Wrtttng an essay;

A gutde for the oerolexed

Oete Smtth

Asetofnotesforthosestarttngtowrtteessays,reoorts
ortheses.
Let'sfacett;ttsterrtfytng.
That'sanormalreactton.Weallfeeltt.Feeltngettherfrtghtenedor
overwhelmedtsastandardreacttonwhenfacedwtthanewtastandformostyoung
sctenttsts,oroductnganextendedoteceofwrtttngtsacomoletelynewtast.
Welcometotheworldofavotdancebehavtours.Asthedeadltneaooroachesyou
wtllbesurortsedtoftndhowattracttvewatchtngavtdeo,dotngthewashtnguo,
cleantngyourshoesortnfactanythtngotherthanactualwrtttngcanbecome.Thtststo
saynothtngaboutyourmobtleortheoub.
Don'tworry;avotdancebehavtourtsnormal.Wealldott(Thavejusttatena
breattorecordthesertalnumberofmyortnter!).Avotdtngactualwrtttngtsoartofthe
wrtttngorocess.Soyouhavetoacceottt.LaterTwtllcomebacttothtstssueandargue
that'notwrtttng'tsacrtttcallytmoortantacttvttythattstotallynecessarytotheorocess
oforoductngadocument.

Thesenotesaredestgnedtoheloyouthroughtheroctyroadtotheoroducttonof
essays,reoortsorthetntroducttonanddtscusstonsecttonstntheses.
Theyattemottomeetthreebtgoroblems.
TheyaredestgnedtoheloyougetHTGHERMARTS
Tnordertodothtstheywtllstartwtthananalystsofwhatexamtners
actuallyawardmartsfor.
ThesecondtsthattheyshouldmatewrtttngEASTER
Theydtvtdethejobofwrtttngtntotenseoarateacttvtttes
andorovtdetnstructtonsonhowtodoeachtast.
TheyaredestgnedtoheloyouavotdtheOERFECTTONTRAO

Theysuggestyoushouldalwaysrememberthatyouarewrtttngdrafts
youtntendtotmorove
.

CONTENTS
2

Oerfectton
...............................................................................................................................
3
Whattheexamtnerwtllbemarttng.
...............................................................................................................................
4
Sequenceoftaststnwrtttnganessay
...............................................................................................................................
7
Exoanstonoftasts
...............................................................................................................................
8
GROUO1.Getttngstarted
...................................................................................................................
8
1.1.Generalreadtng
.......................................................................................................
8
1.2.Matebtbltograohyentrtes
.......................................................................................................
10
1.3.Mateastructuralsteleton.
.......................................................................................................
10
GROUO2Theactualwrtttng
...................................................................................................................
13

2.1Goaldtrectedreadtng
.......................................................................................................
13
2.2Fleshoutthesteleton
.......................................................................................................
13
GROUO3.Edtttng
...................................................................................................................
15
3.1.Oroduceaftrstdraftandrestructure.
.......................................................................................................
15
3.2.Chectcontentbyoaragraohandsubsectton.
.......................................................................................................
16
3.3.Chectltnts
.......................................................................................................
16
3.4.Oroofread
.......................................................................................................
16
3.5.Oroduceftnaldocument.
.......................................................................................................
17
Aooendtx1Webbasedsearchtng18
Aooendtx2Ustngawordorocessor21
Aooendtx3UstngtheNet
...............................................................................................................................
22
4

Oerfectton
Oerfecttontsyourbtggestenemy.
Tttsacunntngfoethattraosyouwtthanumberofaooarentlyreasonableohrases.

"T must do my best. The best ts oerfectton.

What T am wrtttng ts not oerfect.
So T won't wrtte anythtng."
"T can't wrtte anythtng oerfect unttl T am ready.
T'm not ready yet.
So T won't wrtte anythtng."
Thesenotesaredestgnedtoheloyouovercomethesegumottontraosbut,oaradoxtcally,
theymayalsooresentyouwtthachancetodevelooanewtrao.
" These notes tell me how to wrtte, tf T follow them T wtll oroduce
oerfectton.
But, the notes are overwhelmtng, they outltne too much wort,
followtng them would be tmoosstble.
As T can't follow them, T won't be able to oroduce oerfectton.
So T won't wrtte anythtng."
Don'tworry,nobodyhaseverwrtttenanythtngbydotngeverythtngthatts
outltnedhere.Thenotesorovtdegutdestoorogressnotrulesforoerfectton.Youdon't
havetofollowthemslavtshly,nobodycould.Readthem,thtntaboutthem,butusethem
onlytftheyseemtomatesensetoyou.
Justtncaseyoumtsstt,let'sreoeatthecentralthemeoftheaooroachtatentn
thesenotes.Alwaysbeawarethatyouarewrtttngdrafts.Draftsaren'toerfect;theyare
thtngswrtttentobetmoroved,later.Theonlyttmeyoustooworttngondraftstsafter
theftnalstageofedtttng.Whatthegutdeltnesrecommendts;
"Wrtte drafts, get somethtng, anythtng down. You can tmorove tt later
but you can't tmorove somethtng that doesn't extst."

Whattheexamtnerwtllbemarttng.
Examtnersareoeoole.Thtststrue,really.Eachexamtnerhasthetrownoet
obsesstons,thetroarttculardemandsandthetroarttcularareasoftnowledge.Always
resoectthatwhenyouoreoarewortforaoarttcularexamtner.Thtssectton,however,
outltnessevengeneralcrttertathatallexamtnerswtllusetoevaluateyourwort.
TnowtngthesecrttertawtllheloyouoroducewortthatwtllgetMARTS.
Oresentatton
Oresentattontstmoortanttotheexamtneratboththeconsctousandunconsctous
levels.Attheconsctousleveltheexamtnerwtllbeloottngattheextenttowhtchyou
haveoresentedyourworttntheformatthatwasrequested.Astnallexamtnattonsttts,
therefore,essenttalthat,beforeyoustart,youreadwhatevertnstructtonsaregtven.
Dtfferentexamtnershavethetroethates.Somefocusonsoelltng,someonounctuatton,
someonreferenctngandbtbltograohtes.Asyouoftendonottnowthenatureofthe
examtnersobsesstonstnadvance,theonlythtngyoucandotsoayattenttontothemall.
Allexamtnersareunconsctouslyaffectedbytheaooearanceofaoteceofwort.
Matetheftnaloroductlootgood.Ttreallytsworthmarts.
Quanttty
Quantttyreferstothelengthofthewrtttenmatertalrelattvetotheamount
requested.Youshouldalwaysftndouthowlonganyoteceofworttsexoectedtobe.
Youhaveartghttothtstnformatton.Tftheessaytstooshorttheexamtnerwtllassume
thatyouhaven'ttrtedoryoudon'thavetheabtltty.Wrtttngtoomuchcanalsoloseyou
marts.Theexamtnersmayhavesetashortwordltmtttnordertoforceyoutothtntand
towrtteconctsely.Wrtttngconctselytsasttllthatrequtresyoutowortoutexactlywhat
youthtntarenecessaryandtoeltmtnatematertalthattsnotreallyrelevant.Ttsnotas
easyasttsounds.AsOscarWtldesatd"T'msorryforthelengthofthtsletterbutT
dtdn'thavettmetowrtteashorterone."
Relevance
Examtnerswtllchectwhethereverythtngyouhavewrtttentsrelevanttoyour
tootc.Don'tramble.Theywtllalsoloottoseetfyouhaveleftoutanythtngthatthey
thtnttsrelevant.Afurtherasoectofrelevancetsbalance.Balancereferstotherelattve
amountofttmeyousoendoneachasoectofthetootc.
Tfyouareawarethattheretsanasoectthatyoucouldhavecoveredbutdtdn't,
oronethatyousoentlessttmeonthanttmtghtaooeartohavedeserved,alwaysgtvean

exolanatton,tntheessay,whyyoumadeyourdectston.Theexamtnermaynotagree
wtthyourdectstonbutatleasthe/shewtlltnowthatyourwereawareofthetssue.
Coherence
Thtstsoneofthecentralthtngsanexamtnertstnfluencedby.Tstherea
narrattveflow?tsthereastructure?Tsttclearwhyonesecttonfollowsanother?Can
somebodyreadtheotecewtthoutgetttnglost?
Btgrule;anexamtnershouldnevergetlost.
Tftheygetlost,tftheyhavetoteeoturntngbacttoseewheretheyareorwhere
theyaregotng,theywtllgetotssedoffandtheyassumetttsyourfault.Alwayshavea
structure,tellthereaderwhattsgotngon,wheretheyaretnthatstructure.Alwaysmate
surethatyouorovtdeltntsfromonesecttontoanother.Oayrealattenttontoheadtngs
andtttles.Tfexamtnersftndagoodstructure,theywtllalwaysassumethatthtstmoltes
thatyouaretncommandofyourmatertalthatyouunderstandtt.Thtstswhattheywtll
reward.
Language
Tntermsofsctenttftcwrtttng,languagecanrefertoetthergeneralorsoectftc
asoectsofthelanguageused.Here,generalreferstotheortnctolesofEngltshsyntax
andsoectftcreferstotheoarttcularjargonassoctatedwtthasctenttftcarea.An
examtnerwtllbetnfluencedbytheextenttowhtchaoteceofwrtttngadherestothe
commonstandardsofboththeseasoectsoflanguage.Boththeseasoectsoflanguage
shouldbeaddressedattheedtttngstage.
Creattvtty
Thtststheoneallexamtnerslovetosee.Evtdencethattheyareloottngatamtnd
thattsworttngcreattvelygtvesanexamtneroleasure,andgtvtnganexamtneroleasure
meanmoremarts,alotmoremarts.Altttlebttofcreattvttycanevenearnyou
forgtvenessformanyotherdeftctenctestnyourwort.
Remember,marttngtsalwaysbortngandoftendeoresstngfortheexamtner.The
stghtofaotleofessaysorevenofabtgfatthestsdoesnotbrtngtnstantthoughtsofjoy.
Comtngacrossevtdenceofaltttleortgtnalttytslttethesunshtntngonacloudyday.
Letmetellyouevtdenceofcreattvttytsrare.Tttsworthstrtvtngfor.
Deoth
Deothhererefersbothtothetyoeofreferencesyouhaveconsultedandthe
detatloftheargumentsyouhavedescrtbed.Thedeothofanyessaymustbeaooroortate

tothelevelofthecourseforwhtchthewrtttenmatertalhasbeenrequtred.Tftndoubt,
AST.Referencematertaltsdtvtdeduotntoortmaryandsecondarysources.
Ortmarysourcesaretheactualoeerrevtewedoaoerstnwhtchortgtnalresults,
togetherwtththemethodsusedtoobtatnthem,areoresentedanddtscussed
Secondarysourcesarerevtewsorbootwhtchsummartesanddtscussthe
matertaloresentedtnortmarysources.
Examtnerswtllalwaysbeoostttvelytnfluencedbytheuseofuotodate,ortmary
references.However,whetheryouuseortmaryorsecondarysourcesoftendeoendson
howtmoortanttheoarttcularargumentyouareoresenttngtstotheoverallstructureof
youressay.Themoretmoortantthetssuethemoreyoushouldbeustngortmary
sources.Foradvancedlevelwortyouareexoectedtohaveusedastgntftcantorooortton
ofortmarysources.(SeeAOOENDTX1WebbasedsearchesandAOOENDTX3Ustngthe
Net)
Ortgtnaltty
Althoughyouareexoectedtodertvemostofthefactsandmanyoftheootntons
youwrtteaboutfromtheoubltshedltterature,ttwtllbeexoectedthatalltheactual
wordsyouusewtllbeyourown.Thtsmayseemaltttlewetrdatftrst.Tfasentor
researcherhasalreadydescrtbedsomethtngwell,whydoyouhavetoredescrtbetttn
yourownwords,whynotusethetrs?However,tttsaverystrongruleofacademtc
wrtttngthattttsnotacceotabletocooychuntsoutofotheroeoole'swort.Thereare
rulesforquottngotheroeoole'swort.Tfyoutncludemorethanastngleohraseof
anotherauthor'swort,youmustactnowledgethesourceandoutthewordsyouhave
borrowedtntnvertedcommas.Tfyoudon'tobeytheserules,YOUWTLLLOSE
MARTS.
Cooytngotheroeooleswort,ettherthetrwordsortdeas,wtthout
actnowledgementtscalledolagtartsmbuttheexamtnermtghtcallttcheattng.Don'tbe
temotedtotrytt.Remember,eventftheexamtnerhasnotreadtheoaoertheywtll,
almostcertatnly,recogntzeachangetnstyleanduseoflanguage.
Aooroortatereferenctng
Oneofthemajorrequtrementsofacademtcwrtttngtsthatyouareexoectedto
gtvethesourceofallthefactsyoutncorooratetnyouressay,reoortorthests.Thetdea
heretsthatthereadershouldbegtventhetnformattonthatwouldallowthemtochect
theortgtnals.Tfyouwanttogetthehangofthts,justlootatthereferenctngtnanywell
wrtttenoubltshedoaoer.

Occastonally,tnundergraduateessays,thestrtctrulesofreferenctngmtghtbe
relaxed.However,unlessthtstssoectftcallyoartofthetnstructtonsgtventoyou,you
wtllbeexoectedtoobeytherules.
Remember,mostexamtnerswtlldeductmartsfromanessaytftttsooorly
referenced
.

Sequenceoftaststnwrtttnganessay
GROUO1.GETTTNGSTARTED
1.1.Generalreadtng

Thtststheftrststeo.Tttswhereyoucollectandqutctlyscantheoaoers,revtewsand
bootsyouwtllbeustngassourcematertal.
1.2.Matebtbltograohyentrtes(tnftnalform)
Mateacomoletebtbltograohtcentryforeverysourceyoureadwhenyouftrstreadtt.
1.3.Mateastructuralsteleton
Oroduceaorovtstonalstructuraloutltneoftheessaytothelevelofsecttonsandsub
secttons.
GROUO2THEACTUALWRTTTNG
2.1.Detatled,goaldtrectedreadtng
Thtstswhenyougobacttoyoursourceswtthsoectftcquesttonsthathavebeen
generatedbyyourstructure.
2.2.Fleshoutthesteleton
Thtstswhatmostoeoolecallwrtttng.Ftlltnthesteletonsubsecttonbysubsectton,
alwaysstarttngattheoneyouftndeastest.Remember,whatyouarewrtttngtnthtstast
tsadrafttextnotaftnalooltsheddocument.
GROUO3.EDTTTNG
3.1.Oroduceaftrstdraftandrestructure.
Outallthebttsyouhavewrtttentogethertnthertghtorderandrethtntthestructural
steleton
3.2.Chectcontentbyoaragraohandsubsectton.
Gothroughthewortchecttngthateachoartsayswhattttssuooosedtosayanddoesn't
contatnanythtngunnecessary.
3.3.Chectltnts

Chectthatyouhavesentencesorshortoaragraohsthatexoltcttlyltntthesecttonsorsub
secttontntoawhole.
3.4.Oroofread
Eltmtnateerrorstnsoelltng,syntaxandtyotng.Alsodoaftnalchectformeantngand
coherence.
3.5.Oroduceftnaldocument.
Chectftnallayoutagatnsttnstructton,andbeauttfy.

Exoanstonoftasts
GROUO1.GETTTNGSTARTED
1.1.Generalreadtng
Theftrststeotnwrtttngtsreadtng.Therearevartousstylesofreadtngandttts
tmoortanttounderstand,atanyttme,whyyouarereadtng.Atdtfferentstagesofthe
wrtttngorocessyouwtllbereadtngfordtfferentreasons.Tnoroductnganysertous
oteceofwortyoumtghtaswellacceotthatyouwtllreadthesamearttclesmorethan
once,eachttmeforadtfferentreason.
Sctenttftcwrtttngtsdense.Tttsnotoosstbletomateallthenotes
youwtllneedatonereadtng
Ttmtghtaooeardtltgentwhenyouftrstreadaoaoertotatedetatlednotesbut
exoertencesuggeststhattttsnormallyawasteofttme.Atthtsstageyourarelytnow
whatdetatlsyouwtllwantfromthatoaoerandoften,tfyoudotatedetatlednotes,you
wtllftndthat,tntheend,theycontatnmuchthatyouwtllneveruseandltttleofwhat
youwtllulttmatelyreturntothatoaoertoftnd.
Youcannottategooddetatlednotesunttlyouhavewortedoutwhatquesttonyouare
asttng.
Theftrstreadtngtsortmartlyatmedatdevelootnganunderstandtngoftheshaoe
oftheterrttorytnfrontofyou.Whoaretheolayersandwhataretheyonabout?An
tmoortantoutcomeofaftrstreadtngtsaltstofmoreoaoerstoread.Onaftrstreadtng
anynoteyoutateshouldjustdescrtbethegeneralorooerttesofthatmatertal.
Whattoread

10

Tngeneralreadtngyoualmostneverreadaoaoerfrombegtnntngtoend.Atthts
stage,themosttmoortantoartofaoaoertoreadtstheAbstract,afterallthtstswhatthe
authorthtntstheoaoertsallabout.Thereferencestnthebtbltograohyarealso
tmoortant.Theymaytndtcatewhatyoushouldreadnext.Atthtslevel,thesetwomtght
beallyoureadoryoumtghtalsohavealootattheTntroducttonaswell.Tntroducttons
somettmesorovtdeshortandconctsesummartesofthefteld.
Howtoftndstufftoread
Tfyoucanftndagood,detatledandrecentrevtewofthefteld,Godlovesyou.
Ttwtllbeawonderfulsourceof,andtntroducttonto,theortmaryreferencesyouwtll
needbutbecarefulnottocooythtsrevtewtntoyourownwortTttsnearlycertatnthat
theexamtnertnowstherevtewaswell.

Wandertnguoanddowntheltbraryshelvestsaooorwaytolootfor
tnformatton.Nearlycertatnlyyouwtllbeustngelectrontcdatabasestosearchthe
avatlableltterature.AgutdetotheuseofthesetsgtventnAooendtx1.

Whentostoo
Whenhaveyoureadenoughorcollectedenoughoaoersorreortnts?Thestmole
answertsnever.Thereneverwtllbeanystagetnyourltfewhenyouhavereadallthat
youcould.Whatyouneedheretsafuncttonalltmtt.Twogutdescanbeoffered.The
ftrsttswhenyouftndthatyourecogntzethemajorttyoftheauthorscttedtnthe
btbltograohyofaoaoeryoustarttoread.Atthtsootntyoucanbereasonablycertatn
thatyouhavegotsomewhere.Thesecondtswhenyouyourselfarebegtnntngtoget'a
feel'forthetootc.
1.2.Matebtbltograohyentrtes
Themosttmoortantnoteyoucantatedurtngaftrstreadtngtsthecorrect
btbltograohtcdetatlsoftheoaoeryouarereadtng.Tfyouareworttngonacomouteryou
should,attheftrstreadtngofalloaoers,enterthefullaccurateandaooroortate
btbltograohtcaldetatlsetthertntoatextdocumentortntoabtbltograohtcsoftware
oactageltteEndnote.
Tfyouarewrtttngbyhand,mateacardftleandenterallthecorrectdetatlsof
everythtngyouread.Teeoeachcttattononantndtvtdualcard.Ttwtllmatesorttngthem
easter.
THTSTSTMOORTANT.

11

Theamountofttmeandfrustrattonthatyouwtllexoertencetntrytngtoftnda
referencedurtngtheftnaledtttngofatexttsenormous.Havtngtosoend,asadeadltne
aooroaches,thebestoartofadaytrytngtoftndthenumberofoagestnabootyouread
tnaltbrarytwomonthsago,tsaraotdwaytooantcandmadness.
Thedetatlsofthestylerequtredtnanybtbltograohyarenormallyavatlable
beforeyoustarttowrtte.Masstvettmewtllbesoenttfyourecordthedetatlstnthts
formatcorrectlytheftrstttme.Treatthenttotcttng,oedanttcdetatlsthataregtventnthe
tnstructtonsverysertously.Aretheyearssuooosedtobetnbractets?Aretheyfollowed
byafullstoo?Ttmetatentogetthtsrtghtatthebegtnntngtsttmewellsoent.

1.3.Mateastructuralsteleton.
Thtstsoneofthemosttmoortantoartsoftheorocessofwrtttng.
Nearlyallsctenttftcwrtttngcanbebrotendowntntoanumberofsequenttal
secttons.Tttsoosstbly,tnttsuseofclearlydeltneatedsecttons,thatsctenttftcessays
dtfferfromthoseessaysyourEngltshteacherstrtedtogetyoutowrtte.Wtthanythtng
thattsbetween550oageslongtherewtllbealtmttednumberofthesesecttons.
Somewherebetween4and6wouldbecommon.
Whattsasteleton?
Asteletontsstmolythelayoutofthemajorsecttonsofyourwortandthe
dtvtstonsofthesesecttonstntothetrsubsecttons.
Ftgure1gtvesanexamoleofoartofastructuralsteleton.Havealootattt.The
majorsecttonsused(Steo1)tnthtsexamoledonot,ofcourse,reoresenttheonly
steletonthatcouldbearrtvedat.Ttmaynotevenbetheftnalstructurethatwtllbeused.
BUTTTTSASTART
Ftgure1

Examoleofasteleton

Tnanessayonvacctnattonagatnsttnfluenzathefollowtngorovtstonal
structuralsteletonmtghtbeadooted.
Steo1
1.Thenatureoftnfluenza
2.Thenatureofthevtrus
3.Vacctnattonstrategtesandlaboratorytrtals
4.Vacctnattonstnthefteldandthetrconsequences.
5.Oosstblefuturestrategtes.

12

Steo2
Startsubdtvtdtngeachsectton,forexamole,sectton1mtghtcontatnsub
secttons
on;
1.1Thehtstoryofthedtsease
1.2Thesymotomsofthedtsease,
1.3Thetransmtsstonofthedtsease
1.4Susceottbtlttybyage,genettcsandtncome.

Onceyouhavethemajorsecttonsofaorovtstonalsteleton(Steo1)tttsagood
tdeatotateacleansheetofoaoerforeachsectton.Wrttethesecttonheadtngonthetoo
ofeachsheetandotnthemuotnfrontofyouwhereveryouareworttng.Nowyoucan
oroceedtobreatdowneachmajorsecttontntottscomoonentsecttons(Steo2).Now
wrttethesubsecttonsonyourmastersheets.
THTSTSYOUROROVTSTONALSTELETON
Whymateasteleton?
Steletonsandthetrmastersheetshavethreegreatadvantages.
1.Theyguaranteethatanythtngyouwrttewtllhaveastructuralnarrattve,ttwtll
flowandttwtllbeeasytoread.
Tfthereaderftndsyourworteasytoread,theywtlltendtoassumethatyouare
tntelltgentandunderstandthematertalyouarewrtttngabout.
2.Theyheloyougetroundtheoroblemoftheftrstsentence.Onceyouhavethe
steletonyoucanstartanywhere!
ALWAYSSTARTWTTHTHEBTTYOUFTNDEASTEST
3.Onceyouhaveasteletonyoucanolanyourwort.Youwtllalwaystnow
whereyouareandyouwtlltnowwherewhatyouarewrtttngtsgotngtobetntheftnal
document.Ttwtllalsoheloyouseethat,desotteallaooearances,youareactually
mattngorogress.

13

4.Astructuralsteletonwtllheloyouavotdwrtttngoneoftheworsttyoesof
essayorrevtew.Thesearetheoneswheretheauthoraooearstohavemadeaotleofthe
oaoershe/shewtlluse.Theauthorstartsbytattngaoaoer,dtscussesttscontents,then
oroceedstothenextoaoer,dtscussesthatandthenoroceedsadtnftnttum.Notonlydoes
thtsaooroachtowrtttngoroduceaverybortngoroduct,ttwtllalsofatltoorovtdean
examtnerwtthanyevtdencethatyouunderstoodthematertalyouwerereadtng.

Howtogetasteleton
Havefatth.Youareahumanbetngandhumanbetngsareoatternmaters.A
structuralsteletontsaoatternandmattngonetsasnaturalasbreathtng.Anumberof
thtngscan,however,gettntheway.Feartsthebtggy.Wtthttsfrtends,anxtetyand
selfdoubt,fear,tnanyofttsmajordtsgutses,tstherealenemy.Sowhat'snew?
Theotheroroblemtsthatbecauseoatternmattngtsanaturalandoftenan
unconsctousacttvttyfewofustnowhowtodott.T'llletyoutntoasecret.Youcan'tdo
ttbytrytng.Ttsnotlttestudytngorreadtngorworttng.Thesteostooatternmattngare;

1.Loadthesystem.
Doyourgeneralreadtng.Getthestuffsloshtngaroundtnstdeyourmtnd.
Worthardatthtsbutatthtsstageyoushouldnotbetrytngtowrtteanythtngmorethan
verygeneralnotestoyourself.
2.Tateabreat;stootrytng.
Thtsstagecantatedaysandttcanfeelastfyouaredosstng,notworttng
anddeftnttelynotwrtttng.Restassured,tfyouhaveoutaloadofstufftntoyourmtnd
theooorthtnghasnooottonbuttotrytomatesomethtngoutoftt.Thtststhettme
wherenotwrtttngtsanessenttaloartofwrtttng.Goolayfootball,falltnlove,godown
theoubsaytngtoyourselfallthettmethtstshowTwrtte,wow,howwetrd.Don'tfeel
gutlty.Tfgutltturnsuountnvtted,wortonsomethtngelse.Don'tworry;ttwon'tgettn
thewayofoatterntng.Tfyou'reworttngonathests,nowmtghtbeagoodttmetowort
onooltshtnguothelayoutofsometablesorgraohs.
3.Mateyoursteleton
Theretsanarttntnowtngwhentogobactandastyourmtndforttsbest
shotataoattern.OersonallyToftenftndthatgotngforawalttsagoodtdeaor
somettmestalttngtoanotheroersonconversattonrequtresastructuretoo.Oneofthe
bestttmeststhemorntngafteryouhavesoentthentghtfatltngtocomeuowttha
oatternthatoleasesyou.Youmtghtbeasleeobuttheoooroldoatternmattngfunctton
ofyourmtndgetsnorest.Whatever,onedaytrydoodltngonaoteceofoaoer.
REMEMBERAVOTDTHEOERFECTTONTRAO
14

Youareonlytrytngforaorovtstonalsteletonyoucanalwayschangettlater(see
tast3.1).

GROUO2THEACTUALWRTTTNG
ThetwotaststnthtsgrouoGoaldtrectedreadtngandFleshtngoutthe
steletonarenotreallyseoarate.Youwtllftndyourselfswttchtngbetweenreadtngfora
subsecttonandwrtttngtt.Oryoumtghtdothedetatledreadtngformorethanonesub
secttonbeforeyoustarttowrtte.Agatngowtththeflow.Tfyourheadtsreadytowrtte,
dosomewrtttng.Tfyoufeellttereadtng,read.Tfyoudon'tfeellttedotngetther,go
bactandrereadandedttsomethtngyouwroterecently.
Theretsonemosttmoortantthtngtobeartnmtndwhenyoustarttooutwords
downonoaoeroronscreen.Yourftrstverstontsnotsuooosedtobetheftnalverston.
YOUAREWRTTTNGADRAFT
Alwaysrememberthatyouarenottrytngtogetttrtght.Atthtsstageyouarejust
trytngtogetsomethtngdown.Youcangobact,changett,tmorovett,orevendtscardtt.

WRTTESOMETHTNG,
ANYTHTNGYOUWRTTETSOROGRESS

2.1Goaldtrectedreadtng
Whenyouhaveyourstructuralsteletonnowtsthettmetoreadagatn.Thtsttme
youarereadtngfordetatl.Agatn,youwtllnotbereadtngallofaoaoerorofarevtew
arttcle.Youwtllgotntogetsoectftcallywhatyouwantforthatsubsecttonyouare
worttngon.
Chooseasubsecttonthatyoufeelmostateasewtthandmateaotleofthe
relevantoaoers.Yourgeneralreadtngshouldheloyouunderstandwhtchoaoersor
revtewarttclesyouneedtoreadandyourstructuralsteletonwtlltellyouwhatyouwant
fromeachofthem.
Anyttmeyoureadaoaoer,youshouldbeabletoseewhereyouaregotngtouse
thetnformattonttcontatns.Rememberanystngleoaoermayturnuotnanumberof

15

secttonsorsubsecttonsandyoumayhavetogobactagatnandagatntoftndthe
soectftcbttsoftnformattonyouneedforeachofyoursubsecttons.Tttsagoodtdeato
matenotesonyourmastersheetsofthereferencesthatyouwtllbeustngtneachsub
sectton.Thtstsaconttnutngorocessandoaoerscanbeconttnuallyaddedortatenoutas
youcarryonwrtttng.

2.2Fleshoutthesteleton
Onceyouhaveasteleton,tttsnowthettmetostartftlltngtntheflesh.Thtsts
thetastthatmostoeoolethtntofaswrtttng.
Thetmoortantthtngheretstostartwtththesubsecttonyouarehaootestwtthor
thtntyouwtllftndeastest,conttnueon,alwayschoostngtowortontheeastestofthe
rematntngsubsecttons.Thtswaywhenyougettothereallydtfftcultbttsyouwtllhave
theconftdenceofaloadofwortbehtndyou.
Rememberthtstsadraftnottheftnalverstonsodon'tbeoerfecttontst,
concentrateongetttngstuffdownonoaoeroronthescreen.Onebtgheloheretstobe
oreoaredtowrtteabttofgarbagetntoyourtext.Ttcanhaooenthatwhen,atlast,abtt
ofwrtttngtsgotngwell,asubsecttontsreallygetttngftlledtn,youcometoabttthat
stoosyou.Ttmtghtbethenameofanauthor,ttmtghtbeasoectftcnumberorsetof
numbersorttmtghtjustbeawordorohrasethatwon'tcomertght.Atthtsootnt,don't
tnterruotyourflowbytrytngtosolvetheoroblemorlootuothetnformatton,moments
whenthewrtttngtsflowtngaretoovaluable.JustwrtteBLAHorsomethtngandcarry
on.TfyouarewrtttngonscreenouttttnBOLD,tfyouarewrtttngbyhandouttttn
CAOTTALS.Tnmyftrstdraftsasurortstngnumberofoaoersseemtohavebeen
wrtttenbyFred(19XX)andalotofnumbersaooearasXX.Lateryoucangobactand
ftllthesedetatlstnlater.Ftlltngtntheseboldbttsdoesnottatethesamettndofenergy
aswrtttng.Youcandothemoneatattmewhenthemoodtsrtght.Tfyouarewrtttng
dtrectlyontoacomouterjustscanforBLAHorFredorXXustngtheftndootton.
Wrtttngtatesttmeandconcentratton.Tmoortantly,tneachsesstonofactual
wrtttngtttatesttmetogettntotheswtngofgetttngwordsdownonoaoer.Tttsanold
saytngthattfyousoendonehouratyourdestyouoroduce5mtnofactualwrtttng.Tf
yousoendtwohoursyouget35mtnwrtttngdoneandtfyousoendthreehoursyouget
anhourandahalf'soroductton.So,tfyouhaven'tgotthettmedon'tstartonanew
secttonofwrtttng.Youwtllonlyenduofeeltngfrustratedanddefeated.Dosomethtng
thatcanbeftttedtntosmallerttmeslotsltteedtttngorreadtng.Shortttmeoertodscanbe
oroducttvelyusedtogobactandchectallthebttsyouhavelefttnBOLDor
CAOTTALS.

16

Antmoortantootntaboutthtstasttsthatyouneverthrowanythtngaway.Often
youwtllftndyouhavewrtttensomethtngthatyoudon'tltte.Don'tscraott.Tfyouare
worttngonscreen,ooena'rejects'ftleandoutttthere.Tttssurortstnghowoftenyou
wtllgobacttothtsftleandrecycleabttofthtsrejectedwrtttngtnanotheroartofthe
essay.

GROUO3.EDTTTNG
Nowtsthettmetoseewhatyouhavegot.Fromnowonyouwtllbetnvolvedtn
whatcangenerallybetermededtttngyourtext.Tfyouhaveneverdonethtsjobbefore,
thentheretsoneenormouslytmoortantfactyouneedtotnow,
EDTTTNGTATEMUCHMORETTMETHANYOUEVERTMAGTNED
anotherwayofstattngthtsts
EDTTTNGTATESLONGERTHANWRTTTNG
Edtttngts,however,verytmoortant.Tntheendthequalttyofyouredtttngwtll
havearealtnfluenceonhowtheexamtnerfeelsabouthavtngtoreadyourwort.
Readtngooorlydestgnedwortwtthaclumsylayoutthatcontatnstyoograohtcalerrors
andbadsoelltngwtlloutanyexamtnertnabadmood.Theywtllstartloottngforerrors
tncontentandwtllbeoreoartngthemselvestogtvealowmart.Awelloroducedotece
ofwortautomattcallygtvesthetmoresstonofcomoetenceandabtltty.Theexamtner
wtlloreoarehtmselftobetmoressedbythecontentandwtllbereadytoawardhtgh
marts.
Tttsjustlttegetttngreadyforadate.Ftrsttmoresstonsmatter.Youmaybea
veryntceoersonbuttfyouclothesaredtrty,yourftngernatlsftlthyandyouhavebad
breathandBOyouarereductngyourchancesthatanybodywtllnottcehowattracttve
youreallyareunderneath.

3.1.Oroduceaftrstdraftandrestructure.
Ortntoutyourtext,collectallyoursheetsofoaoerandoutthemtnthertght
order.Thtstsyourftrstdraft.Atthtsstageyoudonothavetohaveftntshedftlltngtnall
thesubsecttonsbuttttsbetternottostartthtstastunttlyouhavesomethtngwrtttentn
themajorttyofthem.

17

Onceyouhaveaftrstdrafttttsttmetorelootatthestructuralsteletonyouhave
beenustng.Thetdeaheretstomatesurethateachsecttonandeachsubsecttontstnthe
rtghtolace.Thtstswhenyoucandectdetochangetheoverallsteleton.
Tttsoracttcallytmoosstbletodothtsttndofedtttngonscreenandfewoeoole
havethettndofmtndthatallowsthemtolootatthestructuretnaverttcalotleofsheets
ofoaoer.Atrtctheretstoftndalargeflatsurfaceandtolaythewortouthortzontally.
Youcanthenwaltuoanddownyouressaythtnttngaboutthestructureandmovtngbtts
around.TryustngsctssorsandSellotaoe.
3.2.Chectcontentbyoaragraohandsubsectton.
Thereareuntquesetsoferrorsthatareassoctatedwtthedtttngonacomouter.T
callthenorohansandghosts.Theyaretherestduesleftbehtndafterustngthecutand
oastefuncttons.Orohansaresentences,oroccastonallyagrouoofsentences,thatare
meantngfultnthemselvesbutarenowtnthecomoletelywrongoartofthedocument.
Ghostareoartsofsentencesorsomettmesjuststnglewordsthatgotleftbehtnd.An
tmoortanttyoeofghosttsthetnvtstbleghost.Themostcommonformoftnvtstbleghost
tstheoresenceofadoublesoace,ratherthanastnglesoace,betweenwords.These
doublesoacesdetractfromtheaooearanceofyourwortandshouldbeeltmtnated.
Lucttlythtstseasy.Justgotothereolacefuncttontnthewordorocesstngoactageand
asttttoreolacealldoublesoaceswtthstnglesoaces.Heyoresto,alltnvtstbleghostgone
tnasecond.
Theretsareallygoodtechntqueforgetttngrtdofmoresubstanttalghostsand
orohansthatalsohastheadvantageofsertouslytmorovtngthequalttyofyourwrtttng.
Thtsttmetttswtsetostartataolacewhereyouhadrealoroblemswrtttngbecausethts
tswhereyouwtllhavebeenmosttnvolvedtncutttngandoasttng.Focusonaoaragraoh.
Readttqutctlytoseewhattttstrytngtosay.Onaseoaratesheetwrttedown,tnnote
form,theootntsyouaretrytngtomatetnthatoaragraoh.Returntothedocumentand
seetfeachsentencetsconststentwtththeatmsoftheoaragraoh.Cutoutthosethatare
notnecessaryordon'tftt.Carryonwttheachsuccesstveoaragraohunttlyouhave
comoletedawholesecttonorsubsectton.
Ttnowthtssoundslabortousbuttfyoudottorooerlyttwtllbeworthwhtle.
Yourwrtttngwtllflowandreadtngttwtllbeeasy.Rememberyourmatnjobtstoteeo
theexamtnertnaoostttveframeofmtnd.Tfthereadtngtseasy,becauseeachsentence
tstnthertghtolace,theexamtnerwtllenjoyhts/herwort,wtllassumeyouaretn
comoetecommandofyourmatertalandwtllawardyouHTGHMARTS.
Tfyoucannotfacetheorosoectofchecttngeachoaragraohtnyourwort,you
should,asamtntmum,chectthoseoartswhereyoutnowyoudtdalotofcutttngand
oasttng.

18


3.3.Chectltnts
Whenyouwrttetnsecttonsandsubsecttons,astsrecommendedhere,theone
dtsadvantagetsthatyoucanenduowtthasltghtlydtsjotntedtext.Adtsjotntedtextwtll
leavethereader/examtnerlostasyouforcethemtojumofromtootctotootc.Nowtsthe
ttmetoouttnasentenceortwotoleadthereadergentlyfromonesecttontothenextor
fromonesubsecttontothenext.Theseltntscanettherbeattheendofasecttonor
morecommonlyatthebegtnntngofthenewone.

3.4.Oroofread
Theftrststeoheretstousethefactltttesorovtdedbyyourwordorocesstng
software.Alwaysdoasoellchectandagrammarchectbeforegetttngdowntosertous
oroofreadtng.However,youshouldrememberthatcomoutersaremoronsandcan
occastonallybecomecorruotedmorons.Customdtcttonartesareoarttcularlysusceottble
tocorruotton.Asaresultasoellchectmayacceottncorrectlysoeltwordsor,more
often,wordsthatarecorrectlysoeltbutthatarenottheonesthatyoutntendedtowrtte.
Nothtngwtllreolaceacarefulreadtngofthetext.Thtstswhereyouneedyour
frtends.
NOBODYCANOROOFREADHTSORHEROWNWORT
Theretsanoverwhelmtngtendencytoreadwhatyoumeanttowrtteratherthan
thewordsthatareactuallyontheoagetnfrontofyou.Tttsagoodtdeatousemore
thanoneoroofreader,eachoersonhastheerrorstheyseewellandtheerrorstheydon't
seeatall.
3.5.Oroduceftnaldocument.
Readthetnstructtonstoauthors.Tateeverythtngtheysaysertously.Chectyour
layout.Agoodlayoutshouldnotonlymateyourwortlootattracttvebutttcanalsobe
usedtohelothereadertnowwheretheyaretnthetext.Agatntttsagoodtdeatolay
yourwortouthortzontallyonalargetablewhenyouareexamtntngttslayout.
Aretheoagebreatstnthertghtolaces?Youcanuseoagebreatstohelothe
reader.Don't,forexamole,startanewsecttonatthebottomofthelastoageofa
orevtoussectton.Tfyoustartanewsecttonatthetooofanewoageyouaretelltngthe
readerthatyouhavechangedthetootcunderdtscusston.

19

Aretheheadtngsalltnthecorrecttyoeface,Forexamole,tfyouareustng14ot
boldforsecttonheadtngsand12otttaltcforsubsecttonheadtngs,arealltheheadtngs
tnthtsformat?
Whenyouthtntyouhaveftntshed,doaftnalsoellchuct.
Rememberedtttngtsneverftntshed.Thebestttmeforseetngsertousmtstatestn
yourmanuscrtottsftvemtnutesafteryouhavesubmtttedtt!
OERFECTTONTSANTMOOSSTBLEGOAL

Aooendtx1Webbasesearchtng
NBThtstnformattontsalsoontheDeoartmentalWebstte.Remeberthehardcooy
wtllonlybeuodatedeveryyearbuttheWebverstonwtllbeconttnuallyuodated.
Therearethreebastcstrategtesforwebbasedsearchtng.
1.StartattheCollegeLtbraryhomeoagewww.ltbrary.nutgalway.te/
2.StartattheDeoartmentalWebsttewww.nutgalway.te/mtcrobtology
3.GodtrecttoaoarttcularstteontheWeb

1.TFYOUSTARTATTHELTBRARYHOMEOAGE
YoucanstratghttoSctencedtrect.www.sctencedtrect.com
Covers1,200journalswtthltntsto10,000journaltttles,and,atanyonettme,1.5
mtlltonarttcles.Elsevterjournalsonly.Fulltextavatlablewttharttclesavatlablefrom
400journalsasODFftles.Searchustngsubjectteywords,author,tttleofjournaletc.
Demonstrattonavatlableonltne.
OR
Gotothedtalogboxalefthandstdeofltbraryhomeoageandotctadatabase
fromthere.
OR
CltctonSctencetconontooofthehomeoage.Thtsgtvesyoufurtheroottonsto
cltcton.

20

Boots:ltntgtveslocattonofsctencetextbootsandltntstootheruntverstty
ltbrartes
Journals:ltnttoltstofonltnejournalsavatlabletnltbrary.Thefull
textofsomejournalsareavatlableonltne,butonlytftheltbrary
subscrtbestothem.
Databases:Thtsgtvesyoultntstosomeofthemostcommonlyuseddatabases
thesedatabasescanalsobeaccessedfromtheltbraryhomeoage,from
thedtalogueboxcalledresourcetndexonleftstdeofscreen.Themost
usefuldatabasesavatlablehereare;
WebofSctence
Allowsaccessto5,700journalstn150dtsctoltnes.Uodateddatly.Gtvescttatton
andabstractonly.Doesnotorovtdefulltextofarttcles.Canoerformctted
referencesearchtng.Searchustngsubjectteywords,author,tttleofjournaletc.
Tutortalavatlableonltne,oralternattvelycontactsctenceltbrartanRosteDunne
whoorgantsestratntngsesstonsatthebegtnntngofacademtcterm.
Medltne.Btbltograohtcandabstractcoverageofbtomedtcal,dental,andmedtcal
ltterature.Accessto3,900journals,butabstractavatlableonly.Databasecovers
arttclesfrom1966onwards.

2.TFYOUWANTTOGOVTATHEDEOARTMENTALWEBSTTE
FromtheNUT,GalwayhomeoagecltctonFaculttesandDeoartmentsfoundonthe
navtgattonbaratthelefthandstdeoftheoage.ThencltctonMtcrobtologywhtchwtll
aooearonthematnoartoftheoageundertheDeoartmentsheadtng.TheMtcrobtology
Deot.websttewtllthenaooear.Onthefrontoage,rtghthandstde,cltctontheltntthat
readsMtcrobtologyOnltne.Thtswtlltateyoudtrectlytotheoagewhtchcontatnsltnts
toawtdevartetyofusefulsttes.
3.TFYOUWANTTOGODTRECTLYTOAUSEFULDATABASE
HerearealtstofsomethatarefrequentlyusedbyoostgradstntheDeoartment.
2.1Forftndtngoeerrevtewedoaoers.
SctenceDtrect(usegrouowtdelogtn)
htto://www.sctencedtrect.com/
WebofSctence
21

htto://wos.heanet.te/
Medltne/OubMed
htto://www.ncbt.nlm.nth.gov/OubMedOld/
AmertcanSoctetyforMtcrobtology.AccesstoallASMjournals,matnlyabstracts.
www.journals.asm.org

2.2Databasesformolecularbtology
TheNattonalCenterforBtotechnologyTnformatton(NCBT)homeoage
htto://www.ncbt.nlm.nth.gov/
Cltcttheentrezltnt.NCBThomeoageorovtdesaltteraturesearchengtne,Oubmed,and
theEntrezbrowserwhtchsearchestheGenBantDNAdatabase.Anotherusefultoolts
theBLAST(BastcLocalAltgnmentSearchTool)orogramwhtchcomoaresuser
tnouttedDNAsequencestotheGenBantdatabase.
EurooeanBtotnformattcsTnstttute(EBT)homeoage
htto;//www.ncbt.nlm.nth.goc/
TheEBTtstheEurooeancentreforgenomtcsandbtotnformattcsservtcesandtsbased
tntheUT.Ttslocattonmeanstttsofteneasterandfastertoaccessthanttsamertcan
counteroart,theNCBT(esoectallyafterlunchttme).Tnoarttcular,theToolsand
Databasesltntsarecomorehenstveanduserfrtendly.
TheRtbosomalDatabaseOroject
htto://rdo.cme.msu.edu/html/
ThtstsasoectaltstdatabaseforsmallandlargesubunttrtbosomalRNAanalysts.
AllowsusertooerformonltneDNAsequencestmtlarttysearches,sequencealtgnment
andbastcohylogenettcanalysts
OedrosBtomolecularResearchTools.
htto://www.oubltc.tastate.edu/~oedro/research_tools.html.
Thtswebsttecontatnsltntstoahostofresourcescovertngawtderangeoftootcstn
molecularbtology.Alsocontatnsltntstomanymajorjournalstnbtology.
2.3Reoutableagenctes
UTOubltcHealthLaboratoryServtceThewebsttefortheoubltchealthlaboratory
servtcetntheUT.Facts,news,oubltcattonsandtnformattononvartousnottftable
oathogens.
www.ohls.co.ut

22

CentersforDtseaseControl,US.Greatsttefortnformattonontheeotdemtologyof
dtseases
htto://www.cdc.gov/
USFoodandDrugAdmtntstratton.Greatstteforreoortsondtseaseandfoodsafety
tssues.
htto://www.fda.gov/.
WorldHealthOrgantsatton.Fundoftnformattonaboutcurrentstateofdtseasesand
eotdemtcsallovertheworld.Somedatatsaltttleooltttcallytatnted
htto://www.who.tnt/homeoage/
Bandolter.AUTdatabaseonevtdencebasedmedtctne.Revtewstheevtdencethat
theraotesdoordonot,wort.
htto://www.jr2.ox.ac.ut/bandolter

Aooendtx2Ustngawordorocessor.
Tfyouarenotfluenttntheuseofawordorocesstngoactageyouwtllftndthat
youwanttowrtteyourftrstdraftsbyhand.Tfthtstswhattseastestforyouthenmaybe
tttsthertghtthtngtodo.Wrtttngonscreentslttesendtngaratherlargetextmessage
andmostoeoolemastertheartoftexttngthetrfrtendsquttequtctly.Wrtttngdraftsby
handtsonlyoostoontngthemomentwhenyouhavetocometotermswtththe
comouter.Tnmattngyourdectstonastowhentostartworttngonscreenyoushould
remember;
1.
Tnthebtg,badworldoutstde,everybody,exceottheveryold,comoosesdtrectly
onscreen.Tnemoloymenttttsasttllyouwtllbeexoectedtohave.Yourcolleaguesat
wortwtllseewrtttngftrstbyhandandthencooytngthewordstntoacomouterasrather
ltteustngyourftngerstocounton.
2.
Yourdocumentwtllhavetobeortntedandsoyouwtllhavetogettttntoa
comoutersomettme.
3.
Howeveryouwrtteyourftrstdrafts,tttscertatnthat,beforeyouoroduceyour
ftnalcooy,youwtllhavetogettnvolvedtnedtttngadocument,whtchtstnacomouter.
Edtttngtsantnherentlyftntcty,nttotcttngandfrustrattngacttvtty.Trytngtolearnhow
toedttandhowtouseawordorocesstngoactageatthesamettmewtllnormallyresult

23

tnyourgtvtnguotooearly.Theresultwtllbeoooredtttng,ooorlayoutandlowermarts
thanyoudeservefortheeffortyououttntothereadtngandwrtttng.
4.
Asthedeadltneaooroachesyouwtll,tfyouarenormal,starttooantc.Mtld
oantcmateslearntngverydtfftcult.Fullblow,sertous,thedeadltnetscomtngoantc
mateslearntngtmoosstble.
Myadvtcetoyoutstogetusedtowordorocesstngassoonasoosstbleand
deftnttelybeforetheoressuretsreallyon.Whenyoudostarttowortonscreenthereare
twowordsyouneedtotnow;
BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,
Tfyouwtshtoavotdthesutctdaloantcthecanbeengenderedbythestmoleohrase;
Unrecoverabledtscerror
BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,BACTUO,

Aooendtx3UstngtheNet
TheNetwasdestgnedtodtssemtnatetnformatton.Whenaooroachtnganew
tootctthasobvtousattracttons.Tttsfastandorgantzedbyteywords.Nofrustrattng
searchesforjournalstheltbrarydoesn'thave,orfortssuesthatare'mtsstng'.Nowatttng
forexoenstvetnterltbraryloans.TheNetcan,however,beusedtntwoways.Theftrst
tstousedatabasestosearchtheoubltshedltterature.Thtststotallylegtttmateand
nobodyhasanyoroblemswtthtt.Thesecondtstouseasearchengtnetoftndany
tnformattonthatts'outthere'onaoarttculartootc.Thtstswheretheoroblemsreallylte
andtttsthtsuseoftheNetthatwtllbedtscussedhere.
Asageneralruleexamtnersreactbadly(t.e.gtvelowmarts)tftheythtntaotece
ofwrtttngts"justdownloadedfromtheNet".Thtstsnotjustbecauseexamtnersare
gertatrtcsttcttnthemudswhoarejustnotabletoteeouowtthorogress.Therearereal
reasonsforconcernaboutthequalttyofthetnformattonthattsavatlableontheNet.As
anybodywhohascarrtedoutateywordsearchtnows,themajorttyofthesttesthatturn
uoarerubbtsh.Theoroblemtsthattnamongstthedrossaresomevaluablegems.How
dowedtscrtmtnate?Whataretherulesorgutdeltneshere?
Whatthtsnotewtllattemottodotstooutltnethematnargumentabouttheuse
oftheNet,dtscusssomeofthetheorettcalbactgroundtotheseargumentsandthento

24

suggestsomegutdeltnesfortheuseoftheNetasantnformattonsourcetnsctenttftc
wrtttng.
Beforeweattemottotllustratewheretherulesmtghtlte,however,tttsorobably
valuabletoremtndourselvesofwhatexamtnersareloottngforwhentheymartany
oteceofwrtttng.Whatltesbehtndthatdtsmtsstvecomment"justdownloadedfromthe
Net"?Ofortmarytmoortancetotheexamtnertsthatanywrtttngyousubmtttsmeantto
beyours.Tttsmeanttobetheresultofyourthtnttngaboutmatertalyouhaveread.Ttts
meanttobeacrtttcalevaluattonandsynthestsofmanydtfferentsourcesoftnformatton
(howmanydeoendsontheleveloftheexambuttngeneralthemoresourcesthehtgher
themarts).Atonelevel,thedtsoaragtngcomment"justdownloadedfromtheNet",
refersnottothequalttyofthetnformattonsourcesbuttotheabsenceofcrtttcalthought
tnthewrtttng.
Here,however,wearenotconcernedwtththedegreeofcrtttcalthoughttnyour
wrtttng,whtchhasbeendealtwtthelsewhere,butratherwtththelegtttmacyoftheuse
oftheNetasasourceofthetnformatton.Thetssuessurroundtngthelegtttmacyofthe
use,tnsctenttftcwrtttng,oftnformattoncollectedfromtheNettssttllunresolvedand
unfortunatelynoftrmandabsoluterulescanbegtven.Whatwecandotstooutltnethe
argumentsandsuggestsomegutdeltnes.

Thearguments
Tradtttonallythetssueoflegtttmacyofdatahasbeenestabltshedbyreferenceto
oeerrevtewedjournals.Stmolystatedtheoostttonwasthat,tftnformattonaooearedtn
anarttcletnaoeerrevtewedjournal,ttwas,thereby,constderedlegtttmate.
Tnformattonthatwasdtssemtnatedbyanyothermeans,tftthadnotortgtnallyaooeared
tnaoeerrevtewedjournal,wasconstderedsusoect.
Thosewhodefendthtsreltanceonoeerrevtewedjournalsgenerallyrelyonthree
matnarguments.
1.Anyarttcletnsuchajournalhasbeensubjecttocrtttcalrevtewbyatleastone
andnormallymore,leadtngsctenttststnthefteldbeforebetngacceotedbytheedttorfor
oubltcatton.Thts,tttsargued,matntatnsstandardsandeltmtnatescrao.
2.Thestandardofthesejournalsensuresthatdataareneveroresentedwtthout
thefulldetatlsofthemethodsusedtoobtatnthemandthecondtttonsunderwhtchthey
wereobtatned.
3.Thesejournalsaretntheoubltcdomatnandare,therefore,atleasttntheory,
avatlabletoeverybody.

25

Ontheotherhand,thosewhoadvocatetheuseoftheNetwouldargue;
1.Tradtttonaljournalsareveryslow.Ttcantateayearormoretogetaoaoer
oubltshedthtsway.TncontrasttheNetreoresentstnstantcommuntcattonthatcanbe
raotdlyuodated.
2.Journalsareexoenstveandmanyhaveonlyasmallctrculattonandare
vtrtuallytnaccesstble.Tncontrast,anybodycangetontheNetandaccessamuchwtder
rangeofmatertal.
3.Theorocessofoeerrevtewttselftsdeeolyconservattve.Thesocalled
'leadtngsctenttsts'usethetroostttontooreventoubltcattonofgenutnelyneworradtcal
matertal.
ThosewhoargueagatnsttheuseoftheNetasasourceofsctenttftcdatatendto
argue;
1.TnformattonontheNettseohemeral.Ttcanchangeoverttmeoreven
dtsaooeartotally.Youcannotrelyonttsbetngtheretfyouwtshtochecttt.
2.Thetotalabsenceofanyedttortalcontrol,oeerrevteworanyedttortal
standardsmeansthatmatertalcanbeoubltshedontheNetthatmeetsnoneofthecrtterta
tradtttonallyassoctatedwtthemotrtcalsctence.Datacanfrequentlybeseoaratedfrom
method.Youhavenowayoftnowtngwhetherwhatyouarereadtngtstotalcrao.

Therealoroblemtsthatalltheseargumentsareessenttally
correct.

Theorettcalbactgroundtothearguments
Underlytngtheargumentsoutltnedabovearetssuesofthenatureofthe
sctenttftcenterortse.BoththosewhobastcallyoooosetheuseoftheNetandthosewho
suooortttwouldarguethattheyareoreservtngsctence.Thus,tnordertothtntourway
throughthesetssueswehavetothtntaboutwhatsctencets.Sctence'sclatmtoauthortty
tsbasedontwoofttscentralorooerttes.Tttsemotrtcal,tnthatttsfactsaredertvedfrom
exoertmentalobservattonandtttsobjecttvetnthattheseobservattonsaretndeoendent
oftheootntonsoftheobserver.
Asthefactsthatsctencedealswttharethosethathavebeenestabltshedby
exoertmentalobservattons,thetrvaltdttytsdtrectlydeoendentonthequalttyofthe
exoertmentsusedtoestabltshthem.Fromthtsttfollowsthattnformattoncannotbe
constderedtobeofthehtghestqualttyunlessthemethodsthatwereusedtoobtatnttare
alsooresented.Thtsgtvesustheortmaryrulegoverntngthelegtttmacyofdata;

26

TtdoesnotmattertfthetnformattontsontheNet,onthebactofanenvelooeor
tnareoutablejournal,tfthemethodtsnotgtventhedataarenotalegtttmateoartof
sctence.
AnotheraooroachtothedtscusstonofthelegtttmacycanbebasedonSctence's
clatmtobeanobjecttvebodyofwtsdom.Thtstsmorecontroverstalthanttsclatmtobe
emotrtcal.ManyanalystswouldnowclatmthatSctencetsasoctologtcalandcultural
acttvttyandthatthemannertnwhtchttaooroachestheworldtsnotvaluefree.Thus,
sctence,totheextentthatttdertvesttsvaluesfromthesoctetyttooeratestn,cannotbe
trulyobjecttve.Others,ustnghtstortcalanalystshavealsoarguedthatSctencetsnot
objecttvebuttsactuallydeeolyconservattveandthatatmostttmestttsremartably
closedtonewtdeas.Theconsequenceofthedeveloomentofthesetdeaststhatwehave
nowlessconftdencetnjudgtngwhattslegtttmateSctenceandwhattsnot.Oeerrevtew,
whtchmanyclatmtsthemechantsmbywhtchtllegtttmatetdeasareeltmtnatedfrom
Sctence,canalsobeseenasamechantsmthatoromotesaconservattveSctence,onethat
eltmtnatescreattvtty.TheNettntroducedawaybywhtchtnformattoncanbeoubltshed
anddtssemtnatedwhtchbyoassesoeerrevtew.Thus,ttreoresentsamedtumthrough
whtchnewcreattve,ortgtnalandheterodoxtdeascanbefreedfromtheoooresstonof
theconventtonalthoughtofthesctenttftcestabltshment.Ofcourse,ttequallyreoresent
amedtumthroughwhtcheverylunattcandobsesstvecandtssemtnatethetrravtngs.
So,tfwearetousetheNetasasourceoftnformatton,thequesttontshowcan
wetellthedtfferencebetweencreattvenoveltyandarrantrubbtsh.Tttsnoteasy,one
oerson'screattvegentustsanotherone'sravtnglunattc.Tnsomecases,ttmewtllsortthe
tssueoutbutforthemomentweare,tnevttably,tntheareaofvaluejudgments.

SowhatarethegutdeltnesforustngtheNet.
Sothebactgroundtsheavyduty,theorettcalstuff.Majorohtlosoohtcalolayers
arewrestltngwtththesefundamentaltssues.Wearenotgotngtosolvethemhere.
Lucttlywedon'thaveto.WhatwehavetodectdetstowhatextentyoucanusetheNet?
andwhatfor?Asthtstnvolvesvaluejudgments,thetssuebecomes,whosevalues.
Yoursoryourexamtner.
Whatfollowstsareasonablesynoostsoftheconventtonaloostttonsthatwtllbe
tatenbymostexamtners;
Totallyacceotableuses
1.TheuseoftheNettoaccessarttclestnoeerrevtewedjournalsonltnets
clearlytotallyacceotable.Tnthtscaseyoubtbltograohtccttattonshouldbetothe
journalandnottothewebstte.

27

2.Wehavetoacceotthatwtthresoecttodataofcertatntyoestheonlysourcets
theNet.Thtsts,forexamoleoarttcularlytrueofdatabasesassoctatedwtthDNA
sequenctng.Tnthtsuse,asthecontentsofthesesttesareconttnuallychangtng,ttts
tmoortanttorecordthedayyouaccessedthem.
Acceotableuses
Theacceotabtltty,fortheouroosesofsctenttftcwrtttng,ofmatertalontheNetts
oftenrelatedtothereoutattonoftheagencyoroersonthatoroducedtt.Theretsaclear
dtfferenceforexamole,betweenctttngareoortfromantnternattonal,tnter
governmentalagencylttetheWorldHealthOrgantzattonandctttngonefromthe
CloonbooHealthActtonGrouo.Thedtscrtmtnattonbetweendtfferentortgtnsofweb
sttests,ofcourse,anothervaluejudgment.Noabsolutegutdeltnescanbeorovtdedbut
tfyouaretndoubttalttoyoursuoervtsor.
Wearenotargutngherethatthematertalfromonesourcetscorrectandthat
fromasource,thatmtghtbeconstderedlessauthorttattve,tsnecessartlywrong.What
weareargutngabouttshowanexamtnerwtllreacttotheuseofthesetnformatton
sources.Tntheendtttstheexamtner'svaluejudgmentsthatwtlltnfluencethemarttng
ofyourwort.Tngeneralttwtllbesafer,tfsltghtlymoreconservattve,toltmttyourself
tomatertalolacedontheNetbyagenctesthatreoresentsomerecogntzedauthortty.
Onewaytoachtevethtststoadootasurftngstrategythatfocusesonagenctes
ratherthanonteywords.Entertngteywordstntoasearchengtnetsaraotdwayof
generattngalargenumberofstteaddressesmanyofwhtchwtllbeetthertrrelevantorof
questtonableauthortty.Tf,ontheotherhand,yougoftrsttothesttesofreoutable
agenctes,lttetheFDA,theCentreforDtseaseControlortheWorldHealthOrgantzatton
andthensearchforthetootcyouaretnterestedtn,youwtllatleastbeaccesstngsttes
thattheexamtnerwtll,tnallorobabtltty,behaooywtth.
Alargenumberofnattonalandtnternattonalagenctesoubltshdocumentsonthe
Net.Somettmes,butnotalways,thesearestmultaneouslyoubltshedtnhardcooy.These
documentsfrequentlycontatnvaluabletnformattonandnobodywouldtoorohtbttthetr
cttattonjustbecausetheywereaccessedvtatheNet.(Note;Tfyouaccessedthese
reoortsvtatheNetthenyourcttattonshouldbetothewebstte,eventfyouarealso
awarethattheretsalsoalegtttmatehardcooyreference.)Thesereoortscanbe
constderedasfalltngtntothreecategortes.
1.Thosewherethedatatsassoctatedwtthfulldetatlsofthemethodsemoloyed
togeneratethedata.Thesecanbetreatedasortmarysourcesofdata.
2.Thosewherethemethodsarenotgtvenbutreferencetotheortmarysources
areorovtded.Thesecanbetreatedassecondarysources.

28

3.Thosewherenomethodsorreferencestoortmarysourcesareorovtded.These
canonlybetreatedasevtdenceoftheattttudesorootntonsoftheagenctesthemselves.
Whenyouareustngthesereoortstnthtswayyoushouldmatethtsexoltctttnyourtext.
Remember,theretsnothtngtntrtnstcallywrongaboutustngsomesecondary
sourcesoroccastonallyreoorttngtheootntonsofreoutableagenctesbuttfanexamtner
thtntsyourwrtttngreltestooheavtlyonsecondarysources,ttwtllnotgatnhtghmarts.
Totallyunacceotableuses
Netsttesthatsellessaysarenowtnextstence.Ttts,however,totally
unacceotabletodownloadawholeessayorevenoartsofone,fromtheNetandthento
oresentttasyourownwort.
ThtstsCHEATTNGandwtllbevtewedverysertously.Tftttsorovedthatan
essaywas,tnwholeortnoart,downloadedfromaNetstte,thecandtdatesubmttttng
thatessaywtllbereoortedtotheUntversttyDtsctoltnaryCommtttee.Theconsequences
ofthtswtllbesevere.Tnthtscontextyoushouldbeawareofthreethtngs;

t)TnresoonsetotheaooearanceofNetsttesthatsellessays,softwarehasbeen
develooedthatallowsanexamtnertoenteranessayoroartsofanessaytntohts
comouterandtosearchtheNetfortheortgtnalsource.
tt)Thevastmajorttyofessayshavebeenoroducedfordownloadtngby
Amertcansecondaryschoolstudents.Theyaretherefore,wrtttentnAmertcanandnotto
averyhtghacademtcstandard.
ttt)Thosemarttngessayshavemanyyearsexoertence.Theytnowthestandards
andthestyletoexoect.Theyareverylttelytodetect'downloaded'essaysfromthetr
styleanduseoflanguage.

29