How to Write a Paper at an English University

Odds are, you will only have two, possibly one, paper to constitute a majority of your grade in England. This guide is designed to give you a basic framework for writing. Whereas American universities generally emphasize working with the primary text over secondary sources – sometimes to the outright exclusion of secondary sources – English universities take an inverted approach. Your thesis will not count without research; the length of your bibliography matters.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Your class syllabus and reading list

1. Consult your reading list. As further steps will note, research is key. Happily, your professors have already found dozens to hundreds of sources for you, listed as the secondary reading.
2. Research heavily. You don’t have to read every book, but get quotable material from as many as possible.
3. Choose a thesis that navigates between your sources. Your thesis should say something akin to, “Joe, Bob and Sue are right, Nancy, Stu, and Larry are wrong.”
4. Trust your instincts. Don’t let the goal of citing many sources compromise your instinct for a strong thesis.

Tips & Warnings

• To be fair to the English system, heavy research is necessary for extended writing. Neither system is better, but they are different.
• English papers are graded on a roughly 40 to 70 point scale, with grades distributed between firsts, high seconds, low seconds, and thirds. Don’t worry about getting a 68. Consult your study aboard program for an exact translation to American grades, but it’s good. In the English system, God himself might get an 80, on a good day.
• Do not turn your paper in late, even by a minute. Students of small colleges, accustomed to 4ish deadlines under the professors door, are always surprised by large English universities having punch-clocks and forms in triplicate for turning papers into a central office. Any lateness will hurt your grade.