Writing Well for Academics and Research Degree Candidates By
Professor Dan Remenyi dan.remenyi@gmail.com
June 17, 2013
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What is writing about?
Writing is about one-way communicating of ideas from an author to many others It requires the author to be aware of how his or her message may be received by others Writing is not what many people perceive it to be “getting something down on paper”. Serious thought has to be given to what is to be achieved. Undergraduate and post graduate writing are completely different. Post graduate writing is read word for word. Talking and hearing is much more forgiving....the audit trail evaporates.
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Selling is not academic
Although we can never replace what is gained from the actual experience of doing qualitative research, our contributors generously share the experience they have gained through doing their own qualitative research and showcase examples of the rich research opportunities offered by qualitative researchers. Symon G and C Cassell, 2012, Qualitative Organisational Research, p9, Sage, London
The prospects for qualitative researchers are rosy (ibid p7) Rather our concern is that in what seems to be an increase to move towards standardisation, the diversity and consequent richness of different qualitative methodological approaches are potentially compromised (ibid p6).
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Not necessarily a natural activity
Academic writing does not come naturally. It is a learnt skill. Academic writing requires an exceptionally high degree of concentration. Minimum interruption is required. Can you switch off your social IT!
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For whom are you writing?
Dissertations, theses, articles and papers are written for examiners, reviewers and peers. They are your intellectual audit trail. These documents are read word by word These documents are seldom read out of general interest but rather for work reasons If they do not catch the attention of the reader they will usually be abandoned Second chances are not the norm
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Documents are read word by word
Examiners are entitled to ask the researcher degree candidate about anything which is mention in the dissertation
Descartes ……….‘I think therefore I am’ Descartes ………‘There is a God’
Always stick to the point and do not supply any information which is not essential to your argument
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Reading and writing
Before you can write academically you need to be relatively well read. You need to be well read so that you know about the subject and that you know how others have written about it before and the styles they have used. You need to know how others approached research on your topic. You should not try to copy any one else’s style but you should be aware of different styles. How many dissertations have you read?
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Plain English is not enough!
The Gunning Fog Factor is a measure of readability in English Academic work needs a substantial FF http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunning_fog_index The Sokal hoax paper "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity", was published in the Social Text Spring/Summer 1996 There is a balance to be struck...Mach’s philosophy is wrong. Einstein was right.
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FF text This paper will clearly identify the extraordinary impacts caused by Information and Communication Technology (IT) to scientific publication production. The research was developed through a detailed interpretivist case study, in a modern Science and Technology community. A self-managed web based electronic questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used for qualitative data field collection. The results analysis pointed out that the community absorbed and legitimised the electronic communication mediated by Information and Communication Technology. The e-mail was overwhelmingly elected the main medium of communication among the players. They perceived IT as a differential in autonomy and in optimisation of work processes. IT also promotes time saving and increases institutional and personal visibility. Significant alterations were identified in internal and external communication flows. Some changes were also related on invisible colleges and peers relationships. The web presence and the information and communication technologies promoted an increase in the researchers’ productivity but they realise they have more real work to do. The scientific community recognises the benefits of remote access to bibliographical databases and to digital full texts. Therefore, some caution is required in relation to free texts or non refereed papers published/posted on the JuneWeb. 17, 2013 9 ď Ž
Words to avoid and words to use carefully
Dearth, plethora, huge, fantastic, proves, very, a lot, must The salt of the earth, At the end of the day, It is quite clear, There is nothing like a good strategy, More and more Don’t start a sentence with a question or use a number as the first word. Don’t use don’t
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Good writing? ď Ž
Good writing is clear, and it is interesting to read. That may sound obvious, but I have yet to figure out what exactly makes a piece interesting. You need cadence, agile verbs, exacting yet surprising metaphors, yes yes yes. But more than that, I think, good writing, like good gnosis, is the product of greed, of writers who greedily claim their subjects for themselves and absorb every detail, until the story is part of the latticework of their cells. Then and only then can they write with the passion of converts, of those who believe that this story is the most interesting story they have ever heard. Angier N and T Folger eds, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, p xxii, Houghton Mifflin Co, New York, 2002
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The importance of critique and how it can be cultivated
Academics have an almost limitless collection of material with which they should be familiar---- but literature reviews can be seen as a black hole. Some of the material is good but there is also poor material about and it is essential to be able to tell the difference. Use Google scholar and Harzing.com
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Skills to master to be a competent critic of academic work
The key issue here is focus on what has been done to achieve the stated objectives...if objectives have been stated So look for what the paper claims to do and see if it has been achieved In writing a paper do not start with the express... “The intention of this paper is to...”
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What is a critique?
Critique is the art of reviewing a paper/book etc or a presentation or a work of art in such a way as to elicit a fuller understanding of the material presented and the argument/s involved and also express an opinion about the work. Critique is a reflective examination at both a high level and a detailed level. Critique involves passing a judgement and thus needs a base line point of view Critiquing does not imply offering a negative view only i.e. being critical. A critique can be positive.
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A range of critiques
There are different styles of critique depending on what is being critiqued Papers for publication Degrees –research dissertations Books – academic text books It is primarily an exercise in judgement preferably based on a scholarly and up to date knowledge of the field of study Look to establish the creditability of authors and publication. Give reasons for your views
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Steps in a critique 1
The first step in a critique is to acquire an understanding of what the author/speaker is trying to argue The critique writer may show this by creating a précis of the paper/book or presentation
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The précis should refer to the justification for the research, the way the work is located in the literature, data, the analysis and the findings 16
Steps in a critique 2 Please rate the following: (5 excellent, 1 poor)
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Relevance to the work
2
Contribution to academic debate originality
3
Appropriateness of the research/study method
4
Structure of the paper
5
Standard of language
6
Relevance and clarity of drawings, graphs and tables
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Appropriateness of abstract as a description of the paper
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Use and number of keywords/key phrases
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Discussion and conclusions
10
Reference list, adequate and correctly cited
5
4
3
2
1
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What is original?
Published academic work, besides text books, should have some claim to originality Voltaire claimed that originality is simply judicious plagiarism Ecclesiastes ....”The is nothing new under the sun” Heraclitus....”You cant fall into the same river twice”
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Prospect of grant request being funded in relation to the originality of the research proposal
Schachman, H. K. J. Biol. Chem. 2006;281:6889-6903
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Steps in a critique 3
Summarising
What has been omitted that would have been useful to include? Is there material in the work that was superfluous? Are there mistakes in the work – errors of logic, presentation errors, other errors What are the main strengths of the paper/dissertation/book? What are the main weaknesses of the paper/book? June 17, 2013
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Some conclusions
In balance what is your opinion for the piece/s? How do you support your conclusions? What authority are you able to cite to support your conclusions?
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Goodwill
When Hayek (famous economist) reviewed Keynes’s (the even more famous economist) Treaties on Money, Keynes wrote on his copy of the review:Hayek has not read my book with that measure of “goodwill” which an author is entitled to expect of a reader. Until he does so he will not know what I mean or whether I am right. Cited by Checkland Systems Theory Systems Practice, 1988
Where at all possible show goodwill towards the work you are critiquing. No piece of work is ever perfect. It is always possible to be negative. If you are critiquing a paper or a dissertation you need to show where the work can be improved
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Exercise ď Ž
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Critique Academic Ethics and Bad Management When the above is completed then chose a paper or chapter which you wish to critique.
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Reading is helpful
There are a number of good practice examples of previous dissertation in every department or in the library Become familiar with previously successful dissertations Spend the time to carefully read and analyse a dissertation for which a first class was awarded (some universities don’t award different grades for dissertations)
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When writing ......Don’t rush to the computer
Writing well means understanding what your objective is and working out how you will meet it Think is a necessary prerequisite to writing Don’t worry about lists of admonitions?
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26 Golden Rules for Writing Well http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/rules.htm
Don't abbrev. 2. Check to see if you any words out. 3. Be carefully to use adjectives and adverbs correct. 4. About sentence fragments. 5. When dangling, don't use participles. 6. Don't use no double negatives. 7. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent. 8. Just between you and I, case is important. 9. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should. 10. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary. 11. Its important to use apostrophe's right. 12. It's better not to unnecessarily split an infinitive. 1.
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26 Golden Rules for Writing Well http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/rules.htm 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Never leave a transitive verb just lay there without an object. Only Proper Nouns should be capitalized. also a sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop Use hyphens in compound-words, not just in any two-word phrase. In letters compositions reports and things like that we use commas to keep a string of items apart. Watch out for irregular verbs that have creeped into our language. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. Avoid unnecessary redundancy. A writer mustn't shift your point of view. Don't write a run-on sentence you've got to punctuate it. A preposition isn't a good thing to end a sentence with. Avoid cliches like the plague. 1 final thing is to never start a sentence with a number. Always check your work for accuracy and completeness. [ANON.]
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Writing takes time ď Ž
Until you have become a regular writer it is important to think carefully about what you are actually doing to do before you start it.
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High level planning
You have to tell a story You have to make an argument You need to be convincing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAmgEa1B1vI&featu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3fCIuX7BMc&featu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXMAR63TVDI&featu
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Some planning issues What ideas do you want convey? 2. How do you lead into the subject? 3. Show that you know what others have thought about your topic 4. Use point 3 to lead into what you think about the subject 5. What do your ideas mean? 6. How might others be critical of your ideas? June 17, 2013 30 1.
Words and ideas ď Ž
As part of planning create a list of words, ideas, issues which you want to address in the paper or dissertation
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Detailed questions
There are three things which you have to do
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Decide what you want to convey? Do not rush this part of your work. Draw up some notes. Decide how you would like to say it? What alternatives have you? Try some of these out and don’t immediately commit yourself. How will you be able to end your piece of work? 32
A Story Board
Create a story about how you will write the paper!
In this story tell the story of the paper!
If you drift too far away from your plan/s you may has to change your plan/s!
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An eye catching way to start ď Ž
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Catch your readers attention in the first 3 or 4 lines or you will have lost him/her forever But academic writing cant be sensational.
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Revision
Revise, revise, revise Fallor ergo sum…’I err therefore I am’. "One can't understand everything at once, we can't begin with perfection all at once! In order to reach perfection one must begin by being ignorant of a great deal. And if we understand things too quickly, perhaps we shan't understand them thoroughly." — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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Tests
The test for relevance is this “If you were to leave a sentence out would it impact on the ability of the reader to understand the dissertation?” The test for parsimony is “Can this sentence be written with less words? If one word can be taken out of the sentence without changing its meaning then so do!”
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The Achieved Test
What have you actually done? What have you learned for yourself? What have you learned that others will be interested in?
When I read a paper I want to be able to say “That’s a new and interesting angle/idea. I am glad I have seen that?”
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Let’s start at the begining ď Ž
An exercise in three parts
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Exercise 1
Write a short paragraph on what you have found most interesting in your degree/s to date. Comply with the following guidelines:
The paragraph should be between 7 and 10 sentences Make the sentences short, no more that 10 to 15 words long Make your ideas flow from one sentence to another June 17, 2013 39
Things to check for 1
Each sentence needs to have a subject, a verb and an object Check that you have used the right connecting words Full stops and capital letters Choose your words so that they will be understood by your audience Don’t use slang or expletives or bullet points
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Before considering your work complete
Have you spell checked it? Have you checked the references? Has the abstract been correctly focused? Are the key words and phrases suitable? Are the diagrams described adequately? Have you read it carefully? Have you re-worked any of it? Has someone else checked your work before handing it in?
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Exercise 2 ď Ž
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Write a paragraph on why you chose to do your doctoral degree at the University you chose using the same guidelines as you had before Make sure that your new paragraph flows well from the first one.
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Things to check for 2
Are the definite and indefinite articles in the right places? Do not use more capitals than are necessary Have you used the correct prepositions? Have you been consistent in your spelling and has it been UK English as opposed to US English?
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Exercise 3 ď Ž
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Write a paragraph on what one can do with a degree from the University of your choice when one have finished one’s studies using the same guidelines as one had before Make sure that the third paragraph flows well from this last one.
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Active & Passive – Personal and Impersonal
Use the active or passive voice appropriately Some grammarians suggest that the active voice is always preferable Use impersonal voice except when you wish to emphasise your particular involvement but consistence needs to be carefully watched
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The Acid Test What is your message? Why is it important?
Is the message clear? What could be ambigious?
Have you cleared out most if not all the mistakes? Is your message interesting and to whom?
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Is it any good?
Make sure that other people regard your writing as being good …….. Mostly they and not you have to read it!
Good writing and good story telling draws on your creativeness.
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Websites http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/passives01.html http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/partsp.html
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Eight parts of speech ď Ž
Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection.
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Do you know the language of English Grammar
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. By George, she's got it! By George, she's got it! In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen How nice of you to let me come
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More words to avoid
Very Amazing Vast Nice Fabulous In today’s world Putting the cart before the horse
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Good writing revisited
Define good writing
Something is written well if: It communicates what the author intended It is clear what the topic is about It has an easy to follow structure/framework Sentences are succinct and thus easy to read The imagination is captured It isn’t pretentious, repetitive or rambling The argument/s are supported by good examples There are appropriate figures and tables supporting the argument/s There are a minimum of typographical, spelling and grammatical mistakes and paragraphs are not too long Punctuation is good The argument comes to a focal point There is a competent list of references
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The Acid Test
Why should anyone pick up this paper and read it? Why should anyone continue reading it? Why should anyone tell their colleagues and students to read it?
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Becoming a well respected writer
There is no easy way of becoming a well respected writer Writing cannot be taught in the same was as mathematics Writing can only be learned by working alongside an accomplished practitioner and even this is no guarantee of success You have to want to be a respected writer!! You have to work at it every time you write
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Essentials
Find a writing companion or even better put together a writing circle i.e. a support group Write regularly and have your support team read your work and give you feed back Try not to take criticism too much to heart—it is always personal but if it is well intentioned it may be very useful to you You can’t have too much practice
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There are ethical issues such as acknowledging everyone who have contributed http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/281/11/6889
June 17, 2013 Schachman, H. K. J. Biol. Chem. 2006;281:6889-6903
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A Practical Ethics Primer •
Beware of
Not having approval of the ethics committee Plagiarism and self plagiarism Overselling the contribution which your paper makes Be accurate in how you represent the facts Conflicts of interest Integrity of your data How much help you are getting Not having informed consent Names falling off a paper or not being put on
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Writing exercise
Write a paper as follows:
The topic will be Options in research methodology and their implications
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Design the paper beginning with a plan of the issues you wish to address What are the preliminary or introductory issues you need to address before you start the main body of the paper? What issues should you address in the main body? What will be your main argument? What are the counter arguments? How can you synthesis the arguments and counter arguments? What sort of conclusions can you come to?
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http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-57/iss-3/p61.html
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976 Co-authors
Currently Dr. Topol serves on the editorial board for over 30 peer review medical publications including Circulation, Circulation Research, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the American Journal of Cardiology, British and the European Heart Journals . He has over 800 original publications and has edited 16 books, including the Textbook of Interventional Cardiology (1st - 4th editions) and the Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine (now in it's second edition).
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Writing with others for publication ď Ž
When starting out to write papers it is very useful to co-author with other more established authors.
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Useful videos
Blind man
phD Thesis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlij0rNJpVQ
Alan Macfarlane
http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=3161 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLk86Iho1Qo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlEeTsHBj98
Henry Dixon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlEeTsHBj98
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Something of value? Acclaimed slowly! Academic Judgement ď Ž
It is important to note that there is always a judgement to be made. That scientific discoveries are not made at a single point in time and at single places and with single demonstrations. They are made through a process of argument and disagreement. They are made with the scientific community coming slowly toward a consensus Collins, H. (1994) A broadcast video on science matters entitled Does Science Matter?, Open University, BBC, UK.
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The final touch ď Ž
Obviously the work is not finished, and can never be finished. There are no absolute positions to be reached in the attempt by men to understand the world in which they find themselves: new experience may in the future refute present conjectures. So the work itself must be regarded as an on-going system of a particular kind: A learning system which will continue to develop ideas, to test them out in practice, and to learn from the experience gained. Checkland P, Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, (1986), John Wiley and Son, Chichester.