WORK|OUT European Students’ Review

| Charles Henri (Berlin). Most students know: Being intelligent is not a guarantee for a successful termpaper. Scientific writing needs more than mere facts and figures. It needs a linear and reasonable argumentation as well as a tight self-imposed schedule. The well-known author and professor at the Bologna University Umberto Eco now opens the doors to his creative workplace, also to German students. As many of my professors tell me, first of all it is essential to grasp the main thought of a document, and to copy pages or even whole books is nothing else but a nuissance and a waste of natural resources. Eco himself gathers his guidelines around traditional handywork — pen and paper being his best pals. Of course this fosters complex thinking as well as authenticity, but nonetheless new technology also has its pros. Editing texts, changing footnotes, or inserting phrases sure is easier with a computer, but do you know your grammar better than Mr. Gates’ global standard oeuvre?
All the solitary students can take a chance and get a clou “How to write a literary thesis” — Eco’s classical guide goes never out of style. And what can better than feeling Mr. Eco’s subliminal smile behind your shoulders saying: you did a good job.