To get an A, you must include references to both books and journal
articles. At least some of the references you use must be less
than four years old.
Finding Literature
When you look for literature for your paper, do not look only at
the titles that may be suggested in class or in these web pages.You are
expected to do library research on your own. If you do not know how to
search for books and articles effectively, consult a librarian. Do not
necessarily pick the first few books or articles you find - consider critically
which will suit your essay best; read the most important ones carefully
and skim through the rest..
Some hints: To find books, go to the library and look around on the shelf where the book we are suggesting is. Also search the UTLink catalogue, using various keywords in different combinations. (Try using the keyword, "culture" with your topic; e.g. "comic book culture.") For journal articles, go to the library site, and search through "electronic indexes" and "electronic journals." A good index is the Expanded Academic ASAP. You can also search the Wilson Index. Other than through the library site, one way to get to it is by selecting "Choose Database" in the "Find" menu of UTLink. If in doubt, ask a librarian to assist you.
Web sites can be referenced but should normally not be taken as authoritative.
Most books and articles are independently evaluated by the publisher and/or
by people in the field. Most web sites are evaluated only by their author.
As essay references, most web sites are not a substitute for books and
articles.
How will my paper be marked?
Your paper will be marked based on a series of criteria, some of which follow:
The central theme of the course is the way that popular culture produces and reproduces social structure and values: how it maintains them, naturalizes them, opposes them. You will be marked on how much and how well you deal with this question. The extent to which the central theme of the course is relevant to a student's topic varies from topic to topic. One way of dealing with it is to demonstrate that it is irrelevant. However, you will lose 20% if you do not deal with it at all.
Topics that are relevant to this course belong to the social sciences and humanities. An example of an irrelevant topic: "I will show that Prozac does not work as a treatment for depression in adolescents." Solution: Choose another topic.
Do not write a paper that focuses on how things are defined. Examples: "I will show that many things that are not considered to be pornography actually are;" "Jazz is no longer part of popular culture." Solution: Choose another topic.
Do not discuss what is good and what is bad. Do not suggest how society can be improved. An ethical motivation is commendable, and an ethical and political bias is inevitable, and you should not pretend that you do not have them. However, your motivation and your bias should not also be your topic. Topics to avoid: "Women's image in society has improved, as seen in recent advertising;" "Motorcycle gangsters are not all criminals;" "Not everyone takes drugs at a rave." Solution: Change your topic, or rework it, making your motivation or bias less obvious.
Be critical in examining your topic. The objective of the course is to examine what we take for granted. Do not take any ideas for granted: not mainstream "bourgeois ideas," not oppositional ideas, not the traditions of your own subculture. The most worthwhile papers are often ones where the student examines critically their own life and group(s). Being critical in this sense does not mean being negative. It means not taking things to be self-evident, but to examine them. A typical example to avoid: "I will describe the history of rave culture" - unless you are going to be critical of the "history" that is part of rave culture itself, and present a falsifiable hypothesis. (This could be a good topic if you take a critical position and relate it to the central theme of the course.) Solution: be critical.
In addition to presenting interesting data, you need to take some position on their significance. There must be a meaningful alternative to your position. If you cannot think of any reasonable person having an objection to what you are saying, then choose another topic. No need to belabor what is beyond challenge. (An example of a hypothesis that you should not choose: "Whether kids will be violent after watching violent TV depends on other factors as well, like their upbringing.") Please be honest: do not consider counter-hypotheses that you KNOW would never be embraced by anyone. Solution: choose another hypothesis.
Do not present a false contrast, where two positions are entirely compatible rather than one excluding the other. ("I am going to prove that male strippers are not exhibitionists, but do their work only for the money.") Solution: choose another hypothesis.
Do not present a series of unrelated positions, united only by a common topic. ("I will demonstrate that tatooing is not a health hazard. I will also show that people who have tatoos have the same kind of occupations as anybody else.") Solution: choose another hypothesis.
Do not present a hypothesis that is so vaguely conceived that it is not testable. "Video games have a strong impact on the self-perception of the young male" is an example. If someone disagreed with you, people could find no reliable way to compare your position to theirs, because they would not know what to understand by "strong impact" and "self-perception." Solution: be more specific.
The length of your paper is of little importance, except as an indication of its quality. A good research report for this course will usually be 8-20 double-spaced pages in 12-pitch font type. (Incidentally, we cannot accept hand-written essays.)
A shorter paper may indicate insufficient work; longer ones may be unfocused and wordy. The general rule is: If you can say the same thing more briefly, then do so.
Attend tutorials regularly to receive guidance on research report writing.
Consider working with a writing lab at your college. They give advice both to students who have trouble writing essays and to more confident writers who just want some comments! If you give us your essay two weeks before the deadline or earlier, we will read it and return it with comments, so that you can improve it before handing it in.
For important general advice on academic writing, please click here.
Good luck!
