下面介绍一下牛奶和哪些食物不可同时服用。

橘子等酸性水果

在喝牛奶前后1小时左右，不宜吃橘子。因为牛奶中所含的蛋白质与橘子中的果酸相遇后，就会发生凝固，从而影响人体对牛奶的消化与吸收，在服用牛奶这个时间段里同样不宜食用其他酸性水果。

果汁

牛奶中的蛋白质80％为酪蛋白，牛奶的酸碱度在4.6以下时，大量的酪蛋白便会发生凝集、沉淀，难以消化吸收，严重者还可能导致消化不良或腹泻。所以牛奶中不宜添加果汁等酸性饮料。

牛奶煮沸时不要加糖

牛奶中含有的赖氨酸在加热条件下能与果糖反应，生成有毒的果糖基赖氨酸，有害于人体。鲜牛奶在煮沸时不要加糖，煮好牛奶后等牛奶稍凉以后再加糖。

巧克力

牛奶含有丰富蛋白质和钙，而巧克力含有草酸，两者同食会结合成不溶性草酸钙，极大影响钙的吸收。甚至出现头发干枯、腹泻、生长缓慢等现象。

药

有人喜欢用牛奶代替白开水服药，其实，牛奶会明显地影响人体对药物的吸收。由于牛奶容易在药物的表面形成一个覆盖膜，使奶中的钙、镁等矿物质与药物发生化学反应，形成非水溶性物质，从而影响药效的释放及吸收。因此，在服药前后1小时也不要喝奶。

1、要鉴别品种

目前市场上，有很多种由牛奶(奶粉)、糖、乳酸(柠檬酸)、苹果酸、香料和防腐剂等加工配制而成“乳酸奶”，因其不具备酸牛奶的保健作用，购买时要仔细识别。

2、要在饭后2小时左右饮用

适宜乳酸菌生长的PH值酸碱度为5.4以上，空腹胃液PH值则在2以下，如这时饮酸奶，乳酸菌易被杀死，保健作用减弱。如果饭后胃液被稀释，PH值只上升到3-5。

3、要饮后及时漱口

随着乳酸系列饮料的发展，儿童龋齿率也在增加，这是乳酸菌中的某些细菌起的主导作用。

4、不要加热

酸奶中的活性、乳性乳酸菌，如经加热或开水稀释，便大量死亡，不仅特有的味道消失了，连营养价值也会损失殆尽。

5、不要与某些药物同服

氯霉素、红霉素等抗生素、磺胺类药物和治疗腹泻的一些药物，可杀死或破坏酸奶中的乳酸菌。

6、不要给婴儿喂食

酸奶含钙量较少，而婴儿正在生长发育期，需大量钙。尽管酸奶中由乳酸菌生成的抗生素能抑制和消灭很多病原体微生物，但同时也破坏了对人体有益菌的生长条件，同时也影响正常消化功能，尤其对患肠胃炎的婴儿和早产儿更不利。

韩国科学家调查发现，进食煎烤食品后吃一个梨，不失为一种健康的饮食方式。煎烤类食品经过烟熏火燎，产生较多的苯并芘等致癌物，而梨尤其是梨汁含有的抗癌物丰富，可以消除或排除致癌物，在一定程度上保护胃肠免受癌症之害。

吃蟹后喝生姜红糖水

从中医角度看，蟹肉对脾胃虚寒的人，尤其是慢性胃炎患者，可能引起胃痛、腹泻、呕吐等症状。应对之策就是进食蟹肉后喝一杯生姜红糖水。生姜性温热，能增强和加速血液循环，刺激胃液分泌，正好与性寒的蟹肉相补；红糖与生姜一样有暖胃、祛寒的作用。两者搭配，暖胃效果更佳。

油腻多别忘吃核桃

如果餐桌上油腻食物较多，餐后吃一个核桃大有裨益。借助核桃中的特殊氨基酸，减少高脂肪对动脉血管的损害，保持动脉的柔软与活力，防止硬化。尤其可贵的是核桃较橄榄油更胜一筹，不管你的胆固醇水平如何高，核桃仁都能帮助保持动脉的柔软和弹性。

吃方便面后吃水果

提倡煮食方便面，既能更好地吸收水分，又有利于肠胃的消化。另外，进食方便面后吃一点水果，如苹果、草莓、橙子、猕猴桃等，以补偿维生素与矿物质的不足。

吃火锅后喝点酸奶

火锅汤的温度高，特别是麻辣火锅，对胃肠的刺激较大，容易损伤胃肠道黏膜。化解办法是进食火锅后喝点酸奶，以保护胃肠道黏膜。酸奶中含有乳酸菌，可酸化肠腔，抑制腐败菌生长，减弱其在肠道产生毒素的作用，从而防止腹泻、腹痛等症状发生。

慢性支气管炎饭后吃柿子

柿子有清热润燥、化痰止咳的功效，是慢性支气管炎病人较为理想的保健水果之一。如果饭后能吃个柿子，对咳嗽会有较好的辅助治疗作用。

消化不良饭后吃菠萝或木瓜

如果经常消化不良，饭后可吃点菠萝。菠萝含有特殊蛋白酶，在胃中分解蛋白质，补充人体内消化酶的不足，帮助消化。菠萝还含有纤维素，对便秘也有一定效果。木瓜中丰富的木瓜酵素，有助于肉类蛋白质的消化与吸收。

研究人员主要对小白菜、萝卜、生菜、芹菜等蔬菜开展检测。检测结果发现，距离施肥时间越近，蔬菜表面大肠菌群数量越多，但蔬菜内部的大肠菌群数量不受影响。

研究人员说，7天内浇灌过鲜粪的蔬菜一般都污染严重，秋冬季，菠菜和红萝卜污染最严重，其次是小白菜，而春夏季，白萝卜污染最严重。市民常用的自来水浸泡、冲洗等方法对去除蔬菜表面大肠菌群有一定效果，其中以冲洗效果最佳。

此外，最好的杀灭蔬菜病原菌方法是沸水浸泡。沸水处理15秒可使蔬菜表面的大肠菌群数量明显下降，叶菜类蔬菜内部的大肠菌群经沸水浸泡30～45秒可基本杀灭，萝卜类内部大肠菌群经沸水浸泡60秒以上也可彻底杀灭。

风寒感冒初起，主要症状为头沉或头痛，怕冷，四肢酸痛发紧，身体发烧但无汗，同时伴有鼻塞，流清涕。患者自觉口不渴，咯痰稀薄色白，对镜还可自行观察到舌苔薄白。食疗应以辛温解表为主。

第一汤：“五神饮”（借鉴自《本草汇言》）

将荆芥、苏叶、生姜各10克切成粗末，与茶叶6克一同开水冲泡。一段时间后，与红糖30克搅拌，煮沸后趁热服下，服后盖被，如出汗不畅，一小时后可再服一次，即可使畏寒、身痛得到一定程度的缓解。表寒、身痛重者，可适当配麻黄6克、桂枝9克，以加强辛温散寒之力。

第二汤：“双白玉粥”（借鉴自《颜氏验方》）

粳米50克加水熬粥，沸腾后加入切片的半棵（主要用菜心和菜帮）大白菜、切段的大葱白20克和生姜10克，共煮至白菜、大葱变软，粥液黏稠时，起锅加食盐少许后食用。 此粥可促进出汗，驱散寒气，又能调和胃气，使发汗而不伤正气，尤其适合老人服用。

第三汤：豆腐火腿芥菜汤

豆腐100克切块或厚片，与50克火腿丝共用少量花生油微煸炒，加入1000克高汤、生姜10克煮沸，起锅前撒入芥菜30克、胡椒粉、香菜末，用食盐调味后趁热服用。感冒除了怕冷、身痛外，还往往伴有食欲不振，胃寒口淡，在前两汤基础上，此汤用芥菜、香菜、生姜和胡椒散寒，加以豆腐、火腿补中和胃，增进食欲，进一步加快人体调动自我恢复功能。

二、治风热感冒的三汤

风热感冒表现为发热加重、头痛、咽喉红肿干涩疼痛、鼻塞涕黄，咳嗽痰黏或黄，且口渴喜饮，怕风。对镜可观察到舌尖边红、苔薄白微黄。 还有可能加重头面部痤疮、便秘等。治法应以辛凉解表为主。

第一汤：薄荷粥(选自《送余录》)

薄荷15克煎取药汁候凉，取粳米60克加水煮粥，待粥将成时，加入薄荷汁及适量冰糖。稍温即服，得汗最佳。薄荷为疏散风热之要药，加粳米、冰糖制粥，能促使出汗，又有护胃作用。此汤饮对新感风热者最适宜。

第二汤：桑菊薄荷饮

桑叶6克，菊花6克，薄荷 3克，苦竹叶15克，蜂蜜少许，加适量水，煮沸，代茶频服。桑叶清肺热；菊花疏散风热，明目平肝；薄荷为疏散风热之要药，能迅速解除发热头痛等症状。有高血压或头痛、目糊之患者也较为适宜。

第三汤：贝母沙参蒸雪梨

将雪梨1个去皮去核，把贝母6克、沙参10克、薄荷2 克及冰糖适量填入，合起放在碗内加水蒸熟，早晚分食，连吃数日。此汤润燥止咳，化痰宣肺，尤其适用于老年人、儿童感冒后热病伤阴引起咽干咳嗽、肺热痰黄，或津伤口渴、大便燥结等症。

This sounds like a statement of the obvious. Who wouldn’t look forward to staying away from work for seven days? But the upcoming National Day holiday does bear some added significance. It has been nine months since people had the last seven-day holiday - the Spring Festival - because the May Day Golden Week in between was cancelled. In addition, there is the danger of losing the National Day Golden Week.

Tsinghua University Professor Cai Jiming, head of the "Project Panel for the Reforming of Holidays", said recently that the National Day Golden Week should also be cancelled "if the conditions are ripe with regard to paid vacations". The panel is believed to be the mastermind behind the government’s decision to shorten the seven-day May Day holiday to three days and add three more public holidays related to three other days on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Cai’s words evoked a wave of public criticism. All the surveys conducted by China’s major Internet portal websites indicated that more than 80 percent of netizens opposed the suggestion. They accused the professor of depriving them of the precious holidays while enjoying two long vacations himself every year.

Cai has defended his idea by blaming the Golden Weeks for causing overcrowding on public transport and at tourist venues. People’s need for longer holidays, he said, can be met by popularizing the practice of paid vacations.

Professor Cai must have been to Western countries, or at least learned a lot about them, and envied them for their vacation system. I also admire the practice but I doubt it will be practiced in China without obstruction.

Now, so-called paid vacations in their true sense are seldom seen in China. Even though some companies and government organizations do have a paid vacation schedule, it is often ignored. Employees usually "voluntarily" give up the vacation because they find it difficult to get someone to fill in for them they are on holiday.

With the Golden Week system, however, Chinese employees are guaranteed three long vacations every year as they are compulsory by law. These days are a precious time for employees who work away from their hometowns because they can take the time to visit their kith and kin. In fact, most holidaymakers, the majority of whom are students and rural migrant workers, use the three Golden Weeks to visit their families and relatives.

Even for those who use the holidays for tourism, paid vacations are an inferior alternative. People usually hope to spend holidays with their loved ones; how can they ensure that they can succeed in asking for leave from their respective workplaces simultaneously?

The cancellation of the May Day week has deprived Chinese people of an important opportunity for a family reunions. It is understandable why people are so angry with the "experts" who have now selected the National Day week as their next target for "holiday reform".

The experts may claim that that they only called for the scrapping of these holidays "when the conditions are ripe with regard to paid vacations". However, ordinary people will ask them: "Were the conditions ripe when you cancelled the May Day Golden Week?"

E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/24/2008 page8)

A while ago when Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, I wrote a blog to explain why it was unlikely for him to pick the latter as his running mate. I used “handsome” to describe him, and one of the responses was “What? Do you consider Obama handsome?”

Sure, I think he is a good-looking guy. But soon I was drowned out in the debate as more and more people joined my challenger and questioned my aesthetic wisdom.

So, I tried to think from the perspective of an ordinary Chinese netizen, without the knowledge of Obama’s eloquence, poise or his insight on race relations. He may not be as eye-catching as Denzel Washington, but he can certainly score pretty high on the point of physical attractiveness.

Surprisingly, many disagreed with me, and their thinking process was very interesting. For example, I thought slim was good in this era of body image consciousness, but many Chinese netizens seem to have got their standards of beauty of black Americans from telecasts of NBA games. One said it took him a while to recognize “black beauty” and now that Obama does not look like a typical NBA player it is hard for him to be categorized as physically appealing.

In fact, so many respondents cited NBA as their biggest exposure that it is not a stretch to say people like Kobe Bryant have become the benchmark for China’s youths to size up black males. Where does that leave Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Hollywood’s efforts in shaping global perception of black Americans? Obviously, not half as effective as the ubiquitous basketball player as far as China’s vast basketball fan base is concerned, and they have not even experienced the magic of Michael Jordan.

Chinese and blacks seem to occupy two ends of the aesthetic spectrum. A lot of trends started by blacks, such as hip-hop, reached China via middlemen like white American and Korean singers, losing much of the authenticity in the process. Even then, it is somewhat jarring to see a Chinese youth, with soft-toned skins and smaller features, don the XXL-sized attire of striking colors, which compliments a black teenager so naturally.

On the other hand, martial arts flicks reach the black demographic through mainstream channels like Blockbuster rental and mass-appeal products such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is not an exaggeration to say that the middle ground is firmly in the hands of Middle America, whose aesthetic values serve as a filter for exchange between non-white ethnicities and races. For example, unless for a function of ethnic diversity, a black would not wear an African tribal dress, nor would a Chinese put on a Tang-style costume. Most likely, they would both sport a business suit because it is the sartorial middle ground. If they do appear with their traditional garb, the outfit will be judged against the suit.

For a Chinese without constant contact with or exposure to black Americans, Obama’s look can only be extrapolated and evaluated by being imagined as a white person. It simply cannot be done. I have come upon a diary of a young Chinese journalist who did a comparison of Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, and it was condescendingly unfair. I guess the only black ladies familiar to a regular guy on a Beijing street are Whitney Houston or Halle Berry.

It has dawned on me that movie star beauty is an inaccurate barometer for a whole race. It may distort perception. The best way to get rid of misunderstanding and prejudice is to know as many people as possible of the race or ethnicity previously unknown to you. By then you’ll be able to see Obama - not as another Denzel Washington or Kobe Bryant - but as a charismatic politician that he is.

E-mail: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/23/2008 page10)

The focus here is primarily on writing essays concerning literature. You may have many great ideas and be a very intuitive and fine reader of literature, but no-one will ever know if you cannot express your ideas properly and your communicative skills are not developed. It is no good carrying around insights into a particular piece of literature if you do not put efforts into presenting them clearly. Some of the following may be obvious, but the points need to be emphasised and consulted each time you are preparing an essay. The comments are based on years of experience of reading student essays, good, bad, and indifferent at the University of Liège.

An essay should not be merely a list. Too many in the past have been a list of notes, or a series of sub-headings followed by a list of dashes (-) or stars (*) accompanied by one or two words and/or quotations from the literary text with no explanation of what they are doing there. Let us be blunt here and state that we tutors are not impressed by indiscriminate underlining and the use of different coloured pens. Sub-headings written in magenta, underlined in ochre, followed by a list of quotations in vermilion are pointless. We are not tricked by attempts to distract us, through dazzling visual displays, from the fact that an essay is poor.

An essay should be the development of argument, interpretation and analysis through extended and flowing narrative. To do this you need to work at the level of the sentence, of course, but also, very importantly, you need to work at the level of the paragraph. The paragraph is a coherent passage of logically connected sentences usually concentrating on no more than one or two ideas relevant to your argument. Do not use very short and unconnected staccato sentences. It takes experience and practice to develop a sense of when a new paragraph is needed and when it has been finished. Examine the introduction to this booklet and this guide to get some sense of how paragraphs, or ‘idea units‘ as they have also been called, can be developed and constructed, and how their ‘natural’ beginnings and ends appear. The first sentence of the paragraph should generally be a ’strong’ one, used to signal or indicate the idea to be discussed within the paragraph. Think of a ‘topic sentence’, as it has also been called, which will highlight the main areas examined in a particular paragraph. Connecting and signposting words and phrases should be learnt, used, practised and developed (examples are ‘furthermore’, ‘moreover’, ‘in addition’, ‘to qualify the above’, ‘however’, ‘in order to’, ‘in this connection’, ‘having established that’ etc.). The argument should develop through the language you use and therefore in a short essay sub-headings are unnecessary.

Several stages are involved in essay preparation, choosing which points are to be considered, deciding how you will deal with them, and the actual writing. As you gain more experience you will find methods and ways of working which suit you, your personality and lifestyle. Generally, however, the process will involve the following. You should examine carefully the statements made in the essay question, making sure you understand each word and what is being asked, as misreading and misunderstanding at this stage can be fatal. Essay questions can be very general, very specific and sometimes deliberately provocative, and an understanding of them is essential. Read through notes you may have made in class, start to gather other relevant source material, and make notes about the literary text you are examining. Ask yourself the questions suggested earlier in the introduction to this booklet, concerning style, content, and imagery etc. Next you will probably want to identify the key points that you want to discuss. There may be many points you find generally interesting, but ask yourself if they are relevant to the essay in question. To do this it can be useful to try to think of a title for your essay. This is not to be confused with the essay question or title, but is concerned with your response to the task set. What title would best give the reader an overview of your approach and analysis, and highlight the main points you examine and the conclusions you reach? (Suggestions concerning conclusions will be given later). You should not assume that an essay has to include and cover all the possible points an interpretation may offer up. A short, well organised and structured essay focusing on some of the main points is far better than an over-long and unwieldy attempt to say a little about everything. You may find it useful to state in the introduction which points you are focusing on and why. Keep your reader informed of the development of your argument. Let her or him know which direction is being taken and the reasons why. Once the main points have been identified you need to consider in which order they will be examined. Students often do not make the most of the good ideas they have because they get lost if the argument does not develop coherently. Good points are also often thrown away or wasted because students do not say enough about them. Make sure the relevance of each point to the main argument is clearly stated and demonstrated. You should dwell and linger on the points: often this requires no more than two or three extra sentences, particularly if your writing is concise and focused.

A good essay takes time to prepare and write, so start to think about it and do the groundwork well ahead of the essay deadline (even in timed conditions, such as exams, it is important to take the time to organise and structure the essay before starting to write). You will probably find that you need to work out your ideas on paper before writing the essay, and are encouraged to prepare an outline of the essay: a point by point series of key words, phrases and ideas. This will help you to organise the structure and to recognise what is relevant and irrelevant to the essay as a whole. Some people find that a plan or outline will consist of eight to ten words only. Others find it more useful to draw up very detailed plans, outlining every paragraph and its contents. Again you will discover which method works for you as you go along. Some students find it easier to think and plan the essay point by point before beginning to write, whilst others find that after some initial preparation, reading, organisation and thinking they can only develop their ideas through writing. Both these approaches take time, if the essays are to be done well. It should be stressed here that the first plan does not have to be binding and may change as the work begins and develops. The main point here is that essays involve a certain amount of planning and preparation even before the actual writing begins. Having emphasised that essays are hard work and take time it should also be stressed that it can be very stimulating and rewarding to work through a number of ideas in depth and detail. Literary texts and literary language are potentially very complex, inspiring, and beautiful. The ideas and images often demand careful thought and attention.

Computers are essential in terms of using the time you spend on an essay efficiently and productively. As stated earlier, good essay writing demands time spent on every stage of the process: reading and research, making an outline, ordering and structuring your ideas, writing and changing various drafts, and final editing and presentation. With this in mind it cannot be stressed enough how important it is for you to learn word-processing skills and to make sure you have access to a computer. Use the university resources. Admittedly the space available is limited at times but this is no excuse not to learn the skills, if you do not already possess them, and to find out where there are available computer terminals. Of course if you use university resources it is even more important to start your essay early in order to avoid the last minute rush as most students, not only from this department, search for terminals in a panic on the Friday before a Monday deadline. It is appreciated that students are very busy and do have a lot of work, but it is a mistake to claim, as some students have been heard, that they are too busy to learn word-processing skills. Ultimately word-processing will save you a lot of time. It is far easier to add and delete material, and to restructure and reorganise essays by moving material around, on a computer than if you are writing by hand. Software has become really user-friendly; ‘Word’, for instance, will tell you what to do in explicit English or French, and typing skills can be learned whilst typing.

Your essay will be the representation of an argument on a given subject or subjects. It will include only points which are relevant to the subject, so be careful to get rid of material that is not directly relevant. Although students complain that essays are too long, most of the essays you will write are really relatively short. Part of the skill of writing is to write concisely and economically, without wasting material or ‘padding’ the work with irrelevant diversions and repetition. Once the points have been chosen they should be presented logically and coherently, so do not leap about from point to point. Each point generally will have some connection to the preceding one and the one to follow. If you do leave one area of the essay to move into another, but intend later to go back to the point you have left and show, for example, how the points may be connected or related, then it can be useful to say so by ’signposting’, e.g. ‘this point will be picked up later’, ‘this point will be returned to later, after taking into consideration …’. After each draft of the essay check that each point is presented in a logical and coherent order. Read each draft carefully and critically. Is there a significant idea you have not included in the essay? Do you need to expand some of the points you have chosen to write about? Are some of the points, after due consideration, not really relevant? Have you been too long-winded or repetitive? If so, cut out and/or reduce some of the text. Does your argument need to be clearer, and do the links between some of the main points need more emphasis? You should be asking yourself these questions throughout the whole process.

A particularly distressing weakness in the past, but hopefully not the future, has been the absence of serious discussion of imagery and literary language. Some students have merely stated that the author uses imagery, illustrated this with an example, and then moved on to the next point on the list. If you discuss images, metaphors and other literary devices, then say how and why they are being used in the piece of fiction, and maybe if you think the imagery works or not. If you do not say how and why an image is being used then don’t mention it. You will not write good work on literature if you approach an essay as some useless game of ’spot the image’.

Throughout your years at the University of Liège you will be writing essays on literature which will inevitably include numerous quotations, either from the literature you are working on or from secondary sources, be they books or articles on historical context, literary criticism or other relevant areas. These quotations can obviously add much to the texture and quality of your work, but they are often handled very badly by students. Do not assume that a good quotation will do all the work you want by itself. Poor essays are often merely a patchwork of quotations stitched together by the briefest of comments, and it is a mistake to leave quotations hanging in mid-air, as it were, without comment or explanation. Quotations need to be framed. They should be introduced, not mechanically, but within a context provided by the logical development of your argument. (See Example 1 at the end of this guide). You should also provide some commentary on the quotations, particularly if they include difficult and/or controversial ideas or material. This is often likely to be the case as there is really little point in including ‘bland’ quotations in your essay. You may want to gloss, explain, qualify or modify the quoted words, or you may have included quotations whose assumptions or arguments you strongly disagree with. The latter case can be useful, if handled well. Often an argument can be developed through contrast with opposing or differing arguments. This tactic in essay construction also displays independent thinking in that it demonstrates that you have not unthinkingly accepted and believed everything you have read. One final point on quotations: do not plagiarise. Using other people’s work without saying so is a serious crime. Tutors have read widely on the subjects you will be writing on and are very likely to recognise when you are plagiarising. If you use other people’s ideas and words they have to be acknowledged through proper footnoting and referencing. (See Example 2 at the end of this guide).

Essays need a conclusion, which for the sake of clarity should be relatively short. It is generally best not to include new ideas or new material in your concluding comments, particularly since many people think that a conclusion should be a summary of the prior arguments. You may, however, point to alternative conclusions or arguments, or briefly suggest areas of interest that have not been dealt with directly by the essay. People often get the wrong idea about conclusions and believe that this is the place to state firm convictions, and that a conclusion has to make a stand and come down on the side of one argument or another. This can be the case but it is not necessarily so. If an essay title comes in the form of a question, for example ‘Is James Joyce seeking to distance himself from traditional forms of Irish culture?’, and you cannot decide, do not think that this is a problem. It is as much a sign of intelligence to state that you cannot decide as it is to sift through the evidence and decide one way or the other. Think about why you cannot decide. Perhaps the evidence is conflicting. Perhaps the literary text and its use of imagery is ambiguous, or even contradictory; as is often the case. If you cannot decide, then say so, outlining why you cannot decide. Alternatively, you may partly agree or partly disagree with the statements or questions raised by the title, or by questions raised directly in responding to the title. If so, say so. A forced conclusion to an essay can be as bad as the essay having no concluding remarks at all.

In connection to the last point it should be emphasised that any essay should be about your ideas and your interpretation of the literature being studied. Of course your ideas may, and indeed should, develop through discussions with friends, fellow students, tutors and through the consultation of books and articles, but it is your ideas which should form the basis of the essay. Whilst you will use material that is not your own, it is the way that you use, add to, adapt and modify this material that makes the argument your own and original. Your own voice should be heard. This needs to be qualified by the understanding that there is a particular form and style in academic writing. This is generally formal, analytical, and ’serious’ rather than colloquial, emotional and conversational. Your voice and your ideas need to be heard, but be careful of cultivating an overly idiosyncratic, ‘individual’ style. Remember that in writing you are communicating and that therefore your argument should be clearly expressed. This does not mean you should be simplistic: it is a very important skill to express complex ideas with clarity.

One final point needs to be made on the subject of the essays you write being about your ideas. Some of you may find this an extraordinary statement but it is a bad idea to tailor and construct your essay around what you believe your tutor or the head of the course thinks about the text, and what you think she or he wants to hear. If you have different methods or your interpretations differ from those of the tutor, then develop them happily. Remember that essay writing is all about presenting an argument and using evidence from the text and elsewhere to back up your statements, and if you do this well you will be given credit for it whether or not the tutor agrees with the overall argument. It is not particularly interesting for tutors to read in essays only what they have said in class, particularly if this is reproduced in a flat, unconvincing, and unconvinced manner. Of course you may agree and be persuaded by arguments and interpretations outlined in class but if you do not believe the arguments you reproduce in the essay it will be obvious and the tutor will wonder why you bothered to include them. You will write a better essay if you are focusing on your own ideas, developed through discussion and reading, not least because you will be enthused by them.

Eventually your ideas will be thought through, outlines planned and re-planned, main points developed, written down on paper, then rewritten, and finally given to your tutor. Nevertheless your work on the essay has not yet finished. Once the essay has been graded and returned it is very important that you do not merely look at the grade you have received before putting it at the bottom of your files. Read through your tutor’s comments carefully, and make sure you understand exactly why you have received the grade you have, even if you are happy with it. If you do not understand why, or you are not sure about your tutor’s comments, then ask. If it is not possible to ask during class or you would prefer to talk privately go to your tutor during office hours, or make an appointment if these clash with other classes. Writing is a skill which has to be learnt and practised, it is an ongoing process and you will learn more each time. Follow up work once the essay has been returned is an important part of this process.

Example 1: Using Quotations

The extract below, from a paper on Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, shows how quotations can be used. Because the paper quotes from the novel extensively, page numbers are found within the main body of the text, in parentheses, after complete bibliographical details have been provided in a footnote to the first quotation. Quotations from secondary sources are referenced by footnotes. Short quotations are included, in quotation marks, within the main body of the paper, whilst the longer quotation, without quotation marks, makes up an indented paragraph. Note that even when the writing by the author of the paper is combined with quotations from the novel and secondary sources the sentences are still grammatically correct and coherent.

Jean Brodie is convinced of the rightness of her own power, and uses it in a frightening manner: ‘Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life’.¹ This is Miss Brodie’s adoption of the Jesuit formula, but, whereas they claim the child for God, she moulds the child for her own ends. ‘You are mine,’ she says, ‘… of my stamp and cut …’ (129). When Sandy, her most perceptive pupil, sees the ‘Brodie set’ ‘as a body with Miss Brodie for the head’ (36), there is, as David Lodge points out, a biblical parallel with the Church as the body of Christ.² God is Miss Jean Brodie’s rival, and this is demonstrated in a literal way when one of her girls, Eunice, grows religious and is preparing herself for confirmation. She becomes increasingly independent of Miss Brodie’s influence and decides to go on the Modern side in the Senior school although Jean Brodie makes clear her own preference for the Classical. Eunice refuses to continue her role as the group’s jester, or to go with them to the ballet. Cunningly, her tutor tries to regain control by playing on her religious convictions:

All that term she tried to inspire Eunice to become at least a pioneer missionary in some deadly and dangerous zone of the earth, for it was intolerable to Miss Brodie that any of her girls should grow up not largely dedicated to some vocation. ‘You will end up as a Girl Guide leader in a suburb like Corstorphine’, she said warningly to Eunice, who was in fact secretly attracted to this idea and who lived in Corstorphine. (81)

Miss Brodie has different plans for Rose; she is to be a ‘great lover’ (146), and her tutor audaciously absolves her from the sins this will entail: ’she is above the moral code, it does not apply to her’ (146). This dismissal of possible retribution distorts the girls’ judgement of Miss Brodie’s actions.

The above passage is taken from Ruth Whittaker, The Faith and Fiction of Muriel Spark (London and Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1982), pp.106-7.

Example 2: Laying out a bibliography

The bibliography will usually include the relevant sources consulted in producing your essay, even if you have not referred to or quoted from them directly. The order is alphabetical and determined by the authors’ names. Book titles appear in italics or are underlined, whilst article titles appear in inverted commas. When referring to books you should include the author’s name, place of publication, the publisher, and the date when the book was published. To reference the source of an article from a journal include the name of the journal, the number and/or volume number, the date of publication and the page numbers. There are several styles for laying out a bibliography, but the same elements appear in each, and you must be consistent. Consult the handbooks to be found in the libraries for further details.

This is a model used by many British universities and publishers.

Bibliography

Dahlgren, Pete, Television and the Public Sphere (London: Sage Publishers, 1995)
Dubois, Ellen, ‘Antipodean Feminism’, New Left Review, no.206, July/August 1994, 127-33
Fussel, Paul, The Great War and Modern Memory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975)
Gledhill, Christine, ‘Melodrama’, in The Cinema Book, ed. Pam Cook (London: BFI, 1985), pp.73-84
Lodge, David, ‘The Uses and Abuses of Omniscience: Method and Meaning in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie‘ in David Lodge, The Novelist at the Crossroads and Other Essays on Fiction and Criticism (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971), pp.119-44
Pettifer, James, The Greeks (London: Penguin, 1993)

This is the model recommended by the Modern Languages Association (MLA) and is used by most American universities and publishers.

Bibliography

Dahlgren, Pete. Television and the Public Sphere. London: Sage Publishers, 1995.
Dubois, Ellen. “Antipodean Feminism.” New Left Review 206 (July/August 1994): 127-33
Fussel, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975.
Gledhill, Christine. “Melodrama” in The Cinema Book. Ed. Pam Cook. London: BFI, 1985. 73-84
Lodge, David. “The Uses and Abuses of Omniscience: Method and Meaning in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in David Lodge The Novelist at the Crossroads and Other Essays on Fiction and Criticism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971. 119-44
Pettifer, James. The Greeks. London: Penguin, 1993.

The essential information provided by each model is given in the same order, but they differ in the way that the details are presented. Whichever model you choose or are instructed to use ensure that you stay consistent to it.

Consult reference works for further advice. These books are on the open shelves:
· John Clanchy and Brigid Ballard, How to Write Essays (Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1992)
· Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (New York: MLA, 1995)

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1 Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (London: Macmillan, 1961), p.7. All further references are to this edition and given in the text.

2 David Lodge, ‘The Uses and Abuses of Omniscience: Method and Meaning in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie‘, in David Lodge, The Novelist at the Crossroads and Other Essays on Fiction and Criticism (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971), pp.119-44.