EE, in english A1

[dexter]

I am thinking of doing an EE in english A1, about the significance of the sun in two books but i was wondering since its 2 books how many should be placed in the bibliography? if i were to use two is that enough? Also what is the backbone od the english EE meaning what must be there or wat advice to make it a strong one?

[Abu]

The bibliography is a collection of sources that you have used for your essay. You're bound to use more than two, but if you do stop at 2, then that's fine.

[Hyperbole]

You should try to find some secondary sources saying relevant things, because the assessment criterion for the sources states that you should have "an imaginative range of sources". So using only the material you're working with isn't that good; try to find somebody else who has explored a similar aspect - or at all said anything about it - and quote them.

And ALL sources you use must be put in the bibliography, no matter how much or little you use them.

As for the backbone: Literature. I think your topic is very good, and it probably won't be a problem, but my topic was a bit borderline at first and up until my second-to-last draft the essay was almost more sociology-ish than literature oriented. So as long as you make sure that everything is focusing on literature, it should be fine.

That said, do look at the assessment criteria. The content of your essay doesn't actually matter -that- much; what is really important is that you do all the small things like referencing, writing an abstract, conclusion and introduction, and so on, correctly. If you lose one point on each criterion because you've been a bit sloppy and not paying attention, you'll not do well no matter how good the actual text part of the essay is.

[dexter]

Thank you, I will do so, but i was wondering I have many cuzins studying english lit and they got me all mixed up between the bibliography and foot notes i know where they are loacted but what is put in foot notes and wat in bibliography? I mean if there is a quote do I place it in footnote and bibliography? And i was wondering i am going to do theOutsider (stranger) by albert camus and in the end of my book he has a small "commentary" he wrote which is reallly what i need how do i document that? it wasnt paged but it was in the last few pages in the book ? Oh and are 4 enuf? ( 2 being the two books ) and two others comments crtics/authors said??

[Vvi]

4 books are probably enough, I had around 6 plus websites. English A1 EE's have far less citations than other EE's, like History and Psychology for example, because most of it is your own analysis.

Footnotes are those little numbers at the end of sentences (in the case of Chicago Manual of Style), where the number then shows up at the bottom of the page. Footnotes can also be in parentheses/bracket form for the other styles. Footnotes are used to quote people directly, or to reference any information/arguments that you didn't come up with yourself.

A bibliography is a complete list of all the sources you used in your essay, even if you didn't footnote them/wrote from them. For example, if you read a book that gives you background information on the topic but you don't quote it, it should be in your bibliography.

Footnotes flow within your essay and don't count towards word count. Neither does bibliography. The bibliography is at the very end, in a list form. There is a difference between the way in which the bibliography and footnotes are written; the position of the author's name, the date and use of brackets changes.

E.g. Footnote: 1. Wendy Doniger, Splitting the Difference (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), 65.

Bibliography: Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

65 is the page number of the book. You will notice that page numbers are not required for the bibliography, but that they are for the footnotes.

It is up to you to decide what style of citations you want to use. Ask your school if they have any preference, ours wants everyone to use the Chicago Manual. Look at http://www.ibsurvival.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4724 , all the styles are written there and there are also links to citation generators that do the work for you.

For your question about the commentary section of the book, Chicago Manual does it like this:

Preface, foreword, introduction, or similar part of a book

Footnote:

17. James Rieger, introduction to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), xx–xxi.

Bibliography:

Rieger, James. Introduction to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, xi–xxxvii. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.

I'm sure other styles have similar ways to quote it.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Vvi

[Hyperbole]

I would advise you to try to find some more secondary sources; it does look fancier that way. I had four books originally myself (well, technically five volumes, but one of the novels I used was huuuge and was only to be found in a two-part format), but my supervisor strongly encouraged me to find more. It isn't really "imaginative" with just four, eh?

A bibliography is a complete list of all the sources you used in your essay, even if you didn't footnote them/wrote from them. For example, if you read a book that gives you background information on the topic but you don't quote it, it should be in your bibliography.

Actually, the academic essay writing manual we got to borrow from school says that you are not supposed to include non-referenced works in the bibliography. That is, if it isn't in a footnote as well, it shouldn't be in the bibliography. That is what the Acknowledgements are for. That said, everything that feels important enough to be listed in the bibliography probably has something in it that you could use expressly in your essay, thus making a reason for it to be in a footnote.

Also, you should have the titles of works in a different font style from the rest of the text, especially in footnotes and bibliographies. I always use italics for titles, no matter whether it is in the essay itself or in a footnote (etc.), but you may also use underlining. It makes it obvious what is the title and what is additional information.

[dexter]

I am doing the significants of the sun in the Outsider ( as in it forwards the plot killing the arab, and also portrays his existensialist life) and it wont make 4000 words so I was wondering anotehr book or two that are reallllly good to be used as in the sun is ussed alot?> so that i can read them and use them so then i can "reach" 4000 words? So any books in mind or poems as well and plz dont say men in the sun!

[deissi]

I am doing the significants of the sun in the Outsider ( as in it forwards the plot killing the arab, and also portrays his existensialist life) and it wont make 4000 words so I was wondering anotehr book or two that are reallllly good to be used as in the sun is ussed alot?> so that i can read them and use them so then i can "reach" 4000 words? So any books in mind or poems as well and plz dont say men in the sun!

Hah, I did my WLA2 on the EXACT same topic. Just so you know, it's dangerous to call Meursault's life existentialist. Camus himself said that he was not existentialist, so it might be something that the examiner won't like.

(Source: Solomon, Robert C. (2001). From Rationalism to Existentialism: The Existentialists and Their Nineteenth Century Backgrounds. Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 245.)

Consider also the use of the sun as a literary device, it'll give you some extra words.

Bear in mind that in A1, you're not allowed to compare two books, so if it's Eng A1 you're writing in, you'll have to focus on The Outsider only.

[Hyperbole]

Bear in mind that in A1, you're not allowed to compare two books, so if it's Eng A1 you're writing in, you'll have to focus on The Outsider only.

No. Nonono. That's not true! I've never heard of anyone at my school writing an EE in an A1 language without using two or more books, and nobody has failed because of it. Also, I did my own EE in Swedish A1 comparing (an aspect of) two books. Also. The examples in the EE guide for language A1 essays that we were given a copy of almost all covered more than one work.

I'm very, very sure that it's not true that you cannot compare two books. Positive.

[dexter]

Hah, I did my WLA2 on the EXACT same topic. Just so you know, it's dangerous to call Meursault's life existentialist. Camus himself said that he was not existentialist, so it might be something that the examiner won't like.

(Source: Solomon, Robert C. (2001). From Rationalism to Existentialism: The Existentialists and Their Nineteenth Century Backgrounds. Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 245.)

Consider also the use of the sun as a literary device, it'll give you some extra words.

Bear in mind that in A1, you're not allowed to compare two books, so if it's Eng A1 you're writing in, you'll have to focus on The Outsider only.

That is interesting 1st of all maybe you can help me about that topic? caz i really enjoyed the book and really was intrested in his life and the effect of the sun ,but he isnt existentialist? care to explain more also im doing the EE so i cant compare two books? Are you sure? I think you can????maybe you assumed i was talking about the world lit? Again, any disscusions or help from your behalf would be good about that topic?