Making Notes and Altering the Essay's Course

Firstly, I find the vein of my previous post (describing making notes by individual book/essay) unnecessarily redundant and time-consuming: it is easier to say that I have been consistently making notes during this period for my essay.

However, during this process I have discovered a startling lack of coherent and relevant information regarding tragicomedy that would relate it to the other aspects of my essay. Therefore, I am considering axing it and instead focusing on the authorship and the far broader subject of 'characters', which will encompass their roles in the narrative, their representations, and the subtext of this. When I return to college, I will discuss this change with my supervisor.

Making Notes: Part 1

After much deliberation (and deliberation still continues), I've begun to make notes on texts that are available to me online for free, before I venture to texts I have to purchase.

The first text I have made notes on (and will likely return to) is 'The Pictoral Edition of the Works of Shakespeare', which was edited by Charles Knight. It is the Second Edition Revised and was published in 1867. I accessed it in a digitised format provided by Google Books, although the original publishing information is as follows:

London: George Routledge & Sons
The Broadway, Ludgate,
New York: - 416, Broome Street
1867.

I took notes from pages 169 to 181.

http://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qad-qRiemBktrMvmespcyyWisHT8SuhHF2sVw8NZ3b3cMgt0pst3E4VLX0r-EvpisF0HdVK_9OhT-tfWHe3dCxKNHsq7EZS4Ly5PSi0aLM9_XIf71eeVgUZkTga1v-XRpudB06RKu-T8fnd3MO7gSdvXsyxfPDVX-cTKtaUCbu7b8dQ_xcaAH15fbeobgufYS9EGxivpZdHAfejl8RrnKMxbOHhG5MXQ-vm9fH-vat91A1eq5lplmVQVqMdJw7JZ53rzee3p6PazQLypc0_Hp_rXO04__0XPdm2pie_qLcFXBPKh0L4

Creating a JSTOR Account

After realising that my quibbles with JSTOR registering, I realised that there wasn't an issue regarding the fact that I was not at a University level, as it was an optional requirement. Therefore, I have created my account, created a 'List' (creatively entitled 'EPQ') for my possible texts to relate, and will therefore begin to investigate the site and try and find how useful it can be for my EPQ.

'Characters' Section: Spider Diagram

I decided to complete a spider diagram regarding my structure, and decided to consider my potential areas of investigation for the section on 'Characters'.

Of course, these ideas are subject to change once I have a great breadth of critical texts to draw from, so therefore will be more closely informed.

Starting to Structure

While I haven't finished collating my resources or annotating them, I decided to create myself a simple skeleton structure to give me a clear visual of what and where my research will need to go.

‘Is ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ a conventional Shakespeare play in regards to its origins, characters, and nature as a Tragicomedy?’ 

From my title, it is obvious that my essay would be divided up into the argument of whether the play is or is not conventional, which means that this would be discussed and debated within the sections I've made above. I hope that they will be similar to several miniature essays building into my larger argument, but will need to develop it further.

'Developing Your Research Project' Week Seven

I've completed the seventh week of the MOOC, and it has provided me with a greater insight into the structuring of essays and the importance this has in regards to my own work. Therefore, I feel it has been one of the most important weeks in regards to gaining knowledge.

'Developing Your Research Project' Week Six

Since I've completed the sixth week of the MOOC, I have developed a greater understanding of referencing and its importance in an essay. Furthermore, the details regard bibliographies and the helpful quiz (which I scored all answers correct on) were intensely relevant to my literary-based essay.

An Alteration to My Working Title

I decided to alter my title to encompass the nature of the play's authorship; reading the Introduction, I realised how important it was to how the play is perceived. Furthermore, how can the play truly be conventional of Shakespeare if there's debate over whether he was its author at all.

I shall regard this in my research, notes, and analysis.

Texts in Limbo

After discovering that I could not borrow books from Southampton's Hartley Library (being that I am not a student) or find any texts that I could take pictures of/make notes of, I am therefore plummeted into a limbo for my secondary sources. I currently need to negotiate with JSTOR (as I am informed that they supply to undergraduates?) to see if I can access their texts. My college does not have a JSTOR account, so I would have to take it upon myself to purchase any necessary texts. This therefore alters the amount that I can relate to in my essay, and will definitely be a game-changer.

'Developing Your Research Project' Week Five

After completing week five of the MOOC, I have found a greater depth and understanding of skim-reading, note-taking, and the importance of executing these correctly. Therefore, I feel that it has been especially relevant as of late, as my primary text has arrived, although my secondary texts are unfortunately still in limbo.