Formulation and wording of

dissertation titles
- Think about which topic
and theories you are
interested in, what you
would like to know more
about
- Once you have a question
in mind start looking for
relevant information. As
you become familiar with
the topic and well
informed about it, your
 knowledge should suggest
a purpose for your study
- E.g ; you want to work on
« something around X » (X
being an author, work,
theme, period …)
formulate it in the form of
a question. (E.g. « Irony in
Jane Austen’s Emma » →
Do any characters
deliberately use irony ?
which ones do/don’t ? is
there a difference in using
 irony between men and
women ?....)
- Having a cluster of
questions helps you
encapsulate as many as
you can in a single basic
question ( which
characters in Emma use
irony and why ? → male
VS female, old/young,
poor/rich, … Why ?, a
sequence of questions
emerges
- Background material can
expand infinitely, it needs
to be closed off to avoid
uncompleted projects. Do
not include everything you
are interested in for the
sole reason of bringing it
somewhere
- Avoid titles like this : Jane
Austen, Gender, Class,
Early 19th C Society and
the Development of the
Novel. It includes
 everything but lacks clear
focus
- Now give your topic a
structure : a focus and a
mode of argument
- Types of focus 1- Authors :
The Life and Work of X/
Women Romantic Poets …
2- Texts : Jane Austen’s
Emma / Selected Poems
by … / Speeches/ laws……
3- Generic Grouping of
texts : The Sonnet/
 Pastoral Poetry/
testimonies/
4- Historical issues relating
to a text or group of texts
5- Theoretical issues
- Modes of Argument :
1- Assess relative
achievement
2- Analyse style/mode …
3- Relate a text to some
historical circumstances
that produced it
4- Place a text in a literary
or aesthetic context
 5- Describe or interpret a
text …
6- Examplify theories,
terms or approaches
- E.g. The Text and the
Reader : Construction of
Meaning in Fiction by
Umberto Eco (MA)
Marx and Spencer :
Elizabeth and the problem
of Imperial Power (draft
Phd)
- Two parts : the main title
→catchy and somehow
 enigmatic ; the subtitle
→offers an explanatory
paraphrase in more
conventionally academic
language :
Undervalued Achievement : the
Contribution of R.K. Narayan’s The
Guide to the Development of
Postcolonial Fiction
- Choose a topic that is not
too narrow and not too
broad
- Your title should highlight
the purpose of the study
(include : context,
 outcomes ..) →area and
focus
- Write a working title that
allows you to be flexible in
research while keeping you
focused on your subject
- Clear, lucid and
descriptive
- Brutality and injustice
(compelling) : An Analysis
of Symbolism (indicative)
in Orwell’s Animal Farm
(focused)
- Dos and Don’ts
- Do not make the title and
the subtitle the same
- Do not use complete
sentencesas a title, do not
use periods
- Do not put the research
question as title
- Do not use abbreviations
- Do make sure that the title
makes sense
- Do make the subtitle, if
used, more elaborate than
the main title
- Do create a title that
sounds good and flows well
- Activity :
1- An Examination of the
Representation of
Conspiracy Theories in
the Mainstream
American Media
2- Assess the Ways in
which Cultural and
Rights Claims Contribute
to Change in
International Order
3- Multiculturalism and
Difference in South
Africa : Examining the
Case of Coloured
Community During and
Post Apartheid
 Formal and Informal
Language
- Consequence :
accordingly, as a result,
hence, therefore, thus,
which is why
- Likeness : analogously,
correspondingly, similarly
- Contrast : but, however,
nevertheless, on the
contrary, on the other
hand, yet
- Examplification : for
example, for instance
- Particularisation :
especially, in particular
- Concession : granted that,
it is true that
- Amplification : also,
furthermore, in addition,
moreover, too
- Insistence : in fact, indeed
- Restatement : in other
words, to put it another
way, that is to say
- Recapitulation : all in all,
in conclusion, to
summarise
- Time or place : above,
elsewhere, so far,
subsequently, former,
latter, later, previously
- Hearsay disjuncts :
allegedly, reportedly,
reportedly,
- Evidential disjuncts :
clearly, obviously,
- Attitudinal disjuncts :
unfortunately, sadly,
luckily,
Verbs to use in attributive
phrases
Adds, agrees, asks, asserts,
believes, , claims, comments,
compares, conceded,
concludes, condemns,
considers, denies, derides,
disputes, emphasizes,
explains, finds, holds,
illustrates, implies, insists,
maintains, notes,
recommends, relates, reveals,
says, sees, shows, speculates,
states, suggests, thinks,
warns, writes, reports,
endorses, rejects, defends,
declares, points out, refutes,
contends, observes, responds
(the Allyn and Bacon
Handbook, 3rd ed. (572-94)
- Express positive aspects :
benefit, minor benefit,
adventage, a positive
aspect….
- Express negative aspects :
drawback, disadvantage, a
negative feature, a serious
drawback….
- Present information as
clearly and accurately as
possibe, avoid using
pronouns I /WE
- A lot of people think… :
not precise, how many is a
lot ? who are they ??
- Getting worse→informal
- They say→informal
- I think →informal
-A
research /research(es)→w
hose research ?? vague
- We now get to …
→informal
- Blazers, storms…etc
→informal
- All the time :
overgeneralized
(The Baily Guide)