Academic WritingPamela Vang

• Lecture 1 Structuring your writing

• Lecture 2 Writing in English

• Lecture 3 How to avoid plagiariam

Why do we write?

• To communicate

• As a tool for thinking processes

Traditionalviews

Process-Orientedviews

Lennart Björk, Christine Räisänen, Studentlitteratur 2003

Fig.1 Writing

How can we use writing?

Lennart Björk, Christine Räisänen,Figure 2, uses of writing

Writing is used tocommunicate

Communication• What?

• Why?

• To whom?

The Shannon / Weaver Communication Model

SignSender Receiver

How accurate is this model?

Fig.3 Shannon/Weaver modet

Bühler Communication Model

Sender Sign Receiver

Things

THINGSTHINGS

What sort of things? What can they be?

Fig.4 Bühler Communication Model

Making sense of a text is an act of interpretation that depends as much on what the reader puts into the text as

what the author puts into it. Interpretation can be seen as a set of procedures.

Procedural approaches to reading and understandingemphasis the role of the reader in actively buildingthe text, based on his/her experience of the world and how statesand events are characterisitically manifested. The reader is ACTIVE in making inferences and constantly assessinghis/her interpretation in the light of the situation and aimsand goals of the text as he/she perceives them.

Michael McCarthy 1991

Reader-Oriented Writing

•Audience•Expectations•Prior knowledge

Texts are like blank cheques …. the readersput their own signatures on them. (adapted from Thornton Wilder)

Considerations in academic writing

Swales & Feak, 2004, p.1

Fig.5 Considerations in academic writing

Structure/Organisation

• A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

• Aristotle, Poetics

• Word the smallest unit we will consider

• Sentence difficult to define. Sometimesconsidered a single thought, sometimes by its structure.

• Paragraph `a subdivision of a piece of writing or a speech that consists of one or more sentences and develops in an organized manner one point of a subject or gives the words of one speaker´. (Webster’s) A paragraph always starts on a new line.

Ways of structuring texts

The Purpose or objective of the text willdetermine the structure.

Instruct?

Convince?Present new findings?Challenge old results?Fulfil course requirements?Etc.etc

Some different text types

• Causal-analysis• Proposals to solve problems• Argumentation• Summarising• Critique• Report• Research paper

Basic features of Causal-AnalysisTexts

• A clear presentation of the trend or phenomenon

• An analysis of the causes• A clear outline/structure• A reasonable, but authorative tone

Björk and Räisänen

Analysis of the causes

• Offer convincing arguments in favour of the cause(s) you suggest.

• Indicate awareness of possible objectionsto your suggestions.

• (mention, integrate or refute)• Indicate an awareness of alternative

causes (which can be mentioned, refutedetc.)

Björk and Räisänen

Clear Outliune/Structure

• There are two main patterns for structuringa causal analysis.

• a) the main cause(s) first?• b) the minor cause(s) first?

• You must always consider which is moreeffective in your case?

Björk and Räisänen

Tone

• Although you should not be too shrill or aggressive, being too cautious in your argumentation undermines your authorityand can be boring for the reader.

• Do not use ”perhaps”, ”in my opinion” toooften.

Björk and Räisänen

Björk and Räisänen

Proposals to solve problems

• What does the reader want to know?• What is the problem?• What would happen if the problem is left

unsolved?• How can it be solved?• What will the benefits of the proposed

solution be?• What other possible solutions are there?

Björk and Räisänen

Argumentation

Fig.6 Argumentation; Basic model

Björk and Räisänen

Fig.7 Argumentation with examples

Summaries

• When and why do we writesummaries?

• Abstracts, • president’s report, • own notes, etc.

What are the basic features of a summary?

• (Full, clear information about original)• Overall purpose of the original• Main supporting points• Use your own words!• Objective• Coherent• Summary markers (The author argues,

maintains, suggests etc) • The reader who has NOT read the original

should get an adequate understanding of the original.

Examples of summary phrases

• Benfield and Howard state that ……..• (What alternatives to `state´ are there?)• The author goes on to say….• They further state that ….• X…. Also believes that…..• In the second half of the paper, X presents …….• Goodman goes on to say ……. The author

further argues………• (adapted from Swales and Feak (2004)p.168)

Abstracts

• An abstract is an abbreviatedrepresentation of the contents of a document, preferably prepared by itsauthor(s) for publication with it. (ANSI, 1979:1)

(American National Standards Institute)

The abstract tells the reader

• What the author did(Purpose)

• How the author did it(Methodology)

• What the author found(Results)

• What the author concluded(Conclusions)

Critiques• Positive or negative• (book, film reviews common examples)• In academic life• To ensure that reading assignments are done• To assess understanding• To develop analytical reading• To train students in integrating new knowledge

with previous knowledge• To begin to understand what is expected in their

research.

Summaries vs Critiques

• Summaries provide an accurate accountof source material

• Critiques evaluate• Different fields have different emphasis:• Humanities: ”interesting” arguments• Social sciences: methodology• Natural sciences and engineering:

results and implications

Things to consider when making a critique.

• The physical presentation of the paper(page numbers, headings,generalorganisation, organisation of the different sections, figures, contents, referencesetc.)

Does the paper do what it claims to set out to do?What is the strength of the paper?Is the reader over/underestimated?

Give clear reasons for criticism

• Give suggestions for improvement.

• Peer critique or feedback is a very useful learning tool. Use it to help each other!

Reports

• Structure: (title page, contents page)

• Summary/ abstract/introduction (headings, sections, numbering)

• Problem/purpose• Method diagrams etc.• Findings statistics etc.

• Conclusions and Recommendations

N.B.This is a standard structure for a long report. There are manyvariations

Research papers

• Title• Abstract• Introduction• (methods)• (results)• Discussion• Acknowledgements• References

What do we need to think about?

• CONSTRAINTS• Time plan• Topic• Assessing readers• Collecting material• Organising material• Tone• Credibility• Sources• Quotations

General-Specific Texts

Swales&Feak2004,p.45

Fig.7, General-Specific model

Overview of a research paper

Introduction General

Specific

Methodsand Materials

Results(and analysis)

DiscussionSpecific

General

IMRADFig. 8 IMRAD model

IntrodutionCARS (Swales)

• Create a research space

a) by showing that the area is important, interesting, problematic, relevant etc.

b) by introducing and reviewing previous research in thearea

Establish a nicheBy indicating a gap in the previous research or by extendingexisting knowledge

Occupy the niche by

Outlining purpose or stating the present researchListing research questions and hypothesesAnnouncing principle findingsStating the value of the present researchIndicating the structure of the paper

Student Dissertation Introductions(Dudley-Evans 1989)

• Move 1: Introducing the field• Move 2: Introducing the general topic

(within the field)• Move 3: Introducing the particular topic

(within the general topic)• Move 4: Defining the scope of the

particular topic by• (i) introducing research parametres• (ii) summarising previous research

Move 5: Preparing for present research by

• (i) indicating a gap in previous research• (ii) indicating a possible extension of

previous research

Move 6: Introducing present research by(i) stating the aim of the research

or(ii) describing briefly the work carried out(iii) justifying the research

Results

• Find the right strength in your claim

• Highlight the results presented in the data

• Totally objective presentation• Simply report the data

Discussion

• Comment on the results section• Highlight the strengths of the study• Discuss possible weaknesses• Comment on the objectives• Widen the scope of the research territory• Compare with results from other

researchers/ scientists• Future research

Discipline

• What is a discipline?• An `identity´• ”A discipline is defined as a domain, a

collection of methods, a body of claimsthat are considered true, a game made up of rules and definitions and of techniquesand instruments.” (Foucault, The Order of Discourse, 1971)

Academic Genres

Björk and RäisänenFig.9, Academic Genres

Genre• A genre is a recognised communicative event with a shared public

purpose and with aims mutually understood by the participants in that event.

• F. Davies(1988) in Academic Writing: Process and Product, ELT Documents 129.

Most academic institutions have a well-developed schemata for academic discourse and clear, stable views about what is appropriate.

Make sure you know what your host institution expects and requires!

To build genre awareness

• READ!

• READ!

•READ!•Actively!

Traditional forms of academicdiscourse, especially in science and social science, demand an impersonalstyle, and part of the `apprenticeship´of a student in an academic discipline is the effacing of prior identities in academic writing in order to join the new `discourse community´.

Fairclough, N. (1995) p.227 Critical Discourse Analysis

`….there is an intimate relationhipbetween the development of people’s critical awareness of language and the development of their own language capabilitiesand practices´

Fairclough, N. (1995) p.227 Critical Discourse Analysis

Appropriacy

• ”That’s all I can think of to write now. Goodbye”

taken from Jordan,R.R.(1997)p.244English for Academic Purposes

Aristotle• Appropriateness

• The hearers /readers• The nature of the subject• The character of the speaker/ writer

(Rhetoric)

Judgement.

The academic writer’s approach to his or hermaterial is:

Analytical impressionistic

Intellectual rather than subjective

Rational polemic

The academic writer’s tone is:

Serious conversational

Impersonal rather than personal

Formal colloquial

Readerfriendliness

What makes a text reader friendly?

• Structure• Lay out• Appropriateness• Style/Language

• We judge by APPEARANCES!!!!

Style

The foundation of good style is correctnessof language:

connecting wordsterms which are not vagueavoidance of ambiguitycorrect indication of grammatical number

Aristotle, Rhetoric

List of Sources• Aristotle Poetics (1997) translated by S.H. Butcher Dover Thrift Edition

Dover Publications, New York(1997)• Aristotle Rhetoric (2004) translated by W.Ryhs Roberts, Dover Thrift

Edition Dover Publications, New York• Björk, Lennart and Christine Räisänen (2003) Academic Writing, A University

Writing Course, Studentlitteratur , Lund• Fairclough, Norman (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis, the Critical Study of

Language Longman, England• Foucault, Michel (1971) Diskursens Ordning translated to Swedish by Mats

Rosengren, Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposium Stockholm 1993• Jordan, R.R (1997) English for Academic Purposes, A guide and resource

book for teachers Cambridge University Press• Swales, John, M and Christine Feak (2004) Academic Writing for Graduate

Students Essential Tasksand Skills Second Edition The University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor

• Webster’s New Encyclopedic Dictionary, (1993) Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc. New York

Recommended Reading• Bell, Judith (1999) Doing your research project (education and social

sciences) Third Edition Open University Press• Björk, Lennart and Christine Räisänen (2003) Academic Writing, A

University Writing Course, Studentlitteratur , Lund• Clark, Stewart and Graham Pointon, (2009) Words: A User’s Guide Pearson

Longman • Heffernan, James A. and John E. Lincoln, (1994) Writing: A college

Handbook Norton & Company • Swales, John M. and Christine Feak (2004) Academic Writing for Graduate

Students The Universityof Michigan Press, Ann Arbor• Swan, Michael (1995) Practical English Usage Oxford Univerity Press

• A good monolingual dictionary such as Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English(2009) with DVD-ROM, Online

and mobile functions) Pearson Longman• A grammar with explanations and exercises such as Hewings Advanced

Grammar in Use with exercises

Academic Writing Seminar I: Critiquing a source

• Read the following text: • Brown, Lester 2004. ‘Blueprint for a Better

Planet’ in Mother Earth News. February/March 2004. p.90-98. (access available through the LiULibrary Journals subscription, i.e. free access from a LiU computer or with your LUKAS account: http://www.bibl.liu.se/english/tidskrifter/per-e.asp Search for Mother Earth News. You find the article is on the second page of the February/March issue of 2004)

Then write a critique of it by asking:

• 1) Who is talking/writing – who’s the sender? • 2) Who’s the object in mind – who’s the receiver? • 3) On what societal arena/context are the message or

text talking place? (on a local, regional, national or international political arena, in an educational environment, in the world of amusement, among children, etc, etc….)

• 4) What kind of perspective/perspectives is present in the text? (economical, moral, ideological, technological, gender related, environmental, etc, etc….)

• This critique should be a short report (about one page). Bring it to the seminar.

Tomorrow

• We are going to look at writingcorrectly and appropriately in a

reader-friendly manner inENGLISH!

Pamela Vang