Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 93

There is some potential critique here – such as the work of Billig – but more is needed on what is being critiqued. The notes, essay plan and essay itself would all be stronger if there was supporting material for different perspectives to inform a genuine debate. It would be good to organise the material by perhaps moving from less radical to more radical and fundamental critique as the essay develops. To achieve this, more material supporting different perspectives on attitudes is needed. Drawing on a mixture of broader theoretical perspectives and specific empirical data would work well. It is easy to get lost in the vast array of research into attitudes – the material has to support ideas and arguments regarding how attitudes have been understood. Forming a sense of how the essay is to be structured around the debate between different understandings of attitudes informs what is searched for, what ideas and findings are drawn on, and how they in turn are used in addressing the essay title.

Reflection on the chapter: Painting with finite colours

Imagine the two great artists John Constable and Vincent van Gogh painting whatever you can see from where you are right now. You don’t have to know their work at all well to realise that where Constable will bring out a realistic, finely detailed and romanticised interpretation of the scene, van Gogh’s interpretation will be highly expressive, his strokes of vividly contrasting colours conveying a sense of the dynamic emotional intensity of the artist. The amazing thing is that the scene and even the pallet of colours can be the same, yet each artist will produce something absolutely unique and unquestionably their own.

When we are writing essays, we have a specific topical focus and a finite range of relevant resources, but through our interrogation of these and our reflection on how to apply the ideas and arguments which arise to our essay, we can create something quite distinct, perhaps even beautiful. This is not suggesting that we make it ours by doing something odd or unexpected in our essay. For some time, I felt I had to read different and unexpected resources to make my essays unique. This can underestimate the relevance of reading that has been recommended for a very good reason. Really good essays have a sense of being the author’s own when we see a clarity of thought – a mind at work in the writing. The foundation of this is bringing our questioning engagement with the essay title to the reading, note-taking and planning of our essays. Our essays are probably unlikely to form exhibitions in major galleries around the world, but in their own, small way they can develop and demonstrate a well-formed clarity of thought that has a beauty all of its own.