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Writing Well for Academics and Research Degree Candidates

ByProfessor Dan Remenyidan.remenyi@gmail.com

April 24, 2023

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 Web.

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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’t10April 24, 2023

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Good writing? 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

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.com12April 24, 2023

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

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

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Steps in a critique 2Please rate the following: (5 excellent, 1 poor)

5 4 3 2 1

1 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

7 Appropriateness of abstract as a description of the paper

8 Use and number of keywords/key phrases

9 Discussion and conclusions

10 Reference list, adequate and correctly cited

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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Schachman, H. K. J. Biol. Chem. 2006;281:6889-6903

Prospect of grant request being funded in relation to the originality of the research proposal

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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?

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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

Exercise 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 Wellhttp://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/rules.htm

1. 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.

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26 Golden Rules for Writing Wellhttp://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/rules.htm

1. Never leave a transitive verb just lay there without an object. 2. Only Proper Nouns should be capitalized. also a sentence should

begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop 3. Use hyphens in compound-words, not just in any two-word phrase. 4. In letters compositions reports and things like that we use commas

to keep a string of items apart. 5. Watch out for irregular verbs that have creeped into our language. 6. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. 7. Avoid unnecessary redundancy. 8. A writer mustn't shift your point of view. 9. Don't write a run-on sentence you've got to punctuate it. 10. A preposition isn't a good thing to end a sentence with. 11. Avoid cliches like the plague. 12. 1 final thing is to never start a sentence with a number. 13. Always check your work for accuracy and completeness. 14. [ANON.]

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Writing takes time 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=tAmgEa1B1v

I&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3fCIuX7BMc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXMAR63TVDI&feature=related

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Some planning issues1. 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 topic4. Use point 3 to lead into what you

think about the subject5. What do your ideas mean?6. How might others be critical of your

ideas?April 24, 2023

Words and ideas 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 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?

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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 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 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 anotherApril 24, 2023

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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

pointsApril 24, 2023

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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? April 24, 2023

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Exercise 2 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 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 TestWhat 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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Websiteshttp://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 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 April 24, 2023

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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

April 24, 2023 56Schachman, H. K. J. Biol. Chem. 2006;281:6889-6903

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 onApril 24, 2023 57

Writing exercise Write a paper as follows:

The topic will be Options in research methodology and their implications

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).

Writing with others for publication 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

http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=3161 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLk86Iho1Qo

phD Thesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlij0rNJpVQ

Alan Macfarlane 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 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 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.