ATS1280 Chap.9 The Citation Chain Essay and Its Redraft
The Citation Chain Essay and Its Redraft
Seventy per cent of the unit sits in one piece of work assessed twice. The first draft is 750 words and thirty per cent; the final essay is 1,500 words including a statement of up to 300 words, and forty per cent.
Because the final essay is marked partly on the redrafting process, Monash requires both to be composed, from first word to last, inside one Google Docs file, and states that work not meeting that condition cannot be marked.
The research method is prescribed and unusual: each question has a set foundation reading, and the essay cites five works in total with that one among them, and each of the remaining four must refer either to it or to something that refers to it.
That builds a body of literature in conversation with itself rather than a list of sources sharing keywords, and half the published draft rubric is about how the references were identified and used. The three set questions are all counterfactuals, and each names in its own wording what kind of answer will count.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Two submissions, one piece of work, and the condition that governs both
- 02
What differs between them: length, weighting, reference rules, and the extra file
- 03
Working forward through citations, step by step, and how to check the chain
- 04
Why a citation chain produces a cohesive body of literature and a keyword search does not
- 05
The three set questions, what each removes, and which chapters supply the mechanism
- 06
Reading a foundation reading as an assignment rather than as a book
- 07
The four published draft criteria, and the one that rewards arguing against yourself
- 08
The redraft: reuse permitted, with a cost named in both directions
- 09
The statement of improvement, and the two limits people breach by accident
Check a reference set against the rule
- 1Count first. The requirement is a total of five works with the starting point among them, and this set has five, so the count is correct and only the connections are in question.
- 1Trace each of the four. Two cite the foundation reading directly and one cites a work that cites it, so three of the four qualify under the rule as written.
- 1Fail the fourth. It cites nothing in the chain, so it does not cite the foundation reading or anything that itself cites it, and the rule is not satisfied by relevance alone.
- 1Repair rather than delete. Look at what cites the two direct works and choose a replacement from there, because dropping to four publications breaks the count while keeping the unconnected source breaks the chain.
Key terms
- Foundation reading
- The publication set for your chosen essay question, from which the rest of the reference set is built by following citations forward. It is the seed of the chain rather than simply the first item on the list.
- Forward citation search
- Looking up what cites a known work, rather than searching for words. It returns publications in conversation with that work, which is how a cohesive body of literature is assembled instead of a set of sources that merely share vocabulary.
- Statement of improvement
- A note of up to 300 words submitted with the final essay explaining how the work improved in response to both the feedback received and your own further evaluation. It sits inside the cap of 1,500 words.
- Redrafting process
- The revision of the first draft into the final essay, which the unit assesses alongside the finished argument. It is the reason both pieces must live in one document rather than arriving as two files.
The Citation Chain Essay and Its Redraft FAQ
What exactly is the citation chain rule?
Your essay cites five works in total, one of which is the starting point set for your question, and each of the remaining four must refer either to that work or to something that refers to it. The method is to find the foundation reading on a scholarly index, look at what cites it, skim for relevance, read one, and repeat. Relevance alone does not qualify a source.
Should I reuse my first draft in the final essay?
That is the judgement the task is assessing, and the unit names a cost either way. Material left as it was may be marked down more heavily the second time, on the reading that leaving it means the advice went unused; something wholly new gains nothing from the comments already given. Decide deliberately and explain the decision in the statement.
How long can the final essay itself be?
About 1,200 words in practice. The published cap is 1,500 words and it covers the essay and the statement together, so writing to 1,500 and then adding the statement puts the submission over by up to a fifth. Budget for it before drafting rather than cutting argument at the end.
Assessment move
Sequence this work backwards from the two deadlines, because the research has a lead time the writing does not. Choose the question on the mechanism you can argue rather than the topic you prefer, then spend the first week only on the chain: read the foundation reading selectively, follow its citations forward, and record for each source which earlier source it cites. Draft only once that table is complete.
Reserve the final eighty words of the 750 for the limitations of your own argument, since the distinction band asks you to consider weaknesses in your position and the highest band asks you to see the objections coming and answer them, and no other eighty words in the unit move you between bands so cheaply.
When the feedback arrives, read it once, then reread your own draft before deciding anything, because the statement must cover your own further evaluation as well as the marker's comments. Confirm the single document condition and the combined word limit before you upload.
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