Mood: suggestion and implication – 139
r the implications of my general or more theoretical work for
providing a context for particular, empirical questions
(contextualising);
r the implications of my analysis for solutions to practical or
applied problems (recommending, applying);
r the implications of my analysis of some present or
contemporary issue for the prediction of what might happen
in the future (predicting).
All of these require you to stand back from the immediate details of
your answer: to look backwards, forwards, or more generally around
you, and to establish a context in which your answer can be placed.
An indication of the implications of your work may also be
thought of as an evaluation of its significance. Any such evaluation
is subject to dangers similar to the ones surrounding ‘suggesting’.
In this case, by contrast, the danger seems to lie in overvaluing
the implications or significance of your work. Not a few academic
papers conclude with rather large claims which may be little more
than thinly veiled appeals for research funds or for other researchers
to jump on the bandwagon. Such self-aggrandisement needs to be
resisted.
You as a student may not yet have had the chance to develop
a broader perspective on your work. Discussing its implications will
therefore be quite difficult. It is not, however, impossible if you
keep two things in mind (and these two things apply equally to the
handling of ‘suggestions’). First, avoid the very large and general
claim (e.g. ‘This essay demonstrates conclusively for the very first
time that . . . ’), and concentrate on the particular issues raised in your
essay as a starting point. Secondly, do not ignore the needs of a
conclusion until you find them staring you in the face. If putting
forward implications is important, then you must be looking out for
these wider significances when you are doing your reading and notetaking, as well as when you are writing your middle. A well-written
and carefully thought-out conclusion which reflects upon what you
have managed to achieve in the essay will fulfil Aristotle’s prescription
for an epilogue which heads up this chapter: ‘make the audience welldisposed towards yourself . . . ’.
r the implications of my general or more theoretical work for
providing a context for particular, empirical questions
(contextualising);
r the implications of my analysis for solutions to practical or
applied problems (recommending, applying);
r the implications of my analysis of some present or
contemporary issue for the prediction of what might happen
in the future (predicting).
All of these require you to stand back from the immediate details of
your answer: to look backwards, forwards, or more generally around
you, and to establish a context in which your answer can be placed.
An indication of the implications of your work may also be
thought of as an evaluation of its significance. Any such evaluation
is subject to dangers similar to the ones surrounding ‘suggesting’.
In this case, by contrast, the danger seems to lie in overvaluing
the implications or significance of your work. Not a few academic
papers conclude with rather large claims which may be little more
than thinly veiled appeals for research funds or for other researchers
to jump on the bandwagon. Such self-aggrandisement needs to be
resisted.
You as a student may not yet have had the chance to develop
a broader perspective on your work. Discussing its implications will
therefore be quite difficult. It is not, however, impossible if you
keep two things in mind (and these two things apply equally to the
handling of ‘suggestions’). First, avoid the very large and general
claim (e.g. ‘This essay demonstrates conclusively for the very first
time that . . . ’), and concentrate on the particular issues raised in your
essay as a starting point. Secondly, do not ignore the needs of a
conclusion until you find them staring you in the face. If putting
forward implications is important, then you must be looking out for
these wider significances when you are doing your reading and notetaking, as well as when you are writing your middle. A well-written
and carefully thought-out conclusion which reflects upon what you
have managed to achieve in the essay will fulfil Aristotle’s prescription
for an epilogue which heads up this chapter: ‘make the audience welldisposed towards yourself . . . ’.