ESSAY
Introduction
1st paragraph: General introduction to the situation, whether relating to the work you will study, or of the
specific problem you want to study. You can start with an example or with a general reflection. The aim is to
raise the reader’s interest so he or she is aware of the challenge of your essay.
2nd paragraph: Move from your general introduction to the particular problem. Towards the end of the
paragraph state your thesis question / thesis statement.
3rd paragraph: Say what you will need to answer the questions / deal with the task in satisfactory terms (“To
do X, I will have to…”). This will help you organize your ‘Theory’ section. This is your methodology.
Note 1: this is one of many ways to start; Note 2: the number of paragraphs may vary
Theory
Present the theory you will need to carry out your aim. Quote and/or refer to your sources (e.g. Blomfontein,
2014, 56). If possible, explain why you need these tools and how they are related to each other.
Analysis
Analyze your text. Your paragraphs should
– Be meaningfully related to each other, which means that you have to create transitions between
paragraphs
– Be composed of a topic sentence and supporting sentences
Remember that topic sentences carry keywords related to your thesis or your main argument. These
keywords tend to be abstract.
At some point you will have to analyze the ‘text’ in detail. This will probably be one of the most important
parts of your argument in the paper. The paragraph / paragraphs you devote to this kind of analysis should
include
– A claim
– Evidence from the text (usually in the form of a quote; it can also be paraphrase or summary)
– An explanation of the evidence (in which you will repeat key words or passages from the quote or
the most important keywords from the paraphrase and explain them in detail)
Conclusion
In this section
– you can repeat your thesis questions / statement
– then you have to summarize your findings
– then you can mention the problems you see with the analysis
– then you can provide directions as to what you think could be done in the future.
Works cited
Here you will provide an alphabetical list of the works referred to throughout the essay (not the works you
have read).
Other common conventions
1. Italics and quotation marks
Italics are used for
– letters, words, and sentences cited as examples (e.g. OE spēd)
– book titles, journal titles, and titles of individual works (e.g. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone)
Single quotation marks are used for
– meanings of words or sentences (e.g. OE spēd ‘success’)
– quotes within quotes (e.g. Harry’s magical ancestry is revealed by Hagrid: “‘Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,’
said Hagrid. ‘Harry – yer a wizard’” (Philosopher’s Stone 42).)
– technical terms and specific concepts (e.g. This instance represents ‘romantic irony.’)
– translations (e.g. Errare humanum est ‘To err is human’)
Double quotation marks are used for
– shorter quotes (up to three lines)
– titles of publications in multi-volume works, journal articles, or book chapters
– titles of poems and parts of a larger work (e.g. Chaucer’s “Knight’s Tale”)
2. Quotations
Shorter quotations (up to three lines) are put in double quotation marks.
Longer quotations (more than three lines) appear in a separate justified paragraph without quotation marks. The entire
paragraph is indented (font size: 11 pt; spacing: single line).
Omissions are indicated by three dots in square brackets. The original wording and spelling of the quotation must not
be altered in any way. If necessary, put minor modifications (e.g. a syntactically required auxiliary) in square brackets
as well.
When quoting poems and plays, indicate line breaks in short quotations with a forward slash (e.g. Wordsworth’s lines
“Of Him who walked in glory and in joy / Following his plough” ([1807] 2000: l. 45–46) refer to Robert Burns.). In longer
quotations, keep the original formatting of the primary text and put them in separate indented paragraphs.
Note: All quotes must be marked as such without exception. They must be followed by a clear bibliographical reference
in parentheses. When quoting indirectly or paraphrasing a text, a bibliographical reference must be provided as well.
3. References
Reference a direct (literal) or indirect (non-literal) quote in the running text by providing the author’s name, the year
of publication, and the page number or range in parentheses, e.g. (Smith 2012: 54–57).
If a reference refers to page 46 and 47, for instance, it should be formatted as (Smith 2012: 46f.) in papers written in
English or as (Smith 2012: 46 f.) in papers written in German, respectively.
4. Figures
If you add figures to the essay, in the running text you add the phrase “as shown in Figure X” or (see Figure X). Below
the figure, you write Figure X. The same goes
