Review literature on the relationship between language and one or more social factors such as gender, class, ethnicity or some other social variable.
First step: review studies that relate language toe each of those variables.
Second step: review studies that relate to more than on variable.
Third step: summarise your arguments and write a conclusion.
Font – Times New Roman, 12pt, Arial 11pt, Calibri 11pt.
Margin – 2.54cm left and right (minimum); 3cm L/R (max)
Page numbers, anonymise (only the title and the word count to be included).
Marks are deducted for poor referencing.
Marks are deducted for poor spelling, punctuation, grammar and layout.
Terminology must be defined the first time it is used.
Quoted definitions should be from an appropriate, referenced academic source and briefly recapped in your own words.
Structure:
Introduction (approx 400w), Main body (approx 3200w), conclusion approx 400w).
Introduction:
sets the expectations for the reader. It is NOT a place to present your arguments, save that for the main body.
Outline the aim of your assignment.
Briefly mention the key theories and authors you rely on to make that
case.
Inform the reader of your main conclusion (say what are you arguing for, but do not present your arguments).
Main body:
– Discuss the relationship between language and each social variable.
– Discuss the interaction between language and multiple social
variables.
– Discuss how different approaches result in different theories/findings.
Conclusion:
– Focus on providing the arguments (describing the reasons) rather than conclusions.
For example, “Lakoff says women’s language is a sign of dominance” is a conclusion, not an argument.
In contrast, “Lakoff says the use of hedges indicates a lack of power” presents the reasons/arguments for that conclusion.
– Make the links between the theoretical arguments and their examples.
– The conclusion sums up how you argued for your thesis. As such, it MUST NOT contain new information (neither literature nor examples)!
