the context of this essay meaning

• Scriptwriting

What is Context — Definition and Examples for Writers

C ontext has the ability to change the meaning of a story and how we view its characters — but what is context? We’re going to answer that question by looking at examples from The Office, In Cold Blood and more. We’ll also look at some tips and tricks for how you can effectively implement this necessary element in your own stories. By the end, you’ll know why context is so important and how to apply it in a variety of different ways. But before we jump into our examples, let’s define context.

Content vs Context Definition

What does context mean.

Whether we realize it or not, context is all around us. It is the fundamental way we come to understand people, situations and ideas. Everything that we think, say, see, hear, and do is a response to the external stimuli of the world.

And how we regard that stimuli is largely in response to the context it’s presented to us in. For more on this idea, check out the video from the University of Auckland below.

What is Context? By University of Auckland

So you’re probably thinking, “Okay that’s fine and good and all, but what is context? Surely the meaning can’t be so vague.” Well, it is and it isn’t.

But by understanding the essential aspects of the term, we’re better prepared to apply it in meaningful ways. So without further ado, let’s dive into a formal context definition.

CONTEXT DEFINITION

What is context.

Context is the facets of a situation, fictional or non-fictional, that inspire feelings, thoughts and beliefs of groups and individuals. It is the background information that allows people to make informed decisions. Most of the time, the view of a person on a subject will be made in response to the presented context. In storytelling, it is everything that surrounds the characters and plot to give both a particular perspective. No story takes place without contextual information and elements.

Characteristics of Context:

• Information that’s presented to us
• Used in an argumentative sense
• Biased/subjective form of education

ContextUal Information

Context clues : in and out of context.

In terms of storytelling, there are only two kinds of context: narrative and non-narrative. The former gives us information on the story and the latter gives us information on everything outside of the story.

Narrative types of context include: 

Narrative context is everything that explains “what’s going on” in a story. Take a comedy series like The Office for example: there are a lot of moments in the show that wouldn’t make sense without contextual information — and there just so happens to be a video that explores The Office “out of context.”

What Does Context Mean in The Office?

Even the most ardent fans of The Office may find themselves asking, “what in the world is going on?” when presented with these clips out of context. On social media channels, moments from film and television are often presented like this — like this screen grab from The Good Place .

Context Definition and Examples

In a sense, out of context moments have become a type of humor in and of themselves. But it’s important that we also consider how information outside of the narrative may influence our feelings on the story.

Non-narrative types of context include:

Non-narrative context is everything outside the story that influences our thoughts and opinions on the subject matter. Take Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood for example: when we learn of the circumstances outside of the subject matter, it’s impossible for us to feel the same way about the story.

In Cold Blood is an investigative novel about the murder of a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote started writing about the murders in earnest before expanding his research into a full-fledged novel — the end result speaks for itself — not only is Capote’s prose considered some of the greatest of all-time, but it also pioneered true-crime writing.

But when In Cold Blood is viewed through the context of the man who wrote it, the setting it took place in, and the precedence of its writing, the meaning is liable to change. The two convicted murderers in the novel, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, were interviewed by Capote through the writing process.

Their testimony is admitted in the novel, but filtered by Capote. So, for us to say their testimonies are veracious would be irresponsible, considering the context through which it was written.

Elsewhere, critics argue that we can only judge a piece of art based on the merit of the art itself, not the context it was created in. French literary theorist Roland Barthes said that “text” can only speak for itself and that the thoughts and feelings of the author should have no impact on its merit. For more on this “The Death of the Author” theory, watch the video below.

Exploring Context Clues  •  Lindsay Ellis on ‘The Death of the Author’

In recent years, many fans have criticized J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books in light of her political views. Some critics argue that her views change the meaning of the novels. Others argue that her views should have no impact. Alas, there’s no “right” answer, but it’s important to consider how context, both inside and outside of a story, can influence readers.

Context Clues Set the Stage

How to use context as exposition.

There’s a word in screenwriting that most screenwriters shutter to hear… and that word is exposition . Ah yes, the dreaded exposition — or explanatory description — has been known to sink more than a few good scripts. So, how do screenwriters use exposition effectively? Well, it starts with a need for context. When I say need, I mean the story would have no impact without it.

We imported the On the Waterfront screenplay into StudioBinder’s screenwriting software to look at an iconic scene where context is the primary force behind exposition. 

In this scene, Terry details how Charley and Johnny abandoned him. This backstory, or exposition, adds the necessary context needed to make Terry’s exclamation, “I coulda’ been a contender!” impactful.

Click the link below to read the scene.

What is Context?  •   Read the On the Waterfront Screenplay

This explanatory description establishes a context in which we’re able to see that Terry has endured “years of abuse.” The context is further executed as Terry laments the actions of his best friends. Think of it this way: proper exposition should act like a tea-kettle; each relevant detail making the kettle hotter and hotter — or more contextual and more contextual — until — the tension is released… and whoosh, the conflict is resolved. 

How to Add Context Clues

Tips for incorporating context.

Context plays a huge role in guiding the attention and emotional attachment of the audience. Say a character does something really bad, like kill another character. Our natural inclination is to vilify them, but if their actions are given context, we might view their actions as heroic.

Take Ridley Scott’s Gladiator for example: when Maximus kills Commodus, we view him as the hero. Let’s take a look at how this scene plays out:

Context Examples in Gladiator

In context, Maximus’ actions are justified. Commodus killed Maximus’ family and rigged the fight against him. As such, it makes sense that we root for his death. Here are some tips for how to incorporate context in your own works:

• Create empathy for your protagonist
• Vilify your antagonist
• Maximize conflict
• Develop themes
• Callback to prior events

By utilizing these strategies, you’ll create narrative continuity. Context relies on the impact of the past, so you should be mindful of the character’s pasts at all times when writing. 

What is a Plot?

Context may be what informs our understanding of a story’s events, but it would mean nothing if there weren’t events to be informed of. Plot refers to the events and actions that take place within a story — and it’s an essential aspect of every narrative. In this next article, we look at how plot is used in Die Hard to connect narrative threads from beginning to end!

Up Next: Plot Definition and Examples →

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Definition of Context

Context is the background, environment, setting , framework, or surroundings of events or occurrences. Simply, context means circumstances forming a background of an event, idea, or statement, in such a way as to enable readers to understand the narrative or a literary piece. It is necessary for writing to provide information, new concepts, and words to develop thoughts.

Whenever writers use a quote or a fact from some source, it becomes necessary to provide their readers some information about the source, to give context to its use. This piece of information is called context. Context illuminates the meaning and relevance of the text and maybe something cultural, historical, social, or political.

Difference Between Content and Context

Content is a written text, while context is a place or situation. Although a text is not a context, content could present context within it. For example, if there occurs a statement in a certain text, it is content in its own right but it is also the context of that statement. It would show what comes next and what comes before that specific statement. Hence, it presents the context that is the place, situation or even atmosphere .

Rhetorical Context: Purpose, Author, and Audience

Although the context in literature is something different, it is different in rhetoric , too. In literary writings, it is just the situation where some statement or characters or events take place. However, in rhetoric, it is not just the text, it is also the purpose of the writing, its author and its audience that matter the most. They make up the context of that rhetorical piece. The reason is that rhetoric is specifically intended to be used for a specific purpose and by a specific person, or it loses its real purpose as well as its effectiveness.

Use of Context in Sentences

• This story was written in the 19 th century after the end of the Civil War. (The context mentions – when)
• Gandhi studied law in South Africa before returning to India and starting the Freedom Movement. (The context mentions – where)
• Harry Potter was published in 1997 by Bloomsbury, United Kingdom. (The context mentions when and where)
• Ivan heard ‘Bonjour’ as soon as he landed at the airport and saw the tower’s top on the way to the exit. (The context mentions a setting and the character is abroad)
• The English Tommies with their weapons entered the buildings to secure the area. (The context mentions the time period of WW1, when soldiers were called ‘Tommies’)

Examples of Context in Literature

Example #1: a tale of two cities by charles dickens.

Dickens begins his novel , A Tale of Two Cities , in 1770, by describing the release of Doctor Manette from Bastille, before taking the story to 1793 and early 1794. In this time span, the narrative covers a broad story. In a larger view, this novel begins in 1757, while its final scene looks forward to the situation in post-revolutionary Paris.

This story has a historical context, which Dickens has organized around various events that occurred during the French Revolution. He has drawn historical features from major events, including the fall of Bastille, the September Massacres, and the Reign of Terror. This backdrop is the story’s context.

Example #2: Animal Farm by George Orwell

George Orwell felt disillusioned by Soviet Communism and its revolution during his time. In the phenomenal novel, Animal Farm , Orwell has expressed himself by using satire through the allegorical characters of Old Major and Boxer; relating them to the Russian Revolution and its characters. Orwell uses animals to explain the history and context of Soviet Communism, some of which relate to party leaders. For instance, the pig Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, and Snowball represents Leon Trotsky. In fact, Orwell uses this fable for political and aesthetic reasons, following the Russian Revolution as its context.

Example #3: Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Historical context of Christopher Marlowe ’s Dr. Faustus is religious, as it hints at cultural changes taking place during Marlowe’s time. In 16th century Europe, there was a conflict between Roman Catholicism and the Protestant English Church. During this entire period, Calvinism was popular within the English churches; however, it was controversial. According to Calvinistic doctrine, the status of the people was predestined as saved or damned. Scholars and readers have debated on the stance that Marlowe’s play takes regarding the Calvinist doctrine, in whether Faustus is predestined to hell or not. The Renaissance period provides context for this play by Marlowe.

Example #4: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

There is a popular saying that stories indicate the values and cultures of the societies in which their authors live. In Oedipus Rex , Sophocles presents his protagonist , Oedipus, struggling to implement his will against the destiny set forth by the Greek gods. During this process, Sophocles reveals the Greek values of the period during which he wrote the play.

He has illustrated the context of this play through the words and actions of Oedipus and other characters; as their Greek ideals concerning their governance, fate, and human relationships with the gods. These were some of the more popular themes of that era, and so form the context of the Oedipus Rex .

Example #5: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

“While stranded on a deserted island, a group of boys believe there is a dangerous creature lurking in the underbrush; Simon is the first to identify this menace, suggesting to the boys that ‘maybe,’ he said hesitantly, ‘maybe there is a beast’.”

This excerpt provides an excellent example of context, as it narrates an incident involving a group of young men on a deserted island. The context describes why they were afraid, giving a clear picture of the situation and setting.

Context is all about providing a background or picture of the situation, and of who is involved. Context is an essential part of a literary text, which helps to engage the audience. If writers ignore context, they may overlook a critical aspect of the story’s intent. Without context, readers may not see the true picture of a literary work. Context helps readers understand the cultural, social, philosophical, and political ideas and movements prevalent in society at the time of the writing.

Synonyms of Context

Context does not have an equivalent, it has several synonyms that could replace it in different contexts. For example, conditions, factors, surroundings, state of affairs, environment, situation, background, milieu, mood , ambiance, subject , text, theme , or topic.

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What Is Context? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples

Context definition.

Context  (KAHN-tekst) is the circumstances that inform an event, an idea, or a statement. It is the detail that adds meaning to a text. Readers can study internal context—details included by the author, such as backstory,  characterization , or  setting —as well as external context—the time period of the work’s publication, the author’s literary influences, and even their personal history.

Imagine context as a bridge between the writer and the reader that clarifies a text’s meaning and purpose. Authors provide these details to ensure a story is richly developed and true to life, and readers consider external context to understand a story’s broader significance.

Types of Context

There are several types of literary context, but the following are the most common applications.

Authorial Context

A writer’s experiences inevitably inform their writing, from content to style. This  biographical  context can refer to an author’s life history, a text’s place in an author’s body of work, the author’s success, the circumstances in which a text was written, current events at the time of publication, and even an author’s motivation for writing a text.

Historical Context

Literature is often influenced by history. Historical novels are directly grounded in past events and circumstances, but historical context also encompasses how literature reflects or responds to the society in which it was written. This can manifest as intentional criticism, in which an author addresses a social issue and perhaps argues for change (e.g., Jonathan Swift’s “ A Modest Proposal ,” his satirical indictment of the aristocracy). However, literature can also unconsciously reflect attitudes or beliefs predominant at the time of composition.  Gone with the Wind  is a beloved classic, but modern audiences often criticize its sanitized portrayal of slavery.

Philosophical Context

Literature addresses age-old questions of metaphysics, ethics, and morality. It ponders the purpose of life, the nature of God or the universe, right versus wrong, death, time—the list goes on. Philosophies go in and out of style, and the great literary movements were influenced by philosophies that waxed and waned over time.  Romanticism  was followed by  realism , which was followed by transcendentalism and then  naturalism , modernism, postmodernism, and so on. Each of these movements was influenced by contemporaneous philosophical thought, and readers can learn much about a text by researching those concepts, the associated philosophers, and the author’s stance on the issue.

Literary Context

Allusion  is a common demonstration of literary context, in which one text indirectly references another. But literary context can include several different things, such as an author’s role models or the way one text influences another. Literary context also considers how a text fits into broad categories of literature, such as the aforementioned literary movements.

How Writers Use Context

Writers use context to engage, inform, and entertain readers. These details establish the  narrative ’s  setting  and the author’s  motivation  for writing, and they help propel the action. Context adds authenticity, helping a story reflect readers’ experiences and securing their investment in the text. Like most literary tools, moderation is essential when it comes to context. Too much of it can burden a story, rendering it boring or incomprehensible.

Context can be conveyed through just about anything— characterization , setting, backstory, memory, dialogue, and so on. If a detail informs readers’ understanding of the text, engages their intellect or emotions, or hooks their interest, then it can be used as context. However, specificity is key. By choosing what context to include, and when and how to do so, writers can guide readers’ interpretation of a text. They can also incorporate specific details to better anchor a story in a particular time or place. Consider the HBO miniseries  Chernobyl . It is ostensibly about the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Pripyat, Russia, but the show’s true focus is government lies and corruption. The show uses the context of Soviet Russia to elicit nostalgia and cultural memory, emphasizing how modern politics echo that of the Cold War era.

Context can also inspire. A writer might reflect upon their life and realize they have a unique point of view worth sharing. They can use the context of their lives to communicate that perspective to the world. When a writer does this well, they spark understanding within readers, helping them make new connections and realizations.

Context and Literary Analysis

Publication opens a work up to criticism, including literary analysis, which dissects and evaluates literature to make connections that general audiences may have missed. Literary analysis hinges on context. Scholars and critics engage in close reading to discover deeper meaning, identify narrative patterns or themes, and detect influences, then analyze and synthesize their findings. They bring these disparate details together like puzzle pieces to explain why and how a text is significant and how it fits into culture and literature in general.

Writers’  Vernacular  and Context Clues

When a reader encounters an unfamiliar word, they study the surrounding text to discern its meaning. This process of gleaning connotation is called using context clues. These are details that directly or indirectly suggest information about a word, phrase, or situation.

There are several types of context clues, the following five being the most common.

• Definition and explanation : There’s nothing subtle about these context clues, as the author clarifies the word’s intended meaning directly in the text.
• Inferences : When a word or idea is not explained within the same sentence, readers must decipher the writer’s implied or indirect meaning from the surrounding text.
• Synonyms and comparison : Synonyms draw comparisons that clarify, refine, or emphasize a writer’s meaning.
• Antonyms and contrast : Antonyms convey an opposite meaning to underscore contrast or disparity.
• Punctuation : Writers can use punctuation to several effects, such as conveying emotion (e.g., using exclamation points to express anger) or implying meaning (e.g., using parenthetical asides to suggest confidentiality).

Examples of Context in Literature

1. Margaret Atwood,  The Handmaid’s Tale

Set in a dystopian near-future,  The Handmaid’s Tale  follows Offred and other subjugated women who strive to reclaim their independence after a theonomic totalitarian state called Gilead usurps the US government. This quote comes from Chapter 6, as Offred and fellow handmaiden Ofglen observe the corpses of people murdered by the state:

Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.

Gripped by horror, Offred recalls these words, which suggest that “ordinary” is a matter of perspective and that, in time, Gilead’s atrocities will seem normal. Aunt Lydia’s assurance that murder, oppression, and subjugation can become commonplace, even routine, reveals the depth of Gilead’s power and depravity.

2. Charles Dickens,  A Tale of Two Cities

This novel, set before and during the French Revolution, tells the story of Doctor Alexandre Menette, who is imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years then moves to London to reunite with his daughter Lucie. Dickens contextualizes the setting in the very first paragraph:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

This passage immediately establishes that the novel’s main  conflicts  revolve around binary extremes, such as good and evil or wisdom and folly. This signals that the story is rife with contradiction and controversy, and that the setting is full of tension but also hope.

3. Tim O’Brien, “ The Things They Carried ”

This is the eponymous short story in a collection of tales about the Vietnam War. The story reflects on the things soldiers carry with them into war:

To carry something was to hump it, as when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps. In its intransitive form, to hump meant to walk, or to march, but it implied burdens far beyond the intransitive.

The opening phrase is a context clue that directly explains the author’s meaning. The passage further explains that although  hump  has alternative meanings, such as “to walk” or “to march,” in this context it means something more abstract, something heavy and grim.

Further Resources on Context

This  Writing Cooperative article  explains how context builds trust between the writer and their audience, and why that relationship is so important.

ThoughtCo provides a  more thorough look at context clues —and their limitations.

This resource from Harper College  explains the textual elements (including context) used to analyze literature.

Related Terms

• Characterization
• Point of View

The Context In an Essay

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• What Is The Context In an Essay
• Historical Context
• Cultural Context
• Geographical Context
• Social Context
• Biological Context
• Political Context
• Literary Context
• Scientific Context
• Technical Context
• Legal Context
• Ethical Context
• Economic Context
• Psychological Context
• When And How to Use The Context In an Essay

One of the main principles of academic writing is to use context. Using context may help you to avoid plagiarism, show the diversity of your knowledge, and make your text more interesting for readers. What is the context? Context can be defined as “background information.” It should be used in every piece of written work, primarily in academic essays (including research papers, term papers, etc.). Read on to discover what you can and cannot do with the context, how to use it properly, and how to find it.

Article structure

What is the context in an essay

If your topic is more specific, you can use even more context. However, remember that you should avoid using too many context options at once – the more options you have, the harder it will be to analyze and select the most appropriate one.

Here are some examples of common contexts that you can use in a research paper.

Historical context

The context of a research paper should be a specific event that took place in the past. It is very important that you provide an accurate description of the historical context, so your paper will be more interesting for your readers. For example, the research paper about the Holocaust can be written in the context of World War II, so you must describe in detail the events that took place. Your historical research paper should provide all necessary data, facts, and numbers about the history of the event, so you can write the essay with a clear understanding of all details.

The most important factor of the historical context is the correct chronological order. The best historical research papers are usually written in chronological order. In fact, the whole structure of the research paper is defined by the order of the events. The most interesting and useful information is at the beginning. In this case, the historical context is very important, because it gives an opportunity to understand the main topic of the essay.

The next step is to analyze the historical data in the essay. You have to make the right conclusion about your research, so you can write the essay in the right chronological order.

Cultural context

This context is usually used in writing about art, literature, music, etc. To create an interesting essay, you should include information about the culture in which you grew up, such as your country, region, family, and so on. This information can be written in different ways. Sometimes, information about culture should be provided to the reader from the start. At other times, you should use it as background information for your own comments and explanations. You may use cultural elements of your own experience to illustrate the concept of the subject at hand.

The idea of cultural context is very similar to the idea of historical context. However, cultural context usually refers to the context of the current period of your life, whereas historical context refers to the period when you grew up. Therefore, you are more likely to use information about your own cultural context, but you may also want to use information about the historical context of the topic. For example, if you are studying World War I, you would probably want to include some information about the culture of the time, but you would also want to focus on the events and conditions that led to the war. In other words, your cultural context must be specific and relevant to the topic of your paper.

If you need to write an essay about a period of time when you were not born, you should make use of your current cultural context to write about the events of the time.

Geographical context

This context is usually used in writing about geography, sociology, economics, politics, and many other disciplines. To make your paper more interesting, you need to include geographical, political, and economical information about your country, state, city, and town. You can also include demographic information about the area that is of your study.

You should include this geographical context whenever it is applicable. In some cases, it could even influence the flow of your paper. It could be either positive or negative. For instance, if you are writing about a country that is a large producer of oil, it may be difficult for you to gain sympathy from the people who are not aware of the country’s environmental damage.

In some cases, the geographical context could affect the flow of your paper. If your study is about an industrial city, then you should include information about the city’s industry. If you are going to study a small town, then you should include a small business report or small business owners’ report.

Social context

This context is used in social sciences, psychology, law, political science, economics, etc. You need to include information about your family, the friends you have, the social situation of your city, and so on. You also need to be aware of the social context of your topic. This is the main purpose of this chapter. It may be the context of your work or the context of your study. For instance, in this chapter, we may be talking about the context of studying and working in London or New York.

When you are studying or working in a new country, try to see if you can find out about its culture or society. Try to talk to the natives to find out about how they live and work. See if you can find some interesting books, or magazines, or TV programs about your new country.

Biological context

Biological context is used in many disciplines such as biology, chemistry, nutrition, etc. You need to include all the details about your parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, hobbies, and so on. If you are describing the biological system or a biochemistry procedure, then you need to include a detailed description of the system itself. You need to include a description of all the compounds involved. If you are a cell biologist, you will need to explain all the biochemical steps involved in a cell cycle or DNA replication.

The basic biological context includes the history of the discovery and the biological and medical context of a particular problem that needs to be solved.

Political context

The political context is the most complex of all. You need to include information about the current political situation in your country, the situation of the region where you live, your political preferences, and so on.

When writing a research paper in political science, you need to be well-informed about the political situation in your country at the moment of writing. It is very difficult to write about politics, but if you are not well-informed, the research paper will sound biased and unauthentic.

The political situation is very important, as it is a determinant of the development of the country. A country with a democratic government can be easily influenced by external factors, whereas in a country with a communist or authoritarian government, external factors cannot influence such a country. When writing an essay about politics in general, it is important to mention the main political factors, the most important ones.

Literary context

In a research paper, the literary context should be the most important because of the following reasons:

• The more the authors in your paper are famous, the more your paper will become interesting to your readers;
• A good literature essay needs the authors’ names;
• The more a research paper is about famous people, the more accurate information you can provide about them.

In this case, the best literary sources to be used are biographies and autobiographies. Biographies and autobiographies provide more information about famous people because it is not the same to write about someone from his life as it is to write about someone’s life.

In writing about someone’s life, you have to write about all the things that make someone special and interesting. In order to write about someone’s life, you need to write about the events that have occurred to this person, the thoughts and emotions he has felt during his lifetime, and also the actions that he has done.

Scientific context

The scientific context is used in scientific papers. Here you should give information about your laboratory, university, the research institute, your research interests, and so on. You need to be aware of the scientific context of your research topic. You can get inspiration from other people’s research, look for papers that use the same scientific context as you, and have similar research interests. Also, find out which journal your paper will be published. Finally, check whether a scientific context is necessary for your paper.

Technical context

The technical context is used in many disciplines. If your essay is more technical, the information you need to include in your paper will be different. The technical context will be a list of things that you use to describe the context in which your writing takes place.

What are the major aspects of the technical context?

The technical context is used to describe the nature of a problem or the nature of the subject in which a particular paper has been written. For instance, a report on a product will have a specific technical context, so it is important to know what your report is about. This knowledge will help you to choose the most suitable technical language and style of writing.

Legal context

The legal context is used in many disciplines. If your essay is more legal, the information you should include in your paper will be different. There are various elements to the legal context of an argument, such as the nature of the case, and the relevant law, in order to analyze your paper. Some questions to think about when analyzing the legal context are:

• What are the rules that are used in the law to analyze the case?
• How can those rules help you to determine whether or not the case is a good one for you to use?
• What are the reasons behind the rules?
• How will you use those reasons to determine whether or not the case will be a good fit for your argument?

Ethical context

The ethical context is used in many disciplines. If your essay is more ethical, the information you should include in your paper will be different.

Ethical context is used to address the moral nature of a certain action or issue. The paper will discuss the ethical context in terms of the values that are attached to the subject. Ethical context should be included in the paper so that the values and beliefs of the readers are considered. The ethical context will make the paper more complete and also will prevent plagiarism.

Economic context

The economic context is usually used in economics. If your essay is more economic, the information you should include in your paper will be different. A paper that is entirely economic would typically have:

• a short introduction
• a discussion of the main economic concepts that will be used in your essay
• an overview of the different economic problems that will be discussed
• an analysis of the economic problems
• an examination of the arguments used in the analysis of the economic problem
• an evaluation of the arguments used in the discussion of the economic problem

Psychological context

The psychological context is usually used in psychology. If your essay is more psychological, the information you should include in your paper will be different. In this case, you need to understand a little more about psychology and the people that you are writing about.

It is very important to understand what kind of psychological context the essay you are writing about is in. This is very important as the writer has to consider what the essay is about. The context of the psychological essay you are writing about will help you decide whether to write about positive or negative issues. If the essay is positive, then you will need to think about the people in a positive context. If the essay is negative, then you will need to think about the people in the negative context.

When and how to use the context in an essay

Now you know what the context is and how it should be used in your research paper. However, how do you use context when writing? The answer to this question is a separate issue.

You should use the context in your essay in many situations. One of them is to provide extra information that you might need during the writing process. This is very useful when you need to write an outline, write a thesis statement, find examples, or describe a certain event.

If you use the right context, you will have no problem writing a strong essay. Moreover, you will avoid plagiarism and your text will be more interesting for readers.

Here are some situations in which the context can be useful in your research paper:

1. Research paper topics

The research paper topics may be very broad or very specific. It is not always possible to write a research paper about a narrow topic. The context may be useful in such situations to explain the topic. You should include more information about it in your essay.

If you have a very broad topic, you will need to give more information about it to make your essay more interesting. However, be careful that you do not include too many options. This could lead to plagiarism.

If you have a very specific topic, you will need to provide more information about it to make your essay more interesting for readers. The main idea of a research paper should be clear to them from the beginning, so you should provide the most relevant information.

2. Outlining

Writing an outline is not always easy for everybody. Sometimes you are not able to choose the most appropriate order of the main ideas in your research paper. In such a situation, the context can be useful to explain the order of ideas.

It is very easy to make a mistake in writing an outline. However, the context can help you to remember the main topics in your research paper.

3. Writing a thesis

You need to know how to write a thesis statement. However, it is also very important to know how to choose the most suitable thesis statement for a particular essay. If you find yourself in such a situation, the context can be useful to explain the main topic.

When you choose the right thesis statement for a particular essay, you will avoid plagiarism and make your essay more interesting for readers.

4. Writing an introduction

The introduction is one of the most important parts of a research paper. If you need to write an interesting introduction, you should include the right context in your essay. The context may include information about the problem, the thesis statement, the main idea, examples, and so on.

If you need to make the best out of the context, you should use the following structure of an introduction:

• What the problem is.
• What is the main idea is.

This structure is very useful because it gives your readers brief information about your topic. You can also provide links to further information. The main idea is explained in a clear and understandable way. You can use several examples to illustrate your point.

5. Writing a conclusion

The conclusion of the research paper is also very important. If you need to write a strong conclusion, you should provide more information about your topic. You should give more information about it in your conclusion.

The context can be used in several ways in your conclusion. You can use information about the problem, the main idea, examples, and so on. If you need to make the best of the context, the structure of a conclusion should be as follows:

• Explain what the conclusion is.
• Explain what the main idea is.

You can use examples to show what the conclusion means. It is very important to include these examples because they help to make your text more interesting for readers.

6. Writing an essay

In this case, the context is not used in your writing. However, it is very important to know about the structure of a research paper. The main idea of a research paper should be clear to your readers from the beginning. However, you should know how to make the best of the context. You should not make any unnecessary claims that may lead your reader to reject the whole paper.

In short, a context is an important tool in any research paper. A good thesis statement must have context. It will not be clear to your readers if you are talking about a subject in the abstract or you have used the context to support your thesis statement.

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1 Audience, Purpose, & Context

Questions to Ponder

Discuss these following scenario with your partners:

Imagine you are a computer scientist, and you have written an important paper about cybersecurity. You have been invited to speak at a conference to explain your ideas. As you prepare your slides and notes for your speech, you are thinking about these questions:

• What kind of language should I use?
• What information should I include on my slides?

Now, imagine you are the same computer scientist, and you have a nephew in 3rd grade. Your nephew’s teacher has invited you to come to his class for Parents’ Day, to explain what you do at work. Will you give the same speech to the class of eight-year-olds? How will your language and information be the same or different?

Thinking about audience, purpose, and context

Before we give the presentations in the scenarios described above, we need to consider our audience, purpose, and context. We need to adjust the formality and complexity of our language, depending on what our audience already knows. In the context of a professional conference, we can assume that our audience knows the technical language of our subject. In a third grade classroom, on the other hand, we would use less complex language. For the professional conference, we could include complicated information on our slides, but that probably wouldn’t be effective for children. Our purpose will also affect how we make our presentation; we want to inform our listeners about cybersecurity, but we may need to entertain an audience of third graders a bit more than our professional colleagues.

The same thing is true with writing. For example, when we are writing for an academic audience of classmates and instructors, we use more formal, complex language than when we are writing for an audience of children. In all cases, we need to consider what our audience already knows, what they might think about our topic, and how they will respond to our ideas.

In writing, we also need to think about appearance, just as we do when giving a presentation. The way our essay looks is an important part of establishing our credibility as authors, in the same way that our appearance matters in a professional setting. Careful use of MLA format and careful proofreading help our essays to appear professional; consult  MLA Formatting Guides for advice.

Before you start to write, you need to know:

Who is the intended  audience ? ( Who  are you writing this for?)

What is the  purpose ? ( Why  are you writing this?)

What is the  context ? ( What  is the situation,  when  is the time period, and  where  are your readers?)

We will examine each of these below.

AUDIENCE ~ Who are you writing for?

Your audience are the people who will read your writing, or listen to your presentation. In the examples above, the first audience were your professional colleagues; the second audience were your daughter and her classmates. Naturally, your presentation will not be the same to these two audiences.

Here are some questions you might think about as you’re deciding what to write about and how to shape your message:

• What do I know about my audience? (What are their ages, interests, and biases? Do they have an opinion already? Are they interested in the topic? Why or why not?)
• What do they know about my topic? (And, what does this audience not  know about the topic? What do they need to know?)
• What details might affect the way this audience thinks about my topic? (How will facts, statistics, personal stories, examples, definitions, or other types of evidence affect this audience?)

In academic writing, your readers will usually be your classmates and instructors. Sometimes, your instructor may ask you to write for a specific audience. This should be clear from the assignment prompt; if you are not sure, ask your instructor who the intended audience is.

PURPOSE – Why are you writing?

Your primary purpose for academic writing may be to inform, to persuade, or to entertain your audience. In the examples above, your primary purpose was to inform your listeners about cybersecurity.

Audience and purpose work together, as in these examples:

• I need to write a letter to my landlord explaining why my rent is late so she won’t be upset. (Audience = landlord; Purpose = explaining my situation and keeping my landlord happy)
• I want to write a proposal for my work team to persuade them to change our schedule. (Audience = work team; Purpose = persuading them to get the schedule changed)
• I have to write a research paper for my environmental science instructor comparing solar to wind power. (Audience = instructor; Purpose = informing by analyzing and showing that you understand these two power sources)

Here are some of the main kinds of informative and persuasive writing you will do in college:

How Do I Know What My Purpose Is?

Sometimes your instructor will give you a purpose, like in the example above about the environmental science research paper ( to inform ), but other times, in college and in life, your purpose will depend on what effect you want your writing to have on your audience. What is the goal of your writing? What do you hope for your audience to think, feel, or do after reading it? Here are a few possibilities:

• Persuade or inspire them to act or to think about an issue from your point of view.
• Challenge them or make them question their thinking or behavior.
• Argue for or against something they believe or do; change their minds or behavior.
• Inform or teach them about a topic they don’t know much about.
• Connect with them emotionally; help them feel understood.

There are many different types of writing in college: essays, lab reports, case studies, business proposals, and so on. Your audience and purpose may be different for each type of writing, and each discipline, or kind of class. This brings us to context.

CONTEXT ~ What is the situation?

When and where are you and your readers situated? What are your readers’ circumstances? What is happening around them? Answering these questions will help you figure out the context, which helps you decide what kind of writing fits the situation best. The context is the situation, setting, or environment; it is the place and time that you are writing for. In our examples above, the first context is a professional conference; the second context is a third-grade classroom. The kind of presentation you write would be very different for these different contexts.

Here’s another example: Imagine that your car breaks down on the way to class. You need to send a message to someone to help you.

AUDIENCE : your friends

PURPOSE : to ask for help

CONTEXT : you are standing by the side of Little Patuxent Parkway, 10 minutes before class begins. Your friends are already at the campus Starbucks or in Duncan Hall.

Do you and your readers have time for you to write a 1,000-word essay about how a car works, and how yours has broken down? Or would one word (‘help!’) and a photo be a better way to send your message?

Now imagine that you are enrolled in a mechanical engineering class, and your professor has asked for a 4-page explanation of how internal combustion works in your car. What kind of writing should you produce? This would be the appropriate audience, purpose, and context for the 1,000-word essay about how a car works.

Activity ~ A Note about Tone

As you consider your audience, purpose, and context, you will need to think about your word choice as well. For example, say these two phrases out loud:

• very sick kids
• seriously ill children

Do they mean the same thing? Would you use the phrases in the same way? How about:

• lots of stuff

The words we choose help determine the tone of our writing, which is connected to audience, purpose, and context. Can you think of other examples using formal and informal tone?

Is this chapter:

…about right, but you would like more detail? –> Watch “ Audience: Introduction & Overview ” and from Purdue’s Online Writing Lab. Also, view “ Purpose, Audience, & Context ” from The Ohio State University.

…about right, but you prefer to listen and learn? –> Try “ Thinking About Your Assignment ” from the Excelsior OWL and “ A Smart Move: Responding the Rhetorical Situation .”

…too easy? –> Watch “ Writing for Audiences in U.S. Academic Settings ” from Purdue OWL.

Or, how about watching a funny video? In this short (3.5 minutes) video from the popular children’s program Sesame Street , Sir Ian McKellen tries to teach Cookie Monster a new word, but at first, Sir Ian doesn’t really understand what his audience knows (or doesn’t know), so Cookie Monster doesn’t understand.

Portions of this chapter were modified from the following Open Educational Resources:

Saylor Academy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License  without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensor.

“ Audience ” and “ Purpose ” chapters from The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Note: links open in new tabs.

to think about

believability

ENGLISH 087: Academic Advanced Writing Copyright © 2020 by Nancy Hutchison is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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16.5 Writing Process: Thinking Critically About Text

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Develop a writing project focused on textual analysis.
• Complete the stages of the writing process, including generating ideas, drafting, reviewing, revising, rewriting, and editing.
• Integrate the writer’s ideas with ideas of others.
• Collaborate in the peer review process.

When analyzing a text, writers usually focus on the content of the text itself and deliberately leave themselves in the background, minimizing personal presence and bias. To write this way, they avoid first-person pronouns and value judgments. In reality, of course, writers do reveal their presence by the choices they make: what they include, what they exclude, and what they emphasize. Although your own subjectivity and situation will likely affect your inferences and judgments, recognizing these potential biases will help you keep the focus on your subject and off yourself.

Summary of Assignment

Write an analytical essay about a short story or another short text of your choice, either fiction or literary nonfiction. If desired, you may choose “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, reprinted above. Consider the author’s form and organization, tone, or stylistic choices, including diction and sensory or figurative language. You might also consider the historical or social context, the theme, the character development, or the relation between setting and plot or characterization. If you are free to choose your own text and topic, consider the following approaches:

• Analyze the literary components mentioned and focus your essay on their significance in the work.
• Like student author Gwyn Garrison, choose one or several components and examine how different authors use them and how they relate to broader contexts.

Convincing textual analysis essays usually include the following information:

• overview of the text, identifying author, title, and genre
• very brief summary
• description of the text’s form and structure
• explanation of the author’s point of view
• summary of the social, historical, or cultural context in which the work was written
• assertion or thesis about what the text means: your main task as an analyst

When writing about a novel or short story, explain how the main elements function:

• narrator (who tells the story)
• plot (what happens in the story)
• one or more characters (who are acting or being acted upon)
• setting (when and where things are happening)
• theme (the meaning of the story)

Keep in mind that the author who writes the story is different from the narrator and invented characters in it. Keep in mind, too, that what happens in the story—the plot—is different from the meaning of the story—the theme. Understanding what happens will help you discover what the text means.

The elements of literary or narrative nonfiction are similar to those of a fictional story except that everything in the text is supposed to have really happened. For this reason, the author and the narrator of the story may be one and the same. Informational nonfiction—essays, reports, and textbook chapters—is also meant to be believed; here, however, ideas and arguments must be strong and well supported to be convincing. When analyzing nonfiction, pay special attention to the author’s thesis or claim and to how it is supported through reasoning and evidence. Also note interesting or unusual tone, style, form, or voice.

Another Lens 1. In writing from a personal or subjective viewpoint, the writer and their beliefs and experiences are necessarily part of your analysis and may need to be expressed and examined. For example, you may write subjectively and compare and contrast your situation with that of the author or a character. You might explain how your personal background causes you to read the text in a particular way that is meaningful to you. If you choose this option, be sure to analyze the text as you would for a more objective analysis before focusing on your personal views.

Another Lens 2. A leading contemporary example of narrative nonfiction writing is Jon Krakauer ’s (b. 1954) Into the Wild , the story of Chris McCandless (1968– c. 1992), a young college graduate who lived at subsistence level in the backwoods of Alaska for 113 days. The text is somewhat similar thematically to Henry David Thoreau ’s (1817–1862) Walden (1854), written more than a century earlier and discussed later in this section. Both are about dropping out of society to create a meaningful life. After reading the excerpt of Into the Wild linked above, you may choose to write a textual analysis of it either on its own or in light of the sample analysis of Thoreau’s writings later in this section. Consider comparing and contrasting McCandless’s situation with Thoreau’s life in Walden and how Krakauer and Thoreau use various literary elements in their writing. Topics for analysis might be setting, character traits, motives, cultural communities, historical context, and attitudes toward life and society.

Quick Launch: Start with Your Thesis

For textual analysis, your thesis should be a clear, concise statement that identifies your analytical stance on which readers will expect you to elaborate.

Develop a working thesis

A working thesis is referred to as such because the thesis is subject to revision. You may have to revisit it later in the writing process, for it is almost impossible to craft a thesis without having analyzed some of the text first. Your thesis, therefore, will come from the element(s) you choose to analyze, such as the following:

• an aspect or several aspects of form and structure and their significance
• social, historical, or cultural context in which the text was written and its significance
• style elements such as diction, imagery, or figurative language and their significance
• aspects of characters, plot, or setting
• overall theme of a single work or more than one work
• comparison or contrast of elements within one or more works
• relation to issues outside the text

To develop a working thesis, use the formula shown in Table 16.1 , basing your answers on one of the bulleted items listed above.

You can also start with an analytical question: For what reason(s) does Chopin use linguistic variety? Your initial answer might yield the thesis above. Or you can ask another analytical question, such as this one: In what ways do the plot and setting of “The Storm” reinforce its theme?

Drafting: Explore Possible Areas of Analysis for Fiction: Approach 1

Analytical essays begin by answering basic questions: What genre is this text—poem, play, story, biography, memoir, essay? What is its title? Who is the author? When was it published?

Identify and Summarize the Text

In addition to the basic questions, analytical essays provide a brief summary of the plot or main idea. Summarize briefly, logically, and objectively to provide a background for what you plan to say about the text. This information may be incorporated into the introduction or may follow it.

Explain the Form and Organization

To analyze the organizational structure of a text, ask: How is it put together? Why does the author start here and end there? Why does the author sequence information in this order? What connects the text from start to finish? For example, by repeating words, ideas, and images, writers call attention to these elements and indicate that they are important to the meaning of the text. No matter what the text, some principle or plan holds it together and gives it structure. Fiction and nonfiction texts that tell stories are often, but not always, organized as a sequence of events in chronological order. Poems may have formal structures or other organizational elements. Other texts may alternate between explanations and examples or between first-person and third-person narrative. You will have to decide which aspects of the text’s form and organization are most important for your analysis.

For example, this student analyzes the point of view of Gwendolyn Brooks ’s poem “ We Real Cool .”.

student sample text Gwendolyn Brooks writes “We Real Cool” (1963) from the point of view of members of a street gang who speak as one voice. The boys have dropped out of school to spend their lives hanging around pool halls—in this case “The Golden Shovel.” These guys speak in slangy lingo, such as “Strike straight,” that reveals their need for a melded identity in their rebellious attitude toward life. The plural speaker in the poem, “We,” celebrates what adults might call adolescent hedonism—but the speaker, feeling powerful in the group identity, makes a conscious choice for a short, intense life over a long, safe, and dull existence. end student sample text

Place the Work in Context

To analyze the context of a text, ask: What circumstances (historical, social, political, biographical) produced this text? How does this text compare or contrast with another by the same author or with a similar work by a different author? No text exists in isolation. Each was created by a particular author in a particular place at a particular time. Describing this context provides readers with important background information and indicates which conditions you think were most influential.

For example, this student analyzes the social context of Gwendolyn Brooks ’s poem “We Real Cool.”

student sample text From society’s viewpoint, the boys are nothing but misfits—refusing to work, leading violent lives, breaking laws, and confronting police. However, these boys live in a society that is dangerous for Black men, who often die at the hands of police even when they are doing the right thing. The boys are hopeless, recognizing no future but death, regardless of their actions, and thus “Die soon.” end student sample text

Explain the Theme of the Text

To analyze the theme of a text, determine the implied theme in fiction, poetry, and narrative nonfiction. One purpose for writing a textual analysis is to point out the theme. Ask yourself: So what? What is this text really about? What do I think the author is trying to say by writing this text? What problems, puzzles, or ideas are most interesting? In what ways do the characters change between the beginning and end of the text? Good ideas for a thesis arise from material in which the meaning is not obviously stated.

For example, this student analyzes one theme of Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “We Real Cool.”

student sample text For the “Seven at the Golden Shovel,” companionship is everything. For many teenagers, fitting in or conforming to a group identity is more important than developing an individual identity. Brooks expresses this theme through the poem’s point of view, the plural “We” repeated at the end of each line. end student sample text

Analyze Stylistic Choices

To analyze stylistic choices, examine the details of the text. Ask yourself: Why does the author use this word or phrase instead of a synonym for it? In what ways does this word or phrase relate to other words or phrases? In what ways do the author’s figurative comparisons affect the meaning or tone of the text? In what ways does use of sensory language (imagery) affect the meaning or tone of the text? In what ways does this element represent more than itself? In what ways does the author use sound or rhythm to support meaning?

For example, this student analyzes the diction of Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “We Real Cool.”

student sample text Brooks chooses the word cool to open the poem and build the first rhyme. Being cool is the code by which the boys live. However, the word cool also suggests the idiom “to be placed ‘on ice,’” a term that suggests a delay. The boys live in a state of arrested development, anticipating early deaths. In addition, the term to ice someone means “to kill,” another reference to the death imagery at poem’s end. The boys are not suggesting suicide; they expect to be killed by members of society who find them threatening. end student sample text

Support Your Analysis

Analytical interpretations are built around evidence from the text itself. You’ll note the quotations in the examples above. Summarize larger ideas in your own language to conserve space. Paraphrase more specific ideas, also in your own words, and quote directly to feature the author’s diction. See Editing Focus: Paragraphs and Transitions and Writing Process: Integrating Research for more information about summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting directly. If you include outside information for support, comparison, or contrast, document the sources carefully: MLA Documentation and Format .

Use a graphic organizer such as Table 16.2 to gather ideas for drafting.

Drafting: Explore Possible Areas of Analysis for Literary Nonfiction: Approach 2

Although similar to fiction, narrative or literary nonfiction has a basic orientation toward exposition: relating real events in a creative way rather than inventing fictional events and characters. In reading and analyzing expository prose, you also may encounter literary language, narrative structure, characters, setting, theme, and plot development, depending on the type of prose. Therefore, your approach to analyzing nonfiction will call on many of the same strategies you use to analyze fiction. Two basic differences, however, are that literary nonfiction may have less dialogue, depending on the genre, and that the author and narrator may be the same. In other words, no intermediary or artistic filter may exist between the author and the work. The nonfiction author is assumed to be speaking a truth, which may be serious, comic, controversial, or neutral. Fictional characters, on the other hand, are creations of an author’s mind; they think and speak as they were created to do.

Planning the Essay

In writing your essay, you will need to present the same kinds of text evidence as you would when analyzing fiction to give credibility to your claims and to support your thesis. And you’ll need to keep in mind the rhetorical situation—purpose, audience, stance, context, and culture—as well, for it remains the building block of an effective analysis. As in most academic essays, body paragraphs refer to the thesis through topic sentences and move consistently toward supporting it before you finally arrive at a convincing conclusion that has grown out of the analysis. In nonfiction, because you assume you are dealing with a truthful explanation of facts and views, your task should be to give a new view and understanding of something that already may be familiar to readers. In writing your analysis, consider the following plan:

• Begin your analysis of nonfiction with an introductory overview in which you include the work’s genre, title, author, and publication date.
• Identify the literary point of view, if relevant: first person— I or plural we —or third-person— he, she , or they .
• Continue with a brief summary of the work, and place it in context: the work’s social, historical, and cultural background will help readers follow your points about its theme.
• Present your thesis near the end of the introduction. It should be argumentative, in an academic sense, so that you can “prove” your points.
• Support your thesis with well-elaborated body paragraphs, as you do with all thesis-based writing. Include paraphrases, summaries, and quotations from the text (and outside sources, if you do research for the assignment). Body paragraphs support the topic sentences, which in turn support the thesis.
• Conclude by restating your thesis (using different words and an appropriate transition). Add a general statement about the work and its significance or, if applicable, its relation to culture, history, current events, art, or anything else outside it.

Use the applicable suggestions in Table 16.3 in planning your essay :

Literary Nonfiction Model

A frequent theme in literary nonfiction is the examination of alternative ways of living, often solitary and away from society, and finding truth in individualism and self-sufficiency. Although most people live in social groups and willingly accept the identity and security that communities offer, dropping out and going it alone have long been a part of emotional as well as physical life for some.

You have the option to analyze the nonfiction accounts of writers exploring solitary human behavior in American life. If you select Another Lens 2 , you will read an excerpt from the story of Chris McCandless (1968–c. 1992), who chose a brief and uncomfortable solitary existence in Alaska. Or you can read the following section dealing with the works of Henry David Thoreau , the American philosopher and author who dropped out of society temporarily, largely because of his strong opposition to government policies he believed to be morally wrong and because of his refusal to conform to social practices and expectations he found objectionable.

Introduction

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) is best known as a thinker and writer on nature, as reflected in his two famous works, the highly influential Civil Disobedience (1849) and Walden ; or, Life in the Woods (1854). Both works celebrate individual freedoms: the right to protest against what one believes is morally or ethically wrong and the choice to live as one believes. In describing his life over a period of precisely two years, two months, and two days in a 10-by-15-foot cabin he built on Walden Pond, 20 miles northwest of Boston near Concord, Massachusetts, Thoreau wrote:

public domain text I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately [carefully, unhurried], to front [confront] only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. end public domain text

Thoreau’s insistence on standing by his principles and on living a simple life by choice are two abiding themes in his work. Even before the physical move to Walden, Thoreau had refused to pay his poll tax (granting him the right to vote) for a number of years because he strongly objected to the government’s use of his money to support enslavement and the war with Mexico. He went peacefully to jail as a result, until he was bailed out (the next day). In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau advocates for more individual freedom and for individuals to defy unjust laws in nonviolent ways. His writings on “passive resistance” inspired the thoughts and actions of influential figures such as Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948), American religious and civil rights leader Martin Luther King , Jr. (1929–1968), and other leaders of nonviolent liberation movements. In Walden , Thoreau describes and advocates for a simple life in which a person breaks with society when they feel the need to express their individualism, often based on ideas others do not share.

These themes are the focus of analysis in the following excerpts from an essay by student Alex Jones for a first-year composition class.

student sample text The Two Freedoms of Henry David Thoreau by Alex Jones end student sample text

student sample text Henry David Thoreau led millions of people throughout the world to think of individual freedom in new ways. During his lifetime he attempted to live free of unjust governmental restraints as well as conventional social expectations. In his 1849 political essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” he makes his strongest case against governmental interference in the lives of citizens. In his 1854 book Walden; or Life in the Woods , he makes the case for actually living free, as he did in his own life, from social conventions and expectations. end student sample text

annotated text The title clearly identifies Thoreau and sets the expectation that two aspects or definitions of freedom will be discussed in two different works. Alex Jones wants readers to know that millions of people worldwide figure in Thoreau’s legacy. He gives the examples of “unjust governmental restraints” and “conventional social expectations” as the parts of social life Thoreau rejected, thus limiting the scope of the analysis and preparing for the body of the essay. end annotated text

annotated text Jones notes the titles and publication dates of both works and immediately moves ahead to analyze the two works, “Civil Disobedience” first. He will show how this political statement leads to the narrative of Walden , the actual story of a man’s life in temporary exile. end annotated text

student sample text Thoreau opens “Civil Disobedience” with his statement “that government is best which governs not at all.” end student sample text

annotated text The analysis moves immediately to the first work to be discussed and features the memorable quotation regarding a government that does not govern. The statement may seem contradictory, but for Thoreau it is a direct statement in that someone who allows himself to be imprisoned will find freedom by distancing himself from all others to prove his point. end annotated text

student sample text He argues that a government should allow its people to be as free as possible while providing for their needs without interfering in daily life. In other words, in daily life a person attends to the business of eating, sleeping, and earning a living and not dealing in any noticeable way with an entity called “a government.” end student sample text

annotated text Jones repeats “in daily life” to give a rhythm to his own prose and to emphasize the importance to Thoreau of daily activities that are simple and meaningful. The word government is repeated for emphasis as the negative subject of this essay—in literary terms, a powerful and constant antagonist that constrains and disempowers. end annotated text

student sample text Because Thoreau did not want his freedom overshadowed by government regulations, he tried to ignore them. However, the American government of 1845 would not let him. He was arrested and put in the Concord jail for failing to pay his poll tax, a tax he believed unjust because it supported the government’s war with Mexico as well as the immoral institution of slavery. Instead of protesting his arrest, he celebrated it and explained its meaning by writing “Civil Disobedience,” one of the most famous English-language essays ever written. In it, he argues persuasively, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison” (230). Thus, the idea of passive resistance—and accepting unjust arrest to make a point—was formed, a doctrine that advocated protest against the government by nonviolent means: end student sample text

student sample text How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also. (224) end student sample text

annotated text Jones strengthens his own writing by calling the essay one of the most famous works ever written. This is not an ordinary technique in textual analysis, but when done for emphasis, it helps the analysis gain power. Using “instead of protesting” at the start of his sentence is another example of strong contrast and linkage. end annotated text

student sample text For nearly 200 years, Thoreau’s formulation of passive resistance has been a part of the human struggle for freedom. In fact, it changed the world by inspiring the resistance movements led by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. end student sample text

annotated text The total effect is to make Jones’s analytical essay more important for readers, as Thoreau’s writings have indeed changed the world despite being written humbly as the voice of one man’s conscience and isolation in his own freedom. end annotated text

student sample text Thoreau also wanted to be free from the everyday pressures to conform to society’s expectations. end student sample text

annotated text Jones transitions from the first short work to the different and equally famous nonfiction narrative Walden , moving smoothly from one freedom to the next with the transition “also wanted.” This second analysis of freedom is the second part of the essay’s thesis. end annotated text

student sample text He believed in doing and possessing only the essential things in life. To demonstrate his case, in 1845, he moved to the outskirts of Concord, Massachusetts, and lived by himself for just over two years in a cabin he built at Walden Pond. Thoreau wrote Walden to explain the value of living simply, far removed from the unnecessary complexity of society: “simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand” (66). At Walden, he lived as much as possible by this statement, building his own house and furniture, growing his own food, bartering for simple necessities, and attending to his own business rather than seeking employment from others. end student sample text

annotated text Jones uses textual evidence to support his claim. He summarizes Thoreau’s activities at Walden and quotes Thoreau as evidence to reinforce the freedom of mind that simple living allows. end annotated text

student sample text Living at Walden Pond gave Thoreau the chance to formulate many of his ideas about living an unencumbered, economical life. At Walden, he lived simply to “front only the essential facts of life” (66) and to center his thoughts on “living” instead of on unnecessary details of mere livelihood. He developed survival skills that freed him from the constraints of city dwellers whose lives depended upon a web of material things and services provided by others. He preferred to “take rank hold on life and spend my day more as animals do” (117). end student sample text

annotated text Jones uses the poetic language of high rhetoric directly from Thoreau. The body of the essay gives specific evidence of how Thoreau ate, built, read, and provided for his needs, cutting away all but the essential man in the two settings of his life. end annotated text

student sample text While living at Walden Pond, Thoreau was free to occupy his time in any way that pleased him, which for him meant mostly writing and tending his bean patch. The details of his gardening appear frequently, as he concentrated on it during his time there. He wasn’t troubled by a boss hounding him with deadlines or a wife and children who needed his attention. His neighbors accused him of being selfish and did not understand that he sought most of all “to live deliberately” (66), as he felt all people should learn to do. end student sample text

student sample text Then, as now, most people had more responsibilities than Thoreau had and could not just pack up their belongings and go live in the woods—if they could find free woods to live in. Today, people are intrigued to read about Thoreau’s experiences and are inspired by his thoughts, but few people can actually live or do as he suggests. The idea of life without cell phones or Internet seems inconceivable, even if one grows one’s own food and lives mostly off the grid. end student sample text

annotated text The next-to-last paragraph recognizes what could be a counterclaim: not everyone in contemporary times would view living alone for two years as a pleasure. Rather, they might see it as a different kind of prison, perhaps even a dangerous one. Indeed, such deprivation has less appeal these days, and people who do go off by themselves may be seen to have questionable motives. end annotated text

student sample text The theme of exploring how a man lives in or outside governmental control is clear in the choices he must make to define himself as a free person. Nevertheless, practical or not, Thoreau’s writings about freedom from government and society have inspired countless people to reassess how they live their lives. Though unable to live as Thoreau advocated, readers everywhere remain inspired by his ideals and his belief in the two freedoms. end student sample text

annotated text Jones concludes by emphasizing the strength of Thoreau’s ideas—his two freedoms—and the influence they have had in the world. end annotated text

Review the Essay

After reading Alex Jones’s essay, complete the following sentences to review his work:

• He identifies and summarizes the content by ________.
• He describes the form and structure of Thoreau’s works when ________.
• He places Thoreau and his works in context by ________.
• He clearly states his own theme in reading Thoreau, which is ________.
• He indicates Thoreau’s unusual language at times, such as ________.
• He gives supporting evidence for his points, such as ________.
• He includes a visual to ________.
• He concludes with a balanced and convincing viewpoint by ________.

For Reference: excerpt from Walden by Henry David Thoreau from “Where I Lived and What I Lived For”

public domain text When first I took up my abode in the woods, that is, began to spend my nights as well as days there, which, by accident, was on Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, 1845, my house was not finished for winter, but was merely a defense against the rain, without plastering or chimney, the walls being of rough, weather-stained boards, with wide chinks, which made it cool at night. The upright white hewn studs and freshly planed door and window casings gave it a clean and airy look, especially in the morning, when its timbers were saturated with dew, so that I fancied that by noon some sweet gum would exude from them. To my imagination it retained throughout the day more or less of this auroral character, reminding me of a certain house on a mountain which I had visited the year before. This was an airy and unplastered cabin, fit to entertain a travelling god, and where a goddess might trail her garments. The winds which passed over my dwelling were such as sweep over the ridges of mountains, bearing the broken strains, or celestial parts only, of terrestrial music.… end public domain text

public domain text The only house I had been the owner of before, if I except a boat, was a tent, which I used occasionally when making excursions in the summer, and this is still rolled up in my garret; but the boat, after passing from hand to hand, has gone down the stream of time. With this more substantial shelter about me, I had made some progress toward settling in the world. This frame, so slightly clad, was a sort of crystallization around me, and reacted on the builder. It was suggestive somewhat as a picture in outlines. I did not need to go outdoors to take the air, for the atmosphere within had lost none of its freshness. It was not so much within doors as behind a door where I sat, even in the rainiest weather. The Harivansa [important Sanskrit text] says, “An abode without birds is like a meat without seasoning.” Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.… end public domain text

public domain text For the first week, whenever I looked out on the pond it impressed me like a tarn high up on the side of a mountain, its bottom far above the surface of other lakes, and, as the sun arose, I saw it throwing off its nightly clothing of mist, and here and there, by degrees, its soft ripples or its smooth reflecting surface was revealed, while the mists, like ghosts, were stealthily withdrawing in every direction into the woods, as at the breaking up of some nocturnal conventicle. The very dew seemed to hang upon the trees later into the day than usual, as on the sides of mountains. end public domain text

public domain text This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain storm in August, when, both air and water being perfectly still, but the sky overcast, mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening, and the wood-thrush sang around, and was heard from shore to shore. A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time; and the clear portion of the air above it being shallow and darkened by clouds, the water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important. From a hill top nearby, where the wood had been recently cut off, there was a pleasing vista southward across the pond, through a wide indentation in the hills which form the shore there, where their opposite sides sloping toward each other suggested a stream flowing out in that direction through a wooded valley, but stream there was none. That way I looked between and over the near green hills to some distant and higher ones in the horizon, tinged with blue. Indeed, by standing on tiptoe I could catch a glimpse of some of the peaks of the still bluer and more distant mountain ranges in the north-west, those true-blue coins from heaven’s own mint, and also of some portion of the village. But in other directions, even from this point, I could not see over or beyond the woods which surrounded me. It is well to have some water in your neighborhood, to give buoyancy to and float the earth. One value even of the smallest well is, that when you look into it you see that earth is not continent but insular. This is as important as that it keeps butter cool. When I looked across the pond from this peak toward the Sudbury meadows, which in time of flood I distinguished elevated perhaps by a mirage in their seething valley, like a coin in a basin, all the earth beyond the pond appeared like a thin crust insulated and floated even by this small sheet of interverting water, and I was reminded that this on which I dwelt was but dry land . end public domain text

public domain text We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. If we refused, or rather used up, such paltry information as we get, the oracles would distinctly inform us how this might be done. end public domain text

public domain text I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.” end public domain text

public domain text Still we live meanly, like ants; though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men; like pygmies we fight with cranes; it is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes… end public domain text

public domain text Why should we live with such… waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches to-day to save nine to-morrow. end public domain text

Peer Review:

After you have completed your first draft, exchange essays with a partner for peer review. Look at the questions you answered to address the essay about Thoreau. Then, to provide helpful feedback, answer these questions about your peer’s draft.

• Does the introduction include the author, title of the work, publication date, historical context, and a brief summary?
• What is your peer’s main claim, or thesis? Is it clearly stated? If not, how might your peer clarify it?
• Is the thesis effectively supported throughout the essay? How does each paragraph support the thesis? What evidence does each contain? Has the writer included direct quotations, paraphrases, and summary as relevant and convincing support? Is there enough information to sustain the writer’s claims? How might the author improve their support? In working on this section, go through each body paragraph separately for these criteria.
• Does the analysis address counterclaims? If not, how might the writer include them?
• Which sentence or sentences restate the thesis? If a restatement is not there, what might the writer include?

Once you have feedback from a peer, consider their suggestions. Read all comments, and think carefully before making changes.

• Use your discretion . Sometimes writers do not agree with their peers’ suggestions; indeed, authors do not always revise everything suggested by editors. However, it is important to clarify what might have prompted a response from a peer, such as “This seems like more of an unsupported opinion than text-based evidence.” Here you might consider including a source citation either from the text or from an outside resource, or consider further explaining your claim. However, if you think your peer reviewer misinterpreted or read your claim superficially, do not revise it. At all times, though, maintain ownership. It is your paper; you are the ultimate judge of whether the ideas in it represent you and your views. Never include someone else’s idea in your paper if you do not understand it or believe it. Whether or not you decide to revise, be sure to read and consider all suggestions carefully.
• Focus on global suggestions first. Global feedback applies to your entire paper. You may have to revise your topic or thesis so that your paper meets assigned guidelines or does what it should. It is important to revise global feedback first, for these revisions might necessitate changes in content and organization, among other things.
• Complete a close revision. Check your paper to revise for clarity at the sentence level, and double-check citations, if you have them, for accuracy and style.

In Chapter 16, you have learned about the revision process, including how to evaluate suggestions for revision from peer review. In this activity, evaluate each revision suggestion for specificity. A specific suggestion is helpful and easy to implement. A general suggestion is not helpful and should be ignored unless you can go back and ask the reviewer to provide more details. Based on your evaluation, look at each revision suggestion and decide whether to implement or to ignore.

Student Revision Model

Below is a paragraph from the first draft of Gwyn Garrison’s paper. It was reviewed by a peer, who made the suggestions indicated. First, read the draft. Next, read the reviewer’s suggestions and consider whether you would accept or reject each one. Then, read the paragraph as it appears in the final version. After each suggestion, consider why you think Gwyn Garrison accepted or rejected the reviewer’s comment.

Original Draft

student sample text When Calixta acts outside of societal norms, she discovers the freedom of self-expression and passion. Chopin’s diction evokes a spiritual transcendence that allows Calixta to exist momentarily outside social norms that exist only in the physical plane of existence: “when he possessed her, they seemed to swoon at the very borderland of life’s mystery.” The affair becomes a vehicle that allows Calixta to get to a place of true self-expression. The storm, an aspect of nature or the natural world, acts as the catalyst in Calixta’s natural self-realization of womanhood. The storm breaks externally and internally for Calixta. Chopin’s depiction of Calixta’s sexual liberation and fulfillment outside of her marriage is an early step in the fight to bridge the gap between women’s bodies and their sociopolitical lives. By presenting female sexuality in a way that is enlightening rather than degrading, Chopin helps destigmatize labels such as whore, which have been used to shame women for acting outside of traditional gender expectations. end student sample text

Peer Reviewer’s Comments

• A transition would help link this paragraph with the previous one.
• At the beginning of the paragraph, after the first sentence, add a short description or explanation of what is happening in the scene.
• The quotation from the text doesn’t help explain your claim. Anyway, you left out a word.
• Perhaps you could add a quotation about the storm.
• Can you clarify the relationship between the storm and Calixta’s self-realization?

Final Version

student sample text When Calixta acts outside of societal norms, however , she discovers the freedom of self-expression and passion. All of the parts of her womanhood that have no place in the society in which she lives have been repressed until this one moment. In this scene, Chopin takes possession of the term whore and redefines Calixta’s behavior as a transformative awakening. Chopin’s diction evokes a spiritual transcendence that allows Calixta to exist momentarily outside social norms that exist only in the physical plane of existence: “when he possessed her, they seemed to swoon together at the very borderland of life’s mystery.” The affair becomes a vehicle that allows Calixta to get to a place of true self-expression. The storm, an aspect of nature or the natural world, acts as the catalyst in Calixta’s natural self-realization of womanhood. As the storm breaks externally, it also breaks internally for Calixta. Chopin’s depiction of Calixta’s sexual liberation and fulfillment outside of her marriage is an early step in the fight to bridge the gap between women’s bodies and their sociopolitical lives. By presenting female sexuality in a way that is enlightening rather than degrading, Chopin helps destigmatize labels such as whore, which have been used to shame women for acting outside of traditional gender expectations. end student sample text

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Essay Writing Processes

Considering writing contexts.

There are three main contexts to consider when approaching writing:

• purpose of the writing
• type of writing
• reading audience

First of all, writing exists within the context of what you want to accomplish, your purpose: to inform, instruct, analyze, argue logically, evaluate, etc.  For example, if your purpose is to argue logically and persuade your reader of the validity of your stance on an issue, you’ll know even before you start prewriting that you’ll need to include support that addresses the opposing side in order to create a balanced presentation.

Secondly, writing exists within the context of the type of writing you intend to do: blogging, business proposal, case study, academic writing, etc.  In a study of college writing, you’ll most likely be writing either research or non-research essays. Knowing the type of writing that you intend to do can help you make decisions about content, format, and overall approach. For example, if you’re writing a non-research essay offering your own reflections or observations on contemporary manners, you may decide that it’s fine to use a light-hearted tone and informal writing style. You may decide on a more formal approach if you’re writing an essay based on an assigned textbook reading on contemporary manners for a sociology course.

All three contexts are important to consider, sometimes before and definitely after you prewrite. Note that it’s also useful to consider contexts in the writing and revising stages to ensure that you’re clearly addressing your purpose, audience, and conventions for the writing type.

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Home » Context of the Study – Writing Guide and Examples

Context of the Study – Writing Guide and Examples

Table of Contents

Context of the Study

The context of a study refers to the set of circumstances or background factors that provide a framework for understanding the research question , the methods used, and the findings . It includes the social, cultural, economic, political, and historical factors that shape the study’s purpose and significance, as well as the specific setting in which the research is conducted. The context of a study is important because it helps to clarify the meaning and relevance of the research, and can provide insight into the ways in which the findings might be applied in practice.

Structure of Context of the Study

The structure of the context of the study generally includes several key components that provide the necessary background and framework for the research being conducted. These components typically include:

• Introduction : This section provides an overview of the research problem , the purpose of the study, and the research questions or hypotheses being tested.
• Background and Significance : This section discusses the historical, theoretical, and practical background of the research problem, highlighting why the study is important and relevant to the field.
• Literature Review: This section provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature related to the research problem, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies and identifying gaps in the literature.
• Theoretical Framework : This section outlines the theoretical perspective or perspectives that will guide the research and explains how they relate to the research questions or hypotheses.
• Research Design and Methods: This section provides a detailed description of the research design and methods, including the research approach, sampling strategy, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.
• Ethical Considerations : This section discusses the ethical considerations involved in conducting the research, including the protection of human subjects, informed consent, confidentiality, and potential conflicts of interest.
• Limitations and Delimitations: This section discusses the potential limitations of the study, including any constraints on the research design or methods, as well as the delimitations, or boundaries, of the study.
• Contribution to the Field: This section explains how the study will contribute to the field, highlighting the potential implications and applications of the research findings.

How to Write Context of the study

Here are some steps to write the context of the study:

• Identify the research problem: Start by clearly defining the research problem or question you are investigating. This should be a concise statement that highlights the gap in knowledge or understanding that your research seeks to address.
• Provide background information : Once you have identified the research problem, provide some background information that will help the reader understand the context of the study. This might include a brief history of the topic, relevant statistics or data, or previous research on the subject.
• Explain the significance: Next, explain why the research is significant. This could be because it addresses an important problem or because it contributes to a theoretical or practical understanding of the topic.
• Outline the research objectives : State the specific objectives of the study. This helps to focus the research and provides a clear direction for the study.
• Identify the research approach: Finally, identify the research approach or methodology you will be using. This might include a description of the data collection methods, sample size, or data analysis techniques.

Example of Context of the Study

Here is an example of a context of a study:

Title of the Study: “The Effectiveness of Online Learning in Higher Education”

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many educational institutions to adopt online learning as an alternative to traditional in-person teaching. This study is conducted in the context of the ongoing shift towards online learning in higher education. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of online learning in terms of student learning outcomes and satisfaction compared to traditional in-person teaching. The study also explores the challenges and opportunities of online learning in higher education, especially in the current pandemic situation. This research is conducted in the United States and involves a sample of undergraduate students enrolled in various universities offering online and in-person courses. The study findings are expected to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the future of higher education and the role of online learning in the post-pandemic era.

Context of the Study in Thesis

The context of the study in a thesis refers to the background, circumstances, and conditions that surround the research problem or topic being investigated. It provides an overview of the broader context within which the study is situated, including the historical, social, economic, and cultural factors that may have influenced the research question or topic.

Context of the Study Example in Thesis

Here is an example of the context of a study in a thesis:

Context of the Study:

The rapid growth of the internet and the increasing popularity of social media have revolutionized the way people communicate, connect, and share information. With the widespread use of social media, there has been a rise in cyberbullying, which is a form of aggression that occurs online. Cyberbullying can have severe consequences for victims, such as depression, anxiety, and even suicide. Thus, there is a need for research that explores the factors that contribute to cyberbullying and the strategies that can be used to prevent or reduce it.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and cyberbullying among adolescents in the United States. Specifically, the study will examine the following research questions:

• What is the prevalence of cyberbullying among adolescents who use social media?
• What are the factors that contribute to cyberbullying among adolescents who use social media?
• What are the strategies that can be used to prevent or reduce cyberbullying among adolescents who use social media?

The study is significant because it will provide valuable insights into the relationship between social media use and cyberbullying, which can be used to inform policies and programs aimed at preventing or reducing cyberbullying among adolescents. The study will use a mixed-methods approach, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of cyberbullying among adolescents who use social media.

Context of the Study in Research Paper

The context of the study in a research paper refers to the background information that provides a framework for understanding the research problem and its significance. It includes a description of the setting, the research question, the objectives of the study, and the scope of the research.

Context of the Study Example in Research Paper

An example of the context of the study in a research paper might be:

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the mental health of individuals worldwide. As a result, there has been a growing interest in identifying effective interventions to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health. In this study, we aim to explore the impact of a mindfulness-based intervention on the mental health of individuals who have experienced increased stress and anxiety due to the pandemic.

Context of the Study In Research Proposal

The context of a study in a research proposal provides the background and rationale for the proposed research, highlighting the gap or problem that the study aims to address. It also explains why the research is important and relevant to the field of study.

Context of the Study Example In Research Proposal

Here is an example of a context section in a research proposal:

The rise of social media has revolutionized the way people communicate and share information online. As a result, businesses have increasingly turned to social media platforms to promote their products and services, build brand awareness, and engage with customers. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of social media marketing strategies and the factors that contribute to their success. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the impact of social media marketing on consumer behavior and identifying the key factors that influence its effectiveness.

Purpose of Context of the Study

The purpose of providing context for a study is to help readers understand the background, scope, and significance of the research being conducted. By contextualizing the study, researchers can provide a clear and concise explanation of the research problem, the research question or hypothesis, and the research design and methodology.

The context of the study includes information about the historical, social, cultural, economic, and political factors that may have influenced the research topic or problem. This information can help readers understand why the research is important, what gaps in knowledge the study seeks to address, and what impact the research may have in the field or in society.

Advantages of Context of the Study

Some advantages of considering the context of a study include:

• Increased validity: Considering the context can help ensure that the study is relevant to the population being studied and that the findings are more representative of the real world. This can increase the validity of the study and help ensure that its conclusions are accurate.
• Enhanced understanding: By examining the context of the study, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the phenomenon under investigation. This can lead to more nuanced findings and a richer understanding of the topic.
• Improved generalizability: Contextualizing the study can help ensure that the findings are applicable to other settings and populations beyond the specific sample studied. This can improve the generalizability of the study and increase its impact.
• Better interpretation of results: Understanding the context of the study can help researchers interpret their results more accurately and avoid drawing incorrect conclusions. This can help ensure that the study contributes to the body of knowledge in the field and has practical applications.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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26 Definition

The purpose of a definition essay may seem self-explanatory, to simply define something. But defining terms in writing is often more complicated than just consulting a dictionary. In fact, the way we define terms can have far-reaching consequences for individuals as well as collective groups. Ultimately, a definition essay will share your special understanding about your chosen topic.

Take, for example, a word like  alcoholism . The way in which one defines alcoholism depends on its legal, moral, and medical contexts. Lawyers may define alcoholism in terms of its legality; parents may define alcoholism in terms of its morality; and doctors will define alcoholism in terms of symptoms and diagnostic criteria. Think also of terms that people tend to debate in our broader culture. How we define words, such as  marriage  and  climate change , has enormous impact on policy decisions and even on daily decisions. Think about conversations couples may have in which words like  commitment ,  respect , or  love  need clarification.

Defining terms within a relationship, or any other context, can at first be difficult, but once a definition is established between two people or a group of people, it is easier to have productive dialogues. Definitions, then, establish the way in which people communicate ideas. They set parameters for a given discourse, which is why they are so important. When defining is the major impetus of an essay, the writer cast him/herself as the expert, aiming at an audience who knows less, maybe much less, about the topic.

When writing definition essays, avoid terms that are too simple, that lack complexity. Think in terms of concepts, such as  hero, happiness,  or  loyalty , rather than physical objects. Definitions of concepts and abstractions, rather than concrete objects, are often fluid and contentious, making for a more effective definition essay.

Writing at Work

Definitions play a critical role in all workplace environments. Take the term  sexual harassment , for example. Sexual harassment is broadly defined on the federal level, but each company may have additional criteria that define it further. Knowing how your workplace defines and treats all sexual harassment allegations is important. Think, too, about how your company defines  lateness ,  productivity , or  contributions .

Exercise 17

On a separate sheet of paper, write about a time in your own life in which the definition of a word, or the lack of a definition, caused an argument. Your term could be something as simple as the category of an all-star in sports or how to define a good movie. Or it could be something with higher stakes and wider impact, such as a political argument. Explain how the conversation began, how the argument hinged on the definition of the word, and how the incident was finally resolved.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your responses.

The Structure of a Definition Essay

The definition essay opens with a general discussion of the term to be defined. You then state as your thesis your definition of the term.

The rest of the essay should explain the rationale for your definition. Remember that a dictionary’s definition is limiting, and you should not rely strictly on the dictionary entry. Instead, consider the context in which you are using the word.  Context  identifies the circumstances, conditions, or setting in which something exists or occurs. Often words take on different meanings depending on the context in which they are used. For example, the ideal leader in a battlefield setting could likely be very different from a leader in an elementary school setting. If a context is missing from the essay, the essay may be too short or the main points could be confusing or misunderstood.

The remainder of the essay should explain different aspects of the term’s definition. For example, if you were defining a good leader in an elementary classroom setting, you might define such a leader according to personality traits: patience, consistency, and flexibility. Each attribute would be explained in its own paragraph.

You define according to principles of definition, but you are the author of the definition. As you consider how to develop your essay, it might be helpful to consider the parts of a formal definition:

Parts of a definition:

• Formal re-definition
• Similar things

Example: Here is an example of a formal definition for “candle:”

You may define any object or place this way. When you have a definition constructed, you may add it to the other elements in your personal writing. When you finish ALL the elements, you may then arrange elements for greatest effect.

It is a good idea to occasionally assess your role in the workplace. You can do this through the process of definition. Identify your role at work by defining not only the routine tasks but also those gray areas where your responsibilities might overlap with those of others. Coming up with a clear definition of roles and responsibilities can add value to your résumé and even increase productivity in the workplace.

Exercise 18

On a separate sheet of paper, define each of the following items in your own terms. If you can, establish a context for your definition.

• Consumer culture

Writing a Definition Essay

Choose a topic that will be complex enough to be discussed at length. Be sure that the term is abstract, and that it is or refers to something that can mean different things to different people. Also, be sure that you choose a word that you have some familiarity with. Since you need to elaborate on the word you choose to define, you will need to have your own base of knowledge or experience with the concept you choose.  If you try to define something that is beyond the scope of your paper or your own experience, the task will become overwhelming and get mired down in details or abstractions.

After you have chosen your word or phrase, start your essay with an introduction that establishes the relevancy of the term in the chosen specific context. Your thesis can come at the end of the introduction, can be implied throughout the development of the essay, or can be clearly asserted in the conclusion. However, you must have a clear idea of your thesis–your overall definition for the term or concept– that is reinforced throughout the development of the essay.

The body paragraphs should each be dedicated to explaining a different facet of your definition. Make sure to use clear examples and strong details to illustrate your points.  A definition can be developed in a number of ways. A definition of a business management concept such as Total Quality Management (TQM), for instance, could begin with a  history  (a kind of process paper) of its inception in Japanese management systems, its migration across the Pacific, its implementation and transformation in American systems, and its predicted demise. It could also (or instead) include examples of the kind of labor conflict that TQM is supposed to eliminate or alleviate. Or it could describe TQM as a  process , the steps involved in its implementation, or involve an  analysis  of its principles and its place in management theory.  Contrasts  to other management theories might be appropriate, demonstrating what TQM is not as well as what it is. We could even think of it as a  cause and effect  situation in which we describe how TQM responds to certain needs in the workplace. Negation also works well, as you can define your topic by what it is not or does not have. A definition essay is not limited to any one method of development and it may, in fact, employ more than one method at once.  Implicit in all of these techniques, and therefore essential in your essay, is an analysis of this topic you have chosen.  By developing and explaining your own opinion of what the topic you have chosen means, you are in a way analyzing the topic.

Your concluding paragraph should pull together all the different elements of your definition to ultimately reinforce your thesis. It draws a conclusion based on the overall breakdown of the information offered throughout the body of the essay.

Don’t rely on that old cliché of the dictionary or encyclopedia definition. Even if your intent is to show how inadequate or wrong-headed the dictionary might be, this device has been used far too often to be effective. The point of your essay is to provide your reader with a new way of looking at things —  your  way, not Noah Webster’s.

Exercise 19

Choose a label that you would give yourself (such as good friend, daughter, brother, student, etc). For this label, consider both the denotation of the word and your connotation of it. Then, write paragraph that defines this word using at least one other rhetorical techniques such as illustration, description, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and narration.

Assignment 6

Create a full definition essay from one of the items you already defined in Exercise 18 or 19. Be sure to include an interesting introduction, a clear thesis, a well-explained context, distinct body paragraphs, and a conclusion that pulls everything together.

Key Takeaways

• Definitions establish the way in which people communicate ideas. They set parameters for a given discourse.
• Context affects the meaning and usage of words.
• The thesis of a definition essay should clearly state the writer’s definition of the term in the specific context.
• Body paragraphs should explain the various facets of the definition stated in the thesis.
• The conclusion should pull all the elements of the definition together at the end and reinforce the thesis.

Some Additional Tips About Definition

Avoid using the phrases “is where” and “is when” in your definition: “Total Quality Management is when management and labor agree to. . . .” “A computer virus is where . . . .”

Avoid circular definitions (repeating the defined term within the predicate, the definition itself): “A computer virus is a virus that destroys or disrupts software . . . .”

Avoid using a too narrow definition, one that would unduly limit the scope of your paper: “Reggae music is sung on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. . . .”

Avoid defining the word by quoting the dictionary or encyclopedia because that detracts from your own thoughts and opinions.

External Links

“ I Learned to Understand Shame ” (https://tinyurl.com/ybsp3ytz) by Joe Quinn. In this essay, Quinn defines and analyzes shame by combining personal experience in post 9/11 America with research.

“ Pride ” (https://tinyurl.com/ydamxkqo) by Ian Frazier. In this essay, published by  Outside Online ,  New Yorker  writer Ian Frazier uses a mix of rhetorical devices to define the concept of pride.

Student Sample Essay

Defining Good Students Means More Than Just Grades

Many people define good students as those who receive the best grades. While it is true that good students often earn high grades, I contend that grades are just one aspect of how we define a good student. In fact, even poor students can earn high grades sometimes, so grades are not the best indicator of a student’s quality. Rather, a good student pursues scholarship, actively participates in class, and maintains a positive, professional relationship with instructors and peers.

Good students have a passion for learning that drives them to fully understand class material rather than just worry about what grades they receive in the course. Good students are actively engaged in scholarship, which means they enjoy reading and learning about their subject matter not just because readings and assignments are required. Of course, good students will complete their homework and all assignments, and they may even continue to perform research and learn more on the subject after the course ends. In some cases, good students will pursue a subject that interests them but might not be one of their strongest academic areas, so they will not earn the highest grades. Pushing oneself to learn and try new things can be difficult, but good students will challenge themselves rather than remain at their educational comfort level for the sake of a high grade. The pursuit of scholarship and education rather than concern over grades is the hallmark of a good student.

Class participation and behavior are another aspect of the definition of a good student. Simply attending class is not enough; good students arrive punctually because they understand that tardiness disrupts the class and disrespects the professors. They might occasionally arrive a few minutes early to ask the professor questions about class materials or mentally prepare for the day’s work. Good students consistently pay attention during class discussions and take notes in lectures rather than engage in off-task behaviors, such as checking their cell phones or daydreaming. Excellent class participation requires a balance between speaking and listening, so good students will share their views when appropriate but also respect their classmates’ views when they differ from their own. It is easy to mistake quantity of class discussion comments with quality, but good students know the difference and do not try to dominate the conversation. Sometimes class participation is counted toward a student’s grade, but even without such clear rewards, good students understand how to perform and excel among their peers in the classroom.

Finally, good students maintain a positive and professional relationship with their professors. They respect their instructor’s authority in the classroom as well as the instructor’s privacy outside of the classroom. Prying into a professor’s personal life is inappropriate, but attending office hours to discuss course material is an appropriate, effective way for students to demonstrate their dedication and interest in learning. Good students go to their professor’s office during posted office hours or make an appointment if necessary. While instructors can be very busy, they are usually happy to offer guidance to students during office hours; after all, availability outside the classroom is a part of their job. Attending office hours can also help good students become memorable and stand out from the rest, particularly in lectures with hundreds enrolled. Maintaining positive, professional relationships with professors is especially important for those students who hope to attend graduate school and will need letters of recommendation in the future.

Although good grades often accompany good students, grades are not the only way to indicate what it means to be a good student. The definition of a good student means demonstrating such traits as engaging with course material, participating in class, and creating a professional relationship with professors. While professors have different criteria for earning an A in their courses, most will agree on these characteristics for defining good students.

Attributions

Content taken from Chapter 5 – Rhetorical Modes  by Jenifer Kurtz is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

English 101: Journey Into Open Copyright © 2021 by Christine Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Home / Guides / Grammar Guides / Vocabulary Guides / Usage Guides / How To Use Context In A Sentence

How To Use Context In A Sentence

This helpful guide will show you how to use context in a sentence. It will show you the definition of context , as well as synonyms, antonyms, and the type of connotation that the word can carry.

Usage for context

Definition: the information or circumstances that surround a statement, event, or behavior, which usually influences its significance

Part(s) of speech: noun

Antonyms: insignificance; ignorance

Synonyms: background; conditions

Here are but a few sample sentences of the word in action!

• I can see how you might interrupt my statement as an insult, but it’s only because you have no context .
• It’s unfair to harshly judge a movie as terrible without being aware of all the behind-the-scenes  context.
• I only ate the entire jar of pickles because I was exhausted and pregnant. Understand the context before you give me that look.
• For a therapist to truly understand the motivations behind a client’s actions they must first dig into the context of their life.
• I’d be very curious to learn the context behind the origin of trick or treating.
• David and Griffen are connoisseurs of context because they don’t talk about a film in a vacuum. Instead, they analyze it based on the director’s entire oeuvre.
• Novels are effective because they get inside the protagonist’s head so a reader can understand the context behind their decisions.
• If you would take a minute to understand the context around my tantrum, you wouldn’t be so angry with me.
• It’s easy to misinterpret a soundbite on cable news if you aren’t given its  context.
• The film Psycho was innovative because the director provided all the context for the female lead’s personal journey but then had her killed halfway through the movie.
• If you only look at one page of Alice in Wonderland, it will seem completely absurd, and therein lies the importance of  context.
• I believe nurture is more of an influence than nature on a child because I’m willing to look into the context of a person’s upbringing.
• He claims that I would understand why he cheated on me if I looked at the context of our whole relationship.
• I love when period TV shows perfect the wardrobe and language of their time period. It really helps put the story in its proper  context.
• If you walked into my bedroom and saw four thousand slices of cheesecake covering the floor, you would be shocked, but that’s only because you don’t know the  context.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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Guest Essay

The Supreme Court Got It Wrong: Abortion Is Not Settled Law

By Melissa Murray and Kate Shaw

Ms. Murray is a law professor at New York University. Ms. Shaw is a contributing Opinion writer.

In his majority opinion in the case overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel Alito insisted that the high court was finally settling the vexed abortion debate by returning the “authority to regulate abortion” to the “people and their elected representatives.”

Despite these assurances, less than two years after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion is back at the Supreme Court. In the next month, the justices will hear arguments in two high-stakes cases that may shape the future of access to medication abortion and to lifesaving care for pregnancy emergencies. These cases make clear that Dobbs did not settle the question of abortion in America — instead, it generated a new slate of questions. One of those questions involves the interaction of existing legal rules with the concept of fetal personhood — the view, held by many in the anti-abortion movement, that a fetus is a person entitled to the same rights and protections as any other person.

The first case , scheduled for argument on Tuesday, F.D.A. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, is a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s protocols for approving and regulating mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortions. An anti-abortion physicians’ group argues that the F.D.A. acted unlawfully when it relaxed existing restrictions on the use and distribution of mifepristone in 2016 and 2021. In 2016, the agency implemented changes that allowed the use of mifepristone up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, rather than seven; reduced the number of required in-person visits for dispensing the drug from three to one; and allowed the drug to be prescribed by individuals like nurse practitioners. In 2021, it eliminated the in-person visit requirement, clearing the way for the drug to be dispensed by mail. The physicians’ group has urged the court to throw out those regulations and reinstate the previous, more restrictive regulations surrounding the drug — a ruling that could affect access to the drug in every state, regardless of the state’s abortion politics.

The second case, scheduled for argument on April 24, involves the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (known by doctors and health policymakers as EMTALA ), which requires federally funded hospitals to provide patients, including pregnant patients, with stabilizing care or transfer to a hospital that can provide such care. At issue is the law’s interaction with state laws that severely restrict abortion, like an Idaho law that bans abortion except in cases of rape or incest and circumstances where abortion is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.”

Although the Idaho law limits the provision of abortion care to circumstances where death is imminent, the federal government argues that under EMTALA and basic principles of federal supremacy, pregnant patients experiencing emergencies at federally funded hospitals in Idaho are entitled to abortion care, even if they are not in danger of imminent death.

These cases may be framed in the technical jargon of administrative law and federal pre-emption doctrine, but both cases involve incredibly high-stakes issues for the lives and health of pregnant persons — and offer the court an opportunity to shape the landscape of abortion access in the post-Roe era.

These two cases may also give the court a chance to seed new ground for fetal personhood. Woven throughout both cases are arguments that gesture toward the view that a fetus is a person.

If that is the case, the legal rules that would typically hold sway in these cases might not apply. If these questions must account for the rights and entitlements of the fetus, the entire calculus is upended.

In this new scenario, the issue is not simply whether EMTALA’s protections for pregnant patients pre-empt Idaho’s abortion ban, but rather which set of interests — the patient’s or the fetus’s — should be prioritized in the contest between state and federal law. Likewise, the analysis of F.D.A. regulatory protocols is entirely different if one of the arguments is that the drug to be regulated may be used to end a life.

Neither case presents the justices with a clear opportunity to endorse the notion of fetal personhood — but such claims are lurking beneath the surface. The Idaho abortion ban is called the Defense of Life Act, and in its first bill introduced in 2024, the Idaho Legislature proposed replacing the term “fetus” with “preborn child” in existing Idaho law. In its briefs before the court, Idaho continues to beat the drum of fetal personhood, insisting that EMTALA protects the unborn — rather than pregnant women who need abortions during health emergencies.

According to the state, nothing in EMTALA imposes an obligation to provide stabilizing abortion care for pregnant women. Rather, the law “actually requires stabilizing treatment for the unborn children of pregnant women.” In the mifepristone case, advocates referred to fetuses as “unborn children,” while the district judge in Texas who invalidated F.D.A. approval of the drug described it as one that “starves the unborn human until death.”

Fetal personhood language is in ascent throughout the country. In a recent decision , the Alabama Supreme Court allowed a wrongful-death suit for the destruction of frozen embryos intended for in vitro fertilization, or I.V.F. — embryos that the court characterized as “extrauterine children.”

Less discussed but as worrisome is a recent oral argument at the Florida Supreme Court concerning a proposed ballot initiative intended to enshrine a right to reproductive freedom in the state’s Constitution. In considering the proposed initiative, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court repeatedly peppered Nathan Forrester, the senior deputy solicitor general who was representing the state, with questions about whether the state recognized the fetus as a person under the Florida Constitution. The point was plain: If the fetus was a person, then the proposed ballot initiative, and its protections for reproductive rights, would change the fetus’s rights under the law, raising constitutional questions.

As these cases make clear, the drive toward fetal personhood goes beyond simply recasting abortion as homicide. If the fetus is a person, any act that involves reproduction may implicate fetal rights. Fetal personhood thus has strong potential to raise questions about access to abortion, contraception and various forms of assisted reproductive technology, including I.V.F.

In response to the shifting landscape of reproductive rights, President Biden has pledged to “restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.” Roe and its successor, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, were far from perfect; they afforded states significant leeway to impose onerous restrictions on abortion, making meaningful access an empty promise for many women and families of limited means. But the two decisions reflected a constitutional vision that, at least in theory, protected the liberty to make certain intimate choices — including choices surrounding if, when and how to become a parent.

Under the logic of Roe and Casey, the enforceability of EMTALA, the F.D.A.’s power to regulate mifepristone and access to I.V.F. weren’t in question. But in the post-Dobbs landscape, all bets are off. We no longer live in a world in which a shared conception of constitutional liberty makes a ban on I.V.F. or certain forms of contraception beyond the pale.

Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University and a host of the Supreme Court podcast “ Strict Scrutiny ,” is a co-author of “ The Trump Indictments : The Historic Charging Documents With Commentary.”

Kate Shaw is a contributing Opinion writer, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a host of the Supreme Court podcast “Strict Scrutiny.” She served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Richard Posner.

Opinion What we have learned about the Supreme Court’s right-wingers

Supreme Court observers frequently refer to its right-wing majority of six as a single bloc. However, differences among those six have become more apparent over time. Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s and Clarence Thomas’s extreme judicial activism, partisan screeds and ethics controversies put them in a category unto themselves. Meanwhile, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has demonstrated surprising independence.

Watch Justice Barrett.

Not all Republican-appointed judges are the same. In Trump v. Anderson (concerning disqualification under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump), for example, Barrett, along with Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, criticized the maximalist majority opinion, which held that not only could state courts not determine disqualification but that Congress had to act before any candidate could be disqualified from federal office.

Like the so-called liberal justices, Barrett was disinclined to address “the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced.” The court decided too much, she agreed. Her complaint with the so-called liberal justices was primarily tonal. (“This is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency.”)

Likewise, in United States v. Texas (considering the stay on enforcement of Texas’s S.B. 4 immigration law ), Barrett, along with Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, offered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit an opening to take up the case promptly, which it did, rather than wade into a procedural fight over a stay in a case concerning Texas’s constitutionally suspect law.

As Supreme Court expert Steve Vladeck put it , “The Barrett/Kavanaugh concurrence went out of its way to nudge the Fifth Circuit — noting not only that the Fifth Circuit should be able to rule on the stay pending appeal ‘promptly,’ but that, ‘If a decision does not issue soon, the applicants may return to this Court.’” In essence, Barrett said the Supreme Court would not meddle in a circuit’s administrative business. But if the 5th Circuit actually allowed this constitutional monstrosity to proceed, she would have a different view.

And in Moore v. Harper (the independent state legislature doctrine), Barrett joined in the chief justice’s majority opinion, along with the three Democratic-appointed justices, to bat down the radical notion that state courts have no role in determining alleged violations of state election laws (provided they did “not transgress the ordinary bounds of judicial review”).

Beyond her opinions in high-profile cases, Barrett also sought to repair the court’s reputation damaged by right-wing partisanship. She has started appearing alongside Sotomayor publicly to insist that the court’s ideological combatants are more collegial than they might appear. Perhaps she is.

Barrett is no Sandra Day O’Connor (a true swing justice). Barrett was just as extreme on Roe v. Wade as the other right-wingers. Nevertheless, her efforts to carve an independent niche on the court should not be ignored.

On the other hand, there is no limit to what Justices Alito and Thomas will do.

In contrast to Barrett, no right-wing theory or activist invitation is too wacky for Alito and Thomas to entertain.

During oral argument on Danco Laboratories v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (considering the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone), Alito and Thomas took up the right-wing infatuation with the Comstock Act , passed in 1873. Alito, alone among the justices, seemed anxious to speed past the very real “standing” issue to ruminate about a means of banning abortion nationwide.

The Comstock law, which has not been enforced in about a century, bans sending “every article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion .” (Also, certainly unconstitutionally, it bans a large category of vaguely defined pornography.) Thomas and Alito seem ready and willing to deploy the law in a way it has never been applied: namely, to states where abortion is otherwise legal, thereby threatening the availability of medical abortions nationwide.

The Post reported , “Some experts and Biden officials fear Alito and Thomas are planning to write a separate opinion focused solely on the Comstock Act, arguing that the law remains viable and providing legal cover to a future administration that seeks to invoke it.” Even if Alito and Thomas do not carry the day, the Hill reported , “access to abortion pills could still very much be at risk if Alito and Thomas succeed in soliciting a Comstock-focused challenge in the future,” abortion rights defenders fear. A future Republican administration might well start trying to employ the law to throw abortion providers in jail.

Fishing for a hook to extrapolate the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling into a nationwide ban on medical abortions epitomizes these justices’ radical disregard for precedent and brazen judicial activism. Indeed, Alito and Thomas increasingly seem like stalking horses for the far-right agenda, be it on guns, abortion or voting.

The Supreme Court’s credibility

Numerous polls show the court’s approval has cratered , likely a function of its ethics scandals, partisan rhetoric and aggressive reversal of precedent. In other words, judicial imperialism and disdain for ethical rules that apply even to members of Congress are unpopular with voters.

Increasingly partisan Thomas and Alito no longer bother to conceal their contempt for ethical restrictions , congressional oversight or judicial temperament . They have repeatedly failed to disclose luxurious gifts (with no sign of remorse) and remain adamant that they will accept no outside oversight.

After a firestorm of protest over financial disclosure lapses, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. released ethical guidelines so weak that they lack an enforcement mechanism. Worse, the guidelines are so porous that they posed no barrier to Thomas sitting on cases involving attempts to overturn the 2020 election that his wife supported.

Unless the rest of the court decides to restrain Thomas and Alito, concerns about ethical lapses and misalignment with contemporary American values will deepen, heightening demands for congressional responses (e.g., mandatory ethics, term limits, court expansion). If that happens, Alito and Thomas will be largely responsible.

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A 32-year market vet warns the S&P 500 is set to fall 50%-70% in the years ahead with valuations at historic highs — and says that an imminently weakening labor market will be the catalyst for the crash

• Jon Wolfenbarger warns against long-term investment in the stock market due to high valuations.
• Wolfenbarger believes a weakening labor market and impending recession could trigger a sell-off.
• While some indicators suggest an economic slowdown, consensus views remain optimistic.

There has seldom been a worse time to invest money in the stock market for the long term, according to Jon Wolfenbarger .

That's because valuations are historically elevated today, and over the period of around a decade, they carry significant weight in determining return outcomes. According to Bank of America, valuation levels explain 80% of the market's return over a 10-year period.

There are many ways to measure valuation levels in the overall market. Wolfenbarger, the founder of investing newsletter BullAndBearProfits.com and a former investment banker at JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch, cites John Hussman's ratio of the market cap of all non-financial stocks to the gross value added of those stocks. Hussman says it's the most accurate indicator of future market returns that he's found.

Right now, the metric shows -5% returns annually over the next 12 years. In the chart below, the valuation measure is shown in blue and is inverted, and actual subsequent S&P 500 returns are shown in red.

Other valuation measures are also hovering at historically high levels. The so-called Warren Buffett indicator of total market cap-to-GDP well exceeds dot-com bubble levels and is reapproaching its 2022 highs. And, the Shiller cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio is above 1929 levels and trails levels only seen in 1999 and 2021.

Based on historical long-term returns when valuations are this high, Wolfenbarger said that the S&P 500 is likely to suffer a long and drawn-out sell-off. By the bottom of the market cycle, the index will have likely fallen 50%-70%, he said.

While it sounds like a doomsday call, it's important to remember that these kinds of scenarios have in fact played out in recent decades. Stocks took two years to bottom when they crashed almost 50% after the dot-com bubble. They took a year-and-a-half from peak-to-trough in the Great Financial Crisis. And nine years following the dot-com bubble peak in 2000, the S&P 500 was still down about 50%.

Why will stocks crash?

Valuations by themselves aren't typically a good enough catalyst for a stock-market sell-off. Another look at the Bank of America chart above shows they matter very little in the short term.

A sufficient catalyst, Woflenbarger said, is weakening in the labor market and a subsequent recession, which he believes is about to unfold.

Wolfenbarger shared with Business Insider multiple indicators he's watching that show the unemployment rate could rise in the months ahead.

Related stories

The first is the National Federation of Independent Business' hiring plans index. Its three-month moving average has surged, indicating the unemployment rate could soon follow.

Second, The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (in blue) has declined in recent years. Historically, this has meant trouble for total non-farm employment in the US, which has not yet unfolded.

Third, the number of US states with a rising unemployment rate is spiking, meaning that the overall unemployment rate should see further upside.

And fourth, about five quarters after the US Treasury yield curve inverts (using the 10-year and 2-year durations), unemployment has historically started to tick up. April will mark the start of the sixth quarter since the yield curve officially inverted, which according to the indicator's founder, Cam Harvey, is when the curve stays inverted for a duration of three months.

The US unemployment rate is already on a slight uptrend, having climbed from 3.4% in April 2023 to 3.9% as of February. According to the Sahm Rule, named after former Fed economist Claudia Sahm, once the three-month moving average of the unemployment rate moves up by 0.5% from its low over the previous 12 months, the US economy is in a recession in real time. The indicator has a perfect track record of identifying downturns. Today, it sits at 0.27.

Wolfenbarger's views in context

Wolfenbarger's stock market call is on the more extreme end of Wall Street outlooks. Fellow market bears Jeremy Grantham, John Hussman, and David Rosenberg have all stuck to their significant downside expectations. But most top strategists at major banks see limited downside from here, if any at all. Many, including Goldman Sachs' David Kostin and Bank of America's Savita Subramanian, have had to revise upward their 2024 targets already this year.

Wolfenbarger's recession call is also out of consensus these days, with many bearish forecasters abandoning their downbeat outlooks. But many see slower growth and a softening labor market going forward, even if that doesn't mean an outright recession.

This week, Pantheon Macroeconomics Founder and Chief Economist Ian Shepherdson laid out several reasons he sees unemployment ticking up in the coming months.

For example, layoffs are rising, which is usually followed by rising unemployment claims.

"For the first time in this cycle, an array of indicators point tentatively to a meaningful slowdown in economic growth, driven by the consumer, and a clear weakening in the labor market, as soon as the second quarter," Shepherdson said in a client note.

For now, however, bad data simply hasn't shown up yet, and bulls have ridden the wave to all-time highs — a trend that could very well continue. Only time will tell how Wolfenbarger's forecasts hold up in the near- and long-terms.

Watch: How bitcoin halving affects crypto prices

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• Society and culture
• Community and society

New definition of extremism (2024)

• Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

Published 14 March 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-definition-of-extremism-2024/new-definition-of-extremism-2024

1. Introduction

The threat from extremism has been steadily growing for many years. While the government and its partners have worked hard to combat this threat, the pervasiveness of extremist ideologies in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023 highlighted the need for further action. This new definition of extremism adds to the tools to tackle this ever-evolving threat. This is in line with the first duty of government – to keep our citizens safe and our country secure. The definition updates the one set out in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and reflects the evolution of extremist ideologies and the social harms they create.

Most extremist materials and activities are not illegal and do not meet a terrorism or national security threshold. Islamist and Neo-Nazi groups in Britain, some of which have not been proscribed, are operating lawfully but are seeking to replace our democracy with an Islamist and Nazi society respectively. They are actively radicalising others and are openly advocating for the erosion of our fundamental democratic rights. Their aim is to subvert our democracy [footnote 1] .

Extremism can lead to the radicalisation of individuals, deny people their full rights and opportunities, suppress freedom of expression, incite hatred, erode our democratic institutions, social capital and cohesion, and can lead to acts of terrorism. The Independent Review of Prevent made clear the importance of placing greater emphasis on tackling ideology and its radicalising effects and in its response the government committed “to challenge extremist ideology that leads to violence, but also that which leads to wider problems in society, such as the erosion of freedom of speech” [footnote 2] .

The new definition sits alongside a set of cross-government engagement principles. The definition and engagement principles will be used by government departments to ensure that they are not inadvertently providing a platform, funding or legitimacy to individuals, groups or organisations who attempt to advance extremist ideologies. 

The definition and engagement principles will be the first in a series of new measures to counter extremism and religious hatred and promote social cohesion and democratic resilience. This work will complement the government’s updated Prevent and CONTEST Strategies, the Defending Democracy Taskforce and the Integrated Review as part of a collective endeavour to uphold our national security and resilience.

The ways in which extremist agendas are pursued have evolved since extremism was first defined by government. As such, government’s approach must adapt too. Our new definition is narrow and sharper, and provides more specificity on extremist ideologies, behaviour and harms. The new definition draws on the important work of Dame Sara Khan and Sir Mark Rowley as set out in the 2021 Operating with Impunity report which demonstrated that it is possible to protect freedom of expression whilst countering some of the most dangerous extremist activity taking place in Britain. This new definition does not seek to stymie free speech or freedom of expression. There are concerns that those expressing conservative views will be classified as extremist. This is not the case.

2. The definition

Extremism is the promotion or advancement of an ideology [footnote 3] based on violence, hatred or intolerance [footnote 4] , that aims to:

• negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms [footnote 5] of others; or
• undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy [footnote 6] and democratic rights [footnote 7] ; or
• intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (1) or (2).

The types of behaviour below are indicative of the kind of promotion or advancement which may be relevant to the definition, and are an important guide to its application. The further context below is also an essential part of the definition.

3. Behaviour that could constitute extremism

Aim 1 (negate or destroy fundamental rights and freedoms): Behaviour against a group, or members of it, that seeks to negate or destroy their rights to live equally under the law and free of fear, threat, violence, and discrimination. Including:

• Using, threatening, inciting, justifying, glorifying or excusing violence towards a group in order to dissuade them from using their legally defined rights and freedoms.

Aim 2 (undermine, overturn or replace liberal democracy): Attempts to undermine, overturn, or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights. Including:

• Advocating that the UK’s parliamentary democracy and democratic values and rights are not compatible with their ideology, and seeking to challenge, overthrow, or change our political system outside of lawful means.
• Using, threatening, inciting, justifying, glorifying or excusing violence towards citizens, in order to dissuade them from participating freely in the democratic process.
• Subverting the way public or state institutions exercise their powers, in order to further ideological goals, for example through entryism, or by misusing powers or encouraging others to do so.
• Using, threatening, inciting, justifying, glorifying or excusing violence towards public officials including our armed forces, police forces and members of local, devolved or national legislatures, in order to dissuade them from conducting their obligations freely and fearlessly, without external interference.
• Establishing parallel governance structures which, whether or not they have formal legal underpinning, seek to supersede the lawful powers of existing institutions of state.

Aim 3 (enabling the spread of extremism): Intentionally creating a permissive environment for behaviour in aim 1 or aim 2. Including:

• Providing an uncritical platform for individuals or representatives of groups or organisations that have demonstrated behaviour in either aim 1 or aim 2.
• Facilitating activity of individuals or representatives of groups or organisations that have demonstrated behaviour in either aim 1 or aim 2, including through provision of endorsement, funding, or other forms of support.
• The dissemination of extremist propaganda and narratives that call for behaviour in either aim 1 or aim 2.
• Attempts to radicalise, indoctrinate and recruit others to an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, including young people.
• Consistent association with individuals or representatives of groups or organisations that have demonstrated behaviour in either aim 1 or aim 2 without providing critical challenge to their ideology or behaviour.
• If any behaviour listed in aim 1 or aim 2 has occurred previously, a refusal by the individual, group or organisation that conducted the behaviour to rescind, repudiate or distance themselves from the behaviour.

4. Further context

The lawful exercise of a person’s rights (including freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association, or the right to engage in lawful debate, protest or campaign for a change in the law) is not extremism. Simply holding a belief, regardless of its substance, is rightly protected under law. However, the advancement of extremist ideologies and the social harms they create are of concern, and government must seek to limit their reach, whilst protecting the space for free expression and debate.

This definition is intended to reflect an ordinary, commonsense meaning of the word “extremism”, whilst enabling a more precise and workable use of the term in real-life cases. In constructing this definition, government is striking a proportionate balance between protecting our democratic right to freedom of expression and belief, and not curtailing the civil liberties and rights of people in the UK, whilst safeguarding them and our democratic institutions against the wide-ranging harms of extremism. For example, “Intolerance” in the context of the definition is closely linked with “violence” and “hatred” and is to be applied to mean an actively repressive approach rather than simply a strong opposition or dislike.

Extremists can be individuals, groups or organisations, where there is evidence of behaviour conducted to further any of the three aims set out in the definition. The behaviour must also demonstrate the advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance. The examples of behaviour above are indicative and not exhaustive; we must have the flexibility to reflect the changing nature of how extremists operate in the UK over time.

Extremists may exhibit one or more of these behaviour to advance their violent, hateful or intolerant ideological goals, but there are times when individuals, groups or organisation who do not hold or seek to advance an extremist ideology may undertake superficially similar behaviour. Government does not seek to target these individuals, groups or organisation and brand as extremist those who are engaging in fair debate; understanding the intention behind the behaviour when assessing for extremism risk is key. Those seeking to identify whether certain behaviours are extremist should look to identify intention first, and then, where it is not clear whether the explicit intention is extremist or not, investigate whether the behaviour forms a pattern that is promoting or advancing an extremist ideology or goal [footnote 8] .

This definition is not intended to capture, for example, political parties that aim to alter the UK’s constitutional makeup through democratic means, or protest groups which at times may cross into disruption but do not threaten our fundamental rights, freedoms, or democracy itself. Lawful expression of one’s beliefs, for example advocating for changes to the law by Parliament, exercising the right to protest, or expressing oneself in art, literature, and comedy, is not extremism.

In investigating whether an individual, group, organisation or behaviour can be considered “extremist”, government has a responsibility to ensure fair and reasonable judgements are made, which are justified based on a careful consideration of the context, quality, and quantity of available evidence. Any action or ideology that may be extremist must be considered in its wider context, where possible drawing on a range of evidence, to assess whether it forms part of a wider pattern of behaviour and whether that pattern of behaviour has been conducted with the aim of promoting or advancing an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance.

Operating with impunity: legal review , Commission for Countering Extremism, 2021.  ↩

The response to the Independent Review of Prevent , 2023.  ↩

Ideology: A set of social, political, or religious ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that contribute to a person’s worldview.  ↩

This phrase is found consistently in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights; see for example Perinçek v Switzerland (App. 27510/08). “Intolerance” in the context of the definition is closely linked with “violence” and “hatred” and is intended to mean (and is to be applied to mean) an actively repressive approach rather than simply a strong opposition or dislike.  ↩

In particular those rights and freedoms listed in Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998. Lawful expression of one’s beliefs, for example advocating for changes to the law by Parliament, exercising the right to protest, or expressing oneself in art, literature, and comedy, is not extremism.  ↩

Parliamentary democracy: The UK is a parliamentary democracy which consists of a constitutional monarch as Head of State, who exercises a number of constitutional and ceremonial duties; Parliament, which is the supreme legislative authority with the ability to make or unmake any law; government, which is drawn from and accountable to Parliament; and a judiciary which is independent from government and Parliament.  ↩

Including the right to vote, the right to join a political party, or the right to stand in elections.  ↩

We typically judge a pattern of behaviour to be the exhibiting of 3 or more instances of extreme behaviour that align to one or more extremist aims in the space of 6 months, but this yardstick must be flexible and considered proportionally and contextually in line with the evidence.  ↩

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