A guide to Writing Good Essays
Archaeology of African Thought
ANT324L;AFR 374;ANT380k
Spring 2006
Instructor: Prof. J. Denbow;
Email: jdenbow@mail.utexas.edu
Office: 1.118 Schoch Hall
Office hours: MW 11:30-12:30 and by appointment
OVERVIEW
This course uses archaeological, anthropological and historical works to examine the development and transformation of African societies from the Neolithic through the slave trade and the beginning of the colonial period. The course will discuss the historic and prehistoric foundations of contemporary African societies south of the Sahara, focusing especially on equatorial and southern Africa. The intention is to develop an understanding of the cultural dynamics of Bantu societies and traditions, and their transformations through time. This provides an interpretive framework from which to examine emerging archaeological perspectives on the slave trade and its impact on the development of new traditions in the New World.
REQUIREMENTS
This course meets the requirements for substantial writing component classes. Grades will be based upon two short 4-5 page typed, double-spaced papers, a 5 page mid-term paper, and a final 10 page paper and class presentation on an African country, with a focus on the historical context of a problem of the student’s choosing. The first two papers will count for 15% and 20% respectively. The mid-term paper will account for 25% of the grade, with the final paper and presentation making up 40% of your grade. One class period will be devoted to showing students how to make their own Powerpoint presentations. Students should purchase a copy of Microsoft Office, which includes Powerpoint. This is available to students for $5.00 at the Campus computer store. The classroom is equipped to with both Windows and Macintosh machines.
Initial sources for country information can be found by searching by country in UTCAT. On the web you may find resources such as Africa Daily at . Many African countries also have online newspapers and, in some cases, even television news broadcasts (eg. Botswana Daily News: ) Government sources may simply reproduce the “party line”, however, so you may also look out for independent news media in some countries that may be more critical. For Botswana,forinstance,see (do ro this page, which will be updated every day/week). Summary information can also be found in the annual supplements to the print edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica in the library. Paper grades will be based both upon comprehension of course content and written expression in the papers. A guide to writing is included at the back of this syllabus. The following rubric will be used as a guide to grading papers:
ORGANIZATION (10%)
Were the basic sections (Introduction, Conclusion, Literature Cited, etc.) adequate?
Did the writer use subheadings well to clarify the sections of the text?
Was the material ordered in a way that was logical, clear, easy to follow?
CITATIONS (20%)
Did the writer cite sources adequately and appropriately?
Were all the citations in the text listed in the Literature Cited section?
GRAMMAR AND STYLE (20%)
Were there any grammatical or spelling problems?
Was the writer’s writing style clear? Were the paragraphs and sentences cohesive?
CONTENT (50%)
Did the writer adequately summarize and discuss the topic?
Did the writer comprehensively cover appropriate materials available from the standard sources (e.g. readings, appropriate books and other sources)?
Did the writer make some contribution of thought to the paper, or merely summarize data or publications?
TEXTS
1. Ehret, Christopher. 2002. Civilizations of Africa: a history to 1800. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville.
2. Leyland Ferguson. 1992. Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America 1650-1800. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
3. A class reader for this class is available at Abel's copies. Most of the readings come from this reader -- you cannot do without it. Digitized CD versions may be available. Discuss this with the people at Abel's if you think this will suit your needs better.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1: 18, 20 Jan.
Course overview and introduction to the physical geography of Africa
Readings:
1) Bohannan and Curtin (1995). In Africa and Africans. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights. Chapter 1. Myths and Facts pp. 6-15.
2) Ehret. Chapter 1, pages 3-17. Stop at “Africa and Human Origins.”
3) Saul Dubow (1995). Chapter 1: Introduction. Chapter 2: Physical anthropology and the quest for the ‘missing link.’ In Scientific racism in modern South Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Pp 1-65.
Film: Africa: Different but Equal. Vidcass 1663, Vol. 1a
Assignment: Choose a sub-Saharan African country that you will become familiar with and use to illustrate your short papers. This country will also be the subject of your final paper.
Week 2: 23, 25, 27 Jan.
African climates, rainfall, vegetation and economic resources
Readings:
1) Bohannan and Curtin (1995). Chapter 2. The African Continent, pp. 18-32.
2) John Reader (1998). Building a Continent. pp. 9-17.
3) John Reader (1998). Chapter 11. On Home Ground. pp. 99-104.
4) John Reader (1998). Chapter 24. Disease and Affliction. pp. 239–248.
5) Ehret, Chapter 2, pp. 26-55 (stop at section on Afrisan civilization).
Short paper #1: write a brief but formal paper outlining the physical geography, climate and natural resources of your chosen country. Include one major problem facing your country in terms of its natural resources or climate. (Due Jan. 27th)
Week 3: 30 Jan.; 1, 3 Feb.
Distribution and characteristics of African languages. Social context: gender, age, household, family, lineage, clan and marriage.
Readings:
1) Bohannan and Curtin. Chapter 3. Mapping Africa. pp. 34-45.
2) Harold Schneider (1981). The Africans: an ethnological account. Chapter 4, Marriage, descent, and association, pp. 82-119.
3) Bohannan and Curtin. Chapter 5. African Families, pp. 64-75.
4) Bohannan. (1966). Shakespeare in the bush. Natural History.
Film: Africa: Mastering a Continent. Vidcass 1663, Vol. 1b.
Week 4: 6, 8, 10 Feb.
Tribes and Tribalism: imposed or indigenous? Historical tradition, situational construction, western rationalization?
Readings:
1) John Reader. 1998. Chapter 44. The Afrikaners. pp. 487–498.
2) Adrian Southhall (1970). The illusion of Tribe. In Perspectives on Africa, edited by Roy Grinker and Christopher Steiner, Blackwell: Oxford.pp. 38-51.
3) Leroy Vail (1988).Ethnicity in southern African history. In Perspectives on Africa, pp. 52-68.
4) Terence Ranger (1983). The invention of tradition in colonial Africa. In Perspectives on Africa, pp. 597-612.
Short paper #2. Summarize the linguistic and ethnic diversity of your chosen country. What is the difference between ethnicity and tribalism? What problems facing your country are commonly framed in the international press in terms of ethnicity or tribe? Is this point of view shared or contested by local people? In what ways? (Due Feb. 13)
Egypt, North Africa and Ethiopia
.Week 5 and 6: 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24 Feb.
Ancient Egypt and North Africa, Afro-centrism and the cultures of sub-Saharan Africa
Readings:
1) Ehret, Chapter 3, pp. 59-81. (stop at Agricultural Invention).
2) Martin Bernal. 1987. Black Athena: the Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization. pp. 1-38; 433-438
3)Diop, Cheikh . The Meaning of our Work. In Perspectives on Africa, pp. 724-7.
4)Appiah, Kwame. Europe Upside Down: Fallacies of the New Afrocentrism. In Perspectives on Africa, pp. 728-31.
Film: Egypt: Gift of the Nile
Film: Akenaten
Film: Roman Africa-Tunisia
Film: Arc of the Covenant
Sub-Saharan Africa
Week 7: 27 Feb.; 1, 3 March
Contemporary Hunter-gatherers as windows on the Pleistocene and Neolithic? Evolutionary constructs and ethnographic essentialism.
Readings:
1) Ehret, Chapter 3, pp. 82-106. Chapter 4, pp. 107-118. (Stop at Civilization and Herding…).
2) Bailey, R., Jenike, M., Owen, B., Rechtman, R., Zechenter, E. (1989). Hunting and Gathering in Tropical Rainforest: Is it Possible? American Anthropologist 91:59-82.
3) Saul Dubow, 1995. Chapter 3: Bantu origins and racial narratives. In Scientific Racism, pp. 66-119.
4) James Denbow (1990). Congo to Kalahari: data and hypotheses about the political economy of the western stream of the Early Iron Age. African Archaeological Review 8: 139-175.
Film Clips from Spencer Wells
Week 8: 6, 8, 10 March
Metalworking and metaphysics
Readings:
1) Eugenia Herbert (1993). Iron, Gender and Power: rituals of transformation in African societies. Indiana University, Bloomington. pp. 1-40.
2) Ehret, Chapter 4, pp. 146-143. (Stop at Lands and States).
SPRING BREAK
Week 9: 20, 22, 24 March
African religion: status, authority and power.
Readings:
1) Paula Ben-Amos (1994). The Promise of Greatness: women and power in an Edo spirit possession cult. In Religion in Africa, edited by T. Blakely, W. van Beek and D. Thomson. Heinemann: Portsmouth, pp. 119-134.
2) John Janzen (1994). “Drums of Affliction" real phenomenon or scholarly chimaera? In Religion in Africa, edited by T. Blakely, W. van Beek and D. Thomson. Heinemann: Portsmouth, pp. 161-181.
3) Wyatt MacGaffey (1986). Religion and Society in Central Africa: the baKongo of lower Zaire. University of Chicago, Chicago. pp. 1-102.
4) Pierre de Maret (1994). Archaeological and other prehistoric evidence of traditional African Religious expression. In Religion in Africa, edited by T. Blakely, W. van Beek and D. Thomson. Heinemann: Portsmouth, pp. 183-195.
5) James Denbow (1999). Heart and Soul: glimpses of ideology and cosmology in the iconography of tombstones from the Loango coast of the Congo. Journal of American Folklore 112 (445):404-423.
(5 page mid-term paper due 29 March)): Using examples from your readings and lectures, discus how authority and power, gender, and religion are situational dimensions that come together to inform situations of everyday action in sub-Saharan Africa. In what ways is an understanding of these relations essential to understanding Africa, both in the past and in the present? In what ways does this “matrix of relations” compare or contrast with your own experiences in the United States?
Week 10: 27, 29, 31 March
Emergence of Chiefdoms in southern Africa
Readings:
1) Ehret, Chapter 6, pp. 238-289.
2) James Denbow. 2001. James Denbow (2002). Stolen Places: archaeology and the politics of identity in the later prehistory of the Kalahari. Africanizing Knowledge: African Studies across the disciplines, edited by T. Falola and C. Jennings. Summerset: Transaction Publishers Rutgers: 345-374.
Week 10: 3, 5, 7 April
Prehistoric States: Great Zimbabwe.
Readings:
1) Thomas Huffman, 1996. Snakes and Crocodiles: Power and Symbolism in Ancient Zimbabwe. Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg. Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5, pp. 17-174
2) Webber Ndoro 2001. Your Monument our Shrine: the preservation of Great Zimbabwe. Chapters 3, 4 , 7 and 8; pp. 21-51; 93-120.
Week 11: 10, 12, 14 April
Central African States and the origins of the European Slave trade. Commodity production and indebtedness. The African side of the trade.
Readings:
1) Ehret, Chapters 8 and 9, pp. 349-445. (Stop at Eastern Africa …)
2) Joseph Miller (1988). Way of Death: merchant capitalism and the Angolan slave trade, 1730-1830. James Currey, London: Chapters 1-4, pp. 3-139.
Film: The Bible and the Gun, Vidcass 1663, Vol. 3a
Week 12: 17, 19, 21 April
The New World: Uncommon ground or dialectic?
Readings:
1) Leyland Ferguson (1992). Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America, 1650-1800. Smithsonian, Washington, DC.
2) Mark Leone and Gladys-Marie Fry (1999). Conjuring in the Big House Kitchen: An interpretation of African American belief systems based on the uses of archaeology and folklore sources. Journal of American Folklore 112: 372-403.
3) Brian Thomas (1998). Power and Community: the archaeology of slavery at the hermitage plantation. American Antiquity 64(4): 531-551.
4) Maria Franklin (1995). “Rethinking the Carter’s Grove Slave Quarter Reconstruction: A Proposal”. In The Written and the Wrought: Complementary Sources in Historical Anthropology, edited by M. D’Agostino et al. Kroeber Anthropological Papers, Vol. 79, pp. 147-164.
5) Maria Franklin (2004). Chapter 9, “Archaeological and Historical Interpretations of Domestic Life at Rich Neck, ca. 1740s-1770s. In An Archaeological Study of the Rich Neck Slave Quarter and Enslaved Domestic Life. Colonial Williamsburg Archaeological Reports. Colonial Williamsburg Fouindation, Richmond, pp. 207-230.
Extra credit paper # 3: a 3 page paper. Due date will be announced in class. Rather than arguing for a complex dialectic between “master” and “slave,” Ferguson proposes that two distinct “sub-cultures” are represented on New World plantations which, “shared many aspects of culture; but for the most part, slave quarters and the “big house” were on separate ground.” Critique Ferguson’s perspective from the perspective of your readings on African philosophy and regional and local scales of colonial discourse.
Weeks 13 and 14: 14, 16, 18 April; 1, 3, 5 May
Class Presentations and discussion of final papers
Final papers due on Wednesday, May 5th. These 10 page papers will summarize student research into the country of their choice: its peoples, cultures, languages, history and problems. You may incorporate elements of earlier essays in this final paper. Students will sign up to present a 10 minute summary of their country and its problems during the final two weeks of class. Facilities will be available for Powerpoint presentation and overhead projections. Two minutes will be reserved after each paper for other students to ask questions of the presenters.
There will be no final exam in this course
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Archaeology of African Thought:
A Brief Guide to Writing Good Essays
Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.
–Mark Twain
One of the purposes of this course is to give you some experience in writing papers and essays. A large proportion of your grade will be based on how well you express your ideas and thoughts on paper. This presents several difficulties. First, because African peoples and cultures are likely to be new to you, you will be learning and digesting new material - some of which may contradict stereotypes and assumptions you presently hold. It will take time to get a grasp on this material, and you may have to work at expressing yourself. Secondly, you will have to organize and structure your essays so that they present your thoughts, ideas, and feelings clearly.
There are three levels that you should pay attention to when you write an essay: overall organization; paragraph structure; and sentence structure. If you check for clarity at each of these levels, you will write an effective essay. The result you want to strive for is a series of paragraphs that flow together, giving the reader a sense of being carried along smoothly and quickly from point to point in the paper. This is not "easy" for anyone, including Mark Twain, and most authors go through a painful process of rewriting and clarifying many times before they have a satisfactory product. It is not always easy to see where your thoughts do not "flow," or where you have been wordy or vague. One thing I have found useful is to read aloud what I have written, either to myself or to a friend. Often just trying to say a sentence out loud will make it clear where it goes on too long, or loops back on itself.
Here are some more specific pointers for writing clear and effective sentences:
THE BASICS
Outline:
Even for the simplest essays, it is extremely useful to outline, on paper, what you are going to write. This is especially critical for an evaluative essay, which requires that you follow a theme or thesis throughout the text.
Proof Read:
The majority of your mistakes will be minor. However, these mistakes will absolutely ruin an essay if they are not corrected. A thorough reading of the essay, combined with a spelling check on the work processor, will identify almost all of these small errors that are bound to destroy your grade.
LAZY MISTAKES THAT WILL RUIN YOUR GRADE
Misspellings:
In this age of word processing, there is absolutely no excuse for misspelling words. [And for UT students you can get an especially good deal at the UT microcenter which sells copies of Microsoft Word 2000 (Windows) and Word 98 (Macintosh) for $5.00 with a student ID. These programs have valuable grammar and spell checkers. Though the suggestions they offer are sometimes wrong, they do help point out careless errors – and sometimes systematic ones as well. Go buy the program.]
Incomplete Sentences:
An incomplete sentence contains only a dependent clause that does not express a complete thought. Dependent clauses almost always begin with conjunctions such as because, if, since, that, unless, when, where, whether, or as. A worse sin is to write a sentence that does not contain a verb.
Run-on Sentences:
This occurs when two independent clauses are written as a single sentence without any conjunction separating them. An independent clause contains at least a noun and a verb, and makes sense by itself. Two independent clauses in the same sentence should be connected with a conjunction such as and, but, or, for, then, yet, still, however, or therefore proceeded by a comma. They can also be divided into two separate sentences or, rarely, be separated by a semicolon. Never simply place a comma between two independent clauses.
Wrong:
Some people followed herds of animals, others stayed where farming was adequate.
Right:
Some people followed herds of animals, but others stayed...
Right:
some people followed herds of animals; others stayed . . .
Nonsensical Sentences:
Like the previous errors, nonsensical sentences are almost always attributable to laziness. For example:
Animal bones and fossils can be identified as one form of food for people.
Some people followed herds of animals on the planes.
Time that is being efficiently used up thanks to the hierarchical system.
The main reason for the extended length of time would be at the time when the archaeological has published his reports.
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GRAMMATICAL PROBLEMS
Subject-Verb Agreement
Always make sure that the subject and verb agree in number and person. A common problem is to change the verb tenses or subject number between sentences that discuss the same subject or event. Remember that phrases between the subject and the verb do not affect the number of the verb; e.g., The purpose of these rules is to help you get an ‘A’. And remember, data are plural, not singular.
Parallel Constructions:
Parallel thoughts should be expressed in grammatically parallel content and structure.
Wrong:
The students came to class on foot, by car, and bicycle.
Right:
The students came to class on foot, by car, and by bicycle.
Wrong:
It was both a long section and very tedious.
Right:
It was both a long and tedious section.
Wrong:
His comments were marked by disagreement and scorn for the essay’s content.
Right:
His comments were marked by disagreement with scorn for the essay’s content.
Misplaced Modifiers:
This is a very common problem. Keep related words together and in the order that conveys their intended meaning.
The Aztec rulers almost sacrificed all of their own people.
The Aztec rulers sacrificed almost all of their own people.
Both sentences are correct, but they convey different meanings. Misplaced modifiers can often make the sentences quite entertaining. e.g., He told her that he wanted to marry her often.
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PUNCTUATION
Colons and Semicolons:
Use a colon before a list or summary that explains the preceding material, but never use one after a verb. Semicolons are used between independent clauses that are too closely related to be written as separate sentences. It is wise to avoid their use, for they can become “writing crutches” that will obscure your writing.
Comma:
The following are a few of the rules for comma usage. A general rule of thumb is to place a comma at every point where you would normally pause if you read the sentence out loud.
Use a comma to separate independent clauses that are joined by conjunctions such as and, but, or for, yet, and so. An independent clause is one that contains its own noun and verb, and makes sense by itself. e.g., The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true. -- James Branch Cabell
Joining independent clauses without a conjunction creates a run-on sentence.
Wrong:
The keg ran out of beer, most people left the party.
Right:
The keg ran out of beer, and most people left the party.
Use a comma between dependent and main clauses only when the dependent clause precedes the main clause. A dependent clause is an incomplete statement cannot stand alone.
Wrong:
Everything is funny, unless it is happening to someone else.
Right:
If you can’t say anything good about someone, sit right here next to me. -- Alice Longworth
Use a comma after an introductory element, such as for example, in general, therefore, and however. Never place a comma between the subject and verb!
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EASILY CONFUSED AND MISUSED WORDS
Civilization:
In common usage, this refers to a complex society that possesses a written language, advanced arts, and sciences. Do not use it to refer to all prehistoric societies.
Culture:
Because culture is an intangible entity, such as the ideas, customs, and skills found in a society, it is not animated. For example, cultures do not adapt or react to environmental changes, societies do.
Etc.:
This is normally used as a “writing crutch” to end a list of items. It is better to say “and so forth” or “all the rest.” Never use any of these after a list introduced by such as or for example.
Fewer/Less:
“Fewer” is used for units, “less” for quantity or bulk. “Fewer” takes a plural noun, while “less” uses a singular noun.
It’s/Its:
“It’s” is the contraction of “it is.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun.
There/Their:
“There” is an adverb or noun used in a variety of situations, while “their” is always a possessive pronoun.
Data are plural (datum is singular).
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STYLE
Avoid Writing in the First Person:
Write in a way that draws the reader’s attention to the sense and substance of your writing, rather than to your own mood and temper. Similarly, do not interject your opinions into your essay. If your writing is good, you can subtly reveal your feelings and opinions within the text.
Prepositions:
The use of prepositions can be confusing. There is no need to be anal about this issue, especially when your sentence ends with a verb that is always accompanied by a preposition. However, try to avoid ending with prepositions that could easily be incorporated into the body of the sentence.
Bad Sentence Beginnings:
It is grammatically correct to begin a sentence with a coordinate conjunction such as but, and, then, however, thus, and therefore. However, you should avoid frequently using them as a “writing crutch” to connect a series of sentences. This is particularly true of then and next, which are frequently used to string sentences together when discussing a sequence of events. Try removing these from your sentences; usually they will make perfect sense and sound better without them.
Even worse sentence beginnings are phrases such as the truth is, the fact is, and what I am trying to say is. If you feel you are possessed of the truth, say it right away. If you have to restate something you said in the previous sentence, then you’re in trouble.
Omit Unnecessary Words:
This is the most common problem found in all essays. People often believe that their writing will sound much more impressive if their sentences are long and confusing ...NOT!
Bad Style:
Archaeology basically begins by carefully studying the smallest attributes of a single prehistoric culture in the past.
Good Style:
Archaeology begins by studying the attributes of a prehistoric culture.
Bad Style:
The tree-ring method for chronological dating is able to show whether or not a drought occurred or if a wet period of rain occurred.
Good Style:
The tree-ring dating method can show whether a drought or wet period occurred.
Avoid redundant word combinations such as first time ever, regular routine, rarely ever, past history, ultimate outcome, chronological dating, etc. The same is true of redundant or unnecessary adverbs and other wordy expressions:
it is often the case that = frequently
owing to the fact that = since or because
all of the details = all the details
finish up the work = finish the work
take into consideration = consider
Finally, avoid repetition. Try not to use the same word or phrase more than once in every two or three sentences. Using the same word twice in the same sentence is definitely bad style.
Use Simple Words:
Avoid four- or five-syllable words when one or two syllables will convey the same idea. Many people believe that the use of “sophisticated” words will make their writing sound intellectual. However, these words are often not well understood by either the writer or the reader. Avoid elaborate, pretentious, coy, and cute words.
Use Words Correctly:
If you don’t really understand what a word means, don’t use it! Don’t make up words. For example, avoid the use of nouns as adjectives, either by chaining nouns together or by tacking -ize, -ness, or -wise onto a noun: e.g., adaptation system change, strategize, anxiousness
Do Not Use Clichés, and Avoid Metaphors:
Avoid expressions such as the bottom line, the cutting edge, covers a Huge terrain, the seeds of archaeology, and waiting to be unleased.
Be Specific and Concrete:
Avoid using vague and abstract words, phrases, and sentences. For example, the words relation and related are virtually meaningless. They simply indicate that two things are somehow connected. Almost everything in the world is connected in some way, so try to replace this word with something more concrete.
Bad Style:
Relative and absolute chronologies are related in important ways.
Bad Style:
The tools of the prehistory of mankind, found under the earth’s surface, give rise to more advanced weapons in the layers above.
Bad Style:
The archaeologist uses his various methods in order to find something under the ground.
Avoid Meaningless Qualifiers:
Try not to use phrases such as most important, really, amazingly, fantastic, very interesting, rather, kind of, one of the most, and very. No one is really going to believe that you are that fantastically fascinated by the most important subject of archaeology.
Avoid Passive Voice:
The passive voice uses more words and often lacks the vigor of the active voice. Although it is difficult to use only the active voice in essays on archaeology and prehistory, try to avoid the passive voice as much as possible.
Passive:
The life of the Tiv was investigated by Dr. Laura Bohannan.
Active:
Dr. Laura Bohannan investigated the life of the Tiv.
Avoid Bias in Language:
Bias-free language reduces confusion and avoids possible offense. Avoid the use of masculine pronouns or other words specifying race or gender. For example, “human” or “person” can be used in place of “man.”
References:
Every citation to a reference you make in the text must have an entry in the References cited section of your paper. If you read something for your paper that you do not cite in the text, do not put it in the References cited section. Also, copying someone else’s writing essentially word for word without putting quotations around it can be considered plagiarism, even if you put a reference at the end of the paragraph.
For this class we will use the "Style Guide for Authors" published for the Journal of
American Antiquity. The most recent version where it appears is: Vol. 57, No. 4, pp.
749-770.
Citations in the text should be presented as follows:
(author's last name date:page number)
eg. (Wylie 1991:232-236)
If there are more than two authors:
(First author's last name et al. Date:page(s))
eg. (Cobean et al. 1991)
In the References cited section should be listed in alphabetical order by last name:
author's last name, first and middle initial
date title. Publisher, location of publication.
Examples of the basics:
Article in an edited book or monograph:
Bartel, B.
1985 Comparative Historical Archaeology and Archaeological Theory. In
Comparative Studies in the Archaeology of Colonialism, edited by S. L.
Dyson, pp. 8-37. BAR International Series 233. British
Archaeological Reports, Oxford.
Multiple authors of a book:
Hampton, D. R., C. E. Summer, and R. A. Weber
1978 Organizational Behavior and the Practice of Management. 3rd ed.
Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois.
Edited book:
McHugh, W. (editor)
1977 The Teaching of Archaeology. Southern Illinois University Press,
Carbondale.
Journal article:
Seifert, D. J.
1991 Within Sight of the White House: The Archaeology of Working Women.
Historical Archaeology 25(4):82-108.
A quick writer's checklist:
1. Does my opening paragraph start fast – that is, do I come right to the point, boldly and concisely – or am I really only wasting my reader's time with a pointless preamble?
2. Have I ended the opening paragraph with a clear thesis statement that lays out the gist of my paper?
3. Do the bridges between my paragraphs provide a good sense of flow? And are each of my sentences in some way explicitly connected to the ones before and after them?
4. Are any of my phrases "merely adequate?"
5. Have I been absolutely true to what I feel, and have I expressed my feelings with conviction, or have I simply written a Standard Student Essay (dead, emotionless, phony)?
6. Does each sentence contribute something significant, or are some just filling space?
7. Do I have enough solid examples to support my generalizations?
8. Have I employed enough different sentence patterns to avoid monotony?
9. Have I given sufficient variety to my sentence length?
10. Does my prose sound reasonably conversational when read aloud?
11. Have I been conscious of my audience? Is my tone right for that audience? Is my tone consistent?
12. Are both my argument and organization clear enough that a reader could pass a pop quiz on my essay after just one reading?
13. Can I eliminate any "It is" and "There is" constructions?
14. Have I overused the passive voice? And can I find shorter synonyms for any of my verbs to give them greater punch?
15. Are there any places where I can introduce another simile, metaphor, or example?
16. Is my title accurately descriptive and engaging, or does it just look tacked on at the last minute?
17. Does my essay reach a solid conclusion, or does it merely stop?
18. Can I find at least one more sentence that would work better if collapsed into a subordinate clause?
19. Have I made every word count, or am I guilty of laziness?
20. Would I enjoy reading my own essay? If not, why not?
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