Writing an essay;

A guide for the perplexed

Pete Smith
Asetofnotesforthosestartingtowriteessays,reports
ortheses.
1

Let'sfaceit;itsterrifying.
That'sanormalreaction.Weallfeelit.Feelingeitherfrightenedor
overwhelmedisastandardreactionwhenfacedwithanewtaskandformostyoung
scientists,producinganextendedpieceofwritingisacompletelynewtask.
Welcometotheworldofavoidancebehaviours.Asthedeadlineapproachesyou
willbesurprisedtofindhowattractivewatchingavideo,doingthewashingup,
cleaningyourshoesorinfactanythingotherthanactualwritingcanbecome.Thisisto
saynothingaboutyourmobileorthepub.
Don'tworry;avoidancebehaviourisnormal.Wealldoit(Ihavejusttakena
breaktorecordtheserialnumberofmyprinter!).Avoidingactualwritingispartofthe
writingprocess.Soyouhavetoacceptit.LaterIwillcomebacktothisissueandargue
that'notwriting'isacriticallyimportantactivitythatistotallynecessarytotheprocess
ofproducingadocument.

Thesenotesaredesignedtohelpyouthroughtherockyroadtotheproductionof
essays,reportsortheintroductionanddiscussionsectionsintheses.
Theyattempttomeetthreebigproblems.
TheyaredesignedtohelpyougetHIGHERMARKS
Inordertodothistheywillstartwithananalysisofwhatexaminers
actuallyawardmarksfor.
ThesecondisthattheyshouldmakewritingEASIER
Theydividethejobofwritingintotenseparateactivities
andprovideinstructionsonhowtodoeachtask.
TheyaredesignedtohelpyouavoidthePERFECTIONTRAP

Theysuggestyoushouldalwaysrememberthatyouarewritingdrafts
youintendtoimprove
.

CONTENTS

Perfection
...............................................................................................................................
3
Whattheexaminerwillbemarking.
...............................................................................................................................
4
Sequenceoftasksinwritinganessay
...............................................................................................................................
7
Expansionoftasks
...............................................................................................................................
8
GROUP1.Gettingstarted
...................................................................................................................
8
1.1.Generalreading
.......................................................................................................
8
1.2.Makebibliographyentries
.......................................................................................................
10
1.3.Makeastructuralskeleton.
.......................................................................................................
10
GROUP2Theactualwriting
...................................................................................................................
13

2.1Goaldirectedreading
.......................................................................................................
13
2.2Fleshouttheskeleton
.......................................................................................................
13
GROUP3.Editing
...................................................................................................................
15
3.1.Produceafirstdraftandrestructure.
.......................................................................................................
15
3.2.Checkcontentbyparagraphandsubsection.
.......................................................................................................
16
3.3.Checklinks
.......................................................................................................
16
3.4.Proofread
.......................................................................................................
16
3.5.Producefinaldocument.
.......................................................................................................
17
Appendix1Webbasedsearching18
Appendix2Usingawordprocessor21
Appendix3UsingtheNet
...............................................................................................................................
22
4

Perfection
Perfectionisyourbiggestenemy.
Itisacunningfoethattrapsyouwithanumberofapparentlyreasonablephrases.

"I must do my best. The best is perfection.

What I am writing is not perfect.
So I won't write anything."
"I can't write anything perfect until I am ready.
I'm not ready yet.
So I won't write anything."
Thesenotesaredesignedtohelpyouovercomethesegumptiontrapsbut,paradoxically,
theymayalsopresentyouwithachancetodevelopanewtrap.
" These notes tell me how to write, if I follow them I will produce
perfection.
But, the notes are overwhelming, they outline too much work,
following them would be impossible.
As I can't follow them, I won't be able to produce perfection.
So I won't write anything."
Don'tworry,nobodyhaseverwrittenanythingbydoingeverythingthatis
outlinedhere.Thenotesprovideguidestoprogressnotrulesforperfection.Youdon't
havetofollowthemslavishly,nobodycould.Readthem,thinkaboutthem,butuse
themonlyiftheyseemtomakesensetoyou.
Justincaseyoumissit,let'srepeatthecentralthemeoftheapproachtakenin
thesenotes.Alwaysbeawarethatyouarewritingdrafts.Draftsaren'tperfect;theyare
thingswrittentobeimproved,later.Theonlytimeyoustopworkingondraftsisafter
thefinalstageofediting.Whattheguidelinesrecommendis;
"Write drafts, get something, anything down. You can improve it later
but you can't improve something that doesn't exist."

Whattheexaminerwillbemarking.
Examinersarepeople.Thisistrue,really.Eachexaminerhastheirownpet
obsessions,theirparticulardemandsandtheirparticularareasofknowledge.Always
respectthatwhenyouprepareworkforaparticularexaminer.Thissection,however,
outlinessevengeneralcriteriathatallexaminerswillusetoevaluateyourwork.
KnowingthesecriteriawillhelpyouproduceworkthatwillgetMARKS.
Presentation
Presentationisimportanttotheexamineratboththeconsciousandunconscious
levels.Attheconsciousleveltheexaminerwillbelookingattheextenttowhichyou
havepresentedyourworkintheformatthatwasrequested.Asinallexaminationsitis,
therefore,essentialthat,beforeyoustart,youreadwhateverinstructionsaregiven.
Differentexaminershavetheirpethates.Somefocusonspelling,someonpunctuation,
someonreferencingandbibliographies.Asyouoftendonotknowthenatureofthe
examinersobsessionsinadvance,theonlythingyoucandoispayattentiontothemall.
Allexaminersareunconsciouslyaffectedbytheappearanceofapieceofwork.
Makethefinalproductlookgood.Itreallyisworthmarks.
Quantity
Quantityreferstothelengthofthewrittenmaterialrelativetotheamount
requested.Youshouldalwaysfindouthowlonganypieceofworkisexpectedtobe.
Youhavearighttothisinformation.Iftheessayistooshorttheexaminerwillassume
thatyouhaven'ttriedoryoudon'thavetheability.Writingtoomuchcanalsoloseyou
marks.Theexaminersmayhavesetashortwordlimitinordertoforceyoutothinkand
towriteconcisely.Writingconciselyisaskillthatrequiresyoutoworkoutexactly
whatyouthinkarenecessaryandtoeliminatematerialthatisnotreallyrelevant.Itsnot
aseasyasitsounds.AsOscarWildesaid"I'msorryforthelengthofthisletterbutI
didn'thavetimetowriteashorterone."
Relevance
Examinerswillcheckwhethereverythingyouhavewrittenisrelevanttoyour
topic.Don'tramble.Theywillalsolooktoseeifyouhaveleftoutanythingthatthey
thinkisrelevant.Afurtheraspectofrelevanceisbalance.Balancereferstotherelative
amountoftimeyouspendoneachaspectofthetopic.
Ifyouareawarethatthereisanaspectthatyoucouldhavecoveredbutdidn't,or
onethatyouspentlesstimeonthanitmightappeartohavedeserved,alwaysgivean

explanation,intheessay,whyyoumadeyourdecision.Theexaminermaynotagree
withyourdecisionbutatleasthe/shewillknowthatyourwereawareoftheissue.
Coherence
Thisisoneofthecentralthingsanexaminerisinfluencedby.Isthereanarrative
flow?isthereastructure?Isitclearwhyonesectionfollowsanother?Cansomebody
readthepiecewithoutgettinglost?
Bigrule;anexaminershouldnevergetlost.
Iftheygetlost,iftheyhavetokeepturningbacktoseewheretheyareorwhere
theyaregoing,theywillgetpissedoffandtheyassumeitisyourfault.Alwayshavea
structure,tellthereaderwhatisgoingon,wheretheyareinthatstructure.Alwaysmake
surethatyouprovidelinksfromonesectiontoanother.Payrealattentiontoheadings
andtitles.Ifexaminersfindagoodstructure,theywillalwaysassumethatthisimplies
thatyouareincommandofyourmaterialthatyouunderstandit.Thisiswhattheywill
reward.
Language
Intermsofscientificwriting,languagecanrefertoeithergeneralorspecific
aspectsofthelanguageused.Here,generalreferstotheprinciplesofEnglishsyntax
andspecificreferstotheparticularjargonassociatedwithascientificarea.An
examinerwillbeinfluencedbytheextenttowhichapieceofwritingadherestothe
commonstandardsofboththeseaspectsoflanguage.Boththeseaspectsoflanguage
shouldbeaddressedattheeditingstage.
Creativity
Thisistheoneallexaminerslovetosee.Evidencethattheyarelookingata
mindthatisworkingcreativelygivesanexaminerpleasure,andgivinganexaminer
pleasuremeanmoremarks,alotmoremarks.Alittlebitofcreativitycanevenearnyou
forgivenessformanyotherdeficienciesinyourwork.
Remember,markingisalwaysboringandoftendepressingfortheexaminer.The
sightofapileofessaysorevenofabigfatthesisdoesnotbringinstantthoughtsofjoy.
Comingacrossevidenceofalittleoriginalityislikethesunshiningonacloudyday.
Letmetellyouevidenceofcreativityisrare.Itisworthstrivingfor.
Depth
Depthhererefersbothtothetypeofreferencesyouhaveconsultedandthe
detailoftheargumentsyouhavedescribed.Thedepthofanyessaymustbeappropriate

tothelevelofthecourseforwhichthewrittenmaterialhasbeenrequired.Ifindoubt,
ASK.Referencematerialisdividedupintoprimaryandsecondarysources.
Primarysourcesaretheactualpeerreviewedpapersinwhichoriginalresults,
togetherwiththemethodsusedtoobtainthem,arepresentedanddiscussed
Secondarysourcesarereviewsorbookwhichsummariesanddiscussthe
materialpresentedinprimarysources.
Examinerswillalwaysbepositivelyinfluencedbytheuseofuptodate,primary
references.However,whetheryouuseprimaryorsecondarysourcesoftendependson
howimportanttheparticularargumentyouarepresentingistotheoverallstructureof
youressay.Themoreimportanttheissuethemoreyoushouldbeusingprimary
sources.Foradvancedlevelworkyouareexpectedtohaveusedasignificantproportion
ofprimarysources.(SeeAPPENDIX1WebbasedsearchesandAPPENDIX3Usingthe
Net)
Originality
Althoughyouareexpectedtoderivemostofthefactsandmanyoftheopinions
youwriteaboutfromthepublishedliterature,itwillbeexpectedthatalltheactual
wordsyouusewillbeyourown.Thismayseemalittleweirdatfirst.Ifasenior
researcherhasalreadydescribedsomethingwell,whydoyouhavetoredescribeitin
yourownwords,whynotusetheirs?However,itisaverystrongruleofacademic
writingthatitisnotacceptabletocopychunksoutofotherpeople'swork.Thereare
rulesforquotingotherpeople'swork.Ifyouincludemorethanasinglephraseof
anotherauthor'swork,youmustacknowledgethesourceandputthewordsyouhave
borrowedininvertedcommas.Ifyoudon'tobeytheserules,YOUWILLLOSE
MARKS.
Copyingotherpeopleswork,eithertheirwordsorideas,without
acknowledgementiscalledplagiarismbuttheexaminermightcallitcheating.Don'tbe
temptedtotryit.Remember,eveniftheexaminerhasnotreadthepapertheywill,
almostcertainly,recognizeachangeinstyleanduseoflanguage.
Appropriatereferencing
Oneofthemajorrequirementsofacademicwritingisthatyouareexpectedto
givethesourceofallthefactsyouincorporateinyouressay,reportorthesis.Theidea
hereisthatthereadershouldbegiventheinformationthatwouldallowthemtocheck
theoriginals.Ifyouwanttogetthehangofthis,justlookatthereferencinginanywell
writtenpublishedpaper.

Occasionally,inundergraduateessays,thestrictrulesofreferencingmightbe
relaxed.However,unlessthisisspecificallypartoftheinstructionsgiventoyou,you
willbeexpectedtoobeytherules.
Remember,mostexaminerswilldeductmarksfromanessayifitispoorly
referenced
.

Sequenceoftasksinwritinganessay
GROUP1.GETTINGSTARTED
1.1.Generalreading

Thisisthefirststep.Itiswhereyoucollectandquicklyscanthepapers,reviewsand
booksyouwillbeusingassourcematerial.
1.2.Makebibliographyentries(infinalform)
Makeacompletebibliographicentryforeverysourceyoureadwhenyoufirstreadit.
1.3.Makeastructuralskeleton
Produceaprovisionalstructuraloutlineoftheessaytothelevelofsectionsandsub
sections.
GROUP2THEACTUALWRITING
2.1.Detailed,goaldirectedreading
Thisiswhenyougobacktoyoursourceswithspecificquestionsthathavebeen
generatedbyyourstructure.
2.2.Fleshouttheskeleton
Thisiswhatmostpeoplecallwriting.Fillintheskeletonsubsectionbysubsection,
alwaysstartingattheoneyoufindeasiest.Remember,whatyouarewritinginthistask
isadrafttextnotafinalpolisheddocument.
GROUP3.EDITING
3.1.Produceafirstdraftandrestructure.
Putallthebitsyouhavewrittentogetherintherightorderandrethinkthestructural
skeleton
3.2.Checkcontentbyparagraphandsubsection.
Gothroughtheworkcheckingthateachpartsayswhatitissupposedtosayanddoesn't
containanythingunnecessary.
3.3.Checklinks

Checkthatyouhavesentencesorshortparagraphsthatexplicitlylinkthesectionsor
subsectionintoawhole.
3.4.Proofread
Eliminateerrorsinspelling,syntaxandtyping.Alsodoafinalcheckformeaningand
coherence.
3.5.Producefinaldocument.
Checkfinallayoutagainstinstruction,andbeautify.

Expansionoftasks
GROUP1.GETTINGSTARTED
1.1.Generalreading
Thefirststepinwritingisreading.Therearevariousstylesofreadinganditis
importanttounderstand,atanytime,whyyouarereading.Atdifferentstagesofthe
writingprocessyouwillbereadingfordifferentreasons.Inproducinganyseriouspiece
ofworkyoumightaswellacceptthatyouwillreadthesamearticlesmorethanonce,
eachtimeforadifferentreason.
Scientificwritingisdense.Itisnotpossibletomakeallthenotes
youwillneedatonereading
Itmightappeardiligentwhenyoufirstreadapapertotakedetailednotesbut
experiencesuggeststhatitisnormallyawasteoftime.Atthisstageyourarelyknow
whatdetailsyouwillwantfromthatpaperandoften,ifyoudotakedetailednotes,you
willfindthat,intheend,theycontainmuchthatyouwillneveruseandlittleofwhat
youwillultimatelyreturntothatpapertofind.
Youcannottakegooddetailednotesuntilyouhaveworkedoutwhatquestionyouare
asking.
Thefirstreadingisprimarilyaimedatdevelopinganunderstandingoftheshape
oftheterritoryinfrontofyou.Whoaretheplayersandwhataretheyonabout?An
importantoutcomeofafirstreadingisalistofmorepaperstoread.Onafirstreading
anynoteyoutakeshouldjustdescribethegeneralpropertiesofthatmaterial.
Whattoread

10

Ingeneralreadingyoualmostneverreadapaperfrombeginningtoend.Atthis
stage,themostimportantpartofapapertoreadistheAbstract,afterallthisiswhatthe
authorthinksthepaperisallabout.Thereferencesinthebibliographyarealso
important.Theymayindicatewhatyoushouldreadnext.Atthislevel,thesetwomight
beallyoureadoryoumightalsohavealookattheIntroductionaswell.Introductions
sometimesprovideshortandconcisesummariesofthefield.
Howtofindstufftoread
Ifyoucanfindagood,detailedandrecentreviewofthefield,Godlovesyou.It
willbeawonderfulsourceof,andintroductionto,theprimaryreferencesyouwillneed
butbecarefulnottocopythisreviewintoyourownworkItisnearlycertainthatthe
examinerknowsthereviewaswell.

Wanderingupanddownthelibraryshelvesisapoorwaytolookfor
information.Nearlycertainlyyouwillbeusingelectronicdatabasestosearchthe
availableliterature.AguidetotheuseoftheseisgiveninAppendix1.

Whentostop
Whenhaveyoureadenoughorcollectedenoughpapersorreprints?Thesimple
answerisnever.Thereneverwillbeanystageinyourlifewhenyouhavereadallthat
youcould.Whatyouneedhereisafunctionallimit.Twoguidescanbeoffered.The
firstiswhenyoufindthatyourecognizethemajorityoftheauthorscitedinthe
bibliographyofapaperyoustarttoread.Atthispointyoucanbereasonablycertain
thatyouhavegotsomewhere.Thesecondiswhenyouyourselfarebeginningtoget'a
feel'forthetopic.
1.2.Makebibliographyentries
Themostimportantnoteyoucantakeduringafirstreadingisthecorrect
bibliographicdetailsofthepaperyouarereading.Ifyouareworkingonacomputeryou
should,atthefirstreadingofallpapers,enterthefullaccurateandappropriate
bibliographicaldetailseitherintoatextdocumentorintoabibliographicsoftware
packagelikeEndnote.
Ifyouarewritingbyhand,makeacardfileandenterallthecorrectdetailsof
everythingyouread.Keepeachcitationonanindividualcard.Itwillmakesortingthem
easier.
THISISIMPORTANT.

11

Theamountoftimeandfrustrationthatyouwillexperienceintryingtofinda
referenceduringthefinaleditingofatextisenormous.Havingtospend,asadeadline
approaches,thebestpartofadaytryingtofindthenumberofpagesinabookyouread
inalibrarytwomonthsago,isarapidwaytopanicandmadness.
Thedetailsofthestylerequiredinanybibliographyarenormallyavailable
beforeyoustarttowrite.Massivetimewillbespentifyourecordthedetailsinthis
formatcorrectlythefirsttime.Treatthenitpicking,pedanticdetailsthataregivenin
theinstructionsveryseriously.Aretheyearssupposedtobeinbrackets?Arethey
followedbyafullstop?Timetakentogetthisrightatthebeginningistimewellspent.

1.3.Makeastructuralskeleton.
Thisisoneofthemostimportantpartsoftheprocessofwriting.
Nearlyallscientificwritingcanbebrokendownintoanumberofsequential
sections.Itispossibly,initsuseofclearlydelineatedsections,thatscientificessays
differfromthoseessaysyourEnglishteacherstriedtogetyoutowrite.Withanything
thatisbetween550pageslongtherewillbealimitednumberofthesesections.
Somewherebetween4and6wouldbecommon.
Whatisaskeleton?
Askeletonissimplythelayoutofthemajorsectionsofyourworkandthe
divisionsofthesesectionsintotheirsubsections.
Figure1givesanexampleofpartofastructuralskeleton.Havealookatit.The
majorsectionsused(Step1)inthisexampledonot,ofcourse,representtheonly
skeletonthatcouldbearrivedat.Itmaynotevenbethefinalstructurethatwillbeused.
BUTITISASTART
Figure1

Exampleofaskeleton

Inanessayonvaccinationagainstinfluenzathefollowingprovisional
structuralskeletonmightbeadopted.
Step1
1.Thenatureofinfluenza
2.Thenatureofthevirus
3.Vaccinationstrategiesandlaboratorytrials
4.Vaccinationsinthefieldandtheirconsequences.
5.Possiblefuturestrategies.

12

Step2
Startsubdividingeachsection,forexample,section1mightcontainsub
sections
on;
1.1Thehistoryofthedisease
1.2Thesymptomsofthedisease,
1.3Thetransmissionofthedisease
1.4Susceptibilitybyage,geneticsandincome.

Onceyouhavethemajorsectionsofaprovisionalskeleton(Step1)itisagood
ideatotakeacleansheetofpaperforeachsection.Writethesectionheadingonthetop
ofeachsheetandpinthemupinfrontofyouwhereveryouareworking.Nowyoucan
proceedtobreakdowneachmajorsectionintoitscomponentsections(Step2).Now
writethesubsectionsonyourmastersheets.
THISISYOURPROVISIONALSKELETON
Whymakeaskeleton?
Skeletonsandtheirmastersheetshavethreegreatadvantages.
1.Theyguaranteethatanythingyouwritewillhaveastructuralnarrative,itwill
flowanditwillbeeasytoread.
Ifthereaderfindsyourworkeasytoread,theywilltendtoassumethatyouare
intelligentandunderstandthematerialyouarewritingabout.
2.Theyhelpyougetroundtheproblemofthefirstsentence.Onceyouhavethe
skeletonyoucanstartanywhere!
ALWAYSSTARTWITHTHEBITYOUFINDEASIEST
3.Onceyouhaveaskeletonyoucanplanyourwork.Youwillalwaysknow
whereyouareandyouwillknowwherewhatyouarewritingisgoingtobeinthefinal
document.Itwillalsohelpyouseethat,despiteallappearances,youareactually
makingprogress.

13

4.Astructuralskeletonwillhelpyouavoidwritingoneoftheworsttypesof
essayorreview.Thesearetheoneswheretheauthorappearstohavemadeapileofthe
papershe/shewilluse.Theauthorstartsbytakingapaper,discussesitscontents,then
proceedstothenextpaper,discussesthatandthenproceedsadinfinitum.Notonlydoes
thisapproachtowritingproduceaveryboringproduct,itwillalsofailtoprovidean
examinerwithanyevidencethatyouunderstoodthematerialyouwerereading.

Howtogetaskeleton
Havefaith.Youareahumanbeingandhumanbeingsarepatternmakers.A
structuralskeletonisapatternandmakingoneisasnaturalasbreathing.Anumberof
thingscan,however,getintheway.Fearisthebiggy.Withitsfriends,anxietyand
selfdoubt,fear,inanyofitsmajordisguises,istherealenemy.Sowhat'snew?
Theotherproblemisthatbecausepatternmakingisanaturalandoftenan
unconsciousactivityfewofusknowhowtodoit.I'llletyouintoasecret.Youcan'tdo
itbytrying.Itsnotlikestudyingorreadingorworking.Thestepstopatternmaking
are;

1.Loadthesystem.
Doyourgeneralreading.Getthestuffsloshingaroundinsideyourmind.
Workhardatthisbutatthisstageyoushouldnotbetryingtowriteanythingmorethan
verygeneralnotestoyourself.
2.Takeabreak;stoptrying.
Thisstagecantakedaysanditcanfeelasifyouaredossing,notworking
anddefinitelynotwriting.Restassured,ifyouhaveputaloadofstuffintoyourmind
thepoorthinghasnooptionbuttotrytomakesomethingoutofit.Thisisthetime
wherenotwritingisanessentialpartofwriting.Goplayfootball,fallinlove,godown
thepubsayingtoyourselfallthetimethisishowIwrite,wow,howweird.Don'tfeel
guilty.Ifguiltturnsupuninvited,workonsomethingelse.Don'tworry;itwon'tgetin
thewayofpatterning.Ifyou'reworkingonathesis,nowmightbeagoodtimetowork
onpolishingupthelayoutofsometablesorgraphs.
3.Makeyourskeleton
Thereisanartinknowingwhentogobackandaskyourmindforitsbest
shotatapattern.PersonallyIoftenfindthatgoingforawalkisagoodideaor
sometimestalkingtoanotherpersonconversationrequiresastructuretoo.Oneofthe
besttimesisthemorningafteryouhavespentthenightfailingtocomeupwitha
patternthatpleasesyou.Youmightbeasleepbutthepooroldpatternmakingfunction
ofyourmindgetsnorest.Whatever,onedaytrydoodlingonapieceofpaper.

14

REMEMBERAVOIDTHEPERFECTIONTRAP
Youareonlytryingforaprovisionalskeletonyoucanalwayschangeitlater
(seetask3.1).

GROUP2THEACTUALWRITING
ThetwotasksinthisgroupGoaldirectedreadingandFleshingoutthe
skeletonarenotreallyseparate.Youwillfindyourselfswitchingbetweenreadingfora
subsectionandwritingit.Oryoumightdothedetailedreadingformorethanonesub
sectionbeforeyoustarttowrite.Againgowiththeflow.Ifyourheadisreadytowrite,
dosomewriting.Ifyoufeellikereading,read.Ifyoudon'tfeellikedoingeither,go
backandrereadandeditsomethingyouwroterecently.
Thereisonemostimportantthingtobearinmindwhenyoustarttoputwords
downonpaperoronscreen.Yourfirstversionisnotsupposedtobethefinalversion.
YOUAREWRITINGADRAFT
Alwaysrememberthatyouarenottryingtogetitright.Atthisstageyouarejust
tryingtogetsomethingdown.Youcangoback,changeit,improveit,orevendiscard
it.

WRITESOMETHING,
ANYTHINGYOUWRITEISPROGRESS

2.1Goaldirectedreading
Whenyouhaveyourstructuralskeletonnowisthetimetoreadagain.Thistime
youarereadingfordetail.Again,youwillnotbereadingallofapaperorofareview
article.Youwillgointogetspecificallywhatyouwantforthatsubsectionyouare
workingon.
Chooseasubsectionthatyoufeelmostateasewithandmakeapileofthe
relevantpapers.Yourgeneralreadingshouldhelpyouunderstandwhichpapersor
reviewarticlesyouneedtoreadandyourstructuralskeletonwilltellyouwhatyouwant
fromeachofthem.

15

Anytimeyoureadapaper,youshouldbeabletoseewhereyouaregoingtouse
theinformationitcontains.Rememberanysinglepapermayturnupinanumberof
sectionsorsubsectionsandyoumayhavetogobackagainandagaintofindthe
specificbitsofinformationyouneedforeachofyoursubsections.Itisagoodideato
makenotesonyourmastersheetsofthereferencesthatyouwillbeusingineachsub
section.Thisisacontinuingprocessandpaperscanbecontinuallyaddedortakenoutas
youcarryonwriting.

2.2Fleshouttheskeleton
Onceyouhaveaskeleton,itisnowthetimetostartfillingintheflesh.Thisis
thetaskthatmostpeoplethinkofaswriting.
Theimportantthinghereistostartwiththesubsectionyouarehappiestwithor
thinkyouwillfindeasiest,continueon,alwayschoosingtoworkontheeasiestofthe
remainingsubsections.Thiswaywhenyougettothereallydifficultbitsyouwillhave
theconfidenceofaloadofworkbehindyou.
Rememberthisisadraftnotthefinalversionsodon'tbeperfectionist,
concentrateongettingstuffdownonpaperoronthescreen.Onebighelphereistobe
preparedtowriteabitofgarbageintoyourtext.Itcanhappenthatwhen,atlast,abitof
writingisgoingwell,asubsectionisreallygettingfilledin,youcometoabitthatstops
you.Itmightbethenameofanauthor,itmightbeaspecificnumberorsetofnumbers
oritmightjustbeawordorphrasethatwon'tcomeright.Atthispoint,don'tinterrupt
yourflowbytryingtosolvetheproblemorlookuptheinformation,momentswhenthe
writingisflowingaretoovaluable.JustwriteBLAHorsomethingandcarryon.Ifyou
arewritingonscreenputitinBOLD,ifyouarewritingbyhandputitinCAPITALS.
InmyfirstdraftsasurprisingnumberofpapersseemtohavebeenwrittenbyFred
(19XX)andalotofnumbersappearasXX.Lateryoucangobackandfillthesedetails
inlater.Fillingintheseboldbitsdoesnottakethesamekindofenergyaswriting.You
candothemoneatatimewhenthemoodisright.Ifyouarewritingdirectlyontoa
computerjustscanforBLAHorFredorXXusingthefindoption.
Writingtakestimeandconcentration.Importantly,ineachsessionofactual
writingittakestimetogetintotheswingofgettingwordsdownonpaper.Itisanold
sayingthatifyouspendonehouratyourdeskyouproduce5minofactualwriting.If
youspendtwohoursyouget35minwritingdoneandifyouspendthreehoursyouget
anhourandahalf'sproduction.So,ifyouhaven'tgotthetimedon'tstartonanew
sectionofwriting.Youwillonlyendupfeelingfrustratedanddefeated.Dosomething
thatcanbefittedintosmallertimeslotslikeeditingorreading.Shorttimeperiodscan

16

beproductivelyusedtogobackandcheckallthebitsyouhaveleftinBOLDor
CAPITALS.
Animportantpointaboutthistaskisthatyouneverthrowanythingaway.Often
youwillfindyouhavewrittensomethingthatyoudon'tlike.Don'tscrapit.Ifyouare
workingonscreen,opena'rejects'fileandputitthere.Itissurprisinghowoftenyou
willgobacktothisfileandrecycleabitofthisrejectedwritinginanotherpartofthe
essay.

GROUP3.EDITING
Nowisthetimetoseewhatyouhavegot.Fromnowonyouwillbeinvolvedin
whatcangenerallybetermededitingyourtext.Ifyouhaveneverdonethisjobbefore,
thenthereisoneenormouslyimportantfactyouneedtoknow,
EDITINGTAKEMUCHMORETIMETHANYOUEVERIMAGINED
anotherwayofstatingthisis
EDITINGTAKESLONGERTHANWRITING
Editingis,however,veryimportant.Intheendthequalityofyoureditingwill
havearealinfluenceonhowtheexaminerfeelsabouthavingtoreadyourwork.
Readingpoorlydesignedworkwithaclumsylayoutthatcontainstypographicalerrors
andbadspellingwillputanyexaminerinabadmood.Theywillstartlookingforerrors
incontentandwillbepreparingthemselvestogivealowmark.Awellproducedpiece
ofworkautomaticallygivestheimpressionofcompetenceandability.Theexaminer
willpreparehimselftobeimpressedbythecontentandwillbereadytoawardhigh
marks.
Itisjustlikegettingreadyforadate.Firstimpressionsmatter.Youmaybea
verynicepersonbutifyouclothesaredirty,yourfingernailsfilthyandyouhavebad
breathandBOyouarereducingyourchancesthatanybodywillnoticehowattractive
youreallyareunderneath.

3.1.Produceafirstdraftandrestructure.
Printoutyourtext,collectallyoursheetsofpaperandputthemintheright
order.Thisisyourfirstdraft.Atthisstageyoudonothavetohavefinishedfillinginall

17

thesubsectionsbutitisbetternottostartthistaskuntilyouhavesomethingwrittenin
themajorityofthem.
Onceyouhaveafirstdraftitistimetorelookatthestructuralskeletonyou
havebeenusing.Theideahereistomakesurethateachsectionandeachsubsectionis
intherightplace.Thisiswhenyoucandecidetochangetheoverallskeleton.
Itispracticallyimpossibletodothiskindofeditingonscreenandfewpeople
havethekindofmindthatallowsthemtolookatthestructureinaverticalpileofsheets
ofpaper.Atrickhereistofindalargeflatsurfaceandtolaytheworkouthorizontally.
Youcanthenwalkupanddownyouressaythinkingaboutthestructureandmovingbits
around.TryusingscissorsandSellotape.
3.2.Checkcontentbyparagraphandsubsection.
Thereareuniquesetsoferrorsthatareassociatedwitheditingonacomputer.I
callthenorphansandghosts.Theyaretheresiduesleftbehindafterusingthecutand
pastefunctions.Orphansaresentences,oroccasionallyagroupofsentences,thatare
meaningfulinthemselvesbutarenowinthecompletelywrongpartofthedocument.
Ghostarepartsofsentencesorsometimesjustsinglewordsthatgotleftbehind.An
importanttypeofghostistheinvisibleghost.Themostcommonformofinvisibleghost
isthepresenceofadoublespace,ratherthanasinglespace,betweenwords.These
doublespacesdetractfromtheappearanceofyourworkandshouldbeeliminated.
Luckilythisiseasy.Justgotothereplacefunctioninthewordprocessingpackageand
askittoreplacealldoublespaceswithsinglespaces.Heypresto,allinvisibleghost
goneinasecond.
Thereisareallygoodtechniqueforgettingridofmoresubstantialghostsand
orphansthatalsohastheadvantageofseriouslyimprovingthequalityofyourwriting.
Thistimeitiswisetostartataplacewhereyouhadrealproblemswritingbecausethis
iswhereyouwillhavebeenmostinvolvedincuttingandpasting.Focusonaparagraph.
Readitquicklytoseewhatitistryingtosay.Onaseparatesheetwritedown,innote
form,thepointsyouaretryingtomakeinthatparagraph.Returntothedocumentand
seeifeachsentenceisconsistentwiththeaimsoftheparagraph.Cutoutthosethatare
notnecessaryordon'tfit.Carryonwitheachsuccessiveparagraphuntilyouhave
completedawholesectionorsubsection.
Iknowthissoundslaboriousbutifyoudoitproperlyitwillbeworthwhile.
Yourwritingwillflowandreadingitwillbeeasy.Rememberyourmainjobistokeep
theexaminerinapositiveframeofmind.Ifthereadingiseasy,becauseeachsentence
isintherightplace,theexaminerwillenjoyhis/herwork,willassumeyouarein
competecommandofyourmaterialandwillawardyouHIGHMARKS.

18

Ifyoucannotfacetheprospectofcheckingeachparagraphinyourwork,you
should,asaminimum,checkthosepartswhereyouknowyoudidalotofcuttingand
pasting.

3.3.Checklinks
Whenyouwriteinsectionsandsubsections,asisrecommendedhere,theone
disadvantageisthatyoucanendupwithaslightlydisjointedtext.Adisjointedtextwill
leavethereader/examinerlostasyouforcethemtojumpfromtopictotopic.Nowisthe
timetoputinasentenceortwotoleadthereadergentlyfromonesectiontothenextor
fromonesubsectiontothenext.Theselinkscaneitherbeattheendofasectionor
morecommonlyatthebeginningofthenewone.

3.4.Proofread
Thefirststephereistousethefacilitiesprovidedbyyourwordprocessing
software.Alwaysdoaspellcheckandagrammarcheckbeforegettingdowntoserious
proofreading.However,youshouldrememberthatcomputersaremoronsandcan
occasionallybecomecorruptedmorons.Customdictionariesareparticularlysusceptible
tocorruption.Asaresultaspellcheckmayacceptincorrectlyspeltwordsor,more
often,wordsthatarecorrectlyspeltbutthatarenottheonesthatyouintendedtowrite.
Nothingwillreplaceacarefulreadingofthetext.Thisiswhereyouneedyour
friends.
NOBODYCANPROOFREADHISORHEROWNWORK
Thereisanoverwhelmingtendencytoreadwhatyoumeanttowriteratherthan
thewordsthatareactuallyonthepageinfrontofyou.Itisagoodideatousemorethan
oneproofreader,eachpersonhastheerrorstheyseewellandtheerrorstheydon'tseeat
all.
3.5.Producefinaldocument.
Readtheinstructionstoauthors.Takeeverythingtheysayseriously.Checkyour
layout.Agoodlayoutshouldnotonlymakeyourworklookattractivebutitcanalsobe
usedtohelpthereaderknowwheretheyareinthetext.Againitisagoodideatolay
yourworkouthorizontallyonalargetablewhenyouareexaminingitslayout.
Arethepagebreaksintherightplaces?Youcanusepagebreakstohelpthe
reader.Don't,forexample,startanewsectionatthebottomofthelastpageofa

19

previoussection.Ifyoustartanewsectionatthetopofanewpageyouaretellingthe
readerthatyouhavechangedthetopicunderdiscussion.
Aretheheadingsallinthecorrecttypeface,Forexample,ifyouareusing14pt
boldforsectionheadingsand12ptitalicforsubsectionheadings,arealltheheadings
inthisformat?
Whenyouthinkyouhavefinished,doafinalspellchuck.
Remembereditingisneverfinished.Thebesttimeforseeingseriousmistakesin
yourmanuscriptisfiveminutesafteryouhavesubmittedit!
PERFECTIONISANIMPOSSIBLEGOAL

Appendix1Webbasesearching
NBThisinformationisalsoontheDepartmentalWebsite.Remeberthehardcopy
willonlybeupdatedeveryyearbuttheWebversionwillbecontinuallyupdated.
Therearethreebasicstrategiesforwebbasedsearching.
1.StartattheCollegeLibraryhomepagewww.library.nuigalway.ie/
2.StartattheDepartmentalWebsitewww.nuigalway.ie/microbiology
3.GodirecttoaparticularsiteontheWeb

1.IFYOUSTARTATTHELIBRARYHOMEPAGE
YoucanstraighttoSciencedirect.www.sciencedirect.com
Covers1,200journalswithlinksto10,000journaltitles,and,atanyonetime,1.5
millionarticles.Elsevierjournalsonly.Fulltextavailablewitharticlesavailablefrom
400journalsasPDFfiles.Searchusingsubjectkeywords,author,titleofjournaletc.
Demonstrationavailableonline.
OR
Gotothedialogboxalefthandsideoflibraryhomepageandpickadatabase
fromthere.
OR

20

ClickonScienceiconontopofthehomepage.Thisgivesyoufurtheroptionsto
clickon.
Books:linkgiveslocationofsciencetextbooksandlinkstootheruniversity
libraries
Journals:linktolistofonlinejournalsavailableinlibrary.Thefull
textofsomejournalsareavailableonline,butonlyifthelibrary
subscribestothem.
Databases:Thisgivesyoulinkstosomeofthemostcommonlyuseddatabases
thesedatabasescanalsobeaccessedfromthelibraryhomepage,from
thedialogueboxcalledresourceindexonleftsideofscreen.Themost
usefuldatabasesavailablehereare;
WebofScience
Allowsaccessto5,700journalsin150disciplines.Updateddaily.Givescitation
andabstractonly.Doesnotprovidefulltextofarticles.Canperformcited
referencesearching.Searchusingsubjectkeywords,author,titleofjournaletc.
Tutorialavailableonline,oralternativelycontactsciencelibrarianRosieDunne
whoorganisestrainingsessionsatthebeginningofacademicterm.
Medline.Bibliographicandabstractcoverageofbiomedical,dental,andmedical
literature.Accessto3,900journals,butabstractavailableonly.Databasecovers
articlesfrom1966onwards.

2.IFYOUWANTTOGOVIATHEDEPARTMENTALWEBSITE
FromtheNUI,GalwayhomepageclickonFacultiesandDepartmentsfoundonthe
navigationbaratthelefthandsideofthepage.ThenclickonMicrobiologywhichwill
appearonthemainpartofthepageundertheDepartmentsheading.TheMicrobiology
Dept.websitewillthenappear.Onthefrontpage,righthandside,clickonthelinkthat
readsMicrobiologyOnline.Thiswilltakeyoudirectlytothepagewhichcontainslinks
toawidevarietyofusefulsites.
3.IFYOUWANTTOGODIRECTLYTOAUSEFULDATABASE
HerearealistofsomethatarefrequentlyusedbypostgradsintheDepartment.
2.1Forfindingpeerreviewedpapers.
ScienceDirect(usegroupwidelogin)
21

http://www.sciencedirect.com/
WebofScience
http://wos.heanet.ie/
Medline/PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMedOld/
AmericanSocietyforMicrobiology.AccesstoallASMjournals,mainlyabstracts.
www.journals.asm.org

2.2Databasesformolecularbiology
TheNationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation(NCBI)homepage
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Clicktheentrezlink.NCBIhomepageprovidesaliteraturesearchengine,Pubmed,and
theEntrezbrowserwhichsearchestheGenBankDNAdatabase.Anotherusefultoolis
theBLAST(BasicLocalAlignmentSearchTool)programwhichcomparesuser
inputtedDNAsequencestotheGenBankdatabase.
EuropeanBioinformaticsInstitute(EBI)homepage
http;//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.goc/
TheEBIistheEuropeancentreforgenomicsandbioinformaticsservicesandisbased
intheUK.Itslocationmeansitisofteneasierandfastertoaccessthanitsamerican
counterpart,theNCBI(especiallyafterlunchtime).Inparticular,theToolsand
Databaseslinksarecomprehensiveanduserfriendly.
TheRibosomalDatabaseProject
http://rdp.cme.msu.edu/html/
ThisisaspecialistdatabaseforsmallandlargesubunitribosomalRNAanalysis.
AllowsusertoperformonlineDNAsequencesimilaritysearches,sequencealignment
andbasicphylogeneticanalysis
PedrosBiomolecularResearchTools.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~pedro/research_tools.html.
Thiswebsitecontainslinkstoahostofresourcescoveringawiderangeoftopicsin
molecularbiology.Alsocontainslinkstomanymajorjournalsinbiology.
2.3Reputableagencies
UKPublicHealthLaboratoryServiceThewebsiteforthepublichealthlaboratory
serviceintheUK.Facts,news,publicationsandinformationonvariousnotifiable
pathogens.
www.phls.co.uk
22

CentersforDiseaseControl,US.Greatsiteforinformationontheepidemiologyof
diseases
http://www.cdc.gov/
USFoodandDrugAdministration.Greatsiteforreportsondiseaseandfoodsafety
issues.
http://www.fda.gov/.
WorldHealthOrganisation.Fundofinformationaboutcurrentstateofdiseasesand
epidemicsallovertheworld.Somedataisalittlepoliticallytainted
http://www.who.int/homepage/
Bandolier.AUKdatabaseonevidencebasedmedicine.Reviewstheevidencethat
therapiesdoordonot,work.
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier

Appendix2Usingawordprocessor.
Ifyouarenotfluentintheuseofawordprocessingpackageyouwillfindthat
youwanttowriteyourfirstdraftsbyhand.Ifthisiswhatiseasiestforyouthenmaybe
itistherightthingtodo.Writingonscreenislikesendingaratherlargetextmessage
andmostpeoplemastertheartoftextingtheirfriendsquitequickly.Writingdraftsby
handisonlypostponingthemomentwhenyouhavetocometotermswiththe
computer.Inmakingyourdecisionastowhentostartworkingonscreenyoushould
remember;
1.
Inthebig,badworldoutside,everybody,excepttheveryold,composesdirectly
onscreen.Inemploymentitisaskillyouwillbeexpectedtohave.Yourcolleaguesat
workwillseewritingfirstbyhandandthencopyingthewordsintoacomputerasrather
likeusingyourfingerstocounton.
2.
Yourdocumentwillhavetobeprintedandsoyouwillhavetogetitintoa
computersometime.
3.
Howeveryouwriteyourfirstdrafts,itiscertainthat,beforeyouproduceyour
finalcopy,youwillhavetogetinvolvedineditingadocument,whichisinacomputer.
Editingisaninherentlyfinicky,nitpickingandfrustratingactivity.Tryingtolearnhow

23

toeditandhowtouseawordprocessingpackageatthesametimewillnormallyresult
inyourgivinguptooearly.Theresultwillbepoorediting,poorlayoutandlowermarks
thanyoudeservefortheeffortyouputintothereadingandwriting.
4.
Asthedeadlineapproachesyouwill,ifyouarenormal,starttopanic.Mild
panicmakeslearningverydifficult.Fullblow,serious,thedeadlineiscomingpanic
makeslearningimpossible.
Myadvicetoyouistogetusedtowordprocessingassoonaspossibleand
definitelybeforethepressureisreallyon.Whenyoudostarttoworkonscreenthereare
twowordsyouneedtoknow;
BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,
Ifyouwishtoavoidthesuicidalpanicthecanbeengenderedbythesimplephrase;
Unrecoverablediscerror
BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,BACKUP,

Appendix3UsingtheNet
TheNetwasdesignedtodisseminateinformation.Whenapproachinganew
topicithasobviousattractions.Itisfastandorganizedbykeywords.Nofrustrating
searchesforjournalsthelibrarydoesn'thave,orforissuesthatare'missing'.Nowaiting
forexpensiveinterlibraryloans.TheNetcan,however,beusedintwoways.Thefirst
istousedatabasestosearchthepublishedliterature.Thisistotallylegitimateand
nobodyhasanyproblemswithit.Thesecondistouseasearchenginetofindany
informationthatis'outthere'onaparticulartopic.Thisiswheretheproblemsreallylie
anditisthisuseoftheNetthatwillbediscussedhere.
Asageneralruleexaminersreactbadly(i.e.givelowmarks)iftheythinka
pieceofwritingis"justdownloadedfromtheNet".Thisisnotjustbecauseexaminers
aregeriatricstickinthemudswhoarejustnotabletokeepupwithprogress.Thereare
realreasonsforconcernaboutthequalityoftheinformationthatisavailableontheNet.
Asanybodywhohascarriedoutakeywordsearchknows,themajorityofthesitesthat
turnuparerubbish.Theproblemisthatinamongstthedrossaresomevaluablegems.
Howdowediscriminate?Whataretherulesorguidelineshere?

24

Whatthisnotewillattempttodoistooutlinethemainargumentabouttheuse
oftheNet,discusssomeofthetheoreticalbackgroundtotheseargumentsandthento
suggestsomeguidelinesfortheuseoftheNetasaninformationsourceinscientific
writing.
Beforeweattempttoillustratewheretherulesmightlie,however,itisprobably
valuabletoremindourselvesofwhatexaminersarelookingforwhentheymarkany
pieceofwriting.Whatliesbehindthatdismissivecomment"justdownloadedfromthe
Net"?Ofprimaryimportancetotheexamineristhatanywritingyousubmitismeantto
beyours.Itismeanttobetheresultofyourthinkingaboutmaterialyouhaveread.Itis
meanttobeacriticalevaluationandsynthesisofmanydifferentsourcesofinformation
(howmanydependsontheleveloftheexambutingeneralthemoresourcesthehigher
themarks).Atonelevel,thedisparagingcomment"justdownloadedfromtheNet",
refersnottothequalityoftheinformationsourcesbuttotheabsenceofcriticalthought
inthewriting.
Here,however,wearenotconcernedwiththedegreeofcriticalthoughtinyour
writing,whichhasbeendealtwithelsewhere,butratherwiththelegitimacyoftheuse
oftheNetasasourceoftheinformation.Theissuessurroundingthelegitimacyofthe
use,inscientificwriting,ofinformationcollectedfromtheNetisstillunresolvedand
unfortunatelynofirmandabsoluterulescanbegiven.Whatwecandoistooutlinethe
argumentsandsuggestsomeguidelines.

Thearguments
Traditionallytheissueoflegitimacyofdatahasbeenestablishedbyreferenceto
peerreviewedjournals.Simplystatedthepositionwasthat,ifinformationappearedin
anarticleinapeerreviewedjournal,itwas,thereby,consideredlegitimate.Information
thatwasdisseminatedbyanyothermeans,ifithadnotoriginallyappearedinapeer
reviewedjournal,wasconsideredsuspect.
Thosewhodefendthisrelianceonpeerreviewedjournalsgenerallyrelyonthree
mainarguments.
1.Anyarticleinsuchajournalhasbeensubjecttocriticalreviewbyatleastone
andnormallymore,leadingscientistsinthefieldbeforebeingacceptedbytheeditorfor
publication.This,itisargued,maintainsstandardsandeliminatescrap.
2.Thestandardofthesejournalsensuresthatdataareneverpresentedwithout
thefulldetailsofthemethodsusedtoobtainthemandtheconditionsunderwhichthey
wereobtained.

25

3.Thesejournalsareinthepublicdomainandare,therefore,atleastintheory,
availabletoeverybody.
Ontheotherhand,thosewhoadvocatetheuseoftheNetwouldargue;
1.Traditionaljournalsareveryslow.Itcantakeayearormoretogetapaper
publishedthisway.IncontrasttheNetrepresentsinstantcommunicationthatcanbe
rapidlyupdated.
2.Journalsareexpensiveandmanyhaveonlyasmallcirculationandare
virtuallyinaccessible.Incontrast,anybodycangetontheNetandaccessamuchwider
rangeofmaterial.
3.Theprocessofpeerreviewitselfisdeeplyconservative.Thesocalled
'leadingscientists'usetheirpositiontopreventpublicationofgenuinelyneworradical
material.
ThosewhoargueagainsttheuseoftheNetasasourceofscientificdatatendto
argue;
1.InformationontheNetisephemeral.Itcanchangeovertimeoreven
disappeartotally.Youcannotrelyonitsbeingthereifyouwishtocheckit.
2.Thetotalabsenceofanyeditorialcontrol,peerrevieworanyeditorial
standardsmeansthatmaterialcanbepublishedontheNetthatmeetsnoneofthecriteria
traditionallyassociatedwithempiricalscience.Datacanfrequentlybeseparatedfrom
method.Youhavenowayofknowingwhetherwhatyouarereadingistotalcrap.

Therealproblemisthatalltheseargumentsareessentially
correct.

Theoreticalbackgroundtothearguments
Underlyingtheargumentsoutlinedaboveareissuesofthenatureofthe
scientificenterprise.BoththosewhobasicallyopposetheuseoftheNetandthosewho
supportitwouldarguethattheyarepreservingscience.Thus,inordertothinkourway
throughtheseissueswehavetothinkaboutwhatscienceis.Science'sclaimtoauthority
isbasedontwoofitscentralproperties.Itisempirical,inthatitsfactsarederivedfrom
experimentalobservationanditisobjectiveinthattheseobservationsareindependent
oftheopinionsoftheobserver.
Asthefactsthatsciencedealswitharethosethathavebeenestablishedby
experimentalobservations,theirvalidityisdirectlydependentonthequalityofthe
experimentsusedtoestablishthem.Fromthisitfollowsthatinformationcannotbe

26

consideredtobeofthehighestqualityunlessthemethodsthatwereusedtoobtainitare
alsopresented.Thisgivesustheprimaryrulegoverningthelegitimacyofdata;
ItdoesnotmatteriftheinformationisontheNet,onthebackofanenvelopeor
inareputablejournal,ifthemethodisnotgiventhedataarenotalegitimatepartof
science.
AnotherapproachtothediscussionofthelegitimacycanbebasedonScience's
claimtobeanobjectivebodyofwisdom.Thisismorecontroversialthanitsclaimtobe
empirical.ManyanalystswouldnowclaimthatScienceisasociologicalandcultural
activityandthatthemannerinwhichitapproachestheworldisnotvaluefree.Thus,
science,totheextentthatitderivesitsvaluesfromthesocietyitoperatesin,cannotbe
trulyobjective.Others,usinghistoricalanalysishavealsoarguedthatScienceisnot
objectivebutisactuallydeeplyconservativeandthatatmosttimesitisremarkably
closedtonewideas.Theconsequenceofthedevelopmentoftheseideasisthatwehave
nowlessconfidenceinjudgingwhatislegitimateScienceandwhatisnot.Peerreview,
whichmanyclaimisthemechanismbywhichillegitimateideasareeliminatedfrom
Science,canalsobeseenasamechanismthatpromotesaconservativeScience,onethat
eliminatescreativity.TheNetintroducedawaybywhichinformationcanbepublished
anddisseminatedwhichbypassespeerreview.Thus,itrepresentsamediumthrough
whichnewcreative,originalandheterodoxideascanbefreedfromtheoppressionof
theconventionalthoughtofthescientificestablishment.Ofcourse,itequallyrepresent
amediumthroughwhicheverylunaticandobsessivecandisseminatetheirravings.
So,ifwearetousetheNetasasourceofinformation,thequestionishowcan
wetellthedifferencebetweencreativenoveltyandarrantrubbish.Itisnoteasy,one
person'screativegeniusisanotherone'sravinglunatic.Insomecases,timewillsortthe
issueoutbutforthemomentweare,inevitably,intheareaofvaluejudgments.

SowhataretheguidelinesforusingtheNet.
Sothebackgroundisheavyduty,theoreticalstuff.Majorphilosophicalplayers
arewrestlingwiththesefundamentalissues.Wearenotgoingtosolvethemhere.
Luckilywedon'thaveto.WhatwehavetodecideistowhatextentyoucanusetheNet?
andwhatfor?Asthisinvolvesvaluejudgments,theissuebecomes,whosevalues.
Yoursoryourexaminer.
Whatfollowsisareasonablesynopsisoftheconventionalpositionsthatwillbe
takenbymostexaminers;
Totallyacceptableuses

27

1.TheuseoftheNettoaccessarticlesinpeerreviewedjournalsonlineis
clearlytotallyacceptable.Inthiscaseyoubibliographiccitationshouldbetothejournal
andnottothewebsite.
2.Wehavetoacceptthatwithrespecttodataofcertaintypestheonlysourceis
theNet.Thisis,forexampleparticularlytrueofdatabasesassociatedwithDNA
sequencing.Inthisuse,asthecontentsofthesesitesarecontinuallychanging,itis
importanttorecordthedayyouaccessedthem.
Acceptableuses
Theacceptability,forthepurposesofscientificwriting,ofmaterialontheNetis
oftenrelatedtothereputationoftheagencyorpersonthatproducedit.Thereisaclear
differenceforexample,betweencitingareportfromaninternational,inter
governmentalagencyliketheWorldHealthOrganizationandcitingonefromthe
CloonbooHealthActionGroup.Thediscriminationbetweendifferentoriginsofweb
sitesis,ofcourse,anothervaluejudgment.Noabsoluteguidelinescanbeprovidedbut
ifyouareindoubttalktoyoursupervisor.
Wearenotarguingherethatthematerialfromonesourceiscorrectandthat
fromasource,thatmightbeconsideredlessauthoritative,isnecessarilywrong.What
wearearguingaboutishowanexaminerwillreacttotheuseoftheseinformation
sources.Intheenditistheexaminer'svaluejudgmentsthatwillinfluencethemarking
ofyourwork.Ingeneralitwillbesafer,ifslightlymoreconservative,tolimityourself
tomaterialplacedontheNetbyagenciesthatrepresentsomerecognizedauthority.
Onewaytoachievethisistoadoptasurfingstrategythatfocusesonagencies
ratherthanonkeywords.Enteringkeywordsintoasearchengineisarapidwayof
generatingalargenumberofsiteaddressesmanyofwhichwillbeeitherirrelevantorof
questionableauthority.If,ontheotherhand,yougofirsttothesitesofreputable
agencies,liketheFDA,theCentreforDiseaseControlortheWorldHealth
Organizationandthensearchforthetopicyouareinterestedin,youwillatleastbe
accessingsitesthattheexaminerwill,inallprobability,behappywith.
Alargenumberofnationalandinternationalagenciespublishdocumentsonthe
Net.Sometimes,butnotalways,thesearesimultaneouslypublishedinhardcopy.These
documentsfrequentlycontainvaluableinformationandnobodywouldtoprohibittheir
citationjustbecausetheywereaccessedviatheNet.(Note;Ifyouaccessedthese
reportsviatheNetthenyourcitationshouldbetothewebsite,evenifyouarealso
awarethatthereisalsoalegitimatehardcopyreference.)Thesereportscanbe
consideredasfallingintothreecategories.

28

1.Thosewherethedataisassociatedwithfulldetailsofthemethodsemployed
togeneratethedata.Thesecanbetreatedasprimarysourcesofdata.
2.Thosewherethemethodsarenotgivenbutreferencetotheprimarysources
areprovided.Thesecanbetreatedassecondarysources.
3.Thosewherenomethodsorreferencestoprimarysourcesareprovided.These
canonlybetreatedasevidenceoftheattitudesoropinionsoftheagenciesthemselves.
Whenyouareusingthesereportsinthiswayyoushouldmakethisexplicitinyourtext.
Remember,thereisnothingintrinsicallywrongaboutusingsomesecondary
sourcesoroccasionallyreportingtheopinionsofreputableagenciesbutifanexaminer
thinksyourwritingreliestooheavilyonsecondarysources,itwillnotgainhighmarks.
Totallyunacceptableuses
Netsitesthatsellessaysarenowinexistence.Itis,however,totally
unacceptabletodownloadawholeessayorevenpartsofone,fromtheNetandthento
presentitasyourownwork.
ThisisCHEATINGandwillbeviewedveryseriously.Ifitisprovedthatan
essaywas,inwholeorinpart,downloadedfromaNetsite,thecandidatesubmitting
thatessaywillbereportedtotheUniversityDisciplinaryCommittee.Theconsequences
ofthiswillbesevere.Inthiscontextyoushouldbeawareofthreethings;

i)InresponsetotheappearanceofNetsitesthatsellessays,softwarehasbeen
developedthatallowsanexaminertoenteranessayorpartsofanessayintohis
computerandtosearchtheNetfortheoriginalsource.
ii)Thevastmajorityofessayshavebeenproducedfordownloadingby
Americansecondaryschoolstudents.Theyaretherefore,writteninAmericanandnotto
averyhighacademicstandard.
iii)Thosemarkingessayshavemanyyearsexperience.Theyknowthestandards
andthestyletoexpect.Theyareverylikelytodetect'downloaded'essaysfromtheir
styleanduseoflanguage.

29