Choosing a topic – 25
others of equal interest. The first of these issues are somewhat negative
ones.
One consideration that might weigh heavily with you is the
relevance of a topic to the syllabus as a whole and to end-of-course
examinations in particular. The ‘pragmatic’ student might decide that
to write on such a topic effectively kills two birds with one stone, a
decision which justifies the argument ‘What am I studying for if not
to get my degree or diploma in the most efficient way possible?’ There
is nothing wrong with this argument provided that it is not allowed to
override the importance of being interested in the subject itself. Some
research into student performance in universities suggests that to be
too ‘syllabus-bound’ eventually works against academic success. If
you pursue your interests within the broad scope of the courses you
are taking, you will ultimately perform better than if you keep your
gaze too firmly fixed on the qualification at the end of it all. Bear it in
mind that enthusiasm for a subject will be manifest in your writing,
and will convey itself to a grateful reader.
For similar reasons you should not reject an interesting topic
because it has not yet been covered in class. Nor, having chosen such
a topic, should you postpone the beginning of your work until it
is. Lecturers and tutors rarely address their comments to the precise
question or questions raised by an essay topic. This is not necessarily neglect – and may be quite deliberate, since they do not wish to
read many essays which uniformly echo the lectures. Hence nothing that they say is likely to be of any more initial benefit to you
than what is contained in an introductory book on the subject. Even
if the classes do address issues of direct relevance to a topic, you
must realise that the lecturer is not giving you the answer to the
question but his or her answer, which must be analysed in exactly
the same way as you will analyse other answers in your written
sources. Indeed, if you have done your preliminary work before the
classes take the matter up, you will be in a much better position
to assess the value, the relevance and the significance of what is
said.
There are, in addition, certain other practical considerations
to be taken into account. Other things being equal, in courses with
many students unpopular topics may be worth a closer look. This is
others of equal interest. The first of these issues are somewhat negative
ones.
One consideration that might weigh heavily with you is the
relevance of a topic to the syllabus as a whole and to end-of-course
examinations in particular. The ‘pragmatic’ student might decide that
to write on such a topic effectively kills two birds with one stone, a
decision which justifies the argument ‘What am I studying for if not
to get my degree or diploma in the most efficient way possible?’ There
is nothing wrong with this argument provided that it is not allowed to
override the importance of being interested in the subject itself. Some
research into student performance in universities suggests that to be
too ‘syllabus-bound’ eventually works against academic success. If
you pursue your interests within the broad scope of the courses you
are taking, you will ultimately perform better than if you keep your
gaze too firmly fixed on the qualification at the end of it all. Bear it in
mind that enthusiasm for a subject will be manifest in your writing,
and will convey itself to a grateful reader.
For similar reasons you should not reject an interesting topic
because it has not yet been covered in class. Nor, having chosen such
a topic, should you postpone the beginning of your work until it
is. Lecturers and tutors rarely address their comments to the precise
question or questions raised by an essay topic. This is not necessarily neglect – and may be quite deliberate, since they do not wish to
read many essays which uniformly echo the lectures. Hence nothing that they say is likely to be of any more initial benefit to you
than what is contained in an introductory book on the subject. Even
if the classes do address issues of direct relevance to a topic, you
must realise that the lecturer is not giving you the answer to the
question but his or her answer, which must be analysed in exactly
the same way as you will analyse other answers in your written
sources. Indeed, if you have done your preliminary work before the
classes take the matter up, you will be in a much better position
to assess the value, the relevance and the significance of what is
said.
There are, in addition, certain other practical considerations
to be taken into account. Other things being equal, in courses with
many students unpopular topics may be worth a closer look. This is