Academic Essay Example

The academic essay It is a prose composition, focused on exposing the author's ideas on a specific topic, answering a question or supporting a point of view. It is used to evaluate students' learning and their critical spirit. In the text, citations are made of the authors in which it supports, or, with whom it does not agree, and the arguments to support that point of view are exposed.

The academic essay It consists of the following parts:

Introduction. In the introduction, the topic of the essay is briefly exposed, it is a brief summary that defines and specifies the topic to be discussed. In many areas it is customary to include this same text in English, with the title “Abstract”.

Body. Also called development or approach, it is where the argumentation will be presented in an orderly manner. Elements such as tables, graphs, quotes, or footnotes can be used in the exhibition. In this part the arguments for or against the aforementioned will be presented. A characteristic of the exhibition is that when the object of study or a quote is discussed, it is done in the third person (the cited author..., they maintain..., according to their ideas..., etc.). On the other hand, when speaking of one's own opinion, it is customary to do it in the plural (From what we think…, to what we conclude…, We consider…, etc.) This expository form is of medieval origin. In expository styles, the exhibitor spoke with authority, and this authority was supported by the divinity, in the case of clergymen and ecclesiastics or by the university, in the case of philosophers, physicians and lawyers.

Conclution. The conclusion is the closing of the essay, where the outcome of the exhibition is exposed, the result of the argumentation of the essay.

Bibliography. The bibliography is the list of books, audio files, video, magazines, newspapers, Internet pages and other documentation that have been taken in consideration to carry out the essay, both those that support the exposed point of view, as well as those that are contrary and contradicted in the job. The way to make appointments is as follows:

Books:

(Author's last name), (author's name). (Title of the book). (Editorial), (Edition), (Country), (Year).

Newspapers and magazines:

(Author's last name), (author's name). (Article title). Published in (Name of magazine or newspaper), (Date of publication), (Section), (Page).

Encyclopedia and dictionary articles:

(Name of the encyclopedia or dictionary). Article (word or biography). Volume (if it is in several volumes), (Page), (Edition), (Country), (Year).

Audiovisual Materials:

(Title of the program), (Name of the series and number of the program, if any). (Director or owner of the program or video). (Studies that carry it out, or the company in which it was transmitted or owns the copyright). (Year of Realization; if it is a radio or television program, date and time of transmission).

Internet Materials:

(Author's Surname), (Author's Name). (Name or title of the document). (Web page address. If several pages of the same website have been consulted, the address of the site is cited)

The essay format is generally on letter size paper, single sided, double spaced. When using a typewriter, 60 strokes (that is, 60 characters) and 30 lines per sheet were used. With the use of computers, top and bottom margins of 2.5 centimeters are used, and right and left margins of 3 centimeters, (predefined in most computer processors). texts), with font size 12, of the Arial (arial, calibri, tahoma or verdana) and Times (Times New Roman, Bookman old style, or Book antiqua) families, the most used being Arial and Times New Roman.

Example of an Academic Essay on culture:

Can the negative aspects of the national culture be improved?

 By: Examplede.com

Introduction:

Mexican culture has very rich and varied manifestations, a product of its pre-Hispanic past and its Iberian heritage. However, it has been seen throughout its history that, despite having enough elements to achieve greater importance in the world, it has preferred to remain in mediocrity. This has been studied by both foreign and national writers. What, then, is the reason why this full incorporation into the concert of nations has not yet been achieved? Throughout the 20th century, various works have been published to explain these features, and far fewer publications to propose solutions.

Abstract:

Mexican culture has very rich and diverse manifestations, product of its prehispanic past and its iberic henritage. However, along its history has seemed than, almost have enough elements to take a greater value facing to the world, you have preferred to stay in mediocrity. This has been studied by foreign and national writers. What’s then the cause why don’t achieve yet this mainstreaming to the community of nations? Along the XX century has been published many works to explain this traits, and less publications, to propose solutions.

Approach

In 1908 the book "Mexico barbaro" was published, by John Keneth Turner, where from his North American gaze, he sees the people Mexican as a people of savages, ignorant, conformists despite living oppressed, lazy, fanatical and fickle.

In 1934, during post-revolutionary Mexico, Samuel Ramos published "The Profile of the Man and the Culture of Mexico," where he applies psychoanalytic techniques to the Mexican people. According to his conclusions there are three types of Mexicans:

The Pelado. He defines it as "the most elementary and most clearly defined expression of the national character." He is the crude, intellectually primitive and savage Mexican, in a denigrating state of life, who constantly requires a self-assertion that he intends to achieve through violence both physical and verbal.

The Mexican of the city. He is the proletarian Mexican: disenchanted, pessimistic, distrustful, works out of necessity, studies the bare minimum and boasts of his ignorance.

The bourgeois Mexican. He is the Mexican who has a comfortable economic position, he seeks to live with refinements, he is an exaggerated nationalist. However, when they are in confidence or under the influence of alcohol, he brings out his true nature: envious, passionate, intolerant, macho and discriminatory.

"El laberinto de la Soledad" is a collection of essays published in 1950 by Octavio Paz. In it he makes a study of the Mexican, and why he is as he is. One of his conclusions is that miscegenation is the product of a violent imposition, a violation, or in the best of cases, a deception and seduction. He cites Malinche as an example of this, and states that by lacking the father figure and being born to the violated woman, the Mexican is "a son of the chingada", and lives in constant loneliness.

For 1984, Alan Riding, from his own observations and supported by previous works, by Turner, Ramos and Paz, also exposes what perceived as the Mexican: ritualistic, disorderly, unpunctual, tends to devalue himself and at the same time wants to pretend that he lives better than his reality.

As we can see, throughout the 20th century the perception of the Mexican as a people has remained. dependent, lazy, unpunctual, lacking in commitment to himself, self-degrading, disinterested in his future.

Proposals for change.

But not all have remained static. José Vasconcelos published in 1925 "The Cosmic Race", an essay in which he states, contrary to the ideas of the time on the purity of the race, that the miscegenation of America Latina gives it the characteristics to form a fifth race, mestizo, that in its culture has the best elements of each of the ethnic groups that it is. make up. This fifth race is the Cosmic Race.

We consider that this proposal by José Vasconcelos was ahead of its time, since this universal culture of universal man is the challenge that Globalization and the Internet now impose: an access to the knowledge of humanity, available to all, so that they can be assimilated by everyone.

To that vision we must add that of Ikram Antaki. This Doctor, Syrian by birth and of Greek parents, she chose to live in Mexico and here she developed didactic and cultural diffusion tasks. In 1996, after living in Mexico for 20 years, under the pseudonym of Polibio de Arcadia, he published the book "The people that did not want to grow up," in which he presents Mexico as a plain populated by children. He identifies the characteristics of the Mexican with those of children: irresponsible, immature, undisciplined, dependent, fond of magical thinking, they live in the moment without worrying about the future. He analyzes the origin of this behavior and locates it in its historical development and in the lack of cultural assimilation.

Indeed, together with Dr. Antaki, We consider that the Mexican still lives in syncretism, that is, in the change of meanings, in the superposition of one figure on another. The proposal is assimilation. This assimilation does not mean a change of culture, but a deepening and incorporation: Preserving cultural identity by doing part of everyday culture the values ​​of Western culture and that are universally accepted, such as the incorporation of the scientific thinking at all levels, universal values ​​such as promoting reading and understanding, ecological awareness, etc.

We consider that this behavior of irresponsibility and dependence comes from the time of the conquest. The missionaries were the first to establish a system of protection for the natives (that is, the inhabitants of the lands conquered), whom they described as pious, meek and docile people, who had to be protected from the impiety and corruption of their conquerors. This protectionism and dependency system prevailed throughout the colonial era, after independence, and throughout the nineteenth century despite of the reform laws, since the coverage of government schools was not sufficient, the Church being the only one with coverage in the territory.

After the revolution and with José Vasconcelos as First Secretary of Education, he created the bases to unify the heterogeneous and dispersed population through a nationalism that integrates the indigenous and Hispanic heritages of Mexicans, seeking to develop their theory of race cosmic. Create free rural schools, libraries and textbooks.

However, this integrating effort was lost again when during the government of Lázaro Cárdenas, socialist education was established in Article 3 of the Constitution. Mandatory official study plans are dictated and in these, education is oriented to training and work and implicitly, the vision of victims, conquered, and that the people must be docile in order to be protected, now, For the state. This situation has prevailed throughout the 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium, institutionalizing the self-denigrating vision of Octavio Paz.

Conclution

The self-denigrating vision of the defeated and the dependent has served power interests throughout our history. School systems have provided incomplete education, which does not tend to the full development of the individual, but to obtain servile and dependent beings, which makes them irresponsible, immature, unpunctual, and undisciplined.

We consider that to eradicate these cultural vices, it is necessary to undertake educational actions from the basic levels, in those that seek the full development of each individual, as well as the recognition of their limitations and the merits of others; that he can fend for himself, but at the same time he needs teamwork, as well as the importance of formality, punctuality and discipline. This is important if we want Mexicans to be seen in other nations as people capable of facing the new challenges of this ever-changing world.

Bibliography:

Turner, John Kenneth, México Bárbaro, E-book, 1st. Edition, Mexico, 2005.
Ramos, Samuel, The profile of man and culture in Mexico, Austral Collection, Mexico, 2001.
Paz, Octavio, The Labyrinth of Solitude, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Spain, 1998.
Riding, Alan, Distant Neighbors, Joaquín Mortíz, Mexico, 1987.
Antaki, Ikram, The town that did not want to grow, Ed. Planeta, Mexico, 2012.
Vasconcelos, José, The Cosmic Race, World Library Agency, Spain, 1925 (taken from https://www.filosofia.org/aut/001/razacos.htm)
De las casas, Bartolomé, Brief relation of the destruction of the Indies, full text, published in https://www.ciudadseva.com/textos/otros/brevisi.htm, 2010.