AvidBards
Academic

How To: UK vs US Writing

Regional Spelling Differences We cannot properly talk about English literature without talking about the way something is written, a big part of which is spelling. A constant source of irritation with grammar snobs is the difference in dialects. Indeed, the way that the English language has developed can be very different depending on the region. Today’s post will provide a brief rundown of the most significant spelling differences between British English, American English and Australian English. Common practice is that Australian English tends to follow the rules of British English, though there are some exceptions. In all cases, the most…

View Post
Academic

How To: Humanities Writing

In light of the circumstances, Z and I spent a lot of time thinking about how best to contribute in a productive and helpful way. We know that many schools and jobs are physically closed but are continuing online in some form or another. For this reason we thought it would be a good idea to start posting more technically helpful posts. We’re super excited to be introducing a brand new series on the blog today – How to: Humanities Writing!  Today’s post is inspired by my background in academia and literature. For a little context, I have a bachelor’s…

View Post
Academic

PhD Year 1: What I Learnt

Let’s start with the basics: A PhD (Doctorate in Philosophy) is the highest level of academic certification a university offers. This requires producing original research in a specific field, which upon completion must be defended in front of a panelist of experts. The term dates back as far as Medieval Europe though, at the time, the requirements usually only called for advanced scholarship rather than original research. Even now, requirements for a PhD differ across institutions ad nations but in all cases, original research remains compulsory.  So why do a PhD? I could write a whole post on what to…

View Post
Poems

T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland”

An Academic Essay on Fragmentation in The Wasteland  “These fragments I have shored against my ruins” – T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland For today’s post, I’ve revisited another old essay from my time in academia. In my very first year of university, in one of the most life changing English classes I’ve taken to date, we studied T.S. Eliot’s famous poem The Wasteland. The essay I wrote explores the fragmented structure and context, as well as the history that influenced the poem. T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland is perhaps best well known as marking the foundation of modern poetry. This is due…

View Post
Academic

Understanding Tragic Romance

There have been many times where I hear a person – or an institution – say that tragic plays like Romeo and Juliet or novels like Wuthering Heights are ‘romantic’. I’ve always had somewhat of a problem with this ideology – and that’s not to say that I think those people are wrong. Because the fact of the matter is, works like these are set up and have long been advertised as romances. Not only that, but they have been set up to epitomize romance. However, there are so many more layers as to what kind of romance is portrayed…

View Post

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Where to next?