Feedback on your work!

Dears,


Every single one of you who handed in work has gotten an email from me with feedback, comments etc.. all in a word file attachment! If you did not look into the system you can find your mark in the email body.
I used your uni-graz email addresses! Go look there!

I collected for you a list of the most common mistakes and ope that you will read through it:


Most common mistakes in your papers:

Writing style:
We: If you are using „we“ you should tell the reader who you mean by "we". „We“ is stronger than I and implies that you speak for the whole academic community, which you don’t.

No slang, or sloppy language. Try to express yourself with short clear sentences. Sometimes it makes sense to start a sentence with the last phrase…

Obsolete words/do not use often: However, Anyway, more or less…


Some of you use the phrase "Now let’s start with...". I would suggest you try something like: "This next section of my paper contains general remarks on..." sound a bit more boring but also straight forward.

Spelling Mistakes
Some words sound alike but are spelled differently, check the dictionary for their meaning: f.e. roll & role

I often found the spelly: this instead of these

Academic writing and citing:
not a good academic literature? you can try to find the source by googeling the title, I if you find something in the web, try to figure out if there is a book written by the same author and if this author is working as a researcher, that helps to decide if the source is reliable.

If there is no name and date, be suspicious that this is not a good academic source!

Please check our Harvard rules for citing urls. No http (url in the body of your written work. Just the name of the author and the year. If this info is not available: be suspicious!

No first names when quoting (direct or indirect):
Bad: Irvine Goffman (1969) came to the conclusion...
Good: Goffman (1969) came to the conclusion...

be accurate whose opinion it is: yours? the authors? If it is yours, add: I think that... If it is the authors’ add: AUTHOR (DATE, P. XY) says...


A good example for indirect citing from one of your colleagues’ paper:

Authoritative parents are warm-hearted, alert and pay attention to the needs of their children. They have a close relationship with their child and, at the same time, exercise a right-minded control. Step by step, the child is raised to autonomy, self-control and stamina (cf. Berk 2004, p. 362).

Do not use footnotes unless your lecturer wants you to in future papers.

Using wikipedia:
Wikipedia is not an academic source you can use. You can find hints there to then go to the library and research for proper readings.

Choosing a topic, getting it straight
Some of you had troubles to get all these great topics and idea into one context. Try to bring your ideas together! try to contextualise them. Use questions: What do these themes have in common, who do they have in common, in which situations, where? How can my ideas be integrated in one analytic model.

Bibliography
You NEED to add a bibliography at the end of your paper. A list of references is not enough. The bibliography needs to be in alphabetical order.

Length of the paper
In future try to stick to the word amount. If you are asked to write 2500words do not write 4000! This will train you for future academic but also journalistic writing.


How interesting is my topic?
Some of you were a bit insecure with their topics, for example I thought it was a great idea to work on the Gilmore Girls. Young women’s interests often get belittled. Here you have the chance to use a tv program to create an educational analysis! Use it!

A great way to find your mistakes and Germanisms:
Read out aloud one sentence after the other. So you will realise what \sounds’ English and what doesn’t. Improve your English Writing by reading English books, Even novels help!



Hope that helps you to improve!
I wish you lots of success in your future academic studies!
Sol