardtongues and louseworts, we may be doing ourselves a considerable
disservice.
Simple prudence dictates that no species, however humble, should ever be allowed to go extinct if it is within
the power of humanity to save it.
Adapted from Wilson, Edward O. (1999): Biological Diversity: The Oldest Human Heritages. New York: New
York State Museum.
 25

The outline

One method we can use is to make an outline of the text. There are different
techniques. The simplest and most basic structure of academic writing is:
introduction-development-conclusion. This structure appears at various levels from a
chapter to a paragraph. The following outline can help you relate the different parts of
a text.


  
Idea A - Examples
 Partial conclusion
 
   Final conclusion
Idea B - Examples

 
  
Idea C - Examples
 Partial conclusion
Idea D - Examples 

Here is another way of sequencing your notes; this example shows a numbered
list of ideas and their relations.

1. Main idea
1.1.1.1 Supporting idea
1.1.2 Example to illustrate the idea
1.2 Supporting evidence
1.3 Supporting evidence
1.3.1 Particular case
1.3.2 Supporting ideas from other sources
1.3.3 Conclusion
1.4 Partial conclusion

2. Main idea
2.1 Evidence
2.2 Supporting idea
2.2.1 Point
2.2.3 Point
2.2.4 Conclusion
2.3 Partial conclusion

3. Final conclusion

The following is an example of an outline presented as a map:

 26

These are just some of the techniques we can use to understand the architecture of a
text. It is a good idea to use them in order to see which one can suit your personality
and your interests.

Exercise:
Try to obtain the structure of the following text, using some of the techniques you
have learned:

The core of evil is violence. In Violence and Responsibility, J. Harris defines violence as
that which “happens when harm or suffering is inflicted to one or several people by an agent
who knows (or should reasonably know) that his acts will result in evil.” Suffering is one
aspect of pain, which has three different variants. The first is the cause of pain, be it natural or
deliberate violence. This action of causing harm is the active evil: This is where Satan lives. The
second is pain strictly defined as a physical acute response to sensorial stimuli. In this sense,
pain is morally neuter: It can be constructive if it lets us know that our foot is getting burned.
The third is suffering, which is an answer to pain that includes terror, anxiety, panic and the
fear of annihilation. Suffering is a passive evil, resulting from an active evil.
Violence can be defined as the evil infliction of suffering. There are pain induced
situations (e. g. a surgeon’s scalpel) that cannot be classified as violent because their purpose
is to heal, not to cause pain. Inflicting pain in a conscious and deliberate way is the core of
violence and moral evil. “Natural evils,” such as floods or muscular atrophy, are also examples
of violence. One cannot put them aside as morally neuter or as a logical need from the Cosmos.
If God is responsible for the world, he is also responsible for the natural evils and the suffering
they bring. The double-effect doctrine cannot free God from his responsibility. The “double-
effect” is the distinction between what a person strictly pretends and what this person foresees
as a probable result from an act; for example, if a person sees two people drowning at a certain
distance, he or she can swim to save one of them, with the idea of doing a good deed but at the
same time knowing that the other person will probably drown. The limitations of the “double-
 27

effect” become clear in this other example: a person sparks off a nuclear war with the intention
of freeing the world from injustice. It seems impossible that an all-knowing God is responsible
for the consequences even if he knows the outcome before it happens. God knows, in a clear
and certain way, that when he creates the cosmos he creates it with tortured children.

Adapted from: Russell, Jeffrey Burton (1984): Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. Ithaca:
Cornell.

Explicit and implicit information

Not all the information you can get from a text is clearly written down. There
are many things that are not explicitly stated, and that nevertheless are available to
you by inference or logical deduction. Inference is the arrival to a conclusion from
particular instances: An effect implies a cause. Deduction is the reverse process: from
a general rule you can make a conclusion about a particular instance. Let’s see an
example. Read this text:

Between 1973 and 1979 there was an oil crisis. The OPEC decided to raise the price of
the oil barrel, and that caused a wave of fear in many nations. At that time we began to
look for alternative, renewable and safe sources of energy to prevent the destruction of
our environment, something as simple as alcohol to power vehicles: it leaves no toxic
residues. We also wanted to protect ourselves from being subjected to prices imposed by
oil producing countries by being less dependent on them. Now that we have developed
the technology to have alcohol powered cars, we find that oil is cheaper than alcohol.
We also resent every time that fuel oil goes up. The fact is that the more oil goes up, the
more competitive renewable energy sources will be.

Based on this text, which conclusion can we reach?

“We should control the price of oil through some kind of international body,
because our economies depend on it.”

“We should let oil prices go up, it is the best and probably the only way to
switch from oil to alcohol as fuel.”

But if we add one of the following texts, what would the conclusion be?

Industrialized countries depend on a cheap source of energy to be able to compete in

the world market. If energy costs are high, so will be the final price of the product. A
country that offers the same goods at a higher price will impoverish itself.

Our children will hold us responsible for the world we leave to them. To think only
about “here” and “now,” besides being a selfish attitude is to condemn humanity to a
 28

future disaster. Progress usually implies some kind of sacrifice. But history has shown
that it pays off.

The author may play with what’s taken for granted by the reader: values and
sentiments. In any expositive writing there is some degree of manipulation. One way of
manipulation is by using the “halo effect.” This is done by using a consistently
positive inference in the reader’s mind. Look at these texts:

Most scientists and all the non-governmental organizations are trying hard to liberate
humanity from the dependency of environmental destructive energy sources. Instead of
worrying about how to control the price of oil, they are looking for ways of reducing the
cost of producing other types of energy.

Despite all the talk of the Greens, serious economists (and among them we could
mention several Nobel Prizes) are in favor of securing a reasonable access to energy
sources. They tell us of ways of pressuring those oil producing countries’ governments
that try to enrich themselves, paying no attention to the rest of the world’s needs . They
should know that if they raise oil prices, they will end up paying more for the
manufactured goods that they have to buy from the industrialized world.

Read between lines. An intelligent reader will be able to find much more in a
text than what is clearly stated. You can see the ideological tendency of the author if
you pay close attention to the information presented. What’s said is important, but
what’s not said is, perhaps, as important to be able to read intelligently.

There are two techniques in reading: “skimming” (reading superficially and fast
in order to get the general meaning) and “scanning” (going fast through a text to stop
at the specific information you want to examine in detail). In both cases what you look
for is “important words”: nouns, verbs and descriptive adjectives. They are all full of
meaning. But in a text, repetition of words full of meaning is also a way to stress its
importance in a message. Repetition can be done not only by writing the same word
again, many writers prefer variety by using synonyms: the idea is repeated, not the
word.

Where are the most meaningful messages placed in a text? As a general rule,
the first and last sentences of a paragraph are the ones that are charged with
meaning. In the first, a writer usually makes a statement. In the last the conclusion
may be presented. The middle of the paragraph serves to develop the ideas.
 29

Knowing this, you can practice understanding a text by paying attention to the
meaning looking for important ideas that are repeated, and looking at the beginning
and the end of each paragraph.

Exercise:
Skim the following text. Using a pencil, underline the most important words. Next look
at the important messages placed at the strategic positions. Try to form an idea about
what the text is about and what the writer is saying about it.

Fear of Laughter by William F. Fry Jr., M.D.

Commonly, when we talk of humor, we think of entertainment and pleasure. We think

of smiling and giggling and laughter. Humor is valued throughout the world for its
entertainment capabilities, and also due to its capacity for bringing people together in a spirit
of sharing and emotional interaction. It is recognized and valued for its ability to resolve
conflicts and ease tensions.
There are many positive physiological effects associated with laughter. Laboratory
investigation has demonstrated that laughter is accompanied by impact on most of the major
physiological systems of the human body. This response is a total body experience, involving all
physiological systems. It is clear that this bodily participation results in beneficial stimulation
and also has the positive value of reducing unfavorable stress.
Despite this awareness of humor as a valuable and generally beneficial element in
human existence, some strange anomalies have arisen during the centuries, regarding human
attitudes about humor. There have been —and are— people with very negative views on humor.
Various people consider humor to be frivolous, inconsequential, and unimportant, vulgar or
repulsive, disgusting, hostile, threatening, aggressive and fearsome.
These negative views may appear as individual evaluations, or they may be the majority
of the attitudes of entire populations. On certain occasions in the history of Western
Civilization, humor has actually been banned, forbidden, repressed by prosecution carried
forth by ruling persons or groups. Although such extremes are not the common rule, they are
by no means totally idiosyncratic and rare.
How can we explain this often ferocious antagonism against humor, mirth and
laughter? What is the source that lies behind this antagonism? There are probably many
individual reasons for the regrettable attitude —too many to be able to detail them all.
However, it is possible to recognize the small number of general principles underlying this
antagonistic fear.
It appears that a major source of the fear of laughter is the power of humor in human
life. If humor and laughter were, in fact, as trivial and inconsequential as has been expressed
at various times, there would be no cause for display of negativity and rejection. However, as
we can recognize, humor and laughter are powerful elements of human life. They are elements
that must be dealt with, not ignored or rejected.
This power operates in several areas of human functioning. I have mentioned the
creative nature of humor. In its creativity, humor has the effect of expanding a person’s mental
being. In each item of humor, a person learns something new —trivial or profound, but new.
This expansion is generally beneficial, but humans don’t like their mental “self” tampered with.
It feels like a sort of thought control. Humor makes one a different person.
This power doesn’t stop below the neck. As stated above, mirth is accompanied by
perturbations throughout the body. Our very biology, our physical being is touched. We are
 30

strummed like a large, complex guitar. And this, like the mind expansion, is involuntary. One
might worry, “what has happened to Free Will”?
Our interpersonal relationships are subject to the impact of the power of humor. When
people are sharing humor and laughter, they are experiencing a strongly communal sharing.
Bonds develop among the participants. Usually that inevitable result is quite desirable; on
occasions it may not be so. But the effect cannot be avoided, it is compelling. That can be
bothersome, on occasions.
Social customs, social expectations and social values are all subject to influences of
humor and laughter. This effect is not only apparent within communities and localized
cultures, but also is evidenced on international levels, even worldwide. Humor can change
what we believe we believe in.
Humor and laughter are ageless components of human life. It is presently impossible to
set a time for their original entrance into the human repertoire. We humans have a great deal
of close experience with humor and laughter. They are powerful and have powerful impacts on
human life, but we are experts with them. What we need is more attention to them, more
understanding of them, more acceptance, less avoidance, less rejection, less fear. With greater
attention to our humor, our expertise in that realm can be brought into greater play. The
issues of power are primarily concerned with the question “who’s in control?” There should
really be no question on this score. We are the experts and it’s our humor, our laughter. We
receive the benefits of humor and laughter. To fear these powerful parts of our lives, to scorn,
trivialize, reject them runs counter to the facts about them and counter to our own best
interests.

Summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing

University students tend to use copying as the first method of integrating
information. This is a way of presenting other peoples’ ideas: Verbatim copy of the text;
that is to say a quote, and elaborating the ideas. This is a good way to indicate
supporting material to the reader, but there is a very good reason not to rely on
copying for your work: You should use source materials for background information
only, and to support your ideas, and fight the tendency to depend on someone else’s
text. That’s the way you develop your own original ideas and your own expression.

Let’s see three other ways of integrating information from other sources,
namely, the paraphrase, the summary, and the synthesis.

Paraphrasing is expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words and in your
own style, in other words, to paraphrase is to present and comment on the
information from a text. The idea is expanded and explained with more detail than in
the original text. We should not confuse paraphrasing with criticizing. Critical thought
is useful, but belongs to another category. A good way to paraphrase is: Look at the
content, understand what it’s said, then put the information source and write what
you’ve understood. Try to begin a different way to free yourself from the other person’s
style.
 31

Summarizing is reducing a text, condensing it to express only the substance. It

goes beyond paraphrasing. You can take a whole paragraph and reduce it to one
sentence, expressing only the general idea. A good summary follows the thread of the
discourse, discarding details, examples and other accessory information. One usually
uses the same key words as in the text. Sometimes a summary is presented as an
outline, but most of the times people write it down as a text. When you summarize,
think about the following:

 Why you are doing this

 What kind of information you are looking for
 Which details are relevant to your work and which are not

Be sure you understand what you are reading. Identify the main points of the
text and the important details. Make notes, organize them (you may use the same
order as the original or one that suits you better) and then write. Once you have
finished writing, read the text again to see if you have all the information you want.

Synthesizing is integrating into a text summaries from various sources. This is

a creative process where the writers must use their own words; it is not a copy, but
the result of reading, understanding and meditating the texts. Once mastered, a great
part of your writing will consist of this technique. A synthetic text must be brief and
thus selective, we should only use the information needed for our purposes, leaving
aside other matters. Finally, the result must be useful, if the result does not serve the
purpose of advancing, then it has little value.

Remember that in all of these cases we must make a note of our sources,
because it will be shown in the paper as credit. Anything that is not ours must be
properly credited; academic papers are based on research, and to demonstrate you
have done research, you must show you have read; so it serves your interests to give
credit to all the sources you have used.

Exercise:
Paraphrase:
In the Hellenistic and Roman empires the need for large-scale engineering made itself felt for the first time.

Summarize:
To Alexandria, the melting pot of antiquity came the practical knowledge of the “barbarians,” to be combined with
the Hellenic heritage by now willing Greeks. Such was his role of Heron, he was a distinguished engineer and the last in a
 32

line of brilliant predecessors, among whom the name of Ctesibios stands out. Heron was the founder of the first organized
school of engineering. Heron’s work gave us, until a few years ago, the most we know about ancient technology.

Adapted from Santillana, Giorgio de (1961): The Origins of Scientific Thought. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Now try to synthesize the above text with the one that follows:
The most celebrated school of Science in antiquity that of Alexandria is an instance of the fructifying influence of
the hedonistic ethics. The urban civilization of Alexandria provided the basis for its liberal hedonism. Alexandria under
Ptolemy Philadelphus became the largest city of the Greek world. It was the crossroads of trade between Arabia, Africa, India,
and the countries along the Aegean and Euxine seas. Its splendor was proverbial. There were the buildings of the Library, the
Museum, the Academy of Sciences and Letters, and the Zoo. Many languages and people mixed in Alexandria —Greek,
Egyptian, Hebrew. The economic spirit was dominant in the city. And this society gave a home to its distinguished scientists
and scholars, in the Museum. There they lived in comfort, and were provided with their food. They were exempted from
taxation, and devoted themselves to their work.

Adapted from Feuer, Lewis S. (1963): The Scientific Intellectual. New York: Basic.

We must always remember that writing is a process; we must write our entries in such
a way that we will be able to revise them later and allow us to make changes. There
are two techniques that will help us revise our notes.

 Give a title that identifies each entry and number them

 Leave ample margins that allow the adding of comments.

Exercise:
Imagine you have to write a paper on violence. You have three texts that deal
with this subject. Analyze them, write a summary about each of them, and then write
a synthesis of those summaries along with the previous exercise.
Text 1:

If we pay close attention to monuments from the past (old steles,

commemorative monoliths, chronicles, or Homer’s poems) and we overcome the
sacramental aura that surrounds these vestiges due to the centuries that separate us
from their respective times, we will realize that violence, whether real or imaginary,
appears in them as an almost integral part of the human condition. No nation,
population, or civilization has been free of violence, no matter how peaceful their
people have been. It seems that the old saying attributed to Heraclitus: «Polemos [war,
conflict] is the father of all things» has become reality.
Violence is a necessary component to most of our collective representations. It
is present in cinema, and daily, as mournful news or news that refers to near or far
away wars, in all media. Our museums are full of beautiful representations of more or
less mythical parricides, kidnappings and rapes, naval and land battles, unimaginable
tortures, scenes representing pain and martyrdom where one can see tense bodies due
to aggression and brutality among neighbors. A superficial look at literature and
theater from all periods in history will tell us that their works serve as vehicles to the
enjoyment of violence in order to produce a coveted catharsis; not to mention the
 33

violence we see in what we call sports, that base their efficacy as an identity factor for
the masses precisely in the sublimation of the desire to fight which proves to be less
and less subtle as time goes by.
The unavoidable presence of violence among us could numb our souls; the
learned understanding of events from the past could let us place savagery in context.
Nevertheless, they do not inhibit us from experiencing a feeling of outrage or of
unforgivable crime when we face terrorism. Nevertheless this manifestation of violence
has been for decades a kind of universal political language, as evil as it is efficient, and
with as much historic impact as the right to free suffrage and democratic
representation, which we consider identity signs that separate us from our ancestors.
Adapted from: Lynch, Enrique (2000): “Mundanidad y violencia,” ABC December 2: 16
Text 2:
Violence against women and girls is an important health and human rights
matter. If we take this as a reference for the female world’s population, at least one out
of five women has been physically or sexually battered by one or several men at some
moment in their lives. In many cases, including pregnant women and young girls, they
have suffered serious and repeated violent acts.
All around the world, violence against women is calculated to be the cause of
death or incapacity for women in their reproductive years, as much as cancer is, and
violence causes more illness (health) and more injuries than traffic accidents and
malaria combined.
Abusive treatment to women is condemned in almost all societies. We seldom
see men who beat or rape women or girls being taken to court or sentenced, compared
to the number of aggressions committed. Therefore, violence operates as a means to
maintain and reinforce the subordination of women.
Violence has a profound effect on women. It begins before birth, in some
countries, with selective abortions according to the fetus’ sex, or at birth, when
parents, desperate to have a male child, kill their newborn baby girls. It continues to
affect women all their lives. Every year, millions of girls are subject to genital
mutilation. There is a greater probability that girls are raped or beaten by members of
their own family, people in positions of power, family friends or strangers than for
their brothers. In some countries, when an unmarried woman or an adolescent girl is
raped, she may be forced to marry her aggressor, or she may be put in jail for having
committed a “criminal” act. Women who become pregnant before getting married can
be beaten, condemned to ostracism or killed by members of her family, even if her
pregnancy is the result of a rape.
After marriage, the risk of being treated violently still roams at home, where her
husband and sometimes her in-laws, can attack her, rape her or kill her. When
women become pregnant, get old or suffer a mental or physical disability, they are
more vulnerable to attacks. Women who live far from their houses, who are in prison
or somehow isolated are also subjected to violent treatment. During armed conflicts,
attacks on women by hostile soldiers as well as by allied forces may occur. The general
breaking of law and order produced during conflicts and forced displacements also
means an increase of all forms of violence. Tension, frustration, impotence and the
loss of traditional male roles during forced displacements can turn into a greater
number of aggressions against women. Excessive alcohol consumption can also
become more frequent and aggravate this situation.
 34

The underlying acceptance of violence against women that exists in many

societies is more accepted during conflicts. This can be considered an extension of the
violence that women suffer in times of peace. This situation gets worse due to the
polarization of roles attributed to each sex during armed conflicts. At times a
masculine image is formed which encourages aggressive and misogynistic behavior.
On the other hand, women can be idealized as the bearer of a given cultural identity
and their body can be perceived as a land to be conquered. Troops can also use rape
and other forms of violence against women as a way to increase the male enemies’
subjugation and humiliation.
Adapted from:
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/vaw/violencia.htm#Introducción
Text 3:
North American children watch TV at a rate of three to four hours per day.
Television can be a powerful influence for them, in the development of a value system
and in forming their behavior. Unfortunately, a great part of today’s programming is
violent. Hundreds of studies on the effect of TV violence in children and teenagers
have found that kids can:
1. Become “immune” to the horror violence causes
2. Gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems
3. Imitate violent acts that are seen on TV
4. Identify themselves with certain characters (victims or aggressors).
Children excessively exposed to TV violence tend to be more aggressive.
Sometimes, just by watching a violent program, it can increase their violent behavior.
Kids that watch shows where violence is very realistic, frequently shown, or not
punished, will try to imitate what they have seen more than other children. The impact
of TV violence can be immediate on children’s behavior or can show up years later.
Young men and women can also be affected even when there are no violent tendencies
in their families. This does not mean that TV violence is the only source of
aggressiveness or violent behavior, but it is a significant contributor.
Parents should take precautions to prevent the harmful effects of television in
matters such as commercials that denigrate some ethnic groups or that maintain
sexual stereotypes. The amount of time children use to watch TV, no matter what
contents it has, should be moderate, because it prevents them from other beneficial
activities, such as reading and playing with their friends.
Adapted from: “Los niños y la violencia en la televisión”:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/apntsFam/violence.htm

Revising your notes

Good note-taking will help us master the subject. It will also help us in find a
purpose for our work. It is not the same to take notes for an exam as it is for an
article; the purpose is different. The former reproduces material that must be
mastered and the latter uses part of this information as a source for developing and
presenting your own ideas. Revising your notes helps achieve this purpose. But there
are also other reasons for revising your notes, to solve doubts and to have clear ideas,
 35

to correct errors, to fill gaps, to condense, to eliminate what is not relevant or what is
repetitive, and to provide your work with a better structure. We should not let too
much time pass between writing our notes and revising them, because our memory
may fail us, and we will devote more time than we should to this task.

In order to make a good revision, the first thing to do is to write clearly when we
are hand-writing our notes; we should be able to understand what we have written.
We should use enough space. We should also relate the data, and organize the
information in a better way than when we wrote our first notes. This will allow us
reach conclusions in a better way. We should also comment on our own notes; this is
the beginning of the process of re-elaboration. Ideas should be treated according to
their importance; in order to do that, we must distinguish clearly between main ideas
and secondary ideas, those that make the core of our text and those that give support,
serve as evidence or further develop our main ideas, and those ideas related to what
we are writing about (those that are close to our ideas and will be used for
comparisons, those that are complementary, and those that are contrary), to these
distinctions we may add suggestions and our own individual thoughts.

We must discard repetitions, unnecessary and obvious statements,

digressions, examples that do not illustrate, and useless details.

We must also pay attention to what we lack: more data, gaps, or doubts.

We must think about matter that is not dealt with by our sources and whether
we should get into it. A good tactic is to leave blank spaces that we can fill in later.

Exercise:
State whether the samples presented here are an original text, a quotation, a
paraphrase or plagiarism in relation to the original text given at the beginning. Justify
your answers.

Original Text:
By way of “text,” what precedes a performance of an oral epic? This classic question arises as one observes
the smooth unfolding of a lengthy story from the mouth of the epic singer and the knitting together of its
events and episodes into a full-fledged text. What one hears is just one possible realization of the story among
many. Even with one and the same singer there is no single master text that the singer simply reproduces. Yet
much that existed before and was sung before is reproduced. Much is remembered and reused, consciously or
unconsciously. Still, to characterize the act of performance simply as performed memorization of the story in
question is obviously false; the different renditions of the same story by the same singer vary too much to
support that hypothesis.
 36

Honko, Lauri (1996): “Epics along the Silk Roads: Mental Texts, Performance, and Written Codification. Oral
Tradition 11,1: 1-17: 4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sample 1
Oral narratives are never exactly the same; there is hardly any person who can tell the same story using the
exact same words; as Lauri Honko says: “What one hears is just one possible realization of the story among
many” (Honko, L., 1996: 4). This does not mean that it is not recognized as the same story by its hearers.
____________________________________________________________________________
Sample 2
Memory in story telling is active; it just does not reproduce a story, but creates, or rather recreates it in every
telling. Story tellers may have different techniques, but what a story teller remembers is a set of elements such
as the plot, characters, situations, places and objects. The rest is created or improvised according to well-
known techniques.
____________________________________________________________________________
Sample 3
Each retelling of a given story is not just the product of memorizing a performance but rather the result of a
creative process, that we could call improvisation if we define it as the technique of creating a structure
according to some traditional rules and within certain limits. 1
___________________
Cf. Honko, L., (1996): 4
____________________________________________________________________________
Sample 4
Even though everybody recognizes a tale when one hears it, no story teller repeats the same story in an exact
manner. The story one person hears is just one of the many possible realizations of that story. This is possible
thanks to the artistic way traditional stories are memorized and retold.

Adapting your text for the reader

Who is going to read our paper? We must know this in order to create a text
adapted to the reader. Many times, in an exam, or in a written presentation, we do
know who is going to read our work, but many times we write more for a type of reader
than for a specific person. We must think of their possible age, lifestyle, educational
level, ideology, interests, way of thinking, we should also think about amount of
information they may have about the topic you are dealing with, and their possible
reactions to our ideas and opinions. To understand this a little better, let’s think how
we would write an article about Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly
known as the mad-cow disease, for different publications, such as a journal for
biologists, a magazine on science for the general public, a newspaper, the yellow press,
a satirical magazine, a pamphlet issued by a “green” party, or a magazine for cattle
raisers.

Writers must select their readers, and by imagining their hypothetical reader,
they shape their text to the interests, aptitudes, and attitudes this reader may
possess; the text will become more or less interesting, easy or difficult to understand
 37

and will satisfy the reader’s curiosity according to the way it is adapted to this
hypothetical reader. Let’s take, for example, a text about some area of knowledge; if we
use the professional jargon from this area, those who have not mastered it will not be
able to understand our text. If the subject matter is complicated and we offer a
profound analysis of some issues, there will surely be people not capable of
understanding our text. And if the way we write does not motivate the readers to keep
reading because it is too basic and does not add anything to their knowledge, they will
stop reading. The ideal thing is to meet the readers’ needs and interests of our readers.

Who is the reader of an academic paper? Usually the answer takes to a learned
person who may or may not be an expert in the matter. This person is curious enough
to be interested in the subject matter we write about. This person may agree with your
opinions or may hold different opinions, or may not yet have an opinion about the
issues we deal with. Each case may need a different approach.

The writer’s image through the text

Every text is a reflection of its author. Students live this fact constantly;
teachers usually evaluate students through written exams. One thing is the image a
writer has of him or herself, another thing is the image this author wants to project to
a reader, and yet another very different thing is the image the reader perceives of this
author. What we want and what we achieve are two different things. We must take
good care of our image. In orality we are used to doing this, but writing sometimes
requires different techniques. We should think of two things we must reflect in our
texts: Readers should recognize our authority on the subject, in other words, there is a
feeling that we know what we are writing about, and readers should think we are
intelligent, because our text arouses their interest on the topic. Readers will feel that
our text has been written with authority if it adapts itself to the subject matter, does
not include errors in the use of words or in the treatment of ideas, the method used is
logical and clearly exposed, and if it is rigorous and profound as belongs to an
academic paper. To obtain an interesting text we should allow our readers to relate
what it says to their own physical or mental contexts.

Exercise

Read the following three texts; express how you perceive each author:
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Modern society places a high premium on literacy. The shock-horror headlines which greet
successive surveys of educational performance are informed by the close links between literacy,
social stability and economic development in modern societies. Such concerns have inevitably
affected the academic agenda. The past half-century has seen the growth of a 'literacy
industry'. Some scholars, primarily anthropologists and historians, have attempted to assess
the long-term results of literacy on cultural, social and political organization. A range of shifts
in human capability have been linked to literacy; one particular claim has been that literacy
allows the growth of a deeper sense of the past, the creation of a sphere of historical knowledge
which does more than simply reflect and legitimate current political and social institutions,
and exists independently of them.

Innes, Matthew (1998): “Memory, Orality and Literacy in an Early Medieval Society,” Past &
Present 158: 3-36: 3.

***

I want to start speaking as an oral historian. This isn't because I think African history is
fundamentally oral history. Indeed, I think the idea that African history must be based on oral
material is a dubious North American professional invention, but that's beside the point. I'm
speaking as an oral historian, first because that's what I've done for most of my career, and
second because I don't believe you can have a serious talk about lies, secrets, telling or not
telling without locating it in some way in orality and oral history: the history of telling is the
history of talking.

White, Luise (2000): “Lies, Secrets, and History,” History and Theory 39, 4, "Not Telling":
Secrecy, Lies, and History: 11-22: 11.

***

FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS all sociologically oriented literary inquiries that addressed the
reading preferences of the young in German-speaking areas gave rich evidence for children's
delight in fairy tales up to the ages of eight to ten. As early as 1923, Charlotte Biihler's
Viennese study confirmed the fact that fairy tales were the favorite reading material for eight-
to nine-year-olds (Federspiel 1968:124), and almost sixty years later Werner Psaar and
Manfred Klein ascertained that "there can be no question of a disappearance of interest in fairy
tales either among children or among adults" (Psaar and Klein 1980:159). They corroborate
their assertion with a summary of studies carried out up to and including the late 1970s in the
Federal Republic of Germany, studies that were based on a broad variety of transmitting
media.

Wardetzky, Kristin (1990): “The Structure and Interpretation of Fairy Tales Composed by
Children,” The Journal of American Folklore103. 408: 157-176: 157-158.

Purpose and means

When you want to express an idea about something, you will usually have an
intention, a determination, a goal, an end, an objective: a purpose. This goes beyond
the concepts of “theme” and “thesis” we have looked at before. The question is: why
are you saying this and why do you present it the way you do, not “what.” This is
constantly done in advertising. Imagine a car company saying that the engines they
make are more efficient because they use the latest technology. Their purpose is to
convince people so they buy their cars.
 39

Two people may present the same topic and thesis and have a very different
purpose for their presentation. Look at a statement like this:

In Western countries religions and religious thought has lost influence in public
debate and in the making of laws.

You can use this statement to show how our civilization has freed itself of reasoning
based on what a “sacred book” says, and makes its decisions using scientific and
philosophical reasoning. Or you can use it as part of an argument that explains the
loss of ethical values in our modern societies.

Means are not only the materials you use to attain the purpose, but also the
order in which you utilize the material. It refers to the method or techniques you
employ. You may use factual information, reasoning, appeals to sentiments and
beliefs, etc. And you construct your text by selecting the material and organizing it in
a way that serves your purpose. There is a discipline that studies this art of
communicating: Rhetoric.

Exercise:

Read the following article and analyze the purpose and means:

US Justice Department is charging that for many years the tobacco industry, on
purpose, did not tell people that cigarettes were bad for them, and so it is suing the tobacco
industry for many billions of dollars.

When I first experimented with cigarettes in the early ‘60s, I expected to live a minimum
of 50,000 years, and I thought that smoking would make me look older and more attractive to
women. Although this did not happen, I managed, through persistence and hard work, to
develop a cigarette habit that enabled me to spend the next 15 years smelling like an ash tray.
Eventually, I realized I had to kick my habit, and it took me years to do so, because I cheated.
Finally, I got desperate and really quit using the “cold turkey” method.

When I smoked I knew it was unhealthy, and so did every smoker I ever knew. Nobody
said to me: “I smoke because I sincerely believe that it poses no health risk.” Nevertheless the
Justice Department is suing the tobacco industry for many billions of dollars because it failed
to run advertisement campaigns using slogans like “Winston taste good and give you Lung
Cancer.”

Take, for example, the latest sentence: Cigarette companies have to pay $206 billion to
the state. The money will be distributed as follows: 1) Legal fees, 2) money for lawyers, 3)
educational campaigns directed to teenagers that have proved not to be effective, and 4) a good
 40

number of state-financed programs that have nothing to do with helping smokers stop
smoking. This is good business for a lot of people. Now, the tobacco industry has to obtain this
money the only way they can: by selling more and more cigarettes as the courts punish the
industry. And here we get into a vicious circle.

There is one danger in this new business. The tobacco industry may get tired of this
and stop selling cigarettes. Then all these forces will lose this stream of money flowing into
their pockets. In that case, the only way to keep anti-tobacco money flowing in would be for the
government to sell cigarettes directly to the public. This is what happened with the gambling
problem: To stop certain people from running this type of business, the states ended up having
massive lottery operations.

Types of academic texts

The objective we set when we begin writing our paper affects the form the text
adopts, the type and amount of information it includes, its general tone, the
organization of the ideas and the order in which they appear. If we want to inform,
convince or motivate, we will use a language which is correct, coherent and denotative
(uses words in their literal meaning). We will avoid using metaphors, double meanings,
or emotional language, because these characteristics fall outside what is considered
academic language, which is a language that appeals more to reason than to
emotions.

To inform, we have to provide the reader with a complete and clear idea of what
we write about. We should avoid being superficial or biased. To convince we should
construct well founded arguments and develop them in a logical way, taking into
account arguments contrary to ours. But besides being logical, we must show good
judgment. To motivate, we must arouse the readers’ interest; here is where the
relationship between writer and reader becomes crucial. If we do not take our readers
into account, we will not be able to motivate them to keep reading. We must express
ourselves clearly, and we should ask the same questions the reader may ask when
reading, besides other interesting and intelligent questions we may ask. Most
important, we must make our readers feel that what they are reading is important.

There are three types of academic texts:

 Expository papers. Some matter is presented and explained.

 Divulgative papers. They are written for non-experts.

 41

 Controversial papers. They debate over some disputed issue about which there are
opposite opinions.

The structure of an expository paper is as follows:

1. Title: Must be brief and provide information about the contents to the reader.

2. Summary: Must contain a synthesis of each part of the paper (problem, objectives,
methodology, results and debate). It should not contain more than 200 words.

3. Key words: At the end of the summary one must add five words that allow readers
get a general idea of the subject matter. These words are used to do bibliography
searches in the web, so that one can gain access to all the works written on a
topic as long as they contain a given key word.

4. Introduction: Must contain the following parts:

• Definition of a problem. Which question does this paper try to answer?

One must justify the importance or the interest this question bears.

• Previous works on this topic. What do we know about the subject

matter? What are we contributing to the knowledge about this topic?

• Objectives. What experiment or what analysis are we going to perform to

answer our question? (Here we must be very brief).

• Hypothesis. What kind of result do we expect and why?

5. Material and methods: Must include the following:

• Description of the area of study if we are doing field work.

• Implied variables. In a controlled experiment, we must state the

conditions with which it is done.

• Sampling methods and material used.

• Method of analysis according to the type of variables.

6. Results

• The text must give a simple and direct description of the results
obtained, with no interpretation. For Tables and Figures we must use a reference
number (Table 1, Fig.3, for example).
 42

• Include tables and graphs that facilitate visualizing the results. After the
reference number, we must put a caption explaining them. When we refer to a
table in the text, we must always give the reference number. Data obtained
(averages, standard deviations, test results) must be stated in a very clear way so
that the readers can interpret the results properly.

7. Discussion

• Rational interpretation of results: Why have we obtained these results?

Do they coincide with our expectations? Why did we expect those results? Why
the results did or did not coincide with our expectations? What factors did we not
take into account? Should we corroborate the initial hypothesis or reject it?

• Comparing our results with those obtained in similar experiences.

• The discussion must be based on the results obtained, on the

bibliography and on well-founded reasoning. We should avoid speculating.

8. Conclusions: They must be brief and concise; we should leave out any discussion.

9. Bibliography: The introduction, the discussion and sometimes the material and
methodology must include bibliographical references. At the end of the paper
we will include a list of references used (bibliography).

The structure of a divulgative paper can be as follows:

1. Introduction: Objectives and justifications are usually included in this part, as

well as the limitations, the general framework for the subject matter, the
perspective, and the general concepts needed to understand the rest of the text.

2. Presentation: It has two parts: exposition and explanation of diverse issues

according to an established order.

3. Conclusions: Main ideas are summarized and brought into connection with the
objectives put forward in the introduction.

4. References: Papers must contain either footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography.

The structure of a controversial paper can be as follows:

1. Introduction: Here we pose the main questions and revise what has been written
on the topic up to now; at the end we present the problems we deal with in this
paper.
 43

2. Discussion: We examine the ideas we are going to refute and demonstrate their
invalidity, incongruence or falseness.

3. Presentation of hypothesis: We present our own ideas, explain them and prove
them.

4. Counterarguments: We present possible objections and refute them.

5. Conclusions: We make a brief summary of the paper.

6. References: Papers must contain either footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography.

Not all papers belong completely to one of these ideal structures; many adopt
hybrid forms, combining structures from different types. Let’s examine the structure of
Janheinz Jahn‘s book Muntu: Umrisse der neoafrikanischen Kultur. (Cologne: Eugen
Diederichs Verlag, 1958):

1. The general opinion that appears in publications about different cultural

aspects of Africa is that this continent will gradually abandon its own traditions
to end up assuming those of Europe.

2. The transition period will be a time of crisis in which individuals will be forced
to choose between European cultures and survive, or to maintain their own
traditions and disappear with them.

3. There are examples of nations that have assimilated Occidental culture without
abandoning their own: Japan; but there is also the opinion of those who think
that Africans cannot be compared to the Japanese, because of their different
level of scientific and technical development.

4. Cultures, when they do not collide, adapt themselves creating new halfway
forms: new solutions to new problems; from the past they maintain what is
valid, from the other culture they obtain what is necessary to survive, and from
both new traditions emerge.

5. Neoafrican cultures have two components: the European and the traditional
ways; nevertheless, African culture is usually presented as a continuous line, it
is not static, but it doesn´t do away with the past.

6. Although it has been demonstrated that no race is superior to another, there is

a reality: White people feel superior to blacks, and black people want to
 44

demonstrate that their culture is equally rich and valid, but must do this within
the cultural patterns of the whites.

7. There are no universal scales for cultural values. If one uses the scale belonging
to his or her culture, this culture will appear superior to all other. One cannot
study a culture from the perspective of alien cultural patterns.

8. Racial problems belong to the Western world and to European tradition. They
do not come from Africa. The question of Afro Americans is different from that
of the African black person. Nevertheless both cultures influence each other
and cannot be ignored when studying either one.

9. To study today’s African culture, one must begin with its basic ideas, its roots,
its atavistic forms that survive even in an unconscious way, and once they are
understood, one may be able to study today’s African culture, that which is
consciously manifested and that we call “Neoafrican culture.”

Exercise:
Fill in this questionnaire for your project:

State your topic:

Justify choosing your topic:
Narrow it down (focus it):
State your purpose:
Give background information:
State your thesis:
Write the title:
Define important terms:
State the type of academic text you choose:
Present a simple outline of your paper:
Introduction:
Main body:
Conclusion:
 45

WRITING THE PAPER

Many times, when we sit down to write a paper, the worst moment comes when
we must face a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen. How should we start? There
are many ways, but there are also many doubts. Sometimes we feel afraid and have
mental blocks; we try one way or another but we are not satisfied; time passes and we
have not succeeded in writing a line. How can we avoid this problem when we begin a
paper?

Topic and thesis

When one writes about something there are two main components: the topic and
the thesis. The topic is what one writes about. The thesis is what one says about
the subject. Sometimes this disposition coincides with the grammatical structure:

The weather gets worse

Here the topic coincides with the grammatical subject, “the weather,” and the
object with the thesis, “gets worse,” but it is not always so. In an article about old
age, you may find a statement like:

The President has told the government that he is worried about the
alarming lack of homes for the old

The topic is “homes for the old.” The thesis is “there are not enough.”

This message is framed now by a communication between the President and the
government, because the writer presents this as a supporting structure.

Let’s look at an example from a newspaper:

The first published clinical study of a human obesity hormone called leptin, finds
that the substance is not the weight-loss panacea that obesity researches and fat
people around the world had hoped for.

The topic is “Leptin.” The thesis is “is not a panacea.” The rest of the period is
organized around these two components: the information comes from a clinical study,
leptin is a hormone for losing weight, and many people expected this drug to work. It
is important, both when you read and when you write that you can recognize (or can
organize) the logical structure of the text.
 46

Exercise:

Find the topic and the thesis in the following stories, and write a headline that
expresses this message:

Many gay Americans who have lived openly as homosexuals well into the middle age, leading
prosperous and rewarding lives, are now worried that discrimination will have them retreating
into secrecy if they enter retirement communities or nursing homes. Now, as the first openly
gay generation grows grayer and contemplates retirement, developers around the country are
planning retirement communities and assisted-care complexes marketed specifically for
homosexuals, places that will allow gays to grow old not having to live, and ultimately die, amid
lingering condemnation. They find this form of self-segregation far preferable to fighting old
battles or hiding amid a colony of elderly strangers.
***
The long, brutal process that leads to Alzheimer’s disease starts when a single enzyme breaks a
protein that comes out of brain cells, leading to the release of toxic microscopic pieces of
debris, called amyloid. This substance covers areas of the brain that control memory and
reasoning, and as the brain cells die, due to this toxic waste, patients gradually lose their
memory and judgment. Now scientists report that they have found that enzyme, opening the
door to developing drugs that might block it and, if the drug proves safe, it might prevent or
slow down the disease.

Selecting the material

A good exercise for overcoming mental blocks (especially when choosing your
topic) is brainstorming. You just have to grab a pen and begin writing down everything
that comes to your mind, no matter how crazy it may appear at first. Let your
imagination fly after getting immersed in your subject matter. Try to make a list of
ideas that relate to your topic. Write down everything, do not stop to evaluate, you
never know what associations may come to your mind. Use words and phrases; do not
even try to write complete sentences. Feel free to write anywhere on the page. When
you are through, take a little rest and then read what you have written; see if it
suggests anything else. Begin by crossing out the ideas that do not fit in with your
subject. As you may group together some ideas and eliminate others, you will see how
you can define an idea that you can develop. Now if you think of this idea and begin
writing down what comes to your mind, you will see that after few minutes you have
enough material to begin writing.

Brainstorming has its advantages. Many times ideas do not come to us or we do

not relate some ideas with others because we do not see a logical connection between
them. Other times we get brilliant ideas, this usually happens when we cannot take
advantage of them: when we are walking or before we fall asleep. This happens when
our mind is distracted and there is no conscious filter operating. So maybe, if we let
 47

our subconscious to surface a bit more, we will find new and interesting relations that
can enrich our work. The first few times you do this exercise you may not find any
useful ideas, but if you practice this technique, you will see that each time you do it
you get a greater number of interesting ideas. The next step is to choose those ideas
you deem interesting and analyze their logical relation to each other. You will most
likely be forced to make intermediate steps and add other logical relations to them.

Now try to express this idea in the most concise way you can, preferably in only
one sentence. Do the same with other interesting ideas that you have had and that fit
your purposes. Do not try to set up the whole structure, work just with partial
structures.

Now go back to the main question: What are you writing about? What are you
going to say about this? Next, you can begin structuring other ideas using the
structures explained previously on taking notes. Try to place your material in
sequences. Construct a temporary table of contents for your whole text and also for
some of the sections, but avoid details at this point, because you will most likely end
up having to change things. This first outline will help you organize your ideas and to
put them in order, and will also create an opportunity to develop them. You will also
be able to eliminate those ideas that are not suitable and to continue your search
when you realize there are gaps you must fill. At this point we can already see our
ideas taking shape.

Examine your outline. Many times one does not get a good sequence on the first
trial. Try to identify errors and to improve the structure. You must bear in mind that
this part of the process takes some time. Often, writing is a shorter process than
setting up the structure. Do not fool yourself thinking that this is done rapidly.

Exercise:

Using as subject matter the main concept of your topic, do a brainstorming session;
organize the ideas that you find interesting with a map of ideas.

Another technique you could use is a map of ideas. It helps you develop
associations. It consists of drawing a conceptual map on a sheet of paper. You write
the main idea in the center and circle it. Around it, you write associations and circle
them also. Connect them with lines that mark their relation, and then you choose an
 48

itinerary to cover them all. This technique can be used when you have many ideas and
you may want to relate them, forming a sequence.

Another way of generating ideas is through automatic writing. This is like

brainstorming, but you must develop a text in prose rather than a drawing. Do as if
you were writing a letter or a diary. Write all that comes to your mind; let your
inspiration lead you. Then you can work with your ideas connecting them with a map
of ideas or sequencing them.

You have put your ideas in order and now is the time to develop them. Look for
key words; describe them, expand the ideas they contain. You can also use the simple
questionnaire that journalists use: what, who, why, where, when, what for, how, etc.
You can also explore the subject by answering a series of questions that help you
explore it:

Describe: how is it?

Compare: are there any similarities to something else?

Relate: what is it related to?

Analyze: how is it divided, which are its parts and how are they, how do
they work, what is their purpose?

Apply: what is its function or its application?

Argue: which are its favorable or unfavorable points?

You can draw an outline of your whole text:

Text:

Section 1

Paragraph 1 (state main idea)

Message 1. Message 2. Message 3

Paragraph 2 (state main idea)

Message 1. Message 2. Message 3

Etc.

It is extremely important to know how to limit or set boundaries to your subject

matter. Usually, if the first general idea is too wide; you will need a whole book to
 49

develop it. Do not try to cover everything. The more you extend your idea the more
superficial it becomes. It is much better to hand in an interesting paper on a partial
issue than to write about generalizations without the development of ideas. Most of the
time, working on an issue that at first sight seems unimportant, can be decisive to
clarify more complex questions. You should always state the importance that each
issue has. Look at how the author justifies and limits the topic in the following
example:

The special relationship that exists between the folklore of the Yoruba of West
Africa and their system of divination, which takes its name from the god, Ifa, is
important because of the light it throws on the theoretical problems of the functions of
folklore and the difference between the myth and the folktale. During the ritual of
divination both myths and folktales, according to the native definitions of these
categories, are recited; and under these circumstances both have a function quite
different from that of amusement which is so often ascribed to the folktale.
Bascom, William R. (1943): “The relationship of Yoruba Folklore to Divining”
The Journal of American Folklore 56, 220: 127-131: 127.
Now read this one and see how the same thing is done:

In this article I will examine dialogue and its relation to everyday conversation.
In doing so, we will see how literacy and knowledge of the literary tradition have
influenced dialogue and the evolution of conversation as presented in literary works.
Therefore, this will be an examination of dialogue writ large, for it will also include the
dialogue found between text and readers, as well as within the text itself. And we will
see that our judgments regarding “natural” dialogue are determined by our literacy
and literary tradition, not by the event of actual conversation we engage in every day.
Thus, dialogue will serve as yet another example of Western culture’s preoccupation
with mimesis, or representation, and its willingness (eve desire) to confuse the map for
the territory.
Bishop, Ryan (1991): “There’s Nothing Natural About Natural Conversation: A
Look at Dialogue in Fiction and Drama,” Oral Tradition 6, 1: 58-78: 58.
And finally, read this other example:

Ethnic jokes of diverse kinds are very popular in most societies. Particularly
remarkable is the enormous popularity in most western countries of jokes about
‘stupid’ and ‘canny’ minorities. The wide-spread popularity of ethnic jokes in general
and of these jokes in particular calls for a sociological explanation in terms of the
general characteristics of the many societies where they are enjoyed rather than the
particular circumstances of each separate society. We need to look at such general
characteristics as moral values, social boundaries and the impersonal power
structures of modern societies in order to find explanation for the popularity of ethnic
jokes.
Davies, Christie (1982): “Ethnic Jokes, Moral values and Social Boundaries,”
The British Journal of Sociology 33, 3: 383-403: 383.
 50

Sequencing materials: The outline

To outline is a way of sequencing your materials. You should have enough
material to try to make an outline. There are two types of outlines, the tentative
outline and the final outline. The tentative outline begins with a list of main and
secondary ideas placed in such a way that it allows you to try and develop your text.
This list is tentative, since as you develop your structure, fill it and revise it, you will
have to incorporate new ideas and you will find new material that needs to be
integrated.

In this outline you will structure the ideas you have acquired from meditating
on the works of other authors, brainstorming or the map of ideas you have developed.
This will help you get an idea of what you are going to write about and each place the
material has in the structure you have created. Remember that academic works must
be well structured. You cannot do things at random. You will most likely have to
reorganize your outline and make adjustments to it. You must know the elements you
have in order to change their order and to evaluate the logic and communicative
effectiveness of the new order.

The outline must be organized according to your objectives; you may decide to
take an approach on a historic development, which would need a chronologically
structured outline. You may want to relate two phenomena, where you could use a
cause-effect approach. You may want to analyze an issue or make a series of
comparisons; you can work with a process or you may analyze the logic of certain
declarations and present arguments in favor of or against one another. The final
structure may be finished when these approaches are integrated. Whatever you do, be
sure that all the different parts are logically related and not just placed one after the
other.

Exercise:
Using the material you have from your notes and your brainstorming session,
structure a tentative outline of your work. Try to sequence all the elements in a logical
order.

The title
Once you have this first structure, think of the title. The best titles are those
that have the structure topic-thesis, even though many just show the topic. Choosing
 51

the title can help you keep within the boundaries you have set. The title must be
short, it must not exceed the number of fifty characters, counting letters, signs and
spaces. Look at the following list of titles of articles dealing with tales and consider if
they give you enough information about the text and also if they make it appealing:

“The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives”

“The Concept of Motif in Folklore”
“Folklore as a Special Form of Creativity”
“The Publishing History of Grimm’s Tales: Reception at the Cash Register”
“The Ultimate Fairy Tale: Oral Transmission in a Literate World”
“The Folk and Their Culture”
“Oral Performance, Writing, and the Textual Tradition of the Medieval Epic in
the Romance Languages: The Examples of the Song of Roland”
“Toward a Structural Definition of the Riddle”
“The Sociopsychological Analysis of Folktales”
“Biological Metaphors in Folklore Theory: An Essay in the History of Ideas”
“A Critique of Some Interpretations of Myths and Fairy Tales”
“The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition and Theme”
“The Brothers Grimm as Collectors and Editors of German Folktales”
“Creativity and Tradition in the Fairy Tale”
“Marvelous Realities: Reading the Merveilleux in the Seventeenth-Century
French Fairy Tale”
“Towards a Definition of the Novella”
“On the history of comparison in folklore studies”
“The Holy Grail: From Romance Motif to Modern Genre”

As you advance in your work, think also of the titles you would give to the
sections that make up your paper.

Exercise:
Think of three titles for your paper; weigh up the information they give about the
subject, whether they show your purpose and if they arouse interest. Choose the one
you think is the best and explain why you think so.
 52

Defining and describing

A writer may have different objectives: defining, describing, schematizing,
limiting, explaining, contrasting, discussing. Let’s first see what a definition is.

Definitions answer the basic question: What is it? The best way to form a
definition is to classify the word or concept we want to define inside a class (or
subclass) and then to identify it by stating the differences with other items inside that
class.

The formula would be: Term + copula + class (+ subclass) + differences.

Let’s look at some definitions:

A battle is the fight of an army against another

A tyrant is a sovereign who governs with no restrictions

Tongue: muscular organ that occupies the cavity of the mouth

A cast is a hollow object that is filled with soft or melted matter so that when
this matter solidifies, it reproduces the interior form of this object.

There are some pieces of advice that will help you form a good definition. First
of all, one must state the essential attributes of the object. It must be applicable to all
of the objects and to nothing else. Avoid using synonyms to define the object or
negative statements, and always try to be clear.

Exercise:
Examine the following definitions and write down how they are formed:

Stress is a physical, mental, or emotional response to events that causes bodily

or mental tension.

A library is a place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books,

periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading,
reference, or lending.

A computer is a programmable machine. It can execute a programmed list of

instructions and respond to new instructions that it is given. Today, however, the term
is most often used to refer to the desktop and laptop computers that most people use.
 53

Many times a definition is not sufficient in order to develop your subject matter;
you can use other techniques to expand your ideas:

1. Description How is it?

2. Locating Where is it?
3. Function What is it for?
4. Process How does it work? How is it done?
5. Origin Where does it come from? How did it begin?
6. Development How has it evolved?
7. Causes What gave rise to it?
8. Effects What are the consequences?
9. Comparing and contrasting What are the similarities and differences with
other items?
Exercise:
Try to define the following terms:

Generation Tradition Modernity Old

Progress Ghost Past History

Compare your definitions with those a dictionary offers and write down the
differences.

Exercise:

Explain how this text an extended definition.

Self-care behavior, a key concept in health promotion, refers to decisions and actions that an
individual can take to cope with a health problem or to improve his or her health. Examples of
self-care behaviors include seeking information (e.g., reading books or pamphlets, searching the
Internet, attending classes, joining a self-help group); exercising; seeing a doctor on a regular
basis; getting more rest; lifestyle changes; following low fat diets; monitoring vital signs; and
seeking advice through lay and alternative care networks, evaluating this information, and
making decisions to act or even to do nothing. Self-care is generally viewed as a complement to
professional health care for persons with chronic health conditions. Self-care behavior is,
however, broader than just following a doctor's advice. It also encompasses an individual's
learning from things that have worked in the past.

Presumed benefits of self-care include lower costs for the health care system; more effective
working relationships between patients and physicians and other health care providers; increased
patient satisfaction; and improved perceptions of one's health condition. Self-help behaviors have
been shown to lessen pain and depression and to improve quality of life. However, a relationship
between self-care behaviors and positive physiological outcomes has not been proven. Generally,
health care practitioners encourage and support patients to practice self-care behaviors because
 54

patients then actively participate in their own care. However, many practitioners experience
difficulty in offering advice on self-care behaviors because they are not aware of specific
techniques, strategies, and support that patients can use.

Within a health promotion context that views health as a resource for daily living, self-care is
seen as empowering. Through acquisition of self-care skills, people are able to participate more
actively in fostering their own health and in shaping conditions that influence their own health.

No single definition of self-care behavior has been broadly accepted. Definitions vary as to (1)
who actually engages in self-care behavior (e.g., individual, family, community); (2) what
prompts self-care behaviors (e.g., to practice health promotion, to prevent illness, to limit the
impact of illness, to restore health); and (3) the extent to which health care professionals are
involved.

The World Health Organization defines self-care as "activities individuals, families, and
communities undertake with the intention of enhancing health, preventing disease, limiting
illness, and restoring health. These activities are derived from knowledge and skills from the
pool of both professional and lay experience. They are undertaken by lay people on their own
behalf, either separately or in participative collaboration with professionals." Other experts
define self-care in terms of individual behavior when a person functions on his or her own behalf
in health promotion and prevention or in disease detection and treatment. In this definition, self-
care behaviors occur without professional assistance, but individuals are informed by technical
knowledge and skills derived from both professional and lay experience. Still others define self-
care as involving activities to enhance health, prevent disease, evaluate symptoms, and restore
health—either with or without participation by professionals.

“Self Care” <http://www.answers.com/topic/self-care> retrieved September 30, 2010.

A description forms an image of the object; descriptions are usually static. There
are two basic types of descriptions, scientific or objective and artistic or subjective. A
description can also be general or detailed, can deal with things, people or processes,
and can be done adopting different points of view. Every description gives some order
and sets some trajectory from one point to another; in it, some details are chosen
while others are omitted. It serves to give the reader an image of what is being
described.

Exercise:
Look up in the Wikipedia the term calendar and describe how it is defined and
described.

Exercise:
Describe the concept of vanguard.
 55

Supporting ideas
Ideas branch out; each main idea is supported by others. In the initial outline
there is only room for main ideas; but as it develops, supporting ideas begin to appear.
Look at what you can do with supporting ideas:

Define concepts

Provide equivalence

Provide analogies to explain or illustrate

Give a general or detailed description

Locate in time

Tell the historical evolution or development of something

Locate in space

Talk about distribution

Signal the appearance of subclasses

Compare

Indicate differences

Find opposite ideas

Indicate what makes something unique

Emphasize the importance of something according to different perspectives

Indicate the function of something

Talk about the use, purpose or finality of something

Tell how something works

Talk about the causes and original circumstances

Talk about the consequences of some object or action

Talk about the people involved in the creation, development and consequences

Describe your feelings from a personal point of view

These are some of the things you can do, but remember that in your paper you
must present a logical order. Therefore, you must find a criterion to structure the
 56

ideas you will use. You must avoid piling up ideas instead of presenting them in a
logical order. A good structure helps your readers follow what you write, so make sure
you have a connecting thread, an inner architecture. Examine your options:

Chronological order (from past to present, from present to past, from present to
future)

Cause-effect (or vice versa)

From the general to the specific (or vice versa)

From near to far (or vice versa)

From the known to the unknown

From the problem to the solution

Hierarchical (from less important to more important or vice versa)

From lesser to greater

Alphabetical (use this when you want to offer the reader a fast way to locate
data)

Let us go back to the idea of your text as a road. It should not be winding or
labyrinthine or end up as a dead end alleyway. The journey should be smooth. It
should let your reader visualize a landscape, so tunnels are not a good idea no matter
how straight they are.

Exercise:
Examine how a paper on language learning has been organized. Imagine the text and
try to find a title for it:

Learning the mother tongue

Patterns of development

Theories that explain the learning of a mother tongue

Second language learning theories

Behaviorism

Innatist theories
 57

Psychological theories

Interactionism

Factors that affect second language learning

Intelligence

Aptitude

Personality

Motivation and attitude

Preferences

Beliefs

Age

The language used to learn

Concept

Development sequences

Influences from the mother tongue

Observing learning types

In the natural environment

In the classroom

Second language learning in the classroom

Proposals

Research

Popular ideas about second language learning: facts and opinions

Conclusion

Informative style
To inform means to provide someone with facts, data or opinions. That’s one of
the purposes –not the only one– of an academic paper. Your paper, in order to inform,
must transmit knowledge tour readers. There are qualities a good academic paper
must have to be informative:
 58

Precision: The data and other information you use must be truthful and
accurate.
Naturalness: Express your thoughts in a simple but elegant language; do
not use an ostentatious language.
Propriety: What you present must be appropriate to your topic.
Rhythm, sonority, color: Try to write in a pleasant way; don’t let your
expression become heavy.
Variety: Do not bore the reader with unnecessary repetitions; redundancy
is only good if it serves as an emphasis.

Remember that language is the fundamental structure of thought, and the way
your mind finds its expression is not only by linking premises with conclusions; there
are also images and sounds in words that poetically appeal to the mind. They must
not be totally discarded.

Scientific style
Scientific writing usually is more rigid than the style used in Humanities. These
are some of the recommendations professors of IE University give to Biology students:

 Language must be simple, clear and concise

 You should use an impersonal style
 Your sentences must be precise and convey a clear message
 Results are expressed in past tense
 You must use a scientific vocabulary
 Do not incorporate colloquial expressions, and avoid words with vague
meanings
 Scientific names are written in italics.
Exercise:
Compare the style of these two texts. State the differences:
The number of vertebrate species existing in Spain has been calculated with a reasonable degree 
of accuracy (see recently published Atlas and Libros Rojos—red books). Around 51,000 species 
or 4,1% of species described worldwide are vertebrates (Ramos and Templado 2002 and Table 
6.1).  On  the  Iberian  Peninsula,  approximately  1,180  species  have  been  estimated,  including 
continental  and  marine  fish  and  among  the  birds  taking  into  account  only  the  residents  and 
reproducers (Ramos et al. 2002), which would constitute less than 2% of all the animal species 
existing  in  our  country.  There  are  around  118  species  of  mammals,  368  species  of  birds,  61 
 59

species  of  reptiles  and  29  species  of  amphibians.  In  amphibians,  reptiles  and  mammals,  this 
figure can vary slightly, according to the taxonomic criterion used, but the greatest discrepancy 
occurs with the least known and most diverse taxonomic group, marine and continental fish, of 
which there could be around 750 species (Doadrio and Ramos, pers. com.). With reference to the 
known number of different kinds of vertebrates in Europe, Spain is the country with the highest 
number  of  described  species  and  the  highest  proportion  of  endemisms  (8%,  compared  to  the 
next ranking country,  Italy,  with 4%) (Ramos  et al.  2002).  Unfortunately, it  is also the country 
with  the  highest  number  of  species  in  danger  of  extinction,  7%  (Ramos  et  al.  2002).  Spain  is 
therefore  a  key  country  in  the  preservation  of  the  biodiversity  of  vertebrates  in  Europe.  We 
must highlight the high rate of endemism of the vertebrate fauna of the Canary Isles. All the 14 
species of reptiles in the Canaries, except for one introduced species, are endemic. With regard 
to birds, the number of endemic species is higher than in the rest of the country, ranging from 4 
to 6 species, depending on authors. 

Araujo,R., et al. (?): “Impacts on Animal Biodiversity,” Impacts of Climatic Change in Spain, 
Galante et al., eds. 

*** 

Philosophically  speaking,  differing  accounts  of  the  past  must  intersect  in  certain  important 
respects, or they are not accounts of the past, but of something else. Historical consciousness in 
some form I take to be a human universal, even though its schemes and contexts of expression 
vary significantly. My view is that a great deal of human experience, pertaining for instance to 
production and reproduction, is cross‐culturally similar, and the ways of describing it therefore 
commensurable,  if  we  but  seek  hard  enough  (Whiteley  1998:14‐15).  Languages—yes,  even 
ʺtimelessʺ  Hopi—are  intertranslatable,  and  while  translation  may,  because  of  differences  in 
cultural emphasis (say, of worldview), be difficult, I reject the idea that it is a priori impossible. 
For  you  and  I  to  think  that,  we  would  already  have  to  have  made  a  tacit  (interpretive) 
agreement on the basic premises of our difference.  

In order to substantiate my claim that oral traditions have significant archaeological value, let 
me first examine the problem of ʺhistoryʺ in anthropological discourse. I will then turn to a 
fairly detailed example of a clan‐migration narrative from Hopi oral tradition, recorded in the 
1880s, in order to evaluate its historicity.  

Whiteley, Peter M. (2002): “Archaeology and Oral Tradition: The Scientific Importance of 
Dialogue,” American Antiquity 67, 3: 405‐415: 406. 
 60

THE SENTENCE AND THE PARAGRAPH

The sentence
A sentence is a complete structure that conveys a meaningful message. A
phrase is a group of related words equivalent to a single part of speech in a sentence.
Sentences are made up of a noun group or subject and a verb group or predicate; in
the noun group one expresses who or what one is talking about, while the verb group
or predicate indicates the state, action or process. All sentences must contain these
two elements.

Sentences are the elements that constitute a paragraph; in the paragraph an

idea is developed, and sentences are the units where this development happens. In
clauses and sentences we can always find two structures, a syntactic one, consisting
of subject and predicate, and a semantic one consisting of topic and thesis. These are
then the basic tools for thinking and for writing. A sentence has as its components:

A subject (a noun or a noun phrase)

Adjectives

A verb (or a verb phrase)

Complements

Predicate (with linking verbs only): used to describe or

explain the subject

Predicate noun

Predicate adjective

Direct object

Objective complement (completes the meaning of a direct object)

Indirect object

Adverbials: time, space, manner, frequency, degree, etc.

When two simple sentences are put together by a coordinating conjunction or

connected by a semicolon, they form a compound sentence, and each of the
coordinated sentences are called clause. A clause is then a group of words containing
 61

a subject or a predicate when it is used as part of a larger sentence. When a

compound sentence is formed with punctuation, usually a semicolon, the relationship
between the two clauses must be strong.

Complex sentences are formed by subordinated clauses added to a main

sentence. Each of these clauses functions as a part of the sentence.

There are also compound-complex sentences consisting of two or more

independent clauses put together by a coordinating element and one or more
dependent clauses.

A clause that functions as an adjective by giving more information about a

noun is a relative clause. These clauses use the relative pronouns that, which, who,
whom and whose.

Adverbial clauses give more information about verbs, they can be classified as:

Time clauses When, before, after, since, while, as, until

Conditional clauses If, unless

Purpose clauses In order that/to, so, so that, to

Reason clauses Because, in case, since, as

Result clauses So that, and so

Concessive clauses Although, despite, even if/though, except

that, in spite of, though, while

Place clauses Where, whenever

Manner clauses As, as if/though, just as, like, the way

Write simple sentences, do not clutter them with words that serve no purpose,
strip them to their basic components before you build them up and way before you
even think of embellishing them. Keep sentences short; the ideal size of a sentence
could well be between twelve and twenty words; if a sentence is too long, readers may
get lost. Clauses must be fluid, not convoluted. Pay attention to the order; if reading is
a process of obtaining information, the data you provide should be in order so that
readers don’t get lost or have to wait until the end to understand your message. This
 62

can confuse them. Think clearly and you will write clearly too. Don’t let readers get
impatient because they can’t find your ideas according to their expectations. Suspense
is good if it raises interest, but is bad if it tires, overwhelms or confuses readers.

You should begin each sentence with information familiar to your readers, and
then continue adding new information; information can be familiar because it has
been used at the end of the previous sentence or because it refers to general
knowledge. Begin a sentence with simple information and end it with new and
complex information. Place long and complex phrases and unfamiliar terms at the end
of the sentence. People deal with complexity more easily if it is put at the end of the
sentence. On the other hand, the end of sentences should be strong in terms of ideas;
that is why we place new and important information there. Readers like to get to the
subject of the sentence quickly, so avoid placing it after long or complex phrases or
sentences. Subjects should be as short as possible. People also like to get past the
subject to a verb quickly, so avoid placing extra information between the subject and
the verb. Also, avoid interrupting the verb-object connection. Put the extra information
after the object. A good model of a sentence goes like this: [short introductory phrase
(optional)] + [short subject] + [verb] + [adverbials, complements, indirect objects, and
subordinated and coordinated elements arranged from shorter to longer].

Ways to confuse readers:

 Writing clauses that are too long

 Adding digressions that are uncalled for or too long
 Interpolating sentences between words that should go together
 Changing the natural order of elements with no apparent reason
 Concentrating on details of little importance at the beginning
 Hiding verb agents by using passive constructions
 Not adding connectors between sentences when needed
 Using negative sentences when affirmative ones give a better idea
 Adding too many explanatory footnotes.

A way of linking clauses is by coordinating them, the conjunctions used most

frequently for this purpose are and, or, nor, and yet, and but.

When you coordinate phrases or sentences, order the elements so that they go
from the short to the long and from the simple to the complex. Make sure you
 63

coordinate elements that have the same grammatical function. Also, try to construct
symmetric structures when coordinating them; don’t let one element be too long and
the other too short. In a string of sentences, try not to open each one with a different
subject; that creates confusion and lack of coherence. Carry the receiver of your
message from simplicity to complexity, from known material to new material, and not
the opposite.

There is a perception that nominal and passive constructions are more

scientific than verbal active constructions; but in fact these constructions are many
times are hard to read. Use active verbs if you can get around using a passive
construction. In fact, avoid the passive voice, unless there is no subject, or is self-
evident, or you really want to focus the attention on the object of the action by making
it a passive subject or on the agent by placing it at the end. If by using the passive you
order elements in such a way so a sentence begins where the prior sentence has
ended, helping create a good topic string for your paragraph, then it would be wise to
use it. Also, if you can express an action with a verb, do not use a noun;
nominalizations tend to be abstract, impersonal and vague.

Try to improve your sentences by avoiding nominalizations. As a general rule,

express actions using verbs, not nouns. People associated with an action should act as
the subject of the verb in a sentence. If the subject is people, try to be more specific.
Avoid abstract nominalizations. If you write about abstractions, make them the
subject of the verbs, turning them into virtual characters.

Question the adjectives and adverbs you use; most of them are usually
unnecessary; they dilute your messages. Use them sparsely and only when they
convey a necessary message or a useful shade, but do not let them become a burden
to the reader.

Other things you should take into account:

 Be precise. Avoid using words whose meaning is not clear enough.

 Be careful with words that have more than one meaning or with
expressions that can be interpreted in more than one way.
 Don’t repeat formulas that begin sentences and paragraphs. Try to have
a varied vocabulary if the meaning does not change.
 Avoid using unnecessary words and expressions. Simplify.
 64

Writing is a craft; you learn it by imitation, practice and repetition, so try to

read and write every day. Professional writers know that after writing a sentence they
must go back to it and rewrite it and then rewrite what they have rewritten; very few
sentences come out right the first time, usually they have to be rewritten several
times. Remember: you write to be read; if your reader is lost, it’s because your writing
is not clear enough.

The paragraph
Paragraph construction is one of the most important techniques in writing. A
text is made of paragraphs, and its structure is reflected on its paragraphs. A
paragraph is a set of sentences or clauses used to develop an idea. Paragraphs show
the development of text and organize its thought in different parts. Your readers know
will know how you have organized your ideas by looking at your paragraphs.

Place your sentences in a logical order: create a consistent topic string that
focuses on two or three ideas all through the paragraph. These ideas should be the
topics of each sentence. A paragraph is not constructed by expressing one idea after
another without any kind of organization. Ideas should be properly connected so that
the whole topic can be developed. In a paragraph, you should have a topic sentence
that expresses the main idea. The topic sentence can be at the beginning or at the end
of the paragraph or there can be topic sentences at both sides. When you state your
topic, use a strong verb and do not dilute its meaning by using a weaker form.
Supporting sentences explain, describe or support the main sentence. They provide
the evidence (facts) and explanations (logical reasoning), and serve as support for the
main idea. Sentences that do not perform these tasks create rambling paragraphs.
There are also transitional sentences that serve to help readers understand the
connection between an idea and the following idea, or to prepare readers for a new
idea.

Once you have your topic sentence, you arrange the other sentences. There are
some options, but you should stick to a pattern before moving to another:

Consider whether the topic needs a definition to help make your point.

Evaluate the topic by examining its significance.

Classify the topic into a group and provide examples in the form of like items.
 65

Use facts and diverse kinds of data to support your points.

Use examples or testimony to make your meaning clear to the readers and help
them connect with your ideas.

Break the topic down into its constituent parts and analyze them.

Compare or contrast your ideas to other concepts.

Discuss possible causes or consequences.

Narrate a story about the topic.

If your paragraphs are well organized, it will not be difficult for you to obtain a
text in a coherent way. When constructing paragraphs, one of the dangers is piling up
ideas even though they are related. They should be developed in different paragraphs
and distributed clearly and logically. The cohesiveness of paragraphs should not only
be internal, in other words, a paragraph must not only develop an idea without mixing
it with other ideas that do not belong. Paragraphs must also show external
cohesiveness, which means that the relation between paragraphs must be clear and
logical, and as paragraphs relate to one another, they all are also related to the main
idea you develop in your text. Each paragraph causes the text to advance.

There are some things that help you maintain coherence in a paragraph:
Repeating key words or using synonyms to keep the reader focused on your main
points, using parallel structures for ideas that are similar, inserting transition words
and phrases to guide readers. You should also use a consistent grammar: be
consistent in number, verb tense and point of view to keep your readers on track.

Each paragraph has a definite function within a text. There are different types
of paragraphs, according to their function or the way ideas are presented and
developed: expository, enumerative, argumentative, delimitating and transitional.

Expository paragraphs
The function of this paragraph is to transmit information. Data are presented.
The main idea is developed through clauses that explain, amplify, specify, or give
examples. The most important parts of this paragraph are the beginning and the end,
the former because it introduces the idea to the reader and the latter because it
concludes it. The main idea finds its best collocation in these two extremes, leaving
 66

the rest for the development. The full stop marks a pause that allows the reader to
meditate on what has been read.

The beginning of a paragraph is important because it sparks the reader’s

curiosity. The most important technique used to achieve this is to begin the paragraph
with a subject or with a verb, which concentrate on the meaning much more than
adjunct phrases. Do not begin a paragraph with a conjunction, unless its purpose is
to link it with the previous paragraph.

There are two types of expository paragraphs:

Beginning Middle End

Deductive: Main Idea development of its consequences conclusion
Inductive: Development and discussion of secondary ideas Main Idea
Mixed: Main Idea development Main Idea (conclusion)

Look at the following examples:

During his lifetime a singer is subjected to musical and other cultural

experiences that may cause a change in his taste or esthetics. He may be introduced,
via mass communication media, to new musical styles accompanied by whole new
bodies of songs. The singer may, of course, choose to accommodate older pieces in his
repertory to the new musical styles. Or he may decide to introduce some of the new
songs into his repertory. Those songs may remain as a permanent part of his repertory
if his taste remains relatively static from that point on (an example of "permanence");
or, should he prove to be fickle with the newer styles and songs and drop them from
his repertory ("transience"), he may then replace them with still newer styles and
songs or revert to the older songs he sang before his seduction by the newer music
("intermittence").
Goldstein, Kenneth S. (1971): “On the Application of the Concepts of Active and
Inactive Traditions to the Study of Repertory,” The Journal of American Folklore
84, 331, Toward New Perspectives in Folklore: 62-67: 65
Structure:
Main idea: 1st sentence:
Developing the main idea
2nd, 3rd & 4th sentences (instances centering on the agent: the singer)
5th & 6th (centering on the object: the repertory)

In eras past, families in blue-collar occupations faced pressure by their

employers both at work and at home. Such harassment, at least in traditional tales,
often took the form of bosses imposing themselves on workers’ wives. Unable always to
respond directly, some aggrieved husbands channeled their concerns into song, jest,
or anecdote. Individuals who shared such lore moved imaginatively from the mine
mouth or factory gate to the parlor and bedroom. These are stories told largely by men
 67

to men; they reveal particular work patterns, and they assume that listeners know
something about the time and setting in which each narrative takes place.
Green, Archie (1993): “Boss, Workman, Wife: Sneaking-Home Tales,” The Journal of
American Folklore 106, 420: 156-170: 156.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a case, 2nd sentence: presents a further description

3rd sentence: presents the consequence, 4th sentence: presents a further description

5th sentence: defines the end product (main idea presented as a definition)

AS LONG AGO AS 1909 Axel Olrik pointed out that repetition is a basic
principle of folktale composition. Although in his essay, recently translated from the
German, Olrik presented several of what he called narrative "laws" of folk literature,
repetition looms as one of the most important: “There is intensifying repetition and
simple repetition, but the important point is that without repetition, the Sage cannot
attain its fullest form.” Later in the essay, in order to illustrate how strictly
schematization is carried out in folk narrative, he gives a pattern of repetition as an
example and comments: "Two people and situations of the same sort are not as
different as possible, but as similar as possible.” In 1925 Franz Boas made much the
same observation about repetition in primitive literature: “The investigation of
primitive narrative as well as of poetry proves that repetition, particularly rhythmic
repetition, is a fundamental trait.”
Gray, Bennison 1971): “Repetition in Oral Literature,” The Journal of American
Folklore 84, 333: 289-303: 289.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents the main idea (authority: Olrik)

2nd sentence: focusing in his essay, using 3rd sentence (quote) as support

4th sentence: another instance from his essay, using 5rd sentence (quote) as support

5th sentence: presents the main idea again (authority: Boas), using 7th sentence (quote) as support

Deductive paragraphs are easier to construct and are usually very effective,
because the reader receives a developed idea. Inductive paragraphs are more of a
detective nature, because through the data presented the main idea comes forth. This
is very useful in scientific thought: you arrive at a conclusion after examining the
data. Mixed paragraphs are emphatic; after developing an idea, it is repeated in order
to underline its importance.

Paragraphs should not have too many secondary ideas that limit their
development or make them too long. If this is the case, it is better to structure them in
two or more related paragraphs.
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Enumerative paragraphs
We have already talked about the importance order has in academic writing. To
make an analysis we must separate a whole idea into the elements that constitute it.
We must also catalogue these elements and create a list where they appear in a
certain order. Therefore we must set some criteria to organize them into an order. A
list, which can be very clear and serve as a reference or as a conclusion, can also be
boring since it doesn’t develop any ideas. For this reason, there are times when it is
better to present these elements in paragraphs.

The enumerative paragraph is used to present ideas that are organized around
a main idea. The main idea can be placed at the beginning or the end of a paragraph,
but must be present as a cohesive element that gives sense to the order we propose.
There are various accepted ways to enumerate; one is using a simple list of elements
separated by comas as in this example: “according to Christian tradition, there are
seven capital sins, pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy and sloth.” There are
linking words that can structure information; for very short enumerations we can use
expressions such as on the one hand… on the other; the former… the latter are
expressions used to make reference to two things said before, the former makes
reference to the first, and the latter, to the last. For longer enumerations we can use
cardinal numbers, first, second, third, etc. or (1), (2), (3), etc. When the list is more
complicated, we can use ordinal adverbs phrases or adjectives, firstly, in second
place… finally.

Look at these examples:

The characteristics associated with earthiness and naturalness, under only

slightly modified formations, are attributed equally to savages, to barbarians, and to
simple agrarian folk. The stereotype thus formed I call the deep stereotype to call
attention to the fact that various traits are very often found in combination. These
traits are (1) earthiness and naturalness (and in a more derogatory direction,
reinterpreted to mean savage, backward, uncultured, animalistic); (2) a strong sense of
what to cook and eat, which is native to the region and which represents the
particularities of the topography and the climate (again negatively recoded as being
uncultivated, raw, and often referring directly to eating unclean matter, such as feces,
carrion, other humans); (3) a way of speaking that is plain, unembellished, and
poetically archaic (translated, in negative terms, to mean "murdering the language" or
"speaking gibberish" or, again, grunting like animals); and (4) a basic fecundity and a
liberated attitude toward matters sexual (reinterpreted, negatively, as a deficiency in
the rules of sexual access, a failure in the ability to control one's sexual nature, and,
in its most extreme formulations, an inclination toward acts of incest, coprophilia, or
necrophilia).
 69

Abrahams, Roger D. (1993): “Phantoms of Romantic Nationalism in Folkloristics,” The

Journal of American Folklore, 106, 419: 3-37: 27-28.
Structure:
1st sentence: introduces the topic

2nd sentence: presents the main idea

3rd sentence: develops the main idea through a list of four traits; each item I presented in a twofold
way: “positive” and “negative”
Three different resource variables are measured: (1) frequency of famine; (2)
frequency of other indicators of a periodic or unpredictable resource scarcity (natural
disasters such as droughts, floods, storms, and killing frosts, which destroy food
resources); and (3) chronic or seasonal food scarcity. All are rated on an ordinal scale
from 1 to 4 (low to high).
Cohen, Alex (1990): “A Cross-Cultural Study of the Effects of Environmental
Unpredictability on Aggress Folktales,” American Anthropologist, New Series 92,
2: 474-481: 476.
Structure:
1st sentence: announces and presents a list of three items

2nd sentence: describes its treatment.

"The Story of Sindbad the Sailor," incorporated in The Thousand and One
Nights, touches, in three different passages, on the theme of the great fish; and the
first two of these passages are obviously very closely connected with the Arabic
scientific works just quoted. In the account of his First Voyage (Lane, III, 338),
Sindbad says, "I saw, too, in the sea in which is that island, a fish two hundred cubits
long, and the fishermen fear it; wherefore they knock some pieces of wood, and it
fleeth from them." At an earlier stage in the same voyage, the travellers had arrived at
an island covered with trees; the master brought the ship to anchor, and all landed
and prepared a fire to cook; then suddenly the master shouted to the passengers to
embark in haste, for the apparent island was really a fish. Some of them reached the
ship, but the island descended to the bottom of the sea and the others drowned (III,
332-333). The third incident occurs in the Seventh Voyage, as related in the Cairo
Edition of The Thousand and One Nights (III, 480-482). The vessel on which Sindbad
had taken passage had been driven by storm winds to "the Clime of the Kings," in "the
furthest of the seas of the world," and the ship's master, discovering what region it
was, had prophesied certain death to the passengers, when there suddenly appeared
to their terrified gaze three great fish, each one more monstrous than the one before,
and the third "darted down to swallow the ship with all that was in her." But just at
that moment a great wind arose, which dashed the ship in pieces on a reef; and the
fish presumably disappeared; at least there is no further mention of him in the
narrative.
Coulter, Cornelia Catlin (1926): “The ‘Great Fish’ in Ancient and Medieval Story,”
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 57: 32-
50: 37-38.
Structure:
1st sentence: announces a list of three passages

2nd sentence: presents the first passage

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3rd & 4th sentences: present the second passage

5th, 6th & 7th sentences: present the third passage

Mixed paragraphs
Paragraphs that combine enumeration and exposition are not uncommon. They
usually appear in introductions (to announce the subject matter that is going to be
developed) and conclusions (so that the reader remembers what has been discussed).
Look at the following examples:

The "Theory" was originally divided into two parts: a review of existing
approaches to American folklore, of which seven were identified and considered
oblique or limited in their premises; and the formulation of a new approach especially
designed to grapple with the kinds of folk traditions present in the United States. The
idea was to begin with American conditions and evolve a folkloristic perspective, rather
than to begin with a priori conceptions from ballad theory or European or
anthropological or literary scholarship and wrench them in an effort to meet the
American situation. Which areas of American life and history seemed particularly
productive of folklore? Again the magic number seven emerged, in a list of historical
topics considered most fruitful for the folklorist: colonization, the westward movement,
Negro slavery, regionalism, immigration, democracy, and mass culture. Instead of
commencing with the genres of folklore and looking for them in the fifty states, the
"Theory" proceeded from likely vantage points of American civilization to the categories
of folklore. The particular assumption and the fond hope behind the "Theory" are that
it will illuminate darkened corridors of American history and contemporary society
hidden from the view of historians, sociologists, political scientists, and their academic
brethren.
Dorson, Richard M. (1969): “A Theory for American Folklore Reviewed,” The Journal of
American Folklore 82, 325: 226-244: 226-227
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a division of a theory into two parts.

2nd sentence: explains the idea behind the theory (comparing it with another)

3rd sentence: Asks a rhetorical question

4th sentence: answers it through a list of seven items

5th sentence: further describes the way it worked

6th sentence: describes the finality of the theory using a list of four agents.

The folk high school movement raises deeper questions about applied work: In
directing our attention toward reforming schools, are we simply making the transition
to a new hegemony more bearable? How do we find a way to work through institutions
and everyday situations (which are all that we have) without blunting radical ideas?
When, if ever, is the experiential level (that teachers and students have a "good
experience") as important as the structural level, and how do we show the
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relationships between the personal and the structural? That the linkage between
folklore scholarship and education of the "primitive" and "peasant"-those labeled
"folk"-remains a lacuna in the history of our discipline reveals that we need to consider
seriously how the romantic positioning of folklore, which gives us an agenda for social
change, is also the reason that our efforts do not result in generating the kind of world
in which we wish to live.
Coe, Cati (2000): “The Education of the Folk: Peasant Schools and Folklore
Scholarship,” The Journal of American Folklore, 113, 447: 20-43: 40.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a problem.

2nd sentence: asks a question

3rd sentence: asks a second question

4th sentence: asks a third question

5th sentences: instead of answering them, the author reaches a conclusion

More complicated information involving longer presentations can be developed

in several paragraphs. If you organize the text using a paragraph for each category you
are dealing with, the main idea can be placed at the beginning of each paragraph. At
the same time, messages can be sent to your readers so that they know which
direction you are taking; let them especially know the type of relation you are using,
the level of importance, the chronology, the cause-effect relation, or the phases of a
process, for example. This can be preceded by an enumerative paragraph where a
simple list serves as an introduction to what is going to be developed afterwards.

Argumentative paragraphs
These paragraphs develop some reasoning that the author uses to try to
convince readers. They usually develop, justify and prove a thesis. You should treat
argumentation very carefully, because if the ideas about your topic and your thesis are
not clear, one could come to the wrong conclusion.

Discussion of the nature of myths has been left for so long to anthropologists,
psychologists and students of religion that observations from the direction of Classical
studies are apt to be regarded as irrelevant or even impudent. Anthropologists have
made such wonderful progress in so many directions that they feel little inclination to
question Malinowski's doctrine that the only person qualified to understand the
nature of myths is the one who ‘has the mythmaker at his elbow’. Yet we are in a
position to emphasise one thing at least: that there are many different kinds of myth,
that myths have different functions and, presumably, different origins, and that
monolithic theories of myth are out-of-date. We can do so because of our distance
from the diversity of types in modern tribal cultures; and because neither Greek myths
 72

nor other ancient ones respond to any unitary theory. The myth-and-ritual school,
admittedly, drew comfort from the support of Cornford and others for the old idea that
all myths are derived from rituals; but many serious students of ancient myths would
now deny them that comfort. And one has only to look at the other general theories-
that all myths are allegories of nature, or explanations of some kind, or not
explanations but charters, or reflexions of unconscious desires or fears, or expressions
of symbols or structures in the collective mind-to see that none of them can possibly
account for most, let alone all, of the obvious claimants to the title of 'myth'.
Kirk, G. S. (1972): “Greek Mythology: Some New Perspectives,” The Journal of Hellenic
Studies 92: 74-85: 76.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a situation announcing a list of three.

2nd sentence: examines the first case

3rd sentence: invalidates it presenting a counter-argument

4th sentence: justifies it giving the main idea

5th sentence: examines the third case

6th sentence: invalidates it through an argument of authority

7th sentence: presents other cases through a list of five cases to end up reasserting the main idea

How is an argument constructed? One way is to express the main idea first. Let
the reader know what you’re talking about and also what you’re not talking about,
that is to say, the theme and its limits. This is called “focusing.” Then you find
supporting data and structure them in a logical order. At the end you can conclude by
asserting your point of view. Look at the structure:

Main idea
Focusing
Supporting fact 1
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Supporting fact 2
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Etc...
Conclusion.
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In presenting evidence you must be careful not to fall into a common mistake of
the cause-effect relationship: Post hoc ergo propter hoc. This Latin sentence means
“after it, therefore caused by it.” This is a fallacy because things that follow each other
chronologically may or may not have a direct relationship. For example, if I wear black
one morning and my boss dies that afternoon someone could think that he died
because of me. Some superstitions are created this way.

Another way to build your thesis is through indirect argumentation. First, the
supporting material is presented, and then, based on the evidence, a conclusion is
drawn. This is best done with examples, and is a good technique for marketing:

Bertha was tired of having to wash white clothes twice. She would put them in the
washing machine, but her detergent could not get rid of the ring around the collar of the
shirts. She tried lye, but, while it got rid of the stains, white clothes started to turn
yellowish. So she decided to do a first wash and then put the most stained clothes in to
wash again. As a consequence of this, she spent too much time at home waiting for the
washing to be done and had to stop going to her ceramic classes.
Martha used to wash the cuffs and collars of her husband’s shirts by hand before
putting them into the washing machine. To do the washing she had to spend too much
time, and she could never finish the book she was writing. She complained that her
husband was too dirty, and he resented that. Agatha was always fighting with her ten
year old son because he would bring his pants with mud and grass stains from playing
on the ground. She was thinking of not letting her son go out to play.
One good day they saw a new product in the supermarket: Dirt-off. They decided to try
it. The use was simple. You just put a little amount of the liquid on the stains and
throw the clothes into the washing machine. The clothes came out as if they were new.
That’s why I suggest you try Dirt-off. You will have more time for yourself and your
family relationships will surely improve.

A variant of argumentative paragraphs are counter-argumentative paragraphs

which are used to refute a thesis contrary to what the author presents. Good and
sensible writers will recognize the value of arguments to those who have an opposite
point of view and will use it when presenting their position. Conceding is the
technique one uses to present opposing arguments. It is usually combined with a
refutation. You agree on some points presented, but you refute the main idea, showing
why it is not convincing.
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Let’s look at some ways of introducing a concession:

Conceding:
It is true that...
Is possible that...
Many agree with...
I agree, in principle, with...
Even though...
X maintains that...

And then of presenting a refutation:

Refuting:
But...
Nevertheless...
Sometimes it is not so...
Yet...
In fact...
My conclusions are different...
But if you take into account that...
If you look more closely, you will find out that...

In arguments, the more knowledge you have about the opposition’s arguments,
the best you can defend your opinion. If you anticipate the answers to questions that
can be made, you have gained an advantage. This way you will gain respect, because it
shows that you have made a profound study on the issue.

When an author presents an argument, readers also begin to construct their

own in order to form their own opinion or to decide what value is given to the
argument presented by the author. When you write, you can orient your thoughts by
providing favorable elements that support them. These elements can point out the
structure of the argument, or its reasoning, so that the reader can better understand
and follow the argument. Many times argumentative and counter-argumentative texts
are organized in several paragraphs, because a large space is needed to develop them.
In this case, each paragraph is developed according to a criterion or an organized idea.
 75

Delimiting and transitional paragraphs

Delimiting paragraphs belong to a mixed type. Their main characteristic is that
they are used to introduce or to conclude a section. An introduction is used to give
readers an idea of what they are going to read about and as a first approach on what
is going to be developed. Closing paragraphs can summarize what has been written or
offer a solution to a problem that has been studied. They can also be used to
encourage readers to continue searching for information and to think about the topic
at hand.

Since nothing exists in English on the history of literacy in Spain, and since the
country is usually neglected by the best-known general histories of literacy,' it will be
helpful to review the most important existing literature and to discuss current
research before dealing with specific Spanish developments and with the questions
that remain. Such a review will also help the reader to understand some of the
difficulties presented by this history.
Viñao Frago, Antonio (1990): “The History of Literacy in Spain: Evolution, Traits, and
Questions,” History of Education Quarterly 30, 4, Special Issue on the History of
Literacy: 573-599: 573-574.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents the justification of an action.

2nd sentence: adds on to the first justification.

A typical structure used is that which mentions a main idea that unites both
sections and at the same time introduces one or several new questions. Another way
of doing a transition is to make reference to a previously developed idea and to
announce what is going to be developed in the following section. These paragraphs are
usually quite short.

Sometimes the transition is integrated in the last paragraph of a section, as in

the following example (only the end of a very long paragraph is given here):

The joke is a genre based in humor –one can find a joke to be very funny and
laugh, one can merely see the humor in the joke, or one can find a joke not funny at
all. Finally, an important feature of the joke is the way in which the assumptions that
accompany its telling often exert pressure to limit the interpretation of it to a
humorous one. However, even with this pressure and even if audience members are
unwilling to overtly acknowledge it, it is common for them not to enjoy a joke. With
these notions of the joke and with the themes of the dumb-blonde joke as a backdrop,
I will now explore what two political joke cycles share with the dumb-blonde joke cycle
and what all three reveal about cultural notions concerning gender, sexuality, and
stupidity.
 76

Thomas, Jeannie B. (1997): “Dumb Blondes, Dan Quayle, and Hillary Clinton: Gender,
Sexuality, and Stupidity in Jokes,” The Journal of American Folklore 110, 437:
277-313: 292.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a description that characterizes an item with three instances.

2nd sentences: focuses on an aspect: a feature.

3rd sentence: presents a general case that somehow contradicts the second sentence.

4th sentences: announces the following paragraphs through a double thesis statement.

Other times the transition is integrated into a new paragraph that develops the
second section, as in the following example that compares the work of two scholars on
traditional narrative:

Clearly, Propp's thesis evolves from a structural analysis of fairy tales that
examines the organization of the plot. In contrast, Lord defines "themes" as "the
groups of ideas regularly used in telling a tale in the formulaic style of traditional
song." Lord's thesis holds that the singer "plans" the arrangements of the events of his
story from scene to scene or from theme to theme. By "theme" Lord means here a
recurrent description or incident with varying degrees of verbal correspondence in
repeated sections of a narrative, either in oral performances or in preserved texts of
such performances in a narrative tradition. The "themes" could amount to
components of a larger theme, or each theme itself could break into still smaller
units.
Yen, Alsace (1973): “On Vladimir Propp and Albert B. Lord: Their Theoretical
Differences,” The Journal of American Folklore 86, 340: 161-166: 162-163.
Structure:
1st sentence: presents a descriptive reminder of the previous paragraph dealing with an author

2nd sentence: using the resource of contrast, the author presents another author

3rd sentence: presents the main idea for the new author

4th sentence: focuses on one aspect: the theme

5th sentence: further develops the idea.

Size and organization of paragraphs

Look at the following figure. Imagine that each rectangle represents a printed
page and that each one of them shows a different distribution of paragraphs. Which is
more attractive to an academic audience? Which is likely to provide a better text?
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1 2 3 4

 The first page contains only two long paragraphs. We do not know if the
first is a continuation of the previous page, and if the second will
continue on into the following page.
 The second contains five medium-size paragraphs.
 The third is like the first, but contains a very short paragraph between
the two long ones.
 The fourth contains nine short paragraphs.

The first and third examples are usually not liked by readers because very long
paragraphs are tiresome or complicated and readers may feel lost. The fourth example
is the worst, because it seems to indicate that the writer was not able to develop ideas,
given the length of the paragraphs. The second example is usually the most acceptable
to readers.

A paragraph should not have less than three sentences; the ideal size for a
paragraph is a maximum of six clauses, one hundred words or ten lines. A paragraph,
in order to develop an idea should occupy between four and twenty lines, depending
on how complicated the argument is. As orientation advice, one could say that a page
should contain between three and six paragraphs. In any case a paragraph should not
exceed one page in length, because it would confuse readers.

When you write a paper take into account the following:

 One-sentence paragraphs are difficult to read. Try to divide sentences

that are too long into shorter sentences.
 Paragraphs must have an internal structure; ideas should not be
unorganized. The sentences and their components whether they are
words or clauses must be well organized.
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 Paragraphs may be too long because they contain various secondary

ideas and their development takes quite a bit of space. In this case, they
should be divided into two or three paragraphs.
 Paragraphs should show some balance amongst themselves; they should
have approximately the same length and they should not mix long and
short structures unless a transitional paragraph is included.
 Paragraphs should be placed according to a connecting thread that
serves to develop your thought.
 You should use expressions that serve as text markers to indicate the
direction your text takes at every moment.

Let us examine the paragraph structure of the following article:

Utley, Francis Lee (1958): “The Study of Folk Literature: Its Scope and Use” The
Journal of American Folklore: 71, 280: 139-148.

This work consists of twenty three paragraphs arranged according to the

following structure:

Introduction: 1 paragraph

Definition and scope: 3 paragraphs

1) Definition and questions (1 paragraph)

2) Oral literature studied in its immediate social context (1 paragraph)
3) Similarities between the oral literatures of medieval peasants, modern
groups, and contemporary "primitives" (1 paragraph)

Folklore for the student of written literature: 3 paragraphs

1) Traditional interest: medievalists and students of Anglo-American literature
(1 paragraph)
2) Other interests that can be developed in the folklore and literature
relationship (1 paragraph)
3) Works that can help in these fields (1 paragraph)

Folklore for the student of “oral literature”: 1 transitional paragraph.

Collection: 3 paragraphs
1) Today more emphasis is given to studying and less to collecting material (1
paragraph)
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2) Importance of field work (1 paragraph)

3) Research in libraries (1 paragraph)

Classification: 1 paragraph

History and reconstructive techniques: 8 paragraphs

1) Schools and methods of the 19th Century (1 paragraph)
2) The historical-geographic method (7 paragraphs):
a) Introduction: a scientific method (1 paragraph)
b) Criticisms and self-correction (1 paragraph)
c) Description of the method (4 paragraphs):
i) first step: collection of variants (1 paragraph)
ii) organized arrangements by linguistic groups (1 paragraph)
iii) analysis of elements(1 paragraph)
iv) construction of an archetype(1 paragraph)
d) Laws derived from the method (1 paragraph)
e) Reasons why folklore is not practiced as a discipline in its entirety (1
paragraph)

Criticism: 2 paragraphs
1) Contrast between oral and written works (1 paragraph)
2) Aesthetics (1 paragraph)

Conclusion: Value of criticism and history for the discipline: 1 paragraph

Relating main and secondary ideas

A secondary idea is an idea that explains, clarifies, distinguishes, adds
accuracy, or amplifies the main idea. Secondary ideas should be related –directly or
indirectly– to the main ideas and amongst themselves. They embody the different
aspects of the subject matter, and their function is to make the reading of your text
advance in the right direction. The time and space you dedicate to secondary ideas will
depend on their importance. A secondary idea that is not related to the rest of the text
should be avoided, no matter how important, because it can damage the structure. A
way to use these ideas in a positive way is to include them in the introduction as
issues you are not going to deal with. This way they can help you focus on your topic.

Digressions and interpolations should be treated with great care. A digression

cuts the flow of a message and as a result the reader needs to retain what has been
read, while obtaining new information. Nevertheless interpolated messages can be
good if their purpose is to qualify what is being written. Try to avoid digressions, if
 80

possible, by applying a better order to the sentences. The best way to deal with
digressions without damaging the reading flow is to add them as a note.

Focusing
To focus is to concentrate the attention on the points related to your topic. It is
important to make sure that the reader clearly knows what you are writing about.

For decades, Hollywood has presented white male stars "as supreme icons and incarnations of the rootless,
decultured 'individual' in industrial consumer society" (Guerrero 1993:126), while it has presented African American
male characters as either passive bystanders or aggressive villains, but rarely as distinctive individual heroes who win the
struggle in any movie plot. In answering those stereotypes, some African American filmmakers have depicted similar
"individualist," and possibly "reactionary," male he-roes who win the day (Guerrero 1993:96-97). Some filmmakers have
compensated for previously desexualized "sidekick" African American male characters with emphatically sexually active
characters, and some have compensated for early Hollywood's weak, impoverished stereotypes with depictions of
African American males as strong and economically powerful (ya Salaam 1995:6). (See Donald Bogle's work on the
variety of stereotypes.)

Cundieffs production has created characters who defy Hollywood's dominant white culture –and these
characters win their battles against white authority figures. At the same time, the film uses these and other characters to
reflect, then contradict, some of the responses of African American filmmakers to the dominant culture. By using related
themes from African American folklore, the movie interrogates the stereotype of masculinity as tied to power, whether
physical, economic, or sexual. Masculinity, in whatever ethnicity, the movie seems to insist, does not have to be
synonymous with power.

Fulmer, Jacqueline (2002): "Men Ain't All": A Reworking of Masculinity in Tales from the Hood, or, Grandma
Meets the Zombie,” The Journal of American Folklore 115, 457/458: 422-442: 423

There are some techniques you can use to highlight the main points: emphasis,
strategic placement and repetition.

To emphasize is to let the reader know that the idea you are presenting is
important and that the main idea and the text revolve around it. Therefore the text
cannot be understood if this idea is not well understood. You can also emphasize by
means of typographical techniques as using italics, bold or capital letters.

Another way of letting your readers know the importance of an idea is by

repeating it. One repeats what is important and mentions what is less important. You
can repeat words or ideas by using synonyms or different phrases that express the
same idea. When a main idea is being developed, it is good to remind the reader what
the main idea is and what the secondary ideas are.
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We should be familiar with different communicative strategies:

 Short sentences are more effective than long sentences.

 Messages expressed in an active voice are stronger than those expressed
in a passive voice.
 Affirmative sentences stand out better than negative sentences.
 Ideas concentrate in the main sentence and fade in the subordinate one.
 Details placed around a concept strengthen it.
 Ideas placed at the beginning of a paragraph are stronger than those
placed at the end, and both are stronger than the ideas in the middle of a
paragraph.

Text markers
It is important to have a good collection of text markers that would serve as
letting readers know what direction your text is taking. The following is a list of
communicative functions in their corresponding order:

To begin: the object of this paper is; my purpose is to...

To introduce an idea: in relation to, in respect to, in reference to, as for,
it is worth mentioning that…
To change the subject: another point is, let us see now, however, a
different thing is.
To order: firstly, first, to begin with, above all, first of all; then, after,
next, secondly, in the (third, fourth…) place; finally, lastly, to end up, in
the end, as a coda to this; to this one must add.
To distribute: on the one hand… on the other; sometimes… other times;
be it… or; we should distinguish between X and…; but first we should
mention…
To contrast: however, nevertheless, on the contrary, anyway.
To avoid: leaving X aside; let us not talk about…; as we shall see later.
To continue: also, moreover, next, likewise, in any case; once X, we are
going to; let us now go to...
To emphasize: we should underline the importance of…, we must stress,
it is important to highlight, one must take into account; I’m naturally
referring to; it is evident that; as everybody knows; it is obvious that; I
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would be convenient to specify, no doubt, we should specially mention;

we should point out; precisely, certainly, sure enough, indeed.
To repeat ideas: in other words, that is to say, i. e., as it has been said
before.
To give examples: for example; e.g. for instance; be it enough to say;
this is the case of; such as…
To introduce an explanation: this X is about; let me explain.
To present results: one can state that; from the above we can deduce
that; as a consequence...
To summarize: in summary, briefly, in a few words, in short, shortly.
To finish: finally, to end up, in short, let me finish by stating that…
To indicate a cause: because, since, by reason of, thanks to, due to,
To indicate a consequence: therefore, as a consequence, that is why.
To indicate a condition: if, whether, on the condition that, in case.
To indicate an end: for, to, in order to, with the objective of.
To concede: though, even though, in spite of, no matter how…
To introduce a source: according to; as X says.
To personalize: personally, what I propose, in my opinion, as I see it.
To change the perspective: form another perspective, in turn.
To catch the reader’s attention: remember that, it is worth saying that,
let us not forget that.
To express reservation: with this I do not want to say that; this doesn’t
necessarily mean that...
To introduce a proof: given that, in view of, as a proof,
To dissipate objections: in any case, anyway, anyhow, and yet.
To refer to a source: see, for example…, as X says,…
To present a conclusion or a statement: therefore, thus, in short, all
this means that, all this demonstrates that, from this it can be deduced
that, in my opinion, to my mind.

How to develop ideas through comparing and contrasting

Comparing and contrasting are two ways of focusing your ideas. To compare
presents the similarities and to contrast presents the differences. Look at the
examples; the first one compares what others have stated and what the author
defends:
 83

Kardiner's phrase "manifestation of this pressure" reflects the Freudian notion that
repression does not eliminate unacceptable impulses from the individual but merely
keeps them out of consciousness: the impulses remain and continue to seek expression,
finding their way into indirect forms like folktales. Here I will argue that the tendency in
psychoanalytic anthropology has been to assume that we know what repression is and
how it occurs in the mind, when in fact our theory of repression, derived primarily from
ego psychology, is vague and contradictory. By examining possible repressed meaning in
a particular folktale from a nonliterate rural storyteller in northeastern Brazil, I intend to
identify these theoretical problems. I will suggest that identifying the ego, in Freud's
structural theory, as the agent of repression is inadequate, and that both theory and
evidence indicate that a whole, or supraordinate, self is a more appropriate theoretical
construct than ego.
Johnson, Allen (1998): “A Reexamination of the Concept as Applied to Folktales,” Ethos 26, 3:
295-313: 296.
This one compares two approaches to the same fact:

Perhaps the difficult issue of tradition can be further illuminated from the larger perspective of
Jewish-Christian hermeneutics. Both in rabbinics and in Christianity a similar concept emerged
that became virtually canonical as far as the comprehension and status of their respective traditions
were concerned. In early Christianity the idea emerged that the disciples/apostles had been
appointed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, from baptism to resurrection, and were therefore both
destined and qualified to function as reliable guarantors of the tradition. In the rabbinic tradition
scribal scholars between 80 and 200 CE generated the theory that Moses had transmitted a
depository of revelatory words that were meant to supplement the Torah; they were handed down,
more or less intact, all the way into the rabbinic present. The rabbinic thesis resembles the
Christian postulate, and both originated at a moment in Jewish-Christian post-war history when the
two faiths were in dire need of self-legitimation. At this point in history both Judaism and
Christianity grew self-conscious about the tradition as tradition by anchoring it in the sacred origin
and by further securing it via the thesis of an unbroken continuity. In both instances, tradition, or
all subsequent remembrance of tradition, is, so to speak, canonized.
Kelber, Werner H. (2002): “The Case of the Gospels: Memory’s Desire and the Limits of
Historical Criticism,” Oral Tradition, 17, 1: 55-86: 61.

Choosing details
Main and secondary ideas should not be presented alone, in an abstract way. It
is good to go from the abstract to the concrete to make what we are dealing with easier
to understand, more lively and interesting. To do that, we must present details,
especially those that would serve us to focus on the main idea, leaving aside those
that would distract the readers from this purpose.
 84

We can use clarifying examples. A good example many times is more effective
than an abstract explanation. Examples inspire the readers’ imagination, allowing
them to relate what is abstract to what is concrete, as in applications or cases, and
helps them remember the issue at hand.

You can find representative cases, and if necessary, more than one could be
brought to the readers’ attention. This can be used to emphasize and give strength to
your thesis. Choose those that are clearer and more convincing; the purpose of an
example is to make things clear, not to complicate them.

Analogies are also a good way to illustrate an idea. An analogy is the

presentation of something that is similar, but not necessarily related to what we are
dealing with. Imagine that we discuss the strength of black holes; not even light can
escape from them. This is difficult to imagine. However, we can use the idea of
removing the stopper from a sink full of water: the drain will swallow all the water. We
can also imagine an extremely potent vacuum cleaner that sucks up everything within
a certain distance. These are analogies.

Once again, we must take care not to pile up details; we should place them in
an order. Also, details must be significant and pertinent. The following can be ideal
structures:

Presentation of the idea  explanation  examples  return to the idea  conclusion

Analogy  idea  explanation  return to the idea  conclusion
Example1 (case)  Example2 (case)  Example3 (case)  idea  conclusion

It is important to focus on the ideas you want to present, to center on them and to
state them clearly.

Analysis
To develop an idea we can do several things: define it, indicate its purpose,
indicate its end, or the way it functions, for example. However, what we must do in the
end is analyze it. In order to analyze, you must first distinguish the different parts that
are contained as a whole. The second objective is to break down what you have as a
whole and examine each of its parts. The third objective is to study the existing
relations between these elements. Analysis helps us understanding something that is
complex, in a better way. Through this process we can come to conclusions in order to
 85

have clearer ideas. We can understand how each element, which is a part of this
whole, has a function, an explanation, and that all of these parts fit together.

The analysis you carry out must be in agreement with the development of your
hypotheses. Studying some of the elements will get you closer to your goal, but the
study of other elements may drive you away from it. Your thesis can be compared to a
tree that must have some of its branches pruned so it can grow stronger. You should
discard the elements that are not pertinent and concentrate on those that are
interesting for your topic.

Statements and theses

All writing that is not purely descriptive or narrative will have a basic topic-
thesis structure. The topic is what you talk about; the thesis is what you say about it.
By using your reasoning you arrive to a proposition or a conclusion: this is your
thesis. Think then about the presentation, the grounds or reasons, the explanations,
and the justification and application of your thesis. To develop it you will need some
evidence. A piece of evidence is a fact that is certain and offers no doubt. These
elements are the bricks you use to construct your reasoning; the thesis you present is
based on them. You should above all meditate and try to find the evidence you need to
develop your reasoning. However, you should also be careful when you use it, as it
may be subject to critical reasoning. Something that seems evident to one person may
not be so to another. It is necessary, then, to explain and to analyze all the material
you have at your disposal so that the relation topic-thesis becomes clear and the
thesis is well supported.

Look at the following example:

This paper attempts to answer the question, “What is a story?” It examines the
assumption that there exists universally in the human mind the concept of a certain
structure we call a story. It poses two hypotheses which support the assumption. These
are: (1) A listener will accept an item as a story only if it has a certain structure and this
structure has a certain minimal and maximal complexity. (2) The degree of complexity
and the nature of such minimal and maximal structures1 will be the same in all cultures.
The hypotheses will be tested by (a) examining reports about oral narrative from
ethnographers and folklorists in which there are statements by informants which show
that story-tellers and their audiences have clear though not always explicit criteria by
which a piece of oral narrative is judged to be a story; and (b) by presenting oral items
to a sample of adults and asking them to accept or reject each item as being a
satisfactory story and to give reasons for their acceptance or rejection.
______________
 86

1 This paper is concerned only with narrative structure, not with other structural aspects
of narrative, such as the development of images, metaphors, symbols, etc. as discussed
by Kenneth Burke (1986).

Bibliography:
Burke, Kenneth (1986): Counter-Statement. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Rayfield, J. R. (1972): “What is a Story?,” American Anthropologist, new series, 74,5: 1085-1106: 1085

The process of critical thinking functions as a still that distills a liqueur:

Topic  hipothesis  (data + evidence + analysis + support from authors)  conclusions: thesis

Explaining
The process of explaining has three phases: exposition, analysis, and
conclusion. We have already seen how to expose and how to analyze, now comes the
leap to a conclusion: the consequence. This process must produce a statement which
is evident; otherwise the reader may not consider it logical enough and reject it. In
order to do this your reasoning must be well constructed.

The logical structure of this type of discourse is as follows:

(facts or statements from which  (judgment)

Antecedents Conclusion

 
other statements are inferred)

Consequence (links both parts together)

Presenting data
Sometimes, your data are of a scientific nature. You must decide the way you
want to present the data to your reader. Aside from expressing them in prose, you can
present your data as:



formulas and operations


graphics


tables


diagrams
maps

Your reader must obtain clear data. A table or a diagram can clarify your data
or not, depending on how you present it and on whether an explanation comes with it
or not. You could try putting yourself in the readers’ place to see what they need in
 87

order to understand your paper. Later you can compare it to what you have included
and judge it to see if it serves this purpose. In academic papers and in articles sent to
journals, tables should be numbered and included in separate pages from the text. In
the text you must refer to these just with the reference in parenthesis:

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 331,000 over the
month to 8.9 million. These individuals were working part time because their
hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
(See table A-8.)
“The Employment Situation- August
<2010“http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm> Accessed October 5,
2010: paragraph 6

Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of w orker and part- time status
[ In thousands]
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
Category 2009 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture and
2,241 2,416 2,327 2,095 2,254 2,228 2,120 2,192 2,188
related industries
Wage and salary
1,368 1,485 1,409 1,252 1,397 1,363 1,289 1,329 1,300
w orkers
Self- employed
847 884 886 821 823 821 808 825 855
w orkers
Unpaid family
26 47 31 - - - - - -
w orkers
Nonagricultural
137,833 137,717 137,592 137,285 137,199 137,207 136,857 136,599 136,974
industries
Wage and salary
128,493 128,707 128,656 128,168 128,183 128,197 127,900 127,881 128,314
w orkers
Government 20,665 20,326 20,062 21,124 21,440 21,270 21,242 20,978 20,575
Private industries 107,828 108,381 108,595 107,094 106,706 106,906 106,740 106,869 107,760
Private households 859 692 678 - - - - - -
Other industries 106,969 107,689 107,916 106,273 105,977 106,204 106,065 106,270 107,118
Self- employed
9,269 8,927 8,884 9,032 8,910 8,952 8,889 8,779 8,678
w orkers
Unpaid family
71 83 52 - - - - - -
w orkers

PERSONS AT WORK
PART TI ME( 1)
All industries
Part time for
8,835 8,737 8,628 9,077 9,152 8,809 8,627 8,529 8,860
economic reasons( 2)
Slack w ork or
6,497 5,994 6,031 6,895 6,268 6,143 6,165 6,119 6,380
business conditions
 88

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of w orker and part- time status
[ In thousands]
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
Category 2009 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010
Could only find part-
1,917 2,360 2,183 2,065 2,489 2,326 2,101 2,246 2,347
time w ork
Part time for
noneconomic 16,921 16,635 16,888 18,768 18,140 17,929 17,870 18,157 18,558
reasons( 3)
Nonagricultural
industries
Part time for
8,712 8,610 8,509 8,946 9,049 8,661 8,472 8,386 8,730
economic reasons( 2)
Slack w ork or
6,406 5,907 5,953 6,797 6,213 6,041 6,074 6,018 6,304
business conditions
Could only find part-
1,900 2,346 2,159 2,046 2,486 2,306 2,086 2,192 2,320
time w ork
Part time for
noneconomic 16,590 16,313 16,546 18,383 17,798 17,627 17,580 17,774 18,161
reasons( 3)
Footnotes
(1) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the survey reference week and excludes employed
persons who were absent from their jobs for the entire week.
(2) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as slack
work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand.
(3) Refers to persons who usually work part time for noneconomic reasons such as childcare problems, family
or personal obligations, school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, and other reasons.
This excludes persons who usually work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for
reasons such as vacations, holidays, illness, and bad weather.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of
the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually
with the release of January data.

From the general to the specific and vice versa

These are options we have when we are deciding on what strategy to use to
develop our topic. Both are valid techniques, and the choice depends on each case and
on your personal preferences. The advice I would give is that if you have a formed an
opinion, a conviction, or a general idea that you want to explain, then it would be
better to go from the general to the specific. If, on the contrary, you are going on an
“adventure” and you want to investigate or act as a detective, you may want to
discover what causes the phenomenon you want to study. If you end up with a general
perspective that allows you to understand it all, then you should probably go from
specific cases to a general conclusion.
 89

However, you must also take your readers into account. What is their situation?
Can you presume that they already have set opinions on the issue? In any case, what
is important is to be able to guide your reader through the text.

Classifying
One of the basic techniques for a research project is classifying. In fact, many
papers merely consist of presenting a classification to the scientific community,
allowing others to study the subject matter.

Classifying is an operation through which one arranges items in certain classes

while paying attention to resemblances and differences according to some established
criteria. To be able to classify in an adequate manner, one must establish criteria
according to a purpose. These criteria must agree with the purpose of the project,
because what is valid in one instance may not be in another.

One of the dangers in classifications is mixing up criteria. The process of

classification begins by observing and analyzing the items. It later continues with
systematic comparisons, and ends with the distribution of categories. Categories are
subordinate groups that are created according to the established criteria. This
grouping can become more complex as one keeps adding subcategories, which are
subordinate classes.

There are two advantages to preparing a good classification: it gives an order to

the material to be studied and it also allows the identification of items or classes. In
order to make this possible, it is necessary that the categories respond to criteria that
mark significant differences for your study, otherwise, the whole work is of little value.

Think, for example, of the classification of musical instruments by size. This

criterion would be good for transportation, but it would have no validity for musicians,
because for their work they would need a criterion that reflects the quality of sound.
Therefore, criteria used for one classification will depend on the needs and interests of
those who study the items to be classified.

Look at this example:

"Life-form" categories identified in this paper do not always meet Berlin's strict criteria for affiliation with that rank
nor are they always particularly large and heterogeneous. These criteria, however, served as an important guide in an
initial phase of research involving a survey of published and unpublished reports of firsthand investigation of native
zoological taxonomies (see discussion of Type A language cases below). The principal finding of the survey is that
among those zoological classes in languages that are unambiguously identified as life-forms by Berlin's
nomenclatural criteria, five categories consistently occur: FISH, BIRD, SNAKE, WUG, and MAM-MAL. No other
 90

zoological life-forms are as pervasive as these five. The critical features associated with these regularly occurring
folk zoological life-form taxa are as follows:

FISH Creature possessing fins, gills, and a streamlined body, adapted to an aquatic environment. (This life-form is
occasionally extended to other aquatic animals lacking some or all of these features, e.g., whales, aquatic
crustaceans. In such cases true fish usually constitute the focal members of the class [cf. Hunn 1977:250]. )
BIRD Creature possessing feathers, wings, and a bill or beak, adapted to flying. (This life-form is occasionally
extended to bats.)
SNAKE Featherless, furless, elongated creature adapted to crawling, usually lacking appendages. (This life-form in
its greatest extension includes worms, snakes, lizards, and, occasionally, other elongated creatures such as
reptile like insects.)
WUG Small creature usually other than those included in FISH, BIRD, and SNAKE. (This life-form always
encompasses bugs, i.e., insects and other very small creatures such as spiders, and frequently is extended to
worms. Occasionally, the category also includes other small creatures such as snails and crabs and, in
addition, creatures such as lizards, tortoises, and frogs if these are small.)
MAMMAL Large creature other than those included in FISH, BIRD, and SNAKE. (Typically this life-form is
restricted to mammals. Occasionally, however, it is extended to other large animals such as iguanas and
crocodiles and, in addition, to such creatures as tortoises and frogs if these are large.) (Note: Animal is used
more commonly than mammal as a name for this life-form by speakers of American English. Since animal
is used also as a unique beginner to refer to creatures in general, to avoid ambiguity of reference, it is not
employed as a life-form gloss here.

The five classes defined above stand apart from most other categories meeting Berlin's life-form criteria in that
inclusion within them is based solely on the form of the whole animal or, in other words, on gross morphology.
Membership in nonpervasive or nonuniversal life-form categories is frequently found to be based on criteria other
than gross morphology. These include animal habitat (e.g., house vs. forest), edibility (e.g., poisonous vs.
nonpoisonous, tabooed vs. nontabooed), feeding habits (e.g., meat-eating vs. plant-eating vs. insect-eating),
relationship to human beings (e.g., dangerous vs. harmless, domesticated vs. wild), locomotion (e.g., flying vs.
crawling vs. trotting vs. bur-rowing), occurrence in environment (e.g., common vs. rare), and so on. The finding that
universal zoological life-forms are based on gross morphology is identical to the finding for universal folk botanical
life-forms, which are based solely on the form of the whole plant (Brown 1977a:320).
Brown, Cecil H. (1979): “Folk Zoological Life-Forms: Their Universality and Growth,” American Anthropologist
New Series 81, 4: 791-817: 792-792.

Organizing supporting evidence

Well-constructed reasoning must have a solid foundation. The propositions that
serve as basic elements are the premises, which constitute the core of logical thinking;
a premise is a proposition which is considered to be accepted by all. A series of
premises will take us to a conclusion which is inferred from them. The advice, then, is
not to arrive to a conclusion without having presented the premises that support it.
There are different ways of reasoning in a logical way:

Induction is a way of thinking that goes from specific instances to general

conclusions; by studying phenomena or particular cases, we arrive
to a general law or principle. This type of reasoning is especially
good because of its power of persuasion; it shows the stages that
formulate a principle. What is important is the process, or the
development of an argument, that takes one to a conclusion.
 91

Deduction goes from a general idea to a particular application;

consequences or applications are drawn from an accepted idea or
principle. This type of reasoning is good and can help us reach a
conclusion more quickly, as long as the general principles are
accepted by the reader.

Generalization is the process of finding common qualities shared by many

items in order to arrive to a general conclusion. It is a good way to
proceed to analyze. We focus only on repeated patterns or aspects
that belong to different objects, leaving aside individual
characteristics. Generalizations can be dangerous if they are not
done properly. We should use them when the data is clear so that
we do not rely on coincidences, because we want readers to think
that common characteristics are significant. We should distinguish
generalization from analogy, which uses similarities instead of
shared characteristics.

Solution is the finding of an answer that satisfies the conditions imposed

in a problem.

Demonstration consists of proving something which has been previously

inferred, in general, and basing the reasoning on truths or
evidences.

We should not forget that all reasoning should be progressive; one must go from
the known to the unknown. If we abandon this criterion our readers may get lost.

An established structure goes as follows:

1) Start from existing theories.

2) Present cases.
3) Formulate hypotheses.
4) Obtain data through a process of experimentation.
5) Draw conclusions that support or destroy the hypothesis.
Mathematical thinking usually goes this way:

1) Data are presented.

2) Accepted laws are stated.
3) Relationships between data and rules are established.
 92

4) A conclusion is reached.
A typical mathematical structure is the problem, which goes as follows:

1) The problem is formulated.

a) A theme is defined.
b) Data are given.
c) A question is proposed.
2) The problem is solved.
a) Data are analyzed.
b) Rules applicable to the data are formulated.
c) Conclusions are reached.
Exercise:

This text is composed of some narrative, some descriptive and some

argumentative parts. Can you identify them? Summarize in one paragraph the main
idea of this text. Comment on the relationship there is between religious and scientific
thought.

For many centuries the vast majority of the great as well as minor thinkers of Europe
believed that the world was created in about 4004 B. C. and redeemed in the first Century A.
D. When the prows of Columbus’s three brave little ships cut through the world-encircling
Ocean, the mythological age of European thought was dealt a lethal blow and the modern age
of global thinking, adventurous experiment, and empirical demonstration was inaugurated.
Hardly two centuries earlier, Saint Thomas Aquinas showed, by reasonable argument,
that the garden of paradise from which Adam and Eve had been expelled was an actual region
of this physical earth, still somewhere to be found. The Venerable Bede, five and a half
centuries before, had sensibly suggested that paradise could not be a corporeal place, but must
be entirely spiritual; Augustine, however, had already rejected such a notion, maintaining that
paradise was, and is, both spiritual and corporeal; and it was to Augustine’s views that
Aquinas brought support.
Dante, it will be recalled, placed paradise on the summit of the mountain of purgatory,
which his century situated in the middle of an imagined ocean covering the whole of the
southern hemisphere; and Columbus shared this mythological image. The earth, wrote
Columbus, is shaped “like a pear, of which one part is round, but the other, where the stalk
comes, elongated”; or “like a very round ball, on one part of which there is a protuberance, like
a woman’s nipple.” The protuberance was to be found, Columbus believed, in the south; and
on his third voyage, when his vessels sailed more rapidly northward than southward, he
believed this showed that they had begun to go downhill. And he was more convinced of his
error, since, some weeks earlier, at the most southern part of his voyage, when he had sailed
between the island of Trinidad and the mainland of South America, the volume of fresh water
pouring into the ocean from the mighty Orinoco, “the roar, as of thunder” that occurred where
the river met the sea, had assured him that so great a volume of fresh water could only have
had its origin in one of the four rivers of paradise, and that he, at last, therefore attained to this
stalk end of the pear. Sailing north, he was leaving paradise behind.
Columbus died without knowing that he had actually delivered the first of a series of
blows that were presently to annihilate every image, not only of an earthly, but even of a
 93

celestial paradise. In 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded South Africa, and in 1520 Magellan, South
America: the torrid region and the seas were crossed, and no paradise found. In 1543,
Copernicus published his exposition of the heliocentric universe, and some sixty years later,
Galileo commenced his celestial researches with a telescope. And, as we know, these
researches led immediately to the condemnation of the new cosmology by the Holy Inquisition.
Three centuries later, even the sun (which, in the words of Copernicus was like a king
that reigned in the middle of all and gave laws of motion to the rest) was dethroned. The great
telescopes of America have shown the Milky Way system, of which our sun is but one member,
to be a lens-shaped collection of some 100 billion stars, with our sun, a minor star, out toward
the rim. Moreover, it has been found that our entire galaxy is spinning around its center at
such a speed that would bring our sun through one full circuit in approximately 200 billion
years. Nor is our galaxy the only galaxy in existence. Photographic surveys of the skies, made
from Mount Wilson observatory in California, have shown that galaxies tend to cluster in
groups of over a thousand, in supergalaxies. Many supergalaxies have been identified. And this
discovery has suggested to some the notion that our own galaxy may be an outrider in one
such supergalaxy.
What can the value or meaning be of a methodological notion which, in the light of
modern science, must be said to be erroneous, false, absurd or even insane? The first answer
suggested will no doubt be the one that, in the course of the past century, has been offered
many times by our leading thinkers. The value is not that of science but that of art: and just as
art may be studied psychologically, as symbolic or symptomatic of the works and structures of
the psyche, so may the archetypes of myth, archaic philosophy, cosmology, and metaphysics.
In general, the symbols of science and of symbolic logic are, in this sense, signs; and the
figures of art, in this sense, symbols. A sign is a reference to some concept or object, definitely
known; the symbol is the best possible figure for something sensed but unknown. The symbol
does not try to be a reproduction nor can its meaning be rendered in other terms. The function
of art, metaphysics and religion is to render a sense of existence, not to assure a meaning. The
ineffable, the unknowable can only be sensed.
Science looks for meaning, but the propositions of science do not pretend to be infallible
or even durable, they are merely working hypotheses, here today and gone tomorrow. The
creative researches of our scientists take us to a world without meaning, and we all go towards
the experiencing, simultaneously without and within, that the meaninglessness of the sense of
existence and the meaninglessness of the meanings of the world are one.
Adapted from Campbell, Joseph (1990): The flight of the Wild Gander. New York: Harper Perennial
(1st ed. 1958).

Clarifying through paraphrase

Sometimes the text you quote is very good as a support to your thesis, but it is
not a clear text, maybe because it is taken out of context or because it is very dense.
You can take advantage of the technique of paraphrasing as a commentary,
explanation or interpretation that amplifies the ideas presented in the quoted text.

Analysis, hypothesis and synthesis

To develop an idea we can do several things: define it, indicate its purpose, its
end, or the way it functions, for example. However, we should end up analyzing it. In
order to analyze, you must first distinguish the different parts that are contained as a
whole. The second objective is to decompose this whole and examine all of its parts.
 94

The third objective is to study the relationships that exist between these elements.
Analysis helps us understanding something that is complex in a better way. Through
this process we can arrive at some conclusions, and to some clearer ideas; we can
understand how each element, as part of a whole, has a function, an explanation, and
as a result, all of these parts fit together.

The analysis you perform must agree with the development of your hypothesis.
Studying some of the elements will get you nearer to your goal, but studying others
may drive you away from it. You should discard the elements that are not pertinent
and concentrate on those that are interesting to your topic.

Research projects, in general, use analysis, hypothesis and synthesis; with

these processes usually working together. The whole procedure compares to taking a
clock apart to see how it works, explaining it, and putting it back together.

Let us begin with analysis, but this time we are going to examine it as a mental
process. We can start with the careful observation of the material; this observation
makes us aware of its differences with other material and with the parts that compose
it. At this point we begin to segment and classify. A proper analysis should now be
made, consisting of a careful examination of the parts and their description. The
results are presented through a generalization.

The formulation of hypotheses is placed between these two phases. A

hypothesis is an initial speculative proposition, that is, a supposition that needs to be
confirmed. Hypotheses are usually generated from a question or a problem: it tries to
answer a question.

Hypotheses are proposed, thanks to the scientific method: we should begin

with observation and analysis, and these will take us to an explanation. We state the
explanation by using the conjectures and presuppositions we obtain thanks to our
imagination, our creativity, and our logical reasoning, aided by our experience.
Analogy is a good starting point to establish hypotheses and begin researching.

When we formulate a hypothesis, we make a proposition that must fulfill

certain conditions:

 It cannot contradict any truth or principle.

 It cannot exceed the limits of experience, in other words, it must be
verifiable.
 95

 It must serve to explain facts.

After formulating a hypothesis one must begin to verify it and do experiments to
prove or disprove it. According to the results, one arrives at a generalization, which is
a proposition where the results obtained are synthesized and applied to the hypothesis
in order to verify it or refute it.

Synthesis is an operation whose object is to put together what analysis has

taken apart. Synthetic thought usually begins with the simple and easy to understand
to continue gradually to the more complex systems, composed of all the already
examined parts that form a whole.

The experiment
The experiment is one of the main processes used in scientific presentations.
The process of writing about an experiment is as follows:

 The author formulates a supposition or a hypothesis (declaration).

 The situation (context) is then presented where these suppositions
can take place.
 Then the author justifies this statement with other facts or
arguments.
 The declaration is subject to an experiment.
 Finally, the author concludes by comparing the results with the initial
declaration.

Reservations
You should not accept as valid every text that comes into your hand or every idea you
work with; some parts may be acceptable but others may not be valid. You should
express your reservations when dealing with texts that are not fully trustworthy, even
though you feel they should be taken into account, nevertheless.

Look at these two examples:

It is a pleasure for someone like me, doing research in the intersections of gender and religion in Latin America, to read
this book, Written by a political scientist, it takes a fresh look at some of the most controversial and largely unresolved
issues of gender in Latin America, a field usually dominated by anthropologists and scholars of religion, if covered at all.
Htun analyzes the cases of three Cono Sur countries, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, from the late 1960s to the present,
looking at how these three countries have or have not introduced reforms to laws on gender and the family and what
factors have been operative in these processes.
[…] Htun sees four normative traditions as central for understanding the complex relationship between state policies,
issue networks, and legal changes. These are Roman Catholicism, liberalism, feminism, and social-ism. Without
questioning the weight of these traditions and their importance in understanding policy changes on gender issues, I
 96

would express reservations about the way a too-homogenizing image, especially of Roman Catholicism and feminism, is
brought forward. When it comes to the former, there is really no one Roman Catholic tradition from which a certain
moral reasoning would follow; nor should Catholicism be the only religious tradition taken into account, especially with
the growth of Protestantism in the region in the last two decades. The antiabortion stance is not identical to the official
Catholic position. With the growth of the mainly U.S.-funded and -based "pro-life" movement in Latin America,
moreover, Protestant stances on abortion would be especially important to look at.
Vuola, Elina (2004): Review of Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin American Dictatorships and
Democracies by Mala Htun. Latin American Politics and Society 46, 3: 134-138.

***

Languages in Botswana sets an ambitious task, pioneering in an area where the literature on some languages is non-existent.
Andersson and Janson perhaps had insufficient time to study the languages, yet went ahead to write only what they
could find about them. In some ways it can be very disappointing to the reader who expects much from it. Given that it
is a short book, as the authors indicate, it is not a comprehensive study providing full information about the languages,
but serves the purpose of an introductory text.
[…] Languages in Botswana does not present itself as a definitive piece of work nor an entirely reliable source of
information. The authors express reservations about using their book - they are not satisfied with the sources available to
them. Their uncertainty becomes very pronounced in some of their phrases and expressions. Despite their reservations
about the authority of the book, the authors should be commended for venturing into a discussion of these languages,
on some of which written material is little or non-existent. As pioneers in this field, their book adds to the wealth of
literature, particularly as an introductory text. The book has also served to show how little research and literature exists
in this important area.
Molefe, Dorcas B. (1999): Review of Languages in Botswana: Language Ecology in Southern Africa by Lars-Gunnar Andersson and Tore
Janson. Journal of Southern African Studies 25, 4: 708-70

Argumentation
In order to construct a solid argument, we should pay attention to the way it is
organized. But first, let us look at some main concepts.

Convincing: Conclusions are reached through a logical process.

Persuading: Emotional factors intervene in it.
Seducing: Desires are manipulated.
Demonstrating: Ideas are not to convince, but to be presented as a natural
model.

The purpose or argumentation is to convince, but sometimes persuasion is also the

main objective. The elements that compose an argument are:

Information: It is constituted by facts, evidence, cases, data or arguments

presented by the writer. Facts must be differentiated from truths and
presumptions. We can say that we face a fact when it is not controversial
because it is evident; on the contrary, a datum cannot be considered a
fact when there are doubts about it. We also have presumptions, that are
neither facts nor truths, but the result of imagining something without
evidence, one can be more or less sure about them, but nevertheless they
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have not been verified. There are also signs and indications that evoke
some reality that is not directly perceived. Each datum we deal with can
belong to any of these categories; we shouldn’t confuse them.
Declaration: It is a formal statement formed by a thesis, an opinion, a
hypothesis, or a supposition. Declarations can present very simple forms,
such as datum-opinion, datum-conclusion, and cause-effect; or can be
presented in more complex structures.
Rule: It is the process that guarantees that the declaration is a valid one, taking
into account the information provided. Rules can be objective (universal)
or subjective. Objective rules are taken from the real world and are
accepted by every person; they are, therefore, undisputed. They usually
belong to exact sciences. Subjective rules belong to the world of
humanities and social sciences; they value our principles, beliefs and
judgments. The validity of a rule depends on the degree of subjectivity;
the more the consensus about it, the more valid the rule will be. A rule
accepted by everybody will be considered a general rule, even though it is
not objective. When we have an argument in which the conclusion or one
of the premises is not stated we have what is called an enthymeme. We
must be careful with this type of argument, because if what is avoided
does not remain clear, the readers can get lost.
These three elements are indispensable to create an argument, but there can be
other elements as well:

Foundation: It consists of data that support and justify a rule. They can
come from an authority (from experts, religious or political). A
foundation can consist of the process of verifying the rule; it can
also be an argument that justifies the theory to be applied. The
final purpose is to have an agreement between the author and the
reader so that the rule is accepted.

Justification: It consists of secondary arguments that guarantee the

validity and appropriateness of the information used; it is usually
introduced by expressions such as since or given. Many times data
are dubious and anyone could object to them; it is convenient to
reinforce them with an argument that backs them up. In the case
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where what is presented is a presumption, a justification is called

for. Presumptions must be credible and must be linked to a logical
rule.

Reinforcement: There are also secondary arguments that justify a

declaration; as a general rule, they are arguments that would
reinforce a contrary opinion if it were true, but the facts presented
nullify it.

Justifications and reinforcements support the declaration. Other

elements are:

Qualifications: They are elements that soften or weaken the application

of the rule or the thesis; they are introduced by formulas such as
probably; it seems that, etc.

Reservation: This refers to the doubts one may have about conclusions,
if there are any nuances.

Experiment: It is a process by which a declaration is proved to be valid or

not.

Conclusion: It is the final statement; the argument ends by validating

the declaration or by nullifying it.

Be careful not to fall into a fallacy, which is an argument constructed contrary to the
rules of logic. From antiquity, fallacies have been catalogued as follows:

Ad personam: It questions the credibility of an adversary and disqualifies him or

her.
Ad hominem: It questions the information or the rule that another person
follows.
Ad verecundiam: It proposes an argument based only on the authority of a
source.
Ad baculum: It tries not to convince, but to frighten.
Ad misericordiam: It tries to create compassion.
Ad populum: It presents advantages that people can benefit from.
Ad consequentiam: It presents the damage that the opposing thesis can inflict
on people.
 99

Ad ignorantiam: It demonstrates that there is no evidence on the presented

thesis.
Petitio principii: It takes for granted what is to be demonstrated.
Ignoratio elenchi: It uses information from the adversary to defend the thesis
even though no direct reference has been made to it.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc: It wrongly considers that what happens subsequently
is a consequence of what previously occurred.
Non sequitur: The data and the declaration can be true, but there is no rule that
justifies the relationship between these two elements.

Anticipating possible objections

When you write, it is important to anticipate objections that can be raised
against your arguments. You must try to imagine the readers’ reaction to your text.
They are not obligated to accept your statements; it is your duty to convince them.
You should not try to weaken the objections when you present them, but on the
contrary, present them in a strong way so that when you resolve them the effect is
greater.

Counterarguments
A counterargument is a reasoning that contradicts yours. You should pay
attention to counterarguments and not fall into the trap of ignoring them. You should
manifest them, analyze them and evaluate them. A university paper cannot just ignore
opinions or facts that are contrary to what is presented or that cause problems. If your
arguments are not solid enough, and the counterarguments destroy or nullify your
arguments, accept this fact. If, on the other hand, you are convinced that you are
right, use the counterarguments to your favor. You can use the technique of conceding
and refuting.

A concession is total when you acknowledge the counterargument as a whole. If

you do this, you accept that you are wrong, which can be very honest. However, if
your argument is correct and it leads you to a certain truth, most likely the
counterargument will be wrong. Not all counterarguments are totally wrong; there may
be some truth in them. Then you state a partial concession by crediting what you
consider is true and refuting what is false or defective.

For an explanation and also for a demonstration you must have some evidence.
Your evidence must be selected carefully so what you present is solid, appropriate,
 100

and adapted to your readers. The propositions you present must be truthful, evident,
and clear.

Your evidence must be presented following a certain order. You can use the
least convincing piece of evidence first and gradually continue to use the most
reasonable one. Another way is to begin with a solid piece of evidence and then
continue as stated previously. The most important piece of evidence should always be
placed at the end, so that it is more effective. You can also group the less convincing
evidence together so that their number balances their feebleness. The amount of text
you dedicate to each piece of evidence must be in accordance to its importance.

Debating and refuting

There are various ways of preparing a good defense. An attack can possibly
cause an emotional reaction on the person being attacked. This person will probably
feel he or she is in a disadvantageous position and needs to set the balance straight,
or gain the upper hand. To do this, the first thing to bear in mind is the control of
emotions. They can interfere with “cold” thinking.

The first thing to do is to understand the strategy used by the attacker. One
must analyze the counterarguments. To do this it is good to pay attention to the
vocabulary used. There may be weak points in the way the attacker uses words to
express ideas. The way a person chooses language can tell you a lot about that person.
What do you mean by “X”? If the language is not properly used, you already have
enough grounds to build your defense.

You must also examine the reasoning process. What are the premises the
argument is based on? They may be correct, and well founded, or they may be false,
contrary to fact, incorrect or deceptive, or they may only be conjectures. You may
present enough data to discredit the premises or at least question them. You should
also look at the way conclusions are inferred. There are two basic ways: induction,
which means drawing a conclusion from particular instances, and deduction, in which
one goes from a general rule to a particular instance.

You can criticize inductive thinking by examining the examples or particular

instances: are they representative? Are they enough? You may also find a different
conclusion using the same instances, or you may add other cases or examples to
reach a different conclusion.
 101

To criticize deductive thinking you must examine the general rule: does it apply
to the case? Is it an obvious and fundamental principle —scientific— or is it a
hypothesis, a supposition, a conjecture or a guess? There are differences: a hypothesis
is a proposition based on known data and consistent with them; a supposition is a
weaker proposition and investigation may quickly prove that it is untrue; a conjecture
is a proposition based on insufficient data. In a guess, the data used is not only
insufficient, but also uncertain. If you question the general rule convincingly enough,
you make the conclusion invalid.

A good way to destroy your opponent’s arguments is to look over and see if the
conclusions can be turned against your opponent’s interests by using the same
arguments or the same process. You can also take your opponent’s views much
further to end up with a conclusion that is absurd, ridiculous or irrational. A word of
advice: irony is always better than sarcasm.

The basis of your opponent’s arguments may be founded on a certain doctrine.

Examine it: Is it a doctrine that can be seriously defended by reasoning or is it based
on a creed or dogmas that have to be accepted by faith? In this case you can oppose a
more convincing doctrine or an equally respected belief.

Another way of defending one’s views is to discredit your opponent’s authority.

You must be careful not to resort to insult. Your aim is to cause disbelief, distrust and
doubt, not to turn your opponent into a victim. The first thing to do is question your
opponent’s intentions. Why is your opponent attacking? Are the reasons genuine and
valid or, on the contrary, are they morally questionable? In this case you have to
examine your intentions, if they are more genuine or valid, you can compare them.
You may also see if your opponent is using somebody else's arguments, that is, he or
she may be utilizing some authority (experts, specialists, and influential people). Can
you question their qualifications? Have they been unauthorized by other authorities?
Can you oppose other views? If everything else fails, you can look at your opponent’s
reputation. To question a reputation is not only a dangerous thing to do, because it
means open war, it could also be a cruel and dirty trick, especially if what you
question has nothing to do with the arguments, and all you do is manipulate
emotions. The best way is to act with moderation, and it is always good to show
respect or at least consideration toward your opponent. Opponents are not necessarily
enemies, and to attack an argument does not necessarily mean to attack a person.
 102

Your opponent may very well be acting against your opinions due to fear,
because your views are perceived as potentially dangerous to their interests or to their
being. The best way to react to this is to calm your opponent, to reduce his or her
sense of alarm. Many times there is not a definite cause or there may only be
confusion. If you find a common ground, or principles, on which both can agree it´s
better. In this case you may, by logical reasoning, be able to convert your opponent to
your views. You can convince him or her that you have no intentions to cause harm,
or that the outcome may be beneficial. By doing this, you can at least neutralize future
attacks because the reason for them does not exist anymore.

You must not be blinded by your desire to fully defend your views. Your goal
should be to find the truth or the best solution to a problem. Go back and examine
your opinions. If you feel you are right, do not be afraid of maintaining your views. You
have the right to be firm. On the other hand, you may be wrong. In this case, the best
thing to do is to acknowledge that you have been totally or partially convinced. You
may lose the argument, but you will gain in respectability.

Exercise:

Read this text on the year 1000 and the end of the world, and make an outline of how
the author organizes his presentation; pay attention to the way he constructs his
argument:

Let’s suppose for a moment that the following assertion from the notorious
French historian Jules Michelet was true: “In the Middle Ages there was the universal
belief that the world should finish in the year 1000 AD.” How would everyday life be
then! Let’s imagine... Well, it’s better not to bother oneself, because he already did all
the fantasizing:

Disgrace and more disgrace, ruins and more ruins. Everybody expected
something new to appear... The captive waited in his dungeon... the serf
waited... the monk waited... So much terror moved people to have pity. Fearing
the divine sword, fighters stopped using theirs. It was not worth fighting or going
to war for a land that they were going to abandon. In the middle of this general
fear, people looked for comfort in the Church... When the third year after the
millennium arrived, buildings and churches began to be reconstructed.
Humanity calmed down and recuperated itself from the agony.

You just have to read Michelet’s texts closely and compare them with his
sources to realize that what prevails in this historian, despite his talent, is imagination.
 103

But, as usual, his readers have trusted in him. Other historians have followed him, and
at the end, the question has become so disfigured that everybody talks about “the
terrors of the year 1000.” And this happens despite all the refutations: François
Plained, using original texts, demonstrated in 1873 how false this thesis is; Jules Roy
wrote a book called The Year 1000 where he reaches the same conclusions, etc. But, as
the great medievalist Ferdinand Lot said, “The moment one stops fighting a historical
error, it comes back to life immediately.”

“The terrors of the year 1000” is not a legend. A legend is the magnified
remembrance of a great happening in the history of our antecessors in which their
strength and heroism is tested by great adversities. A very different thing is to tell about
men’s fears, desperation and renunciation. And if it is not true, then we simply have a
historical error. Do we have to try to disprove this fallacy? Do we have to prove that of
the twelve texts they use to prove their theory, four were written by men who were
afraid of the end of the world (this is true), but who lived after the year 1000? That four
other authors lived in the 10th century, but that they never mentioned this fatidic date?
Should we question Raoul Gabler, who wrote in the year 1040 and uses the year 1000
as the key moment of his chronology, but never relates this year to the end of the
world? Another writer, Adson, wrote a little treaty on the Antichrist, and in it declares
that the true date is only known by God. Nevertheless, we must say that there was a
man who announced that the end of the world would happen in the year 1000: In 998,
the Abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire, Abdon, mentions that in his youth he refuted a preacher
who announced the Antichrist and the Final Judgment for this year, using the Gospels,
the Book of Daniel and the Book of the Revelation. If the preacher would have had some
success, wouldn’t Abdon take the advantage to argue against this and repeat the
reasons found in the Bible? We already have eleven texts. Let’s see the twelfth. These
texts do narrate that many people were afraid of the end of the world this year due to
earthquakes and a comet. When did this text appear? In 1688, and was written by a
German monk between 1462 and 1516. Interesting enough, the paragraph that
mentions the end of the world, is not original. It was interpolated in the 1688 edition.

To finish this discussion, one must say that just before the 11th century what
we find is evidence of great changes that bring on an improvement of conditions and a
renovation in medieval life, not the despair and lack of incentive due to fear of the end
of the world. This is confirmed by historical facts.

Adapted from the first chapter of Pognon, Edmond (1987): La Vie quotidienne en l’an
mille. Paris: Hachette.
 104

Conclusions
Conclusions serve an important purpose. They focus on the attention of the
reader in the thesis presented by the author and they recapitulate the most important
items of information. In order to express the conclusions that the author has reached,
he or she needs to interpret and present, in a short and logical way, all evidence used
in the text. In order to do this, one should do a summary of the main ideas presented
and then argue, through a short analysis, about how they relate to each other to arrive
at the conclusion.

A logical conclusion will offer the reader enough verifiable and relevant data.
Sometimes the repetition, even if it is summarized, can be boring to some readers.
There are authors that, in order to prevent this, prefer to add some new additional and
interesting information. Some conclusions are open in the sense that they try to push
the readers into doing more research or taking some kind of action.

A typical conclusion will incorporate some of these elements in its structure:

 summary of the main ideas

 summary of the support material
 recommendations
 encouragement of the reader to assume some attitude

The following demonstrates two examples of conclusions: the first comes from
an article on folklore in the Third Reich, and the second from an article on swords in
medieval folklore.

In their reappraisal of the German folktale, the national Socialists undoubtedly succeeded in bringing to the
people’s attention the vast treasury of the Nordic Germanic folk heritage, as well as in raising national
consciousness and self-esteem. Unfortunately, their ethnocentric point of view and race theories blocked out
the study of universal and international themes and blurred the scholarly perspective of folklore. Without
respecting the genuine folk tradition, they transformed for their own purpose the symbols of death, darkness,
and doom into symbols of rebirth, fertility, and longevity of the nation. In the folktale as well as in the literary
fairy tale, they simply ignored the dark side of human existence and the twilight zones of human
consciousness. Whatever was opposed to the “positive and healthy” view of the national Socialist
Weltanschauung found no room in the new folk education program.
Ironically, the new folktale interpretation achieved the very opposite of what it officially set out to do. While
transforming the folktale into a stale product of the Socialist realism, it severed it from its genuine connection
with the living folk tradition, thus stifling its growth and creative development. Finally, the folktale was no
longer a true reflection of the common peasant folk, but only a medium for the Nazi ideology, and a
mouthpiece of racial propaganda.
Kamenentsky, Christa (1977): “Folktale ideology in the Third Reich,” The Journal of American Folklore, 90, 356:
168-178: 178
***
 105

There is no doubt that the sword was a multifaceted and powerful symbol, linked as it was with family ties,
the attainment of manhood, loyalty to one’s lord, justice, sovereignty, and the last funeral rites, as well as with
the excitement of battle and adventure. As the weapon of the aristocratic leader, it played a major part in
heroic and courtly literature, but it also remained a potent symbol in legends and märchen.
Davidson, Hilda Ellis (2002): “Sword,” Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs. Carl
Lindahl, John McNamara and John Lindow, eds. New York: Oxford U. P.: 399-401:401.
***
To conclude, we believe we have merely scratched the surface of what appears to be a many-layered area of
inquiry. Although we have tried to articulate some narrative possibilities, the stories that come to be, the
rendering of those stories, and the sense that is made of them by strategy researchers and practitioners will
ultimately become another narrative. Or so our story goes.
Barry, David, and Michael Elmes (1997): “Strategy Retold: Toward a Narrative View of Strategic Discourse,”
The Academy of Management Review 22, 2: 429-452: 448.

When you reach a conclusion remember that it must:

 Have some relation to the text that you have developed.
 Be well based, logical and clear.
 Be explained so that the reader fully understands.
 Be brief.

Closure
Related to the conclusions are the closing words. When you finish developing a
section of your text, you must let the reader feel a sensation of reaching an end. This
is closure. You can use an epilogue or a recapitulation.

An epilogue is a brief and elegant review of your text so that the reader ends up
with very clear ideas. You must use the technique of summarizing.

 You can also go back to the beginning, using the same images, references or
ideas that you presented in the first paragraph.
 You can end by restating your thesis.
 You can use a pertinent quotation that fits very well.
 You can underline the importance of your topic.
 You can talk again about the purpose of your paper.
 You can tell the reader what needs to be done at this point.
 You can mention the questions that remain open or the new issues that can
appear.
 You can also do an evaluation and evaluate the consequences in a personal
way.
 106

 You can become more literary and use an image that serves as an analogy to
your topic.

You should not repeat all your ideas at the end. A good end is that which
rounds up the process of reading, that which leaves a good aftertaste, so to say, and
that which leaves the reader to think about what you have written.

The introduction
As you can imagine, a good introduction must be written after this process. This
way you will know what the readers are going to encounter and arouse their curiosity.

Beginning:
IT IS EASY TO ASSERT that a particular text is a legend while another is not. The decision
is frequently
based on experience; one "feels" that a tale is or is not a legend. But when it comes to producing an
exact definition-one which would enable us to decide with certainty whether a given text is or is not
a legend-the field is found wanting. The definitions offered thus far have serious flaws. Since,
however, the old definition of the Grimm Brothers constitutes the basis of subsequent thinking in
the field, it will be useful to reexamine this definition, noting its components and their
interrelationships, and the merits it may possess. It is hoped that such an examination will yield new
insights.
End:
To return to our starting point, the definition of the Brothers Grimm, the criteria which they singled
out have proved to be important qualities of the tales. These criteria, however, have to be modified
from the absolute to the relative, from dichotomies to continua. The first two of the criteria -the
temporal and the spatial schemes- must be constructed separately for each individual culture; the
third -the "believing" criterion- is a secondary quality which is the outcome of the other two and will
be a product of a universal rule.
Jason, Heda (1971): “Concerning the ‘Historical’ and the ‘Local’ Legends and Their Relatives,” The Journal of
American Folklore 84, 331, Toward New Perspectives in Folklore: 134-144.

***
Beginning:
When we treat of the African data, it is essential that the meaning of the word "folklore" be clarified, since its
applicability here is limited by certain special considerations. It is, first of all, a word that literate Africans feel
has a pejorative connotation. Historically, the field of folklore developed as the result of antiquarian interest in
the quaint customs of peasants, or in the oral narratives of peoples regarded as not having the same degree of
"civilization" as the European city dweller. In this it is like the term "primitive," another word which must be
used with great caution in reference to modern Africa, not only because of its scientific disutility, but also
because of the susceptibilities of Africans which this usage violates. For these and various other reasons, in the
context of African studies the term "narrative" is preferable to "folk-tale," just as "nonliterate" is to be used in
preference to "primitive." It can be taken as a basic principle of scholarship that only words which hold no
invidious connotations are to be used, since this is essential if we are to examine data without the emotional
responses that come from using more "loaded" terms. The same postulate is also valid when practical
 107

considerations of field research are kept in mind, since the avoidance of these terms can make those who can
be of help in gathering data more amenable to providing the data the student seeks.
End:
[…] The field, it is apparent, is a rich one; it is not too much to say that it is there to be made. As was
indicated at the outset of this discussion, it is a challenge and an opportunity to students who would
understand the power of the creative drive and the nature of artistic expression in verbal form, not only in
African, but in all human societies.
Herskovits, Melville J. (1961) “The Study of African Oral Art,” The Journal of American Folklore 74, 294,
Folklore Research around the World: A North American Point of View: 451-456.
108
 109

THE PROCESS OF REVISING

The next process is that of revising your work. Now you become a critical reader
and examine what you have written. You must be demanding when examining your
text, in order to make improvements. First, let us look at some general principles.

Organizing main and supporting materials

When you come to a conclusion in your text, all of the supporting materials
should be presented and explained. Watch the cause-effect organization so that it
remains effective. Ask yourself if the relation between main and supporting ideas is
clear enough for readers to follow. Do your arguments make a stand up for
themselves, or can they be refuted?

Economy and redundancy

Economy and redundancy are the two opposite principles that rule
communication. On one hand you should express yourself with frugality and efficiency
avoiding wordiness, and on the other you should emphasize what is important, and
repetition is the most basic form of emphasis. Repeat only what is necessary; economy
rules academic works, and redundant language should be avoided.

Concision and vagueness

Academic expression (and more in scientific writing) needs to be concise; that is
to say, you should use precise words and expressions to convey meaning. Vagueness
is the opposite; a vague language is imprecise, indeterminate, and obscure. An
overelaborate and high-sounding style does not belong here. Do not waste your
readers’ time with digressions and ornamentations.

Do not use vocabulary that you do not fully understand. Always consult a good
dictionary. Every word means more than what is intended; words have connotations.
Be careful with the ideological, connotations a word may possess.

When you explain, try to be clear, simple and direct. Look for words that mean
exactly what you try to convey. If you have to use difficult-to-understand words, be
sure they are defined and explained. At all times, try to be accurate.
 110

Objective language
Pure objectivity does not exist. Writers perceive their own perspective and reflect
this in their writings, by the choice of words and topics or by the position that they
take. The emotional world somehow filters through an otherwise objective language
and the author’s personality is reflected. Nevertheless, when we write, we must do an
honest job and should not try to manipulate readers.

In order to be “objective,” we should focus on facts, on data; we should present

our opinions using coherent and clear arguments. We should not 1)include
unwarranted statements; what we write must be properly justified, 2) discredit any
opinion without having analyzed it first, otherwise we become arbitrary and 3) make
the mistake of succumbing to dogmatic ideas either. The appearance of our work must
be one of neutrality while dealing with certain issues: we should try to get to the truth
through reasoning.

A text full of adjectives and adverbs is perceived as subjective; a text where

nouns and verbs predominate is perceived as being centered on facts, and therefore
objective. Adjectives and adverbs are necessary as modifiers. Be careful with their
position; displaced modifiers should be placed as close as possible to the word they
modify to avoid ambiguities.

Ambiguity
Analyze your text to insure that what you have written means exactly what you
are trying to say or it can be understood in a different way since another meaning can
be attributed to it. There must be only one way to interpret what you have written.
Ambiguity can be the result not only of words whose meaning is not clear, but also of
incorrect syntactic constructions.

Style
A person’s style is made up of diverse factors: the length of sentences and
paragraphs, the choice of words, the tone employed, the clarity of expression, the type
of resources that he or she uses, etc. Each person’s style is formed as the habit of
writing develops. However, a writer does not always use the same style; it depends on
the type of text and for who the text is written. In an essay or a research paper the
style cannot be familiar, but it can be straightforward; it must not be poetic, but it can
 111

be elegant; it can either be personal or impersonal while being objective at the same
time.

In science, texts tend to be impersonal. This is a style that became fashionable

in Victorian England and extended among scholars. Before this, scientists used a
more personal style. To obtain an impersonal style, you should avoid using the
pronoun I and substitute it by we. Even though the active voice in scientific style is
being preferred these days, the attention focuses on the object and thus the passive
voice abounds. The author does not appear anywhere, but hides in a real or fictitious
group. There is no reference to the reader either. The resulting text is distant and
centered only on facts.

For some years there has been a movement that began in the United States
which reacted against scientific style with a tendency of making reading a more
pleasant activity. The tendency now is to assume the responsibility for your writings,
avoid the passive voice and use I instead of we (if that is the case) or the authors.
Technical vocabulary is also avoided when it is not relevant and familiar terms are
now preferred. The basic issue is whether the reader can understand the text by
reading it only once without stopping.

The degree of legibility for a text depends on various factors:

Words: short or long; familiar and straight-forward or complex

Phrases: short or long
Language: concrete or abstract
Sentences: juxtaposed and coordinated or subordinated constructions
Digressions: none or little or quite a few with interpolations
Repetitions: not many or too many
Text markers: present or absent
Enumerations: few or many
Main ideas: at the beginning, at the end or in the middle of paragraphs
Information: relevant, clear and logical or irrelevant, hidden and hard to
follow
Examples: concrete and relevant or irrelevant

When you revise your work, study your style:

Is reading pleasant?
 112

Do you express your ideas clearly?

Do you find some sections difficult to read?
Can you judge by yourself or do you need a friend to read it to give
you feedback?
The only way to develop a style is by attentively reading other works and by
writing and rewriting. No writer is born with a developed style. Writing is always a
process.

Computer revising tools

They are both good and bad. Remember that a computer is just a machine; it is
programmed to do certain things, but a machine does not reason and does not react to
new situations. Tools are good when you master them, but they are bad if you depend
on them to do the job. They are not (at least by now) the substitute of a human brain.

Coherence
Coherence refers to the way the different elements in a text connect to form a
sequence, maintaining a thread or a train of thought throughout the work. When you
revise your paper, examine it to see if the words are properly connected, if the
messages are strung together and if your ideas flow. See if juxtaposed sentences could
be better tied to each other through connectives. Look at the relation between
paragraphs and consider whether their order could be improved.

Transitions and connectives

The repetition of connectives is tedious. Strive for variety. Look at the following
lists:

Time & order

after firstly now
afterwards immediately nowadays
as of now in the beginning shortly
as of now in the beginning simultaneously
at last in the end since then
at that moment in the meantime soon
at that time instantly still
at the same time last suddenly
at the same time lastly then
before later those days
by then later up to now
earlier meanwhile up to then
finally next yet
first not yet
 113

Comparing, contrasting, conceding

although frankly on the contrary
anyway however on the one hand
as if in any case quite the opposite
at the most in spite of the same way
at the same time in the same manner the truth is that
be it as it may indeed though
be it as it may instead of unlike
but just as whatever
despite much as whereas
even if nevertheless whatever happens
even so no matter how whereas
even though not that while
except that of course whilst
far from on the contrary

Adding & emphasizing

above all besides one more thing
actually especially particularly
after even more the important thing is
again finally truly
also indeed we should add
apart from likewise
as we will see moreover
at all no doubt

Concluding, summarizing, generalizing

after all in brief to a certain degree
all in all in other words to sum up
as a general rule in short to summarize
as a general rule let me finish by saying what is essential
basically most important
basically this is, then,
 114

Focusing, giving examples

actually for instance particularly
among other things i.e. sometimes
as a matter of fact in fact specifically
e.g. in order to illustrate this that is to say
especially in other words the fact of the matter is that
even at the risk of let us assume that with a few exceptions
first and foremost likewise
for example mainly

Conditions and purpose

apart from in order to so that
except on the condition that unless
except that on the condition that with the intention of
for the purpose of save
in case that so

Reformulate, clarify
At least in other words that is to say
I want to express in other words
in fact rather

Introducing or changing a topic

anyway in reference to this reminds of
as a starting point in relation to this takes us to
by the way let us turn to
I must mention relative to

Inferences, results, effects

as due to since
as a consequence given that thanks to
as a result of in account of that is the reason
because of in this case then
because of this in view of the fact that therefore
by means of it is not surprising that this is why
consequently owing to we can deduce from this that
we can infer from this that

Intent
As a consequence of having produced a clear text, your intentions must be
reflected in it. Examine it to see if what you wrote reflects on what you were trying to
say, if your ideas can be clearly understood and if there is no possibility of double
entente. Examine your train of thought; when reaching a conclusion, you must feel
that everything fits well. If this does not happen, revise the structure of your ideas.
 115

Make sure that the main ideas are presented correctly. Also, examine the text to see if
there are changes in perspective that are not clearly marked.

Acceptability
Acceptability is the capacity a writer has to adapt to the expectations of the
reader. Examine the type of information presented and the data used. No one can
trust a paper that contains false information or that has errors in the data. If the data
you are using are not trustworthy, let your readers know about your reservations.
Weigh the value of your conclusions and do not give them more value than they
deserve. Remember that all statements are relative.

Interest
Interest is achieved when known and unknown materials and expected and
unexpected data are used in conjunction. An interesting academic paper takes the
reader from the known to the unknown; reading becomes a process of discovering
something new. New data, alternative ideas, original perspectives, and presenting new
relations among known items are a good way to arouse the reader’s interest. Balance
your material so that interesting parts are always present.

Be careful when you use new data to interest your readers; good academic work
does not use partial or biased information. If aside from being informed, readers learn
something, then you are also educating them.

Intertextuality
Understanding a text implies that one has previous knowledge of other texts
and data related to the topic that they deal with. Intertextuality is made up of diverse
factors that make a text accessible thanks to the reader’s acquaintance with previous
texts. If you are using material that your reader is not familiar with, think about how
you should present it and how much you should explain. Watch your vocabulary;
make sure readers understand the words you are using.

Appropriateness
Make sure that the elements you are using to construct your work are adequate
and pertinent. Consider whether they are too few or too many for your purposes. Look
for meaningless digressions and interpolations that can distract readers. Also make
sure that the information is placed correctly look it over to see if some elements would
be more effective if moved to another place.
 116

Revising the structure

Compare the relative size of your paragraphs. See if their size agrees with their
importance. Check and see if you should divide paragraphs that are too long, develop
and lengthen paragraphs that are too short, or combine two paragraphs into one. Look
at what type of criteria you use to put them in order and if it reflects on an effective
train of thought. The thread that guides a text must go as straight as possible from the
first approach, to the topic and later to the conclusion.

The length of clauses and sentences is also important. The longer the clause,
the harder it is to read. However, accumulating short sentences makes the text appear
too simple and monotonous; the overall impression is that of ideas that have not been
fully developed. Simple and complex sentences formed by juxtaposed clauses produce
simple and easy-to-read texts that have little cohesiveness. Subordinate clauses make
it a bit harder, but they add interest; but when you subordinate a clause to another
subordinate clause, things may become more complicated. One must always choose
between cohesiveness and simplicity. A good text mixes long and short sentences,
making them well connected, and offer readers enough pauses to allow them to rest
and to meditate on what they have read. You should also check to see if there are any
unfinished sentences; many times, when correcting texts, some of the corrected parts
may not have been fully erased.

Spelling and punctuation

Do not forget to check spelling and typographical errors. Do not fully rely on
computer corrections. Read your text or have a friend or classmate read it. Have a
dictionary at hand for consultation.

Revise the punctuation. Do not confuse punctuation with reading rhythm. Not
all the pauses in the reading process must be marked by punctuation. For more
information, check Appendix I. For examples, see Appendix III.

The final outline

Until now the outlines you have used for your work have been tentative. Now is
the time to elaborate the final outline. This outline must include all relevant material.
Eliminate all other materials that do not fit into the structure, no matter how
interesting they may seem; leave them for another occasion. Check to see if the text
leaps from one idea to another; if this is the case, correct the order. If there are gaps,
 117

fill them in with extra sections; they do not have to be long, you may only need a
transitional paragraph if the gap is small and does not affect the structure of your
work.

The different sections that make up your work must be logically related; a series
of ideas placed one after another is not enough. Instead, you should guide your
readers by letting them know how the presented ideas relate to each other. Make sure
that the ideas in your outline are well balanced. Watch for parts that weigh too much
in relation to others that are too light.

Revising the title

This is a good moment for revising the title you have chosen. Let’s review the
characteristics of a good title:

 Identify your work.

 Distinguish your work from other works.
 Highlight the most important elements of your discourse.
 Arouse the reader’s interest.

You can choose among various types:

 Ample or concentrated: There is a limit to the size of a title; sometimes

conditions are imposed by publishers or editors. On the other hand, a
reduced title may not give a clear idea about the text.
 Direct or artistic: You can choose between a language that is
straightforward or use rhetoric devices to catch the reader’s attention.
 Objective or committed: If the issues you deal with are controversial
you can reflect your position in the title, or you may just want to
present the issue at hand and not show your opinion.
 Simple or compound: The title of your paper may be composed of only
one sentence or can show a topic-thesis structure. In this case the
two parts are separated with a colon.

The title of an academic work is not a headline for a newspaper. Content takes
precedence over catching the reader’s attention. Do not use enigmatic language or give
incomplete information so that the reader’s do not know what your work is about.
 118

Look at the style; in English, titles usually capitalize all words except articles,
prepositions and coordinating conjunctions.

Quotations, notes and bibliography

Distinguish quotations included in your text and enclosed with quotation
marks, from block quotations; make sure that proper credit is given for all of them.
Make sure that you follow the procedures for presenting notes (footnotes, end notes or
parenthetical notes). Revise your bibliography for inconsistencies, errors or missing
information. For more information on this, see Appendix II.

Second and third revisions

One revision is never enough. Let some time pass and read it again. Most likely
there will be things that you may want to change, delete, add or clarify. Once you have
done this, ask a classmate or a friend to read your work. One has a tendency to
overlook some errors that may be seen by another person. Ask for a sincere opinion
and for constructive criticism. Evaluate the advice received and make the final
corrections.
 119

THE MANUSCRIPT

We call a typed or computer-printed page a “manuscript,” even though they are

not hand-written. Your manuscript must follow certain conventions determined by a
publisher, an institution or an instructor. Usually you will be asked to hand in a copy
presented in DIN-A4, and printed on one side only. If, for ecological reasons, you
prefer to use recycled paper or to print on both sides, make sure that there are no
objections from the person you will be handing it in to. If you send the paper by e-
mail, make sure it follows the same specifications when it gets printed. Be sure to
specify in your e mail the following:

 author, subject, and title

 You should include in different documents the following:
Abstract
Outline
Text
Tables
Figures
Feet for tables and figures

 Each document must be perfectly identifiable by author, subject, and

title.

Font, pagination
An academic paper must be double-spaced throughout, including notes and
quotations. The text must be paginated; be sure to follow specifications as to where to
place the page number and if you should include your last name with the number.

If you are presenting a research paper, follow these indications:

1) On the first page, flushed to the left, type your full name (no titles).
2) Type your instructor’s name (use the professor’s title) on line 2.
3) Type the subject on line 3.
4) Type the date you are submitting the paper on line 4.
5) Type the title, centered, on line 5. Do not underline it. Enclose it in
quotation marks or change the appearance of the font. Use the specifications
for titles; place no period after the title.
 120

Paragraphs could be indented in their first line and separated from each other
(6 pt.), but do not add extra lines to separate them.

Most journals ask for a separate sheet of paper where you should include:

 the title
 the name of the authors
 the institution to where the author belongs
 An abstract (sometimes it is required in two languages). Usually it
must be one-hundred words long, (no less than 75 and never more
than 250).
 Many times it is asked that you add a list of key words, usually from
five to ten. The purpose of this is to include them in international data
bases.

You should use an acceptable font; usually Times New Roman 12.

You may choose other similar fonts if there is no specification (note that they all
have serif):

Times New Roman 12

Book Antiqua 11
Garamond 12
Calisto MT 11
CG Times 11
Bookman old style 11
Avoid fonts that are two small and difficult to read:

Times New Roman 10

Garamond 10
Abadi MT Condensed 11
Some fonts that are too light (sans-serif), but nevertheless, they are accepted:

Albertus Medium 11 
Arial 12
Calibri 12 
 121

Ce ntury G o thic 11
Luc i da c ons ol e 12
News Gothic MT 11
Tahoma 12
Univers 11
Verdana 11
Ant ique Olive 11

Some fonts are unacceptable for an academic work:

Comic Sans MS 11
Impact 11
Haettenschweiler 12
Impact 12
Lucida handwriting 14
Matisse 12
Tempus sans ITC 11
Westminster 12
Copperplate Gothic 11

Spaces between words

Words should be separated by a space. Punctuation marks should be placed
immediately behind the word that precedes it (in the case of periods, semicolons,
colons, question marks and closing quotation marks, parentheses and dashes) and
immediately before the word that follows it (in the case of opening quotation marks,
parentheses and dashes). The Modern Language Association and the APA recommend
that after a period and a colon two spaces should follow. The tendency now is to justify
the text at both margins, but some styles require that you do not justify at the right
margin.

Use of illustrations, tables and figures

Tables are a type of text that provides information through messages, statistics,
and lists. Figures are photos, images, drawings, maps, or illustrations. Each one of
them must be numbered; use a different set of numbers for tables and for figures.
They must go at the end of your work, after the bibliography, and you must number
them. Each table or figure should have a corresponding footnote that starts with the
word Table or the abbreviation Fig. and its number, listed on a separate sheet of
paper. The message must be very brief and no punctuation marks are to be used.
 122

Explanations should go in your text and will be referred to with a parenthetical note
(Fig. 7), for example.

Order and style in bibliographies

Bibliographies are ordered alphabetically by authors’ last names. Alphabetize
letter by letter. If the author’s name is unknown, use the title, ignoring the first word if
it is an article. Two or more entries by the same author should be arranged by the year
of publication, the earliest first. If there are more than two works by one author for the
same year, mark them with a letter right after the year. One-author entries precede
multiple-author entries.

For names in the English language, alphabetize by last names. Consider Mac, Mc and
O’ as part of the last name, but put the abbreviation Jr. after the name. All
prepositions and articles from other languages should go before the last name. List
medieval authors by their first names.

Giles of Rome Lee, Tsun-Dao

Ivins, William Jr. MacCulloch, John Arnott
John of Salisbury McNamara, John
Le Carré, John O’Dell, Tom

For French names, the preposition de, if the name has more than one syllable,
should be placed after the name, but before in lower case if the name has less than
one syllable. The forms du and des should precede the name and be capitalized.
Articles should be capitalized and placed before the last name. Compound first names
are hyphenated. List medieval names by first names.

Barbeaulouis, C. Marius Jumel de Berneville, Marie Catharine

Basset, René Marie Joseph La Bruyère, Jean de
Beauvoir, Simone de Lajoux, Jean-Dominique
Bernard de Calirvaux Molière (Jean Baptiste Poquelin)
Broglie, Louis Victor de Préaux, Claire
de Vries, Hugo Marie Robert Grosseteste
d’Arcy, Pierre Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)
Du Barry, Marie Jeanne Bécu, comtesse
 123

For French titles, capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. If a title
begins with an article, capitalize the article and the first adjective and noun. All major
words in journals are capitalized as it is done in English.

For German names, the preposition von is placed at the end, after the name.
Medieval names are listed by their first names.

Albrecht von Scharfenberg Spiess, Karl von

Bachofen, Johann Jakob Wolf, Friedrich August
Bächtold-Stäubli, Hanns

Follow the same criteria for other Germanic languages, except for the Dutch van
which goes before the last name.

Andersen, Hans Christian Van Gennep, Arnold

Asbjörnsen, Peter Christen Van Ussel, Jos
Sydow, Carl Wilhelm von Wlislocki, Heinrich Adalbert von

For German titles, capitalize the first word and all the nouns (or words used as
nouns) as well as the second person pronouns Sie and its possessive Ihr.

For Italian names, alphabetize by first name all authors who lived before or
during the Renaissance. Follow the standard practice for all other authors. In today’s
practice da, de, del, della, di, and d’ precede the name and are capitalized. In some
cases there is an English version for the last name.

Amalfi, Gaetano Dante Alighieri

Boccaccio, Giovanni De Sica, Vittorio
Calvino, Italo Di Scanno, Teresa
Cochiara, Giuseppe Galileo Galilei
D’Annunzio, Gabriele Petrarca, Francesco

As for titles in Italian, capitalize only the first word and all proper nouns.

For Latin names, consult a dictionary, for some names are listed by their nomen
(clan name, second in order) and others by their cognomen (family name, third in
order), and still others are listed by the common forms in English (in this case, write
the full name [praenomen, nomen & cognomen] in parenthesis). Roman women had
only two names, nomen (in feminine form) and cognomen. Most of them are usually
referred to by their nomen.
 124

Augustine (Aurelius Augustinus) Ovis (Publius Ovidius Naso)

Apuleius Plautus, Titus Maccius
Cicero, Marcus Tullius Lucretius Carus, Titus
Constantine I (Flavius Valerius Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus)
Constantinus) Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolomaeus)
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) Seneca the Younger (Lucius Anneus
Justin Martyr Seneca)
Livy (Titus Livius) Varro, Marcus Terentius
Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis) Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)
Origen (Origenes Adamantius)

For Medieval and Renaissance writers, use their Latin name and list them by
first names if more than one name is used in Latin.

Albertus Magnus Dyonisius Exiguus

Duns Scotus, John Rabanus Maurus
Capella, Martianus Thomas Aquinas

For Latin titles, capitalize only the first word and all proper names.

For Portuguese names, see bibliographies. Portuguese use the mother’s last
name first and the father’s last name second, but many times are alphabetized by
their father’s last name. All articles and prepositions are at the end.

Andrade, Mario de Lopes Graça, Fernando

Branco, Jorge Freitas Rabaçal, Alfredo João
Cascudo, Luís da Câmara Silva, Francisco Vaz da
Coelho, Adolpho Soromenho, Alda da Silva
Consiglieri Pedroso, Zófimo

For Russian names, list them by the name that appears last. The second name
makes reference to the father.

Afanásiev, Aleksander Nikoláievich Propp, Vladimir Aioakovlevich

Lenin (Vladimir Illich Ulyanov)

For Spanish and Catalonian names, put all articles, contractions and
prepositions after the name. List them by their first last name, add the second last
name sometimes preceded by y or i, then the name preceded by a comma, and finally
place the articles and prepositions. For medieval writers, list them by first names.
 125

Amades i Gelats, Joan Enzina, Juan del

Blanco y Arenas, Ramón Fernán Caballero (Cecilia Böhl de Faber)
Calderón de la Barca, Pedro García Lorca, Federico
Carvajal, Juan de. Gonzalo de Berceo
Cárdenas, Lázaro Luz y Caballero, José de la
Cruz, Juan de la (Juan de Yepes) Maimónides (Moisés ben Maimón)
Cruz, Ramón de la Pi y Margall, Francisco

For Spanish titles, capitalize only the first word and all proper names.

For Semitic names, leave Abu, Abul, Ibn or Bar Ben at the beginning. For
medieval names, follow the usage you see in your sources.

‘Abd Allah b. Bakr al-Nadl Ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi, Muhammad

Abraham ben Isaac Girondi Ibn al-Husayn of Mallorca
Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon Ibn Gabirol
Abu Sa‘id Halfon b. Nataniel ha-Levi Maalouf, Amin
Ahmad al-Masarisi Scholem, Gerschom
Arkoun, Mohamed

Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Oriental languages usually place the last
name first, so when listing, do not reverse them. Today’s usage is to hyphenate the
two syllables that form the second part of the name and write the second in lower
case.

Chon tu-Hwan Lee Kwan Yew

Chian Kai-shek Mao Tse-tung
Ikeda Hayato Sato Eisaku
Kurosawa Akira

Academic styles
It is important that you find out the specifications for your work. In English,
two styles are used, the MLA (Modern Language Association) for the Humanities and
the APA (American Psychological Association) for Social Sciences. But different
journals require different specifications. Be sure you adapt your work to the specific
academic style.
 126

The abstract
On many occasions an abstract is required. It is a summary that ranges from
50 to 200 words. This is usually presented on a separate page, where authors include
their names and the titles of their work. Sometimes, after the abstract, a list of key
words may follow. Look at the examples:

The history of intellectual interaction in the 19th and early 20th centuries
between scholars of vernacular culture and educational reformers remains a lacuna in
the discipline of folklore. This examination of educational reforms brought on by the
introduction and spread of schooling for peasant children raises issues of how
folklorists should intervene and how to judge the complicated effects of those
interventions.

Coe, Cati (2000): “The Education of the Folk: Peasant Schools and Folklore
Scholarship,” The Journal of American Folklore 113, 447: 20-43.

***

Cyclooxygenase (COX), known to exist in two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2, is a

key enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis and the target for most nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs. In this study, we show that human T lymphocytes express the
COX-2 isoenzyme. COX-2 mRNA and protein were induced in both Jurkat and purified
T cells stimulated by TCR/CD3 or PMA activation. COX-2 mRNA was induced very
early after activation and superinduced by protein synthesis inhibitors, whereas it was
inhibited by the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A, identifying it as an early T
cell activation gene. Interestingly, treatment with COX-2-specific inhibitors such as
NS398 or Celecoxib severely diminished early and late events of T cell activation,
including CD25 and CD71 cell surface expression, IL-2, TNF-a, and IFN-g production
and cell proliferation, but not the expression of CD69, an immediate early gene. COX-
2 inhibitors also abolished induced transcription of reporter genes driven by IL-2 and
TNF-promoters. Moreover, induced transcription from NF-kB- and NF-AT-dependent
enhancers was also inhibited. These results may have important implications in anti-
inflammatory therapy and open a new field on COX-2-selective nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs as modulators of the immune activation.
 127

Íñiguez, Miguel A., Carmen Punzón, and Manuel Fresno (1999): “Induction of
Cyclooxygenase-2 on Activated T Lymphocytes: Regulation of T Cell Activation by
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors,” The Journal of Immunology 163: 111–119.

***

In this article, I explore the complicated relationship between individual

experience and national events, the way this relationship is narrated, and how
individual memory becomes part of a collective memory. By looking at memoirs written
by the descendants of Thomas Rantalainen, and focusing on personal correspondence,
I show how the contents of letters written 60 years ago relate to events in Finland's
history that are still being discussed today. In the narrative practices of the
correspondence, the individuals themselves-through the use of a narrative We-merge
their personal experiences with those of the community. Two themes in the letters-war
and family life-illustrate how the processes of replication and analogical thinking work
in bringing the past into the present. [Finland, history and analogical thinking,
personal correspondence, domestic life]

Armstrong, Karen (2000): “Ambiguity and Remembrance: Individual and

Collective Memory in Finland,” American Ethnologist: 27, 3: 591-608.

***

The paper is based on the folklore tradition of a mythical being, the Master of
the Wolves, whose chief function was commanding or dividing up food among the
wolves. He appears in many Slavic and other European legends, and some Southern
Slavs also celebrate the so-called “wolf holidays”; a being with the same function
appears also in incantations against wolves. It turned out that the incantations are
usually connected with the first days of pasturing in the spring and the beginning of
summer, while the legends refer to the last days of pasturing in the autumn and the
beginning of winter. The legends and incantations as well as the beliefs and customs
clearly indicate the remains of a tradition, the intention of which was to explain and to
support the changing of time, the binary opposition of winter and summer, as it
pertained to the annual cycle of Slavic stockbreeders.

Key words: Slavic folk beliefs, legends, folk customs, incantations, the master of
the animals, wolves.
 128

Mencej, Mirjam (2007): “The Role of Legend in Constructing Annual Cycle,”

Folklore 32 <www.folklore.ee/folklore>. Retrieved: 09/11/2007.
 129

Punctuation

Period (.)
A period (full stop) marks the end of a complete sentence. Periods are used to
end declarative and imperative sentences; sentences can also end with a question
mark or an exclamation point if they are direct questions or exclamations. Periods are
used with indirect questions and polite requests.

After a period of this type, the next sentence begins with a capital letter.

Periods are also used with

 initials of names: J. R. R. Tolkien

 An abbreviation for the United States when it is used as an adjective:
U.S. scholars
 Latin abbreviations: et al, e.g.
 Most abbreviations that end with a lower case letter: adj., fig.

In these cases, the next word after the period does not have to begin with a
capital letter.

Do not use periods with

 titles and headlines in a text

 items in a list
 abbreviations of state names in the US: NY
 acronyms: UNESCO, ONU, AIDS
 in general, the trend is not to use periods with abbreviations made up of
all capital letters (except with the initial of personal names): MOMA, MLA
 web addresses in a text or a reference list
 measurement abbreviations: km, mph, rpm

If a period ends a whole thematic unit and a new idea is going to be developed,
a new paragraph will follow the period. If a period ends a complete semantic and
syntactic unit but not the development of an idea, then one continues writing in the
same paragraph.
 130

Semicolon (;)
The semicolon separates two independent clauses that are not joined by a
conjunction, but juxtaposed. The difference with the period is that these two sentences
are semantically related; in other words, the semicolon is used when one wants to add
a related though to a given sentence.

Smith was a respected scholar and a dedicated researcher; he was

admired by his peers and disciples as well.

For Curtius, philology was the key to unlocking the essential unity
of Europe; orientalists see it as the means of uncovering the secrets of
Eastern texts.

The semicolon also separates juxtaposed sentences introduced by a word that

requires a comma to be placed after it (however, still, nevertheless, consequently, etc.).

Mary paid a lot of attention to details; consequently, she ended up

graduating with honors.

The project did not get any grant from the government; still, the
researchers hope to have it approved by the Commission.

The semicolon is also used to separate items in a series when the items contain
commas.

The figures shown are as follows: in 1976, 3,456 books were

published; in 1977, 3,896; in 1978, 4,038.

In order to write a successful research paper, remember to

estimate the time it takes to carry out the research; do not read
aimlessly, but concentrate on your topic; keep records of our sources so
you can cite them properly; and adapt your work to the stipulated
specifications.

Colon (:)
The colon is used after a complete introductory sentence
 131

 to announce a phrase that serves as an explanation, clarification,

summary, amplification, or an expression of cause or consequence when
no conjunction is used

The story deals with adventure: a long journey to find a dragon.

Following the lead of Edward Said's Orientalism, she identifies the

root of this myth as political: the need to assert Western superiority over
the East.

The divine source for bardic knowledge results in only one

significant practical difference between bardic narratives and those of
less authoritative characters: the bard’s freedom to report the doings of
the gods.

 to announce an enumeration or list

The initial group of works about orality is formed by three books

written in the early sixties: The Guttenberg Galaxy, A Preface to Plato, and
The Singer of Tales

 to introduce a quotation that is syntactically independent from the main

sentence
James S. Kunen advises his readers: “If you want to make it in the
speaking game, you have to remember one thing: Nobody comes to hear
the speech. People come to hear celebrities, to be in the same room with
them” (1984: 355).

The colon is also used after an enumeration, to announce a conclusion.

The gastropod Potamopyrgus antipodarum (a native of Australia),

and the bivalves Corbicula fluminea and Dreissena polymorpha from Asia
and the Caspian Sea: three species of invasive freshwater mollusks
known in Spain.

If a complete sentence goes after the colon, it begins with a capital letter; if it is
not a complete sentence, then a lower case letter is used at the beginning.
 132

Belief as a genre still overlaps many other genre categories:

superstition, custom, ritual, legend, memorate, charm, omen, divination,
folk religion, and faith healing, to name a few.

Use a colon when you introduce a quotation that is independent from the
structure of the main sentence:

The writer was advised to stop trying to use those sources: “They
are not pertinent.”

Bassett's approach is more literary than anthropological (Zumwalt

1988:24-25), as can be seen in his emphasis throughout on the
imagination as a source of folk belief: "The sailor imagined the world of
waters peopled with beings of an ethereal kind, unsubstantial spectres,
ghostly apparitions, and weird forms, animate and inanimate, shadowy
lands, and imaginary countries" (1885:282).

But is the quotation introduced is part of the main sentence structure, do not
use the colon:

I shall follow Motz's lead and view belief "as a process of knowing
that is not subject to verification or measurement by experimental means
within the framework of a modem Western scientific paradigm"
(1998:340).

The colon is also used

 to separate hours from minutes and minutes from seconds

 in ratios and proportions
 in reference, after the city or before the number of the page or pages
Do not use the colon when the introductory part ends with a verb, preposition
or phrase that makes it unnecessary.

The concept of cultural evolution proposed that all cultures

passed through the same stages from savagery and barbarism to
civilization but that certain cultures lagged behind, including all the
groups that were usually labeled folk or primitive, such as African tribal
societies, rural Anglo-Americans isolated in the Appalachian mountains,
and uneducated ethnic immigrants from Europe.
 133

The narrative genres studied include the tale, the myth and the
legend.

When the introductory clause of a quotation is not a complete sentence, use a

comma instead of a colon.

As Marilyn Motz has recently pointed out, “The concept of belief is

so central to the discipline that it is hard to talk about folklore without
talking about belief” (1998:340).

Comma (,)
A comma is used before a coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but, for, yet,
so) joining independent clauses.

Commas are used to separate words, phrases and clauses in a series. If the
series has three or more items, the comma is used before the conjunction (and, or)
placed before the last item.

We have a tendency to point out these mistakes as racist, classist,

and sexist.

Use semicolons when at least one of the items in the series has internal
commas.

The traits characteristic of the genre: word-of-mouth

transmission; the repetitive a a b stanzaic form; minor "blue" notes;
themes of lost love, natural disasters, and racial prejudice, among
others; the prevalence of imagery such as mojos and trains; and call and
response interactive engagement with audiences.

Commas are used to set off parenthetical comments if they are not long; for
long parenthetical comments or asides use parentheses or dashes.

Religious poetry, particularly if by highly trained specialists, can

be conservative and thus potentially a good source.

Commas are also used between adjectives that separately modify the same
noun

Thoms was the author of a long, obscure essay.

 134

Be careful with adjectives that modify a group of noun and adjective.

He saw a big black cat.

Write a comma if a subordinate clause is placed before the main sentence.

By changing the definition of what is being studied, we change

what we see.

If it's not written down, or if it's not manifestly encoded in the

material record, it's not history

Commas are also used when an adverbial phrase, especially if it is not short, is
placed at the beginning of a sentence.

For decades, Hollywood has presented white male stars "as

supreme icons and incarnations of the rootless, decultured 'individual' in
industrial consumer society".

On the surface, the film gives us familiar movie monsters, who

turn out to be heroes of their people.

For Curtius, philology was the key to unlocking the essential unity
of European literature.

More than with other approaches, according to narrative theory,

subjective, heterogeneous interpretations of texts are the norm.

Commas are used when a long phrase is used to explain some concept at the
end of the sentence.

The example of a South Tunisian oasis, located in a region with a

strong tradition of literacy, shows a process of rupture with
autochthonous (non-Arab and pre-Islamic) history, a rupture based on
the reappropriation of scholarly works of colonial administrators.

Use commas

 to set off a non-restrictive (non-essential or that does not modify the

noun) word or clause
 with non-restrictive clauses introduced by which, who, whom, whose
 135

 to set off the year in an exact date (he was born on December 25, 1953),
but not between a month or season and a year (it happened in December
1953)
 to separate groups of three digits

Do not use commas

 to separate a subject from its verb

 to separate a verb from its object
 to separate two parts of a compound subject or predicate
 to separate two parallel subordinate elements
 before a restrictive word or clause, included those introduced by that

Question and exclamation marks (?!)

Question marks follow interrogative sentences. Exclamation marks should be
avoided in academic writing.

Question marks are placed inside the closing quotation mark if the quoted
passage is a question, and outside if the quoted passage is part of a question. Do not
use other punctuation marks after the question mark.

Should we properly recognize two forms of the subgenre, “Black

spirituals” and “white spirituals”?

J. W. confessed that the candle was right. "What did you do?"
asked Matthews, startled. “Nuthin'” was the answer.

Ellipsis (...)
They signal an interruption, a doubt or an imprecise end and therefore they
have little use in academic writing. Placed inside brackets they mark an elision of the
quoted text.

Parentheses and dashes (( ) – –)

Parentheses and dashes are used to set off secondary data not integrated in the
syntactic structure. Sometimes it may be an afterthought.
 136

In anthropological discourse, oral tradition is for the most part

ruled out as a historical source; Ii it is not written down, or if it’s not
manifested encoded in the material record, it’s not history (or
archaeology).

Parentheses and dashes represent a sharper break of the discourse than

commas do. The information usually interrupts the train of thought.

They are also used

 To set off a parenthetical element that contains a comma.

The exchange of nightcaps in Europe (including its variations:
change of bed places, bedcovers, necklaces, etc.) constitutes only one
detail.

 To insert information such as a date, place, meaning, author etc.

The prediction of displacements towards the north or in altitude of
species affected by climate change (hypothesis I) is based on the capacity
for migration of the individuals towards more favourable habitats (Root
and Schneider 2002).

 Enclosing a number, or just after it, in lists.

There are two future scenarios of the effects of climate change on
the biodiversity of vertebrates 1) Ecosystems will be displaced jointly in
accordance with climate, and 2) Ecosystems will adapt and change.

The seven series, which bleed easily into one another, include: (1)
the anatomy and physiology series; (2) human clothing series; (3) food
series; (4) drink and drunkenness series; (5) sexual series; (6) death
series; and (7) defecation series (Bakhtin 1981a:170).

Do not put a comma before parentheses or dashes.

If the parenthetical information is an independent clause, the punctuation goes

inside the parenthesis.

For the Formalists, he says, genre is merely a matter of

compositional arrangement, the stabilized grouping of a ready stock of
 137

devices (Medvedev/Bakhtin 1978: 135-137). (One example of this

Formalist approach would be Propp's definition of the folktale as a
limited number of particular "functions" arranged in a certain sequence.)
To Bakhtin, such a view is superficial.

When you type, two hyphens (--) are equivalent to a dash (–).

Do not put any spaces between the dashes and the words they separate:

Homer—whether he existed or not—is the name given to the

author of the Iliad.

If you are using a parenthetical clause with dashes and it ends with a period,
do not include the ending dash. In this case, the use of the dash is similar to that of
the semicolon; many times it explains, amplifies or justifies the first sentence.

Scholarly denial of validity to oral histories has effaced them,

producing a sense that they really do not exist–they are, again, just
"myth."

The kwakwanti were always out exploring—sometimes they were

gone as long as four years.

Slash (/)
They are rarely used in academic prose, except to mark the end of a verse when
quoting a poem. An acceptable use is when two words are paired as opposites or
alternatives and used together as a noun.

If you want to use two terms as an adjective, then the proper way is to use
hyphens.

The eternal East-West conflict.

Slashes are used in scientific writing

 to separate numerator from denominator

 to indicate per in units of measurement if numbers are used
 to cite a reprinted work (Consiglieri Pedroso 1992/1984)

Do not use the slash instead of the word or.

 138

Square brackets ([ ])
Square brackets are used as parentheses inside parentheses.

Inside a quotation, use square brackets when you interpolate words, or around
three periods, to mark an elision.

“In the long ago, the Snake, Horn and Eagle people lived here [at
Walpi on First Mesa], but their corn grew only a span high, and when
they sang for rain the cloud god sent only a thin mist.”

She goes on to differentiate this wholesome value sharing of pop

art to the evils of mass art: “Some film and TV [...] is truly popular
because it establishes sympathy with the audience.”

Apostrophe (’)
They are commonly used to form the possessive of nouns and pronouns. In
words not ending with an s or z sound, ’s is added at the end of the word; in those
ending with these sounds only the apostrophe is added.

In a list, add the apostrophe to the last item if ownership is shared, but to each
of the items if ownership is separated.

Apostrophes are also used with contractions, but this use is not acceptable in
academic texts.

A special case is the expression o’ clock.

Add ’s to form the plural of letters: There are four s’s and four i’s in Mississippi

Do not use apostrophes to form the plural of acronyms, abbreviations or

numbers: CDs, PhDs, 1940s.

Quotation marks (‘’ “” «»)

Quotation marks are used at the beginning and end of direct quotations.
Indirect quotations do not require quotation marks and are introduced by the word
that.
 139

Place quotation marks on short quotations (less than four lines or 40 words)
that are included in the text. If the quoted text is longer than that, place it as a
separate paragraph, indented, and no quotation marks are used (block quotation).

Quotation marks are also used with titles of parts of a publication (articles,
chapters).

When there is quotation within a quotation the inside quotation is enclosed by

single quotation marks (note that British use is the opposite).

“Rogers reported that the Rangers had killed ‘at least two hundred
Indians.’ This was the gauge of the effectiveness of the expedition.”

Quotation marks are used with words or expressions used with irony, purposely
misused or as an invented expression. With the expression so-called quotation marks
are not used.

Propositional meanings may be formulated as propositions that

proceed from the base but incorporate aspects of “plot” (if the joke is in
narrative form) and specific elements of content.

The colonial history is concerned with "correcting" the legend and

using it as the memory, imprecise and imperfect to be sure, of an
authentic history.

Historical progress itself is a problematic concept in the context of

African history and literature: the assumption that modern literature,
written to a large extent in European languages, is somehow an advance
over a time when African languages were the primary vehicle of literary
expression is as unconvincing as the assumption that an "authentic" or
"pure" African literary culture of the pre-colonial past could be the only
valid expression of an "uncorrupted" African world-view.

Quotations are also used to indicate a translation of a foreign expression:

Gaudeamus igitur means “let us cheer up.”

 140

Another way of using quotations is to treat the word or expression enclosed by

them with irony:

Svembro (1976: 16-35), Olson (1995:1-23), and Ford (1992: 91-

129) all in different ways bring out the “realities” that Homer avoids.

To punctuate quotation marks, follow this rule: Commas and periods are
always placed inside the quotation marks; colons and semicolons are always outside.
Question and exclamation marks will go inside or outside depending on whether they
belong to the quoted message.

In a short section entitled “West and East,” the influence of Arabic

poetry on the poets of the siglo de oro is briefly admitted.

Dundes takes up the question of the concept of the folk in another

article, “Who are the Folk?”

Hyphen (-)
The hyphen is shorter than the dash. They are used in typography in end-of-
line word divisions, but computers today make this use unnecessary.

When two or more words precede a noun and together form a compound that
acts as an adjective of this noun, they should be hyphenated.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service.

Do not use the hyphen if the compound acting as an adjective to a noun is

formed by an adverb and an adjective, except if the adverbs that precede the adjective
are:

 Well: well-known work

 Better: better-prepared contestant
 Best: best-run companies
 Little: little-known fact
 Lower: lower-priced items
 Ill: ill-prepared

Use these compounds only when they come before the noun, when they come
after, treat them as separate words.
 141

Other compound adjectives formed with a noun and a present or past participle
are hyphenated:

Tradition-loving person

Light-filled room

Passion-inspired speech

Other compound adjectives are formed with an ordinal number and a

noun:

Second-rate merchandise

Thirteenth-floor office

Compound words can be written as single words, with hyphens, or as separate

words. Consult the dictionary and if you cannot find them, write them as two separate
words unless a hyphen is needed to prevent readers from confusing the meaning.

Hyphens are used with the following prefixes:

 Self: self-sufficient
 Mid: mid-sixties, mid-eighteenth century

Do not use hyphens after the prefixes anti, co, multi, non. over, post, pre, re,
semi, sub, un, under unless you want to stress a different meaning.

Italics
Italics are used

 with words and letters referred to as words and letters

 when writing the title of a publication (books, periodicals, films, videos,
TV programs, microfilm publications)

Contemporary usages of the term collective memory are largely

traceable to Emile Durkheim ([1915] 1961), who wrote extensively in The
Elementary Forms of Religious Life about commemorative rituals, and to
his student, Maurice Halbwachs, who published a landmark study on
The Social Frameworks of Memory in 1925.

 for genera, species, and varieties: Tetrao urogallus cantabricus

 142

Do not use italics

 when writing the title of a publication inside a title in italics (reverse

italicization): Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights
 when a foreign word is part of a title: Beatitudo and felicitas in Latin
poetry
 for foreign expressions common in English: ad hoc, a posteriori, a priori,
cliché, e. g., et al., etc., per se, raison d’être, versus

Numbers
The general rule is to use words to express numbers that are below 10 and
numerals with numbers that are 10 and above. If you are writing about humanities,
literature or art, you may spell numbers written in one or two words, and use
numerals if it requires three or more words (two, thirty-eight, five hundred), and
numbers for other cases (53/4, 685, and 2,437). If your project is of a scientific type
and requires a frequent use of numbers, use numerals for all numbers that precede
units of measurement.

Use numerals

 with abbreviations and symbols: 2lbs, 8%, 5€, 78 rpm

 in addresses: 124 W 72nd St.
 in dates: December 8, 2011
 in page references: See page 23

Never begin a sentence with a numeral.

Use the word million to avoid writing six zeros.

Place a comma between the third and fourth and between the sixth and seventh
numerals. But do not use commas with years, page numbers and addresses.
 143

Most common abbreviations

adapt. adapted by i.e. id est, “that is”

anon. anonymous intl. International
app. appendix introd. introduction by
art. article jour. journal
b. born ms., mss. manuscript, manuscripts
bull. bulletin n. note
© copyright n. d. no date of publication
c. ca. circa, “around” (used with dates) n. p. no place of publication; no
cf. compare publisher
comp. compiled by op. opus, work
d. died p., pp. page, pages
dev. developed by par. paragraph
dir. directed by pseud. pseudonym
doc. document pub., publ. publisher
ed. edition, edited by rev. revised (by)
e.g. exempli gratia, “for example” rpt. reprint
e-mail electronic mail ser. series
et al. et alii, “and others” [sic], (sic) thus in source
fwd. foreword trans. translated by
gen. ed. general editor UP University Press
govt. government URL uniform resource locator
HTML Hypertext Markup Language vol. volume
http hypertext transfer protocol www World Wide Web
144
 145

References

Books
The data required to reference a book are the following:
Author. Reverse the order for alphabetizing; add a comma after the last
name and a period after the first name. Write the name as it appears in
the original work, but omit titles and degrees. If the author has no last
name (as with medieval authors), use the first name and add the place he
or she comes from after the first name, if it is the case. If there are two or
three authors, reverse only the first author, and separate authors with &.
If there are three authors, reverse only the first author, and separate
authors with commas. If there are more than three authors, write et al.,
after the first author and omit the rest. If the author is the editor of a
book, add a comma after the first name and add the abbreviation ed. If
the author is the translator, do the same but adding trans. (See
abbreviations in the previous page.) You may use small caps for the
author’s last name.
Year. Use the year of the edition you are using, but not that of the re-
impression of an edition. In case no date of publication appears on the
book, write n.d. If you happen to know the date from other sources, write
it in parenthesis. Write (in press) for books that have been accepted for
publication. For several volumes, express the date as a range of years
from the earliest to the latest.
Title. Use italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, nouns, pronouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, subordinating conjunctions; do not capitalize
articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions and the to in infinitives.
If the title has two parts separate them with a colon and use capital
letters at the beginning of the second part. If the book belongs to a series,
you may write the name of the series after the book. Put a period after
the title.
Editor, translator or compiler. If the book is a translation or has been
edited or compiled by someone different from the one shown as author,
put trans., ed., or comp. after the title and add their names.
 146

City. Write the name of the city in English; you may write it in the
original language if you put the English name, if different, in square
brackets right after. If the name is not well known or there are two cities
with the same name, write the country or the state in parenthesis. If the
place where the book was published is not known, write n.p. If the book
was published in two cities at the same time, write the name of the two.
Place a colon after the city.
Publisher. Omit articles, business abbreviations (Co, Corp., Inc) and
descriptive words (Publisher, Books, Press, House). If the publisher is a
university press, write UP after the name of the university. If the
publisher is a personal name, write only the last name. For a book
published before 1900, you may omit the name of the publisher.
ALBRECHT von Scharfenberg (1952): Der Jüngere Titurel. Ed. Werner Wolf. Bern: Altdeutsche
Übungstexte.
ALEGRÍA, Ricardo, comp. (1967): Cuentos folklóricos de Puerto Rico. Buenos Aires: Ateneo.
CRANE, Thomas Frederick (1890): The Exempla or Illustrative Stories from the Sermones vulgares of Jacques de
Vitry. London: Folklore Society & Nutt.
DELARUELLE, Étienne (1975): La piété populaire au moyen âge. Turin: La Bottega d’Erasmo.
DUNDES, Alan (1964): The Morphology of North American Indian Folktales. FF Communications 195. Helsinki:
Academia Scientiarum Fennica.
DUNDES, Alan, ed. (1999): International Folkloristics: Classic Contributions by the Fathers of Folklore. Lanham
(Maryland): Rowman & Littlefield.
DUNN, Peter N. (1993): Spanish Picaresque fiction: A New Literary History. Ithaca (New York): Cornell U. P.
DURÁN, Mª Ángeles y Francisco Lisi, eds. (1997): Diálogos de Platón. Madrid: Gredos.
KRAPPE, Alexander H. (1967): The Science of Folklore. New York: Norton. 1st ed. London: Methuen, 1930.
LINDAHL, Carl, John McNamara, and John Lindow (2002): Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales,
Beliefs and Customs. Oxford- New York: Oxford U. P.
MAGOUN, Jr., Francis P., trans. & ed. (1969): The Old Kalevala and Certain Antecedents. Compiled by Elias Lönnrot.
Cambridge (Massachusetts): Harvard University.
WRIGHT, Wilmer Cave, trans. & ed. (1968): Philostratus and Eunapius: The Lives of the Sophists.
London: Harvard U. P.- Heinemann.

Articles in journals
Use this order: author’s name, year in parenthesis, title of the article inside
quotation marks, name of the publication in italics, (volume and) number, first and
last pages of the article.
 147

GERSCHEL, Lucien (1956): “Sur un schème trifonctionnel dans une famille de légendes germaniques,” Revue
de l’Histoire des Religions: 55-92.
JASON, Heda & Aaron Kempinsky (1981): “How old are folktales?” Fabula 22: 1-27.
MONDI, Robert (1983): “The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition and Theme,” Transactions of the American
Philological Association 113: 17-38.
MOONEY, H. A., P. J. Ferrar, and Slatyer, R. O. (1978): “Photosynthetic Capacity and Carbon Allocation
Patterns in Diverse Growth Forms of Eucalyptus.” Oecologia 36: 103-111.
SCHWARZBAUM, Haim (1961-1962): “International Folklore Motifs in Petrus Alphonsi’s Disciplina clericalis,”
Sefarad 21 (1961): 267-299, 22 (1962): 17-59, & 321-344, & 23 (1963): 54-73.
STEINHAUER, Harry (1970): "Towards a Definition of the Novella", Seminar 6, 2: 154-174.

Articles in periodicals
Write the month and the year; omit the number if it is a monthly journal.
WOLKOMIR, Richard. “Charting the Terrain of Touch.” Smithsonian June 2000: 38-48.

If the publication appears more than twice a month, write the day and month. If the
article does not appear in consecutive pages place the sign + after the first page, and
leave no space between the figure and the sign. If there is no author, then leave this
information out.

BEJARANO, José (2000): “Marruecos pasos de cambio y libertad,” Magazine, July 16: 26-36.
"Acoso y dimisión," Editorial. El País. May 31, 2002: 12.
"Inversiones devaluadas," El País, secc. "Negocios". May 13, 2000: 1+.

Article in an anthology or compilation

It is the same as an article in a journal, except that, the title of the anthology is
given as well as the name of the editor, director or compiler.
Abrahams, Roger D. (1976): “Genre Theory and Folkloristics,” Studia Fennica 20, Folk Narrative Research: VI
Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research. Helsinki: Suomalaisen
Kirjallisuuden Seura: 13-19.
Givnish TJ (1995): “Plant Stems: Biomechanical Adaptation for Energy Capture and Influence on Species
Distributions,” Plant Stems: Physiology and Functional Morphology. Ed. Gartner B. L. San Diego:
Academic: 3-49.

Part of a book
Use this order: author’s name, year (in parenthesis), title of the chapter inside
quotation marks or part of the book (Preface, Introduction, Prologue or Epilogue), title
of the book in italics, editor, city, publisher, first and last pages of the article.
ALLEN, Louise H. (1959): “A Structural Analysis of the Epic Style of the Cid,” Structural Studies on Spanish
Themes. Ed. H. R. Kahane & Angelina Pietrangeli. Urbana & Salamanca: University of Illinois &
Universidad de Salamanca: 341-414.
 148

BARFOOT, Cedric C. (1988): “English Romantic Poets and the ‘Free-Floating Orient’,” Oriental
Prospects: Western Literature and the Lure of the East. Ed. C. C. Barfoot & Theo d’Haen.
Amsterdam y Atlanta (Georgia): Rodopi: 65-96.
BEN-AMOS, Dan (2005): “The Concept of Motif in Folklore,” Folklore: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural
Studies. Ed. Alan Dundes. London & New York: Routledge: 196-224.
Ó HÓGÁIN, Dáithí (2002): “Celtic Mythology,” Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs and
Customs. Ed. Carl Lindahl, John McNamara & John Lindow. Oxford-New York: Oxford U. P.: 63-66.

Speeches & lectures

After the author and the date, write the title of the paper that has been read
inside quotation marks, or the type of presentation done. Write the occasion, place
and date. If it has been published, treat it as a publication.
TÜRK, Danilo (2009): Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, at the UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education. Paris, 5 July.
PENTIKÄINEN, Juha (1976): Opening Address, Folk Narrative Research. Helsinki: Suomalaisen
Kirjallisuuden Seura: 9-12.

Doctoral dissertations
For an unpublished doctoral dissertation, place the title inside quotation marks,
state that it is a doctoral dissertation along with the city and the university. Published
dissertations are treated as books.
SOZAN, Michael (1972): “The History of Hungarian Ethnography,” doctoral dissertation. New York:
Syracuse University.
RODRÍGUEZ CUERVO, Marta (1990): “Tendencias de lo nacional en la creación instrumental cubana
contemporánea,” doctoral dissertation. Moscow: Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

Music scores and recordings

Music scores function as books or chapters. The titles (names of composition)
should go in italics, but not the form, number and key of the composition.
Milán, Luis (1965/1535): Fantasía nº 26 International Anthology for Guitar. Comp & ed. Alexander Bellow. New
York: Franco Colombo, Inc: 50-52.
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1955): Mass in B minor (Missa, Symbolum Niceum, Sanctus, Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei
et Dona Nobis Pacem) BWV 232. Vocal arrangements by Gottfried Müller. Basilea-London-NewYork:
Bärenreiter-Verlag & Kassel.
***
If the entry is for recording, list it by author, state the type of record and underline the
title of the recording; add the name of the performers. Distinguish between the date
recorded and the date published.
 149

VILLA-LOBOS, Heitor (1987): CD Bachianas Brasileiras. Soprano Victoria de los Ángeles, Orchestre National
de la Radiodiffusion Française. Dir. Heitor Villa-Lobos. Recorded: 1957 & 1959. Emi France.
ALBINONI, Tommaso (1990): CD Concerto Opus 7 Nº 3. Albinoni: 8 Concertos: Petri, I solisti Veneti, Scimone.
Interpretación: Soprano recorder Michala Petri; I Solisti Veneti. Dir. Claudio Scimone. Recorded:
April 24-26 1989. RCA Victor.

Electronic sources
Use this order: author’s name (or responsible entity), year (in parenthesis)
(creation or last update), title of the text inside quotation marks, Publication (if any)
Home Page, last update, URL inside angle brackets and date accessed.
ALLEN, Charlotte (2004): “The Scholars and the Goddess,” Godspy. Updated in 2004.
<www.godspy.com/culture/The-Scholars-and-the-Goddess. cfm>. Retrieved: May 12, 2005.
ANDERSON, Carl Edlund (1999): “The Scylding-Skjõldung Historical Legends: Some Historiography and
Considerations,” Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia. Doctoral
dissertation. <www.carlaz.com/phd/ cea_phd_contents.pdf>: 90-113. Retrieved: May 11, 2005.
GRAF, Arturo (2003): Miti, leggende e superstizioni del Medio Evo, online edition. Ed. Giuseppe Bonghi. Biblioteca dei
Clasisi Italiani; updated abril 2004. Reference edition: Milan: Mondadori, 1996; facsimile edition, 2 vols. New
York: Burt Franklin, 1971. <www.classisitaliani.it/ottocent/ graf_miti01.htm>. Retrieved: May 18, 2005.
HAFSTEIN, Valdimar Tr. (2000): “Biological Metaphors in Folklore Theory: An Essay in the History of Ideas,” section
“Folk Organism: Enlightenment and Romanticism.” Updated in April.
<www.hanko.uio.no/planses/Valdimar.html>. Retrieved: June 18, 2002.
150
 151

QUOTES

There are two ways of presenting what an author says on a topic, direct and
indirect quotations. In a direct quotation, one copies exactly the words of the text one
is referring to, and in an indirect quotation one paraphrases or summarizes what the
text says. Quotes respond to any of the six following purposes:

Supporting your statements

Exemplifying what you present

Introducing some topic or matter

Strengthening your conclusions

Explaining your ideas

Defining the concepts you use

A Spanish architect, Javier García-Bellido, has stated thee reasons academic

writers have to quote parts of the texts you use as support material. Let us look at the
most important of them: 1

 Knowledge is obtained mainly from Reading the Works of other

people

 The reader will be able to discern what your sources say from your
individual statements

 One can evaluate how well you have prepared your paper

 One can evaluate the sources you use

 The reader can see your intellectual honesty

 You show where you get support from but also what you refute

 Anyone can go to the sources to look for more information on the

topic.

What to quote
Any text you use from other sources is considered a quotation, but you don’t
have to give information about the source your information came from if it is found in
1
Colegio Oficial (2001): 24-31.
 152

a good number of sources, that is to say, if it is common knowledge (unless you repeat
exactly what the author has written). Proverbs, biblical expressions, and other folk or
traditional sayings are not considered citations.

Precision in quoting
Direct quotes must present the text exactly as it has been written; you must
respect the original spelling and punctuation. In case there is an error, you must add
the expression [sic] after it, this Latin word means “like that”. If you want to write the
correction, then you add the Latin word recte preceded by a comma after the word sic,
and the correction afterwards. Look at the following examples:

Shakesperar [sic] died on his birthday

He wrote in 1345 [sic, recte 1245] a book on unicorns.

However, defendant Cargill later decided it would be more profitable for it to re-
nig [sic, recte renege] on its contractual agreement.

Nevertheless, certain modifications are allowed:

 You must change (double) quotation marks by single quotation

marks when there is a quotation inside the text you are quoting.

 You may change a word from normal font to italics if you want to
highlight it, but in this case you have to add a note at the end of the
quote stating “italics are mine”.

 If you quote part of a poem you do not have to place verses in

different lines, you can just mark the end of the verse with a slash
(/).

 If you want to delete some words or phrases from your quotation,

you must indicate this by adding the ellipsis inside brackets: […]. If
what you delete is an entire clause, you must place the proper the
punctuation mark at the end of the last sentence and the ellipsis
inside brackets right before the new sentence after the deletion. You
must treat deletions carefully so as not change the original meaning
of the text quoted.
 153

 If you have to add words or phrases to clarify the meaning of the

text you quote, you must place them inside brackets.

 You may change the first letter of the text you are quoting from
capital to lower case or vice versa to suit your discourse. In this
case the use of brackets to mark the change is optional.

 If the citation is in another language, do not use italics. If you

include the translation of the quote, you must place it as a note
(footnote or parenthetical).

 You may translate the quote from its original language; in this case
you must inform the reader: “The translation is mine”.

 You may use Standard English in your quote if the original is in an

ancient form or a dialect, but in this case you must also inform the
reader in a note.

Remember that a quoting is presenting what another person has written; do not
take it from its original context to make it say something it wasn’t intended.

Long and short quotes

A short quote occupies four lines or less; anything that exceeds this must be
considered a long quote. Short quotes are placed inside the text inside quotation
marks; long quotes a presented as separate paragraphs, indented and usually using a
smaller font from that of the text. In this case you do not use quotation marks. If you
are quoting more than one paragraph, do not separate them using a blank line, just
indent the first line. If you are deleting a whole paragraph, you place the ellipsis inside
brackets at the beginning of the next.

Length of the quote

A quote must fulfill three conditions: It must be a small fragment of a work, its
purpose is to analyze, comment or state some judgment, there must be no commercial
purpose, and it must be used only as part of a research or teaching project.
International copyright laws advise writers to obtain express permission from a writer
or an editor if the text quoted exceeds two hundred words.
154
 155

NOTES

Types of notes
In Humanities, notes are usually placed at the end of the page (footnotes) or at
the end of the paper (endnotes). Since today’s word processors place footnotes
automatically, these are preferred in academic papers over endnotes, because they are
easier to see. According to their nature, notes can be explanatory or bibliographical.
Explanatory notes provide additional information on the topic that does not really
belong inside the paragraph. Bibliographical notes show the source the writer is using
in a quote, a paraphrase, a summary, or an idea that has been developed in another
work.

In scientific works parenthetical notes are preferred to footnotes. In a

parenthetical note, the writer provides the information inside the paragraph inside
brackets. If the name of the author has been stated, then this information is not used
in the note, just the year and the page number preceded by a colon. In subsequent
notes you made place just the page number), as long as you makie no reference to
another source.

Explanatory notes
They provide a commentary or additional information on a topic. One must try
to be as brief as possible. These notes must not be longer than a paragraph. And
ideally should consist of no more than a couple of clauses.

Bibliographic notes
In bibliographical notes we recommend the author-year system, known as the
Harvard system. In this case, you just copy the author’s name and the year of
publication from the bibliographical list and add to this the page numbers, which
must be preceded by a colon. If you are using an indirect source, you must place the
Latin expression Apud (meaning “found in”) before the note. If the original text belongs
to more than one page, you write the first and last separated by a hyphen. If what you
want is to refer the reader to another work where the topic is dealt with, you write See
or the abbreviation Cf. If the references to the same text follow each other, you may
use the Latin expression Ibidem (in the same place) followed by a colon and the page
numbers.
 156

Where to place the call number for a footnote

Footnotes are numbered. Your computer automatically does that. You must
place the number right after the last word belonging to the quotation; if there is a
punctuation mark, place it after it. Call numbers are superscripted, but your
computer will do the job for you.

Ancient works and the Bible

Biblical references are treated this way: you write the name of the book, the
chapter and the verse. So in this episode when Jesus calms the storm, which appears
in the gospel of Matthew, chapter eight, verses twenty four to twenty seven, you will
write: Matthew 8, 24-27. References to sacred books in other religions are treated the
same way.

The numbers identifying sections in classical Greek or Roman works are always
the same by international conventions. In Plato’s Phaedo is the story of Socrates trying
to compose the lyrics to a hymn to Apolo, and he justified his decision to do so by a
dream. This passage may be referred to this way: Plato’s Phaedo, 60e-61b. You can
also use this system with medieval works in verse.
 157

Examples for analysis

For Curtius, philology was the key to unlocking the essential unity of European literature; orientalists
see it as the means of uncovering the secrets of Eastern texts. He suggests the importance of studying
religious "visual or performed arts"–"religious expressions [that] involve creative enactment and reaffirm the
idea that ordinary people's everyday lives are both religious and artful" (1995: 44).
In a short section entitled "West and East," the influence of Arabic poetry on the poets of the siglo de
oro is briefly admitted; Spanish Mannerism is termed a mingling of "the medieval Latin and the Eastern
ornamental styles" (ibid.: 343) to its detriment, precisely because of its resemblance to Eastern literature.
Latinity is the source of all European culture; scholasticism's greatest debt is to Boethius, that of
general knowledge to Isidore of Seville, that of literature to Fortunatus, all luminaries of the 6th century.
One side of the schism sees an unproblematically objective world presumed knowable via
epistemologically transparent schemes of explanation; the other side foregrounds social interest in any
process of interpretation.
Puckett's belief in cultural evolution is clear in his statement that "folk-beliefs and superstitions are
normal stages of development through which all peoples have passed and are passing in their societal
evolution" (1973: 4). This applied to both Blacks and whites; Puckett begins one essay with this
pronouncement: Folk beliefs "are found mainly with the uncultured and backward classes of society, white or
colored; and it is to such retarded classes rather than to either racial group as a whole that reference is made
throughout this paper" (1931: 9).
Romantic ideals exist in a complex and dynamic tension with rationalistic assumptions in both
scientific and literary representations of the folk; both have caused misrepresentations of the groups labeled
as folk in the scholarship, and both viewpoints can result in the pathologizing of belief. In re-examining the
history of folklore scholarship, we have a tendency to point out these mistakes as racist, classist, and sexist.
The result is that, in anthropological discourse, oral tradition is for the most part ruled out as a
historical source; if it's not written down, or if it's not manifestly encoded in the material record, it's not
history (or archaeology).
Scientific rationalism took a stance of superiority and power over the folk and primitive, viewing the
beliefs of the folk as inferior, as ignorant superstition (Bassett 1885; Hand 1961; Puckett 1926). For some
scholars, scientific rationalism also pathologized religious belief in 1930. Alexander Krappe wrote,
"Superstition, in common parlance, designates the sum of beliefs and practices shared by other people in so
far as they differ from our own. What we believe and practise ourselves is, of course, Religion" (1964: 203).
Soon urban Koreans began collecting and "re-placing" the "antiques" in their living and commercial
quarters: old doors as screens, blanket chests for coffee tables, wooden mangers for indoor plants, stone mills
as table stands, pages torn from old books to cover walls, or chipped rice bowls unearthed from grave sites
for tea.
Svenbro (1976: 16-35), Olson (1995: 1-23), and Ford (1992: 91-129) all in different ways bring out
the "realities" that Homer avoids: Svenbro emphasizes social pressure, Olson oral tradition, and Ford
competition among bards.
The kwakwanti were always out exploring–sometimes they were gone as long as four years.
There is a need for long annual series showing the abundance of the populations affected; the
historic fauna records are scant and poor.
 158

This divine source for bardic knowledge results in only one significant practical difference between
bardic narratives and those of less authoritative characters: the bard's freedom to report the doings of the
gods.
This concept became a part of the construction of African American folkness, as John Roberts
(1993, 1995) and others have pointed out, reinforcing the usual elite/folk hierarchy, placing the
folklorist/anthropologist above and beyond the people being studied.
To define literature either as the expression of national character or as consisting only of belles-lettres
(a concept alien to medieval literary systems) yields equally reductive models; the problem here is not merely
one of ideological mythification but of methodological adequacy.
Two seminal works of this period attempted to instill a sense of European cultural unity: Erich
Auerbach's Mimesis (1946), written during his exile in Istanbul (and described by Edward Said as "an act of
cultural, even civilizational, survival of the highest importance" [Said 1984, 6]), which sought to define the
essential styles of Western literature, and Ernst Robert Curtius' Europaische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter
(1948).
Yet in spite of this prejudice against the oral ever since the first records of indigenous explanatory
discourse, the "native" has been speaking historically, as it were. The "earliest Indian autobiography" (Krupat
1989: 149), that of Black Hawk (Jackson 1990 [originally 1833]), is a case in point.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and
build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. You may use content in the JSTOR archive
only for your personal, non-commercial use.
For whatever Indo-European archetypal, psychosexual, or categorically imperative reasons, Western
scholars and scholarships are doomed to threes.
We all know that the Romantics promoted a cult of spontaneity, and praised childlike naturalness; in
the present context, it would appear that they were implicitly denying the need for agonistic experiences, and
indeed the need for maturation of any kind.
The earth was rent in great chasms, and water covered everything except one narrow ridge of mud;
across this, the serpent deity told all the people to travel.
Patricia Sawin's trenchant and eloquent critique engages Verbal Art in a number of related
dimensions, some of them convergent with the arguments developed by Berger and Del Negro: my
undertheorizing of the audience; my privileging of formalist conceptions of aesthetics to the neglect of the
experiential, affecting dynamics of performance; my insufficient attention to the implications of the ways in
which Verbal Art frames the performing subject, especially with regard to gender; and my treatment of the
relationship between performance and power, again with particular reference to gender.
From the mid-eighteenth century into the first decade of the nineteenth century, a series of decorous
females depicted the American genius: first the Indian princess; then her Greco-Roman counterpart, the
Neoclassic Plumed Goddess; then a republican goddess referred to as the American Liberty; and finally a
synthesis of all these in the regal, ceremonial Columbia.
Dundes takes up the question of the concept of the folk in another article, “Who Are the Folk?”
(1980).
In the wake of numerous problematizing studies (e.g., Boyd, 1991; Gimpl & Dakin, 1984; Grinyer &
Norburn, 1975; Hurst, 1986; Mintzberg, Brunet, & Waters, 1986; Mintzberg & Waters, 1982; Quinn, 1980;
Wildavsky, 1973), several respected theorists have called for re-conceptualizing the strategic enterprise (cf.
Mintzberg, 1994: 91-214; Prahalad & Hamel, 1994).
 159

As narrativist Wallace Martin said, "By changing the definition of what is being studied, we change
what we see; and when different definitions are used to chart the same territory, the results will differ, as do
topographical, political, and demographic maps, each revealing one aspect of reality by virtue of disregarding
all others" (1986: 15). In particular, we are interested in examining strategy as a form of narrative.
More than with other approaches, according to narrative theory, subjective, heterogeneous
interpretations of texts are the norm; different readers are assumed to "get it" differently, depending on their
history, values, or even which side of the bed they rise from. Accordingly, we consider our discussion of the
strategy field simply one of many possible interpretations, one fashioned not as testable truth but rather
provocative optique, a view that opens up new trains of thought.
Religious poetry, particularly if by highly trained specialists, can be conservative and thus potentially a
good source; for the history of earlier times the problem, of course, is to sort out not only which are the older
poems but which parts of these preserve earlier references and which not–which is difficult to do without
knowing a lot about the earlier history already. Lyrics–songs for weddings, dance, work, love, and so forth–
can throw light on values and personal preoccupations in a society at a particular time, but of course tend to
be ephemeral.
Topical and political poems can be an excellent source if they are recorded at the time they spring up;
essentially short-lived, they are seldom or never feasible sources for arguing back to an earlier period.3 In non-
literate societies there is the additional and often overwhelming difficulty that unless a poem is recorded at the
actual time being studied−which few have been−there is usually no way of knowing from a later poem
whether it is the same as or even slightly similar to versions in the earlier period. Normally the safest
assumption can only be that it is not.
It will have been noticed that I have said nothing about "historical poetry" or about "epic." Surely
these provide the best and most relevant source for the historian? The truth is that this type of poetry seems
surprisingly uncommon in Africa. Certainly there are some exceptions, and there are of course a number of
well-known instances of written historical poems under Arabic influence.
For decades, Hollywood has presented white male stars "as supreme icons and incarnations of the
rootless, decultured 'individual' in industrial consumer society" (Guerrero 1993: 126), while it has presented
African American male characters as either passive bystanders or aggressive villains, but rarely as distinctive
individual heroes who win the struggle in any movie plot. In answering those stereotypes, some African
American filmmakers have depicted similar "individualist," and possibly "reactionary," male heroes who win
the day (Guerrero 1993: 96-97).
On the surface, the film gives us familiar movie monsters, who turn out to be heroes of their people.
A vengeful conjurer, in her final shot, wears the clothes and demeanor of a dignified grandmother. A mad
scientist, in her final plea, is a concerned woman trying to save gang members. On the other hand, a soft-
spoken professional, played by an actor (David Alan Grier) who normally plays put-upon characters, turns
out to be a "monster."
Literary historian Anne Janowitz notes how ruins in the landscape operate in the mythopoetic world
of English romantic poetry in a manner that brings light to the present discussion: "as the poetic text appears
to move further away from preserving the image of the nation" insofar as the ruin comes to symbolize the
decay of the realm, "the thematizing just such a loss substantiates the nation's seamless mythic antiquity." She
continues: "As history becomes myth, as ruin becomes nature, so does the political origin of the nation
merge, as if immemorially, with the soil itself" (Janowitz 1990: 62-63).
Discussing this and related questions in a recent important essay, Dan Ben- Amos has demonstrated
that efforts to maintain the viability of global distinctions based on the tripartite arrangement of traditional
narratives–folktale, legend, and myth–arose under specific conditions of Western history; they were idealized
and systematized under the influence of Max Weber's social philosophy (Ben-Amos 1992). C. W. von Sydow
 160

anticipated Ben-Amos in some dimensions by criticizing the idealizing tendencies of historic-geographic or

distributional studies. Von Sydow developed the notion of the oicotype, by which he seems to have meant
generic patterns and terms for expressive forms arising from the genius of specific locales (von Sydow 1948:
44-49; see also Cochrane 1987 and Holbek 1983: 57). Says von Sydow: "To achieve definite results from
research, one must be familiar with the categories of prose tradition, its vital conditions and its laws" (von
Sydow 1948: 86).
The traditional songs and the drumming of Africa, as well as the indigenous instruments of the
continent, have not yet enjoyed the fashionable attention of the non-African, which may be as well if they are
to remain pure. However, the National Sound Archive in London has an impressive collection of tapes of
African traditional music in the care of its resident ethno-musicologist Lucy Duran; it is a facility of which too
few people are aware.
In the west we regard eating in public as highly sociable and sex as something best done in private
but there is a community in Java where precisely the opposite prevails: it is obscene to eat in company but
acceptable to fornicate publicly. And so, my eyes open to the possibility that Anglocentric culture was
possibly not the sole repository of all that was worth reading, I started to ask whether there existed literature
in the English language elsewhere. I am horrified at my own ignorance in that period but a little proud that I
made the effort to discover that English was being used creatively in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the
Antipodes.
Today Africa is bursting with talented young artists of all kinds. In literature I would mention
especially the new writers of Southern Africa: Njabulo Ndebele, short-story writer; Matsemela Manaka,
playwright; Mbulelo Mzamane, novelist and critic. And also the young lions of Nigeria like Festus Iyayi and
Ben Okri, who are moving Nigerian writing into the problem-filled cities.
Historical progress itself is a problematic concept in the context of African history and literature: the
assumption that modern literature, written to a large extent in European languages, is somehow an advance
over a time when African languages were the primary vehicle of literary expression is as unconvincing as the
assumption that an "authentic" or "pure" African literary culture of the pre-colonial past could be the only
valid expression of an "uncorrupted" African world-view.
The last four essays are devoted to four "posts" of African literature: postcolonial in the Caribbean,
postindependence in Africa, "postcolonial" African and Caribbean literature, and postmodernism in relation
to modernism.
This exclusion from Judeo-Christian historicity, which offered itself as a universal norm of reason,
firmly guided the struggle in the 1950s and 1960s of African intellectuals educated in the West. Their demand
was concerned with African dignity and with what had expressly been denied to them: the right to
universality, and thus the acknowledgment of African contributions to the make-up of humanity.
In the beginning of the West, there is pharaonic Egypt whose essence was black; such is the
assumption of the Egyptian philosophy of history that Cheikh Anta Diop's controversial works launched in
the West against the Hegelian paradigm.
What is assumed to be known is marked as Given; that which is assumed not to be known is marked
as New. The more intimate the relationship between sender and receiver—the more shared knowledge of the
world, the more shared experience—the more the Given aspect of the communicative act expands. The more
the Given expands, the more the area covered by relevance expands. My use of terminology in this paper, for
example, is controlled by my assumptions regarding my audience’s knowledge. Certain terms I use freely;
others I think may need explanation.
Following the insight of Jose Torre Revello, it may be observed that the Inquisition's agents were
especially strict in controlling the introduction of "heretical," non-Catholic materials but remained quite
 161

tolerant of others, including literary and political texts labeled "pernicious" by the crown. Thus, in reality,
neither obscurantism nor strong intellectual persecution prevailed during the era of Iberian colonialism
An early cargo register from 1549, for example, reveals in comparative terms the cost of a group of
books sent to Peru: the four parts of Thomas Aquinas' Summna theologiae, in an annotated edition, cost a bit
more than a sword; a set of nine chivalric romances–small and relatively cheap pieces–was as expensive as
three pairs of boots; and a Dominican missal was equivalent to a shirt.8
Contemporary usages of the term collective memory are largely traceable to Emile Durkheim ([1915]
1961), who wrote extensively in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life about commemorative rituals, and to his
student, Maurice Halbwachs, who published a landmark study on The Social Frameworks of Memory in 1925.3
The colonial history is concerned with "correcting" the legend and using it as the memory, imprecise
and imperfect to be sure, of an authentic history. The historical reference points were almost certainly added:
not only is the legend reinscribed in its true chronology, post-Islam that is, but each of its elements,
moreover, is linked to a precise event. For example, in the continuation of the text, Paty de Clam asserts: "We
will situate [...] the destruction of Zaafrane in the year 741-742, at the time of the great Berber revolt."
The example of a South Tunisian oasis, located in a region with a strong tradition of literacy, shows a
process of rupture with autochthonous ( non-Arab and pre-Islamic) history, a rupture based on the
reappropriation of scholarly works of colonial administrators.
When, as I begin an interview, I say that I am interested in the history (ta'rikh) of Nefta and the Jerid
as well as in the past generally, my respondents first want to make certain that I am not in search of scholarly
history, for they claim to know neither the "history of the Beys" (that is, of Tunis) nor the history of the
region. They say they can only tell their own story.
Conversion is stripped of all political significance, and when accounts do not affirm Nefta's religious
legitimacy, they celebrate the city's past autonomy and grandeur:
In earlier times Nefta used to be a very large city with numerous palaces and gold everywhere. [...]–The king of
Nefta was more powerful then the bey of Tunis; Scholars found a very old letter addressed by the city of Nefta
to the village of Tunis(min madinat Nafta ild qariat Tunis).

Early in this century Axel Olrik (1864-1917) formulated a theory of folklore, including the "laws" of
folk narrative, and a method for study, including the use of literary sources in reconstructing folktales and
their classification by genres. Although he worked chiefly with Germanic and Scandinavian material, he made
some reference to Homeric and other classical sources, and his theory is potentially useful for classicists
studying ancient folktales.