Academic Writing - Graduate · PDF fileJohn Morley Mark Epstein ... words Too few...

Academic Writing

Academic Writing Workshop

David Ellis

University Language Centre

Acknowledgements:

John Morley

Mark Epstein

Howard Goodison

University Language Centre

Process of writing

Characteristics of academic writing

Common errors

Dissertations

Part 1

The Writing Process

The Writing Process

Topic

Planning

Drafting

Revising & Editing

Exploring the Topic

Inexperiencedwriters

tend not to exploredifferent ways ofaddressing the task

decide on anapproach ratherquickly

Experienced writers

spend considerable

time exploring and

evaluating alternative

ideas, organisations

and approaches to

developing a text

Planning

Inexperienced writers

often make few plans

before beginning to

write

prefer not to outline

develop plans while

writing

Experienced writers

plan extensively before

drafting

plan by making notes,

sketches, diagramming

ideas and organisation

revise plans while writing

The Writing Process

Part 1 - Mindmaps

The Writing Process

Part 2 - Using ‘Outline’ in ‘Word’

Word Outline

Drafting

Inexperienced writers

often struggle to produce

text

Experienced writers

use techniques to

produce early drafts of

text, e.g. splurge writing

TASK

Revising and Editing

Inexperienced writers

view revising and

proofreading as largely

similar

Experienced writers

tend to reviseextensively atsentence and textlevel

are happy to discusstheir writing and seekadvice from peers

PEER REVIEW

Self monitor your text

Give it to peer reviewer

Meet for feedback

Revise text and repeat

Why revise & edit? (1)

To improve the style

Tentativeness

Concision

Formality

Unsatisfactory Language Use

Grammatical

Punctuation

Spelling

Why revise and edit? (2)

Weak organisation

Poor coherence – no logical flow

Poor cohesion – no/few transitionwords

Too few examples/too little support

Weak introduction/conclusion

Difficult to read

Incorrect format

Characteristics of Academic

Writing

Stylistic Features

Attributing to sources

Stylistic features

Use of more formal words

went up/zoomed

We found that for a certain heat input, the

temperature rose/increased by about

7.5 K in 5 minutes in dry sand.

Style shift : words

worry

story

use

a lot of

not much

look at

give up

find out

trouble

not … any

not enough

concern

account/anecdote

deploy

considerable

little

examine/analyse

renounce

determine

difficulty

no

insufficient

Use of more precise terms

Good

Bad

successful, rigorous,original, elegant,comprehensive,thorough, robust,practical, cost-effective

limited, flawed, small-scale, inefficient

Tentative – avoiding over generalisation

Onsite or decentralized wastewater systems are used

where development densities are lower; that is, where

there is more land space.

Onsite or decentralized wastewater systems tend to be

used where development densities are lower; that is,

where there is more land space.

Tentative – expressing uncertainty

Thus, from the literature, it can be seen that

this type of lending produces some value-

added effects for the community.

Thus, from the literature, it appears that this

type of lending may produce some value-added

effects for the community.

Clearly organised and signposted

A number of conclusions can be drawn about theapplication of TRIZ in the process industry both from theinformation in this article and from our personalexperience. First, TRIZ is and will be successfullyapplied in the process industry. In addition, TRIZknowledge is indeed generic enough to be used forproduction processes. Finally, the adoption of TRIZ as amethodology for solving problems in the process industrywould benefit significantly if more cases studies werepublished

Attributing to sources

Referring to sources

1. In-text citation

Information prominent citation

• Many private industries have had difficulty

applying the C/SCSC criteria (Fleming and

Koppelman, 1996).

• ‘There is no universally accepted definition

of project management’ (Manning, 1997:

73).

Author prominent citation

• Harrison (2005: 124) notes that lack ofintegration of management systems is oneof the reasons for ineffective planningand control.

• Close (1983) developed a simplifiedtheory using an analogy between heat andmass transfer and the equivalent heattransfer case.

Reporting verbs

• Harrison (2005: 124) notes that lack ofintegration of management systems is oneof the reasons for ineffective planning andcontrol.

• Several authors have suggested thatautomated testing should be more readilyaccepted (Balcer, 1989; Stahl, 1989; Carverand Tai, 1991).

Reporting verbs: matching exercise

Argue

Mention

Conclude

Point out

Suggest

• to say that something is true or correct and

give reasons for this

• to refer briefly to something or somebody,

in spoken or written text

• to decide that something is true using the

facts you have as a basis

• to draw someone’s attention to a fact or a

mistake

• to offer a plausible explanation for

something

Reporting verbs: matching exercise

Claim

Show

Maintain

State

Identify

• to say that something is true or correct

while firm evidence for this may be

lacking

• to give information about something

which is clear and convincing to other

people

• to hold certain views or opinions strongly

even if other people disagree

• to write or say something in a formal and

certain way

• to discover or notice the existence of

something

Different types of reporting verb

• neutral verbs

• verbs that give opinions

• research activity verbs

Neutral verbs

Kubrick (2001) breaks down the

building process into three main

subprocesses.

•says, identifies

Verbs that give opinions

Chapman and Ward (1997: 112) claim

that 'organisations which better

understand the nature of risks can

manage them more effectively'.

•suggest, maintain

Research activity verbs

Carlson (2002) found that managers: work

long hours, mix travel and important

work, have short periods of time alone

and suffer many interruptions.

•Investigated, conducted

Reporting verb types

investigated

found

discovered

examined

reviewed

tested

analysed

studied

recorded

set up

surveyed

claims

argues

maintains

believes

affirms

implies

asserts

mentions

concludes

remarks

shows

states

says

lists

observes

identifies

explains

ResearchOpinionNeutral

Reporting verbs: tenses

• Charlton (1966) states that…simple present tense

• Charlton (1966) has stated that…present perfect tense

• Charlton (1966) stated that…Simple past tense

The present tense

Krumpli and Burgonya (2004) state that the

lack of integration of management systems isone of the reasons for ineffective planning and

control.

Lack of integration of management systems isone of the reasons for ineffective planning and

control (Krumpli and Burgonya, 2004).

The present perfect tense

Krumpli and Burgonya (2004) have statedthat the lack of integration of management

systems is one of the reasons for ineffective

planning and control.

Lack of integration of management systems as

one of the reasons for ineffective planning and

control has been widely studied (Krumpli and

Burgonya, 2004; Smith, 2005; Tokai, 2007).

The simple past tense

Krumpli and Burgonya (2004) stated that the

lack of integration of management systems wasone of the reasons for ineffective planning and

control.

Lack of integration of management systems wasone of the reasons for ineffective planning and

control (Krumpli and Burgonya, 2004).

Referring to sources

2. Reference lists

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

author surnamecommaspaceCAPITAL initialdotspace

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

publication date of this edition -there may be earlier or 'first published'date; ignore these

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

essay/article / chapter title in a book ofcollected articlesno italics

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

book title (italicised)

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

only name editor for sources with variousarticles by different authors

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

editorinitials + dotsurnamecomma

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

place ofpublicationcolon

References

Bernink, B. (1995) Winning contracts in The Commercial ProjectManager

edited by J. R. Turner, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

publisherfull stop

• Hall, S.J. (2003) Basic Biomechanics, 4th ed.,Boston: McGraw Hill.

1. book - one author

2. Conference paper - published

• Kaunitz, J. (1985) 'Database backup and recovery intransaction driven information systems', in Katashev, S. P.and Katashev, S., eds., Supercomputing Systems: Proceedingsof the First International Conference, St Petersburg, Florida,16-20 December, 1985, Washington, D.C.: IEEE ComputerSociety Press, 265-272.

3. Book - two authors

• Beardsworth, I. and Keil, T. (1997) Sociologyon the Menu: an Invitation to the Study ofFood and Society, London: Routledge.

4. Web page

• University of Limerick, Graduate Studies Office(2005) Research Induction Series [online],available: http://www.graduatestudies.ul.ie/research_induction/ [accessed 3 Aug 2005].

5. Course material - print

• Ni Bheachain, C. (2001) 'Guide to referencing',CM4203: Communication, University ofLimerick: Department of Management andMarketing.

6. Journal article

• Florin, J. (2003) 'A social capital model of high-growth ventures', Academy of ManagementJournal, 46(3), 374-384.

Common Errors

Passive

Government agencies have madeconcerted efforts to….

Evidence suggests that……

The identified improvements to…

There is a wide range of….

Existing maintenance research canoffer an insight into…..

Figure 1.2 shows the….

Removing nouns

Laboratory personnel…...

The public ……..

Contradictions (inconsistencies)…...

Style – Formality in sentences

and words

Many possibilities…….

The difference ……..

Three milligrams of……..

List…….

The subjects………..

Common Grammatical Errors

Sentence Fragments

Most multinational companies haveadopted the principles of Total Quality,which is another development that hasincluded the workforce in decisionmaking.

Most multinational companies haveadopted the principles of Total Quality.This is another development that hasincluded the workforce in decisionmaking.

Run-on sentences

Check the troubleshooting chartbefore you call a technician asmany of the problems that canoccur are easily corrected in house.

Check the troubleshooting chartbefore you call a technician; manyof the problems that can occur areeasily corrected in house.

Dangling modifiers

While the volatile mixture is beingpoured, the test tube must bemaintained at 15° C.

The test tube must be maintainedat 15° C while the volatile mixture is

being poured.

Subject/Verb Agreement

Notwithstanding this, actions withinvarious departments at the factoryactually damage the productionschedule.

The problem of parts supply is due toa number of factors. Each isinterrelated, and the system is self-perpetuating.

Pronoun Agreement

The Nile, which is the largest river inthe world, flows through Africa.

The students who have been workinghardest will find this problem simple.

Old fillings, which are made ofamalgam, should be taken out of theteeth because they can cause serioushealth problems in pregnant women.

The FBI was founded in 1908. In itsearly days, there were few federal crimes.

Writing a dissertation

1. Writing Introductions

2. Referring to the literature a. Avoiding plagiarism

3. Describing methods

4. Reporting results

5. Discussing findings

6. Writing conclusions

Academic Phrasebank

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/index.htm

Introducing WorkReferring to the LiteratureBeing CriticalDescribing MethodsReporting ResultsDiscussing FindingsWriting ConclusionsGeneral FunctionsUseful Links

Introducing a dissertation (taught)

1. Introduce the topic, define it, provide acontext, background and/or importance.

2. Indicate a problem, controversy or a gapinthe field of study.

3. State the focus and aim of theessay/writing.

4. Provide an overview of the coverageand/or structure of the writing.

The literature review

Rationale – demonstrateknowledgePurpose – develop issues &themes

Reading & appraisingDescriptive & analytical

o 20% - 25% (50%)

Referring to the literatureGeneral descriptions of the relevant literatureDuring the past thirty years, much more information has become

available on….

the past 30 years much more information has become available

General reference to previous research/scholarlyactivity (usually more than one author)Numerous studies have attempted to explain….. (Harrison,1996; Starr, 2001; McCartney, 2005).

to explain ... (for example, Harrison, 1996; Starr,

Reference to current state of knowledgeGM varieties of maze are able to cross-pollinate with non-GMvarieties (Lennon, 1999; Richards, 2000).GM varieties of maize are able to cross-pollinate with non-GM

varieties (Lennon, 1998; Richards, 1999).

Reference to single investigations in the past:

research topic as subjectClassical conditioning was first demonstrated experimentally by

Pavlov (Daltrey, 2000). In his seminal study…..

CCJJlassical conditioning was first demonstrated experimentally by Pavlov

altrey, 2002). In his seminal study...

Reference to what other writers do in their text

(author as subject)Townsend (2006) identifies poor food, bad housing…as the major

causes of…

Townsend (2003) identifies poor food, bad housing, inadequate hygiene

and large families as the major causes of...

Reference to other writers' ideas (author as subject)According to Wood (1997), preventative medicine is far more cost-

effective, and therefore….

preventative medicine is far more cost effective, and therefore better

Referring to the literature

Reference to single investigations in the past: researcher(s)

as sentence subjectJagger (1999) demonstrated that when the maximum temperature is

exceeded….

Jagger (1999) demonstrated that when the maximum temperature

is exceeded...

Preliminary work on X was undertaken by Moon (1992).

Avoiding plagiarism

ParaphrasingUse roughly the same number of words to restatethe original idea.

SummarisingUse less words to cover the same idea as theoriginal

If you do not change enough of thevocabulary and sentence structure of theoriginal passage, you have plagiarised.

The failure of boiler tubes has always been ofserious concern in most of the process industriesincluding petrochemical plants. Since tubes arenormally made of carbon or low alloy steel andhandle various phases of water at hightemperature and pressure, there is potential forcorrosion occurrence at their wet surfaces.

a) A major concern in many process industries isthe failure of boiler tubes which are made ofcarbon or low steel alloy. As these tubes areexposed to water at high temperature andpressure, their wet surfaces can corrode.

Paraphrasing: a) correct

Summarising: a) correctIndia has recently been ranked as the second largest road network

in the world, overtaking China. Preceded only by the USA, with 6.4million kilometres of road network, India with its 3.3 millionkilometres has overtaken China (1.8 million kilometres). The roadsin India can be categorised as national highways (NHs), statehighways (SHs), district roads and rural roads. The NHs areintended to facilitate medium and long distance intercity passengerand freight traffic across the country. The SHs help carry the trafficalong major centres within a state. District and rural roads helpsmaller locations transport agricultural produce to nearbymarkets, as well as meet their social needs.

a) India now has the second largest road network in the world covering3.3

million kilometres. The main types of road are national highways for

interstate traffic, state highways for intrastate traffic, and district and

rural roads used for local business and social purposes.

Methods

Language functions

Language structures

To date various methods have beendeveloped and introduced tomeasure X:

In most recent studies, X ismeasured in four different ways.

Radiographic techniques are themain non-invasive methods used todetermine...

1. Describing different methods

2. Giving reasons why a particular

method was adopted

The semi-structured approach was chosenbecause...

It was decided that the best method toadopt for this investigation was to...

A case study approach was chosen toallow a...

X was prepared according to theprocedure used by Patel et al. (1957).

The synthesis of X was done accordingto the procedure of Smith (1973).

X was synthesised using the samemethod that was detailed for Y, using...

3. Indicating a specific method

4. Indicating sample size and

characteristics

The initial sample consisted of 200students of whom 13 did not complete allof the interviews.

All studies described as using some sort ofX procedure were included in the analysis.

All of the participants were aged between18 and 19 at the beginning of the study...

A small sample was chosen becauseof the expected difficulty ofobtaining...

The subjects were selected on thebasis of a degree of homogeneity oftheir...

Criteria for selecting the subjectswere as follows:

5. Indicating reasons for sample

characteristics

In order to understand how X regulatesY, a series of transactions wereperformed…

To enable the subjects to see thecomputer screen clearly, the laptop wasconfigured with...

To control for bias, measurements werecarried out by another person.

6. Describing the process: infinitive of

purpose

Data management and analysis wasperformed using SPSS 8.0 (1999).

The experiments were carried out overthe course of the growing period from...

Injection solutions were coded by acolleague to reduce experimenter bias.

7. Describing the process: typical verbs

(note use of passive form)

In this investigation there are severalsources for error. The main error is...

Another major source of uncertainty is inthe method used to calculate X…

It was not possible to investigate thesignificant relationships of X and Y furtherbecause the sample size was too small.

8. Indicating problems or limitations

Reporting results

Reference to aim/method

Location and summary statements

Highlighting significant data in atable/chart

Statements of result (positive)

Highlighting significant, interesting orsurprising results

Reporting results from questionnairesand interviews

Transition statements

1. Statements of result (usually with

reference to results section)

The results of this studyshow/indicate that...

This experiment did not detect anyevidence for...

On the question of X, this studyfound that...

2. Unexpected outcome

Surprisingly, X was found to...

One unanticipated finding was that...

It is somewhat surprising that no Xwas noted in this condition...

3. Explanations for results:

There are several possibleexplanations for this result.

These differences can be explainedin part by the proximity of X and Y.

A possible explanation for this mightbe that...

4. Advising cautious interpretation

These data must be interpreted withcaution because...

These results therefore need to beinterpreted with caution.

However, with a small sample size,caution must be applied, as thefindings might not be transferableto...

5. Suggesting general hypotheses

The value of X suggests that a weaklink may exist between...

It is therefore likely that suchconnections exist between...

It can thus be suggested that...

6. Noting implications

This finding has importantimplications for developing...

An implication of this is thepossibilitythat ...

One of the issues that emerges fromthese findings is...

7. Suggestions for future work

However, more research on this topicneeds to be undertaken before theassociation between X and Y is moreclearly understood.

Further research should be done toinvestigate the...

Research questions that could be askedinclude...

Writing conclusions

1. Summarising the content

This paper has given an account of and thereasons for the widespread use of X...

2.Restatement of aims (research)

This project was undertaken to design... andevaluate...

3.Summarising the findings (research)

The following conclusions can be drawn fromthe present study...

4.Suggesting implications

An implication of this is the possibility that...

Writing conclusions

5.Significance of the findings (research)

The X that we have identified therefore assists inour understanding of the role of...

6.Limitations of the current study (research)

A number of caveats need to be noted regardingthe present study.

7.Recommendations for further work (research)

If the debate is to be moved forward, a betterunderstanding of ... needs to be developed.

8.Implications/recommendations for practice orpolicy

The findings of this study have a number ofimportant implications for future practice.

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Academic Phrasebank

http://www.phrasebank.man.ac.uk/index.htm

The Academic Phrasebank is a general resourcefor academic writers. It aims to provide you withexamples of some of the phraseological "nuts andbolts" of writing organised under the headings tothe left. It was designed primarily withinternational students whose first language is notEnglish in mind. However, if you are a nativespeaker writer, you may still find parts of thematerial helpful.

Online writing Clinic

Every Friday 1 – 2pm

breeze1.manchester.ac.uk/alp

The End

David.ellis-3@manchester.ac.uk