Within the realm of academia, the conclusion of a scholarly work often includes a section that concludes the piece or project. One name for this is a coda.
When my supervisors first asked me to write a coda, I didn’t understand. They described it as a conclusion but different. The only form of conclusion I knew was concluding an essay… or summarising one. It’s not my strongest point of essay writing.
The coda, though, doesn’t act as a summary. It’s a separate piece that wraps up the project but adds more detail. At first, I didn’t know where to begin. And then I found a website that described a coda as an epilogue.
The video discusses fictional epilogues, not academic ones. But it helped. An epilogue. I could do that. I understood what one of those was.
In narrative, a prologue and epilogue can be separate from the main story, showing things that have happened before or after the main events and give additional insight. This, suddenly, I understood was what my supervisors were asking me to do.
Much like a fictional epilogue, the academic coda serves as a final touch that adds depth and significance to the overall narrative presented in the body of the work. Either by reiterating the importance of what the story is trying to say, or by illustrating the events afterwards.
Write a coda like you would an epilogue.
Coda Shows the Importance of the Work
Theme is important through a project. Animal Farm‘s epilogue illustrates that the pigs have become just as industrious and just as cruel as the people that they overthrew. They have become the new dictators. A message, perhaps, that all people are corruptible when power is involved.
So, when I was writing my coda, I needed to show the importance of my work. I had three different pieces. One of which looked at the history of power, women and pirates in the eighteenth century. It was a question my supervisors asked at the beginning: why pirates?
It was looking at pirate narratives that I got my answer. Frequently, they’re depicted as disabled, with a lost eye, a pegged-leg, a hooked hand, a missing tongue, a missing eye… they were also the monsters. A burden to society. Something to be gotten rid of.
A feeling I knew and felt as a disabled woman in the 21st century. I drew upon this in my coda. How, at a young age, what drew me to pirates was how they were being represented and treated. Because I could relate.
So, if you are tasked with writing a coda, this is where you answer the why. Why are you doing this PhD the way that you are doing it?
For me, the novel side can explore the links between 21st century disabled individuals and 18th century pirates in a way that will get the reader’s attention. It wouldn’t be as powerful with only the research—the academic side—or only the novel. I needed both to bring my meaning.
Coda and Epilogue as an opportunity of exploration
Both the fictional epilogue and the academic coda provide an opportunity for reflection and exploration of the aftermath. In fiction, an epilogue may fast forward in time, allowing readers a glimpse into the characters’ lives beyond the main events of the story. Characters may have had children and moved on with their lives, like they did in Harry Potter, putting the events before behind them. Or, like Animal Farm, the story may have become full circle, with history repeating.
The academic coda offers a space for the author to reflect on the implications of their research and its future. I feel that my project opens up a debate on how disabled people are treated but it also shows that history is repeating… just with a different group of people. Just like history in animal farm repeated with pigs rather than humans.
So if you are writing a Coda for your PhD, have a think on where future research might take it. Why is it important that future research considers the project?
It’s important for me that disabled people are treated fairly, but with PIP and the disability benefit in the US treating disabled people the way they do (with help from the government), there’s a while before that happens. Researchers interested in sociology might look into the treatment of disabled people in the 21st century, but they may not have linked it to the 18th century pirates and the depictation of them.
Linking together ends
In narrative, an epilogue often wraps up the story, closing any questions that may have happened. It may skip forward to show that characters now have spouses. They may have kids with their own adventures. Everything is safe. Everything linked together and things moved on. Just as an epilogue brings closure and wraps up loose ends in a work of fiction, the academic coda provides a sense of completion to the scholarly narrative.
My academic piece discusses the importance of characterisation and story structure. It explores otherness in the fantasy genre. Then it delves into history of power held by pirates and women. Three different pieces. And then, there’s a novel that is part of the project too. I needed something that linked them. And that’s where the coda comes in.
The academic side was written in third person. It hides away the author, with the reader mostly only interested in the academic piece beside them. Similarly, the novel also hides the author with readers reading mostly on the surface. Taking characters, world and story as they seem.
The coda is different. It’s written in first person and a different style to the rest of the project. Just like an epilogue can follow the Point of View of a different character or be written in a different style. By writing in first person, I bring myself to the project, linking the project to me and telling people my story. It offers my personal insight into why I did the project. It allows the readers to more easily grasp the core of the research and its implications.
So, when writing a coda, don’t worry that the style is different. It’s probably a good thing. It might help you learn a thing or two you didn’t know about your project.
Learning through your Coda
In the academic coda, you can reflect on your research journey, discussing the challenges faced and the unexpected discoveries made along the way. This reflection allows readers to gain a deeper appreciation for the nuance and complexity inherent in the research process as well as give insight as to why the research took place.
I poured my heart into my coda, not realising I needed to write about my journey until the words were down and I think this also adds to the piece. Just like when at the epilogue of a book, the reader gets to see how the hard work has paid off for characters—they get to see the message and overarching themes hightened—a reader of a coda will see the struggles you had.
But not just the reader, you also learn while you write the coda. Some of the links I made through my coda only came because I was thinking about links. I was trying to wrap things up. And as I was doing that, inspiration, research, everything before began to fall into place. It lets me summarise my findings in a way essay-style writing wouldn’t let me do. A personal touch.
A Sense of Continuity and Openness
Both the fictional epilogue and the academic coda create a sense of continuity, even as the main narrative comes to a close. An epilogue may hint at future possibilities or storylines, leaving readers with a sense of openness. The academic coda often suggests potential avenues for future research or raises new questions, ensuring that the work becomes part of an ongoing academic conversation in the same way that a narrative may hint at a sequal or an ever after.
They bring the narrative to a satisfying conclusion while also offering potential directions for future exploration. By understanding the parallels between these two elements, we can appreciate the rich storytelling qualities that can be found within the academic realm, adding depth and impact to scholarly works. After all, we are all telling stories.
With both, the author can engage with the unanswered questions. For the academic coda, it can inspire researchers to continue building upon the existing work. The coda opens up possibilities for new avenues of exploration, fostering an environment of intellectual curiosity and advancement within the academic community.
The academic coda and the fictional epilogue share common ground in several aspects. Both provide closure, reflection, and valuable insights.
My advice, when thinking how to write a coda, think how you would write an epilogue.