Preference is Dependent on Time...

Leander - my history tutor was so much of a nuisance to me when I first saw him in tutorial. He is very calculative and tends to quantify everything.... even to the extent of jotting down how many comments did each of us made during the tutorial. What a horrific experience for me. I can never forget what he said about me in front of the class, "ZL, give others a chance to talk. You got full marks for your participation grade." Duh!!!!!!!!! =(

Now... After sending him a few emails regarding my term papers, I realised being calculative is a pro. He is fair to his students. All his emails are replied in ambiguous forms as he makes sure that his reply wont be an additonal information to one and not to another. Just today, I received an email of encouragment by him.....

Hi Zhiliang,

I am unlikely to be free after tomorrow's tutorial except for a few minutes as I will be rushing off to do a few things before a History postgraduate gathering later in the afternoon. I don't see why there should be so much confusion over the question you have selected: identify one problem and argue why you think this was "Japan's major problem by the Taisho period". The key to understanding what "problem" refers to is that the topic/aspect/decision etc. had negative implications/impact. The extent of the impact is of course up to you, just as long as your essay is able to successfully justify why this was the main problem by the time of the Taisho emperor's reign. I will not read your outline even if you ask me to because this wouldn't be fair to the other students, besides which vetting your outline would be tantamount to writing half of your essay for you. Having said this, I sense the key issue here is not that you don't understand the question, but rather, that you lack confidence in your own ability. Quite frankly, I don't see this as a problem because it's all in the mind; I'm not the strictest marker around but I am very picky about awarding As and A-s, so if you were capable of getting an A- for the first essay, ability is not an issue. Have more confidence in yourself.

Best Wishes,
Leander

Wow... what a long reply... But this is not all... Wait till you check this out.....

I think you're not being over-sensitive but being over-cautious. No risk, no gain, my friend. It's just like your first essay: even though there were some problems in terms of your structure, the unconventional and sophisticated nature of your question and subsequent response certainly warranted nothing less than an A-. As for going off tangent, the most basic rule to bear in mind is that if a section or even a sentence doesn't help your cause in answering the question or directly contributing to your argument, leave it out. Hence, the first sentence of your essay (ie. half of the incomplete sentence provided plus your own formulated half) is your thesis statement (ie. your main argument), and you should therefore use this sentence as a springboard to weave a web of various points with the aim of supporting the perspective/stance advocated in your opening thesis sentence.

You will also want to bear in mind that your essay needs to stand out vis-a-vis your peers' essays in order for you to get an A- or A, so do think carefully about how you want to complete the opening statement, besides which you should plan your essay structure in such a way that the paper isn't the same as anyone else's. One method would be to identify a problem which most students wouldn't think of, or at least to phrase it in an original manner. I certainly don't want to see main arguments lifted from any of my tutorials or private consultation sessions. To cite an example, I would answer the question on why the Japanese Empire couldn't have lasted indefinitely by suggesting that it was perhaps an empire only in name. Doing so would afford me with the opportunity to interrogate the cohesion (or lack thereof) within the Japanese Empire by focusing on the concept of what is meant by "empire". This brings me to another point: another way to make your essay stand out would be to use various theoretical concepts. Examples of theories which are historiographical in nature would include the "impact-response" and "tradition-modernity" approaches. You can always use other non-historiographical theories, like the one about "empire" which I mentioned. Good hunting for that A; I look forward to reading your piece.

Best,
Leander

I am getting to accept this guy. A good, frank and sincere person. Maybe my preference about him will change again if I got a bad grade for my next term paper. =p Haha