Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Today’s Agenda

1. Introduction to academic writing

2. Stages in academic writing

3. Genre conventions

- written reports - 5 requirements to academic texts - Objectivity - Source criticism - References (notes, quotes, bibliography etc) - Structure - Layout and formal aspects

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Writing - in your education and further career

1. Several courses will be involve project reports or written home assignments, papers, written exams.

2. Major milestones in your study period are:

• the bachelor project• For some, the final thesis

3. Writing skills are also extremely important in professional business life:

Evaluation reports, Memos, Newsletters, Market analyses etc.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Written Competences: Process & Product

Your written assignments reveal your abilities to find, choose and handle a lot of information in a purposeful manner.

Writing a report, an essay, a paper etc. is roughly about

•gathering information•reading, thinking, analyzing•structuring •and writing.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

10 Stages in Academic Writing1. SURVEY MATERIAL

2. SELECT MORE RELEVANT MATERIAL

3. TAKE NOTES

4. MAKE A BRAINSTORM and/or MINDMAP

5. MAKE A PROBLEM STATEMENT

6. MAKE AN OUTLINE

7. WRITE A FIRST DRAFT

8. ORGANISE TEXT BODY, WRITE INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION

9. WRITE + REVIEW 2ND DRAFT10. HAND IT IN WITH A SMILE : )

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

STAGE 1 & 2, Academic Writing1. SURVEY MATERIAL/SOURCES

•Use the bibliographic references in the literature you have •Use the library at the business school and the university.

•Start early – some books may be hard to get

•Check out relevant journals (e.g. ASB’s library databases)NOTE ALL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES TO BEGIN WITH!

2. SELECT RELEVANT MATERIAL/SOURCES

Read actively and ask questions to the texts

•How do they fit your subject and your theoretical focus?

•Are you going to analyse on some material? Using which theory?

•Why is this text relevant for your paper?

•Are there conflicting points of view that could be discussed?

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

STAGE 3,4,5 - Academic Writing3. TAKE NOTES TO, SUMMARISE & COMPARE SOURCES

•use your OWN words (it makes subsequent writing easier)•How can your sources complement each other?

NOTE GOOD QUOTES (EXACT transcription and page number, etc.)

4. BRAINSTORM (e.g. mind-map, organising relations!)

• Identify connections between different ideas and approaches• Identify interesting and relevant issues for your paper. Is it a new angle? Documentary statistics, or……?• Review if you have the literature you need

5. MAKE A PROBLEM STATEMENT or INTRODUCTION based on former steps, notes etc.

•What is the key question of your paper? •What is the aim of your project? •What do you want to convince your reader to believe? (thesis)•How do you make the wording suit your thesis and line of argumentation?

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

STAGE 6 & 7, Academic Writing

6. MAKE AN OUTLINE– as detailed as possible – it saves you a lot of time!•How do you want to structure your text and your arguments? (topic in next week’s session)•How do you convince your reader through structuring? •Make a draft of a table of contents (test that structure)•Describe the aim and content of each section in details.A well prepared outline will help you write coherently without losing track of where to go next

7. WRITE A FIRST DRAFT OF THE MAIN BODY•Include ALL references and quotations as you write (It’s much harder to find the them afterwards)•Constantly refer back to the outline – are you following its structure and points? (synchronise)•Use the outline as a guide to organising your text in SECTIONS and PARAGRAPHS

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

STAGE 8, 9, 10 – Academic Writing8. ORGANISE & WRITE CLEAR INTRODUCTION & CONCLUSION• “Kill your darlings” (initial ideas that have become irrelevant)•Be a critical reader of your own text

What have you, in fact, written? In which order? With which argumentation and logic? Did you answer the key question? Does your line of argumentation hold?

• Make adjustments: Introduction and the conclusion must correspond - to each other, and to the main body of text

9.WRITE 2ND DRAFT & PROOFREAD IT•Add correctly phrased footnotes & complete/exact bibliography •Incorporate tables and figures •Work on lay-out, table of contents, front page etc. • Proofread your report (I recommend once for language, once for argumentation, and once for quotations, footnotes and references)

10. HAND IT IN WITH A SMILE - let others read your text

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Expository/Discursive Text Types

•Causal Analysis(to analyse the causes of something)

•Problem Solving(to identify a problem and to propose solutions to the problem)

•Argumentation(to argue for and against; to take a position on an issue)

Expository/Discursive Genres

• Academic research papers

• Academic reports

• Academic articles

• Academic books

Text Types and Genres in Academic Writing

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

The Written Report as Academic Genre• The report is an analytical text in academic prose

“Analytical”: complex connexions split up into well-arranged sections

“Academic prose”: 1. linguistically correct 2. coherent 3. objective exposition and argumentation

• Reports should present new knowledge

Basically, this can be done in two ways:

1. Asking new questions about old issues 2. Asking old questions about new issues

The report is thus a meeting place for tradition and innovation

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Two Main Traditions of Academic Writing

Continental tradition •”Thinking” texts•Foregrounds sources•Philosophy, history etc.•Emphasis on concepts and theories

•Interpretation (preservation) of traditional culture and traditions

•Numerous points, claims and conclusions•Often nonlinear structure•Digressions allowed•Academic writing as art

Anglo-American tradition•Problem solving text•Foregrounds problems•Facts, realities, empiricism etc.•Emphasis on applied methods

•New understandings evaluations and action in focus

•One point, one claim, one conclusion•Linear structure, •Digressions discouraged•Academic writing as craftsmanship

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

5 Requirements To a Well Written Academic Text

1) An exact problem statement (thesis or key focus)

2) A clear structure, supportive of the argumentation

3) Coherent, exact and well documented argumentation

4) Professional and clear layout and consistent formal treatment

5) Impeccable language (language, syntax)

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

OBJECTIVITY: The Great Challenge

The personal essay is very popular in Danish high school tradition

Exercise: Rephrase these sentences into more objective statements

1. “Personally, I don’t believe in this argument, because…” 2. “ I think the writer is right because….” 3. “ With this paper, I want to…” 4. “I am absolutely sure that….” Academic objectivity can be signalled through word choicesFor example:• Try to rephrase personal pronouns “I”, “my”• Learn the academic style from the theorists you read

Focus on objective argumentation =>improved structure & convincing argument in an academic jargon.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Academic Objectivity Also Means…

Considering an issue from several angles! It proves you are…. 1. Well-read

2. Able to approach an issue from more angles

3. Able to discuss viewpoints pro et contra before you make a judgment)

4. Able to use source criticism on the books, reports, articles and internet pages you have consulted

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Source Criticism is Critical Reading

DON’T TAKE YOUR SOURCES FOR GRANTED WISDOM:Source criticism means questioning your sources!

What is the content and utility of the source in a given context?

•Always ask wh-questions? (What, who, where, when, how why) • Each of these questions may have complex answers:

“Who” refers not only to the author’s name, but also his/her historical role in an institutional/social context

MANY theorists present their text books as the new and improved way of approaching an issue.

But why do they do so?

•Because they are genuinely innovative?•…or because they want to sell their books?

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Example: Powell’s Speech in UN Before the Iraq Invasion

What: A political speech (Read the speech in its entity)Who: The American Minister of Foreign AffairsWhere: In UN headquarters in New YorkWhen: Feb. 5, 2003 How: •The style is very confident•Evidence is supplied, e.g. CIA-photos (In fact later investigations prove that they were taken from a 12 year old English study report!!!)

Why: The US wants to convince UN about why Iraq should be invaded and Saddam Hussein driven from the throne. What is not in the source material?:

Information about how CIA were able to take air-photos of weapons the UN-inspectors couldn’t find on the ground!

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Visual Source Criticism

WOMAN WITH BASKET (by Photo Journalist Peter Turnley)

Woman standing in garbage with a basket on her head at sunset in Cite Soleil.Cite Soleil is considered one of the worst slums in the western hemisphere with open sewers and 25 percent of the area’s children suffering from malnutrition.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Other Source Critical Questions

•First hand or second hand witness?

•Primary source or secondary source?

•Tendency/bias? (i.e. how objective)

Good source criticism is based on both analytical skills and knowledge about the context in which the source came into being.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Web Pages as Sources: Be Very Critical!Avoid building your report or paper only on internet sources.The web sources you do use should undergo the following criticism:

Sender? Name, institution etc. (”Google” author)

Credibility and academic level • Can the sender/author be contacted? • Is the page sponsored – by whom and why? •Are there references and links from/to other reliable pages? •Is the information updated?

Exercise: What’s the difference between• www.whitehouse.gov •www.whitehouse.net•www.whitehouse.org

Presentation and accessibility•Does the page have a professional design? •Is the page and site design usable?

ALWAYS Print out the pages you do use– they might be movedPut the pages you actually quote from/refer to in an appendix (so your argumentation etc. can be controlled if the pages ARE removed)

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

References: General Requirements

Correct bibliographical references is a must for:

• Direct quotes “To be or not to be – that’s the question”

•General/indirect references: (e.g. to a critic’s work on H.) •Tables, models or pictures, or statistics:

•Reporting points of view: Some criticised the Hamlet character, whereas others fore grounded the female lead, Ophelia

The lack of correct references will be penalized by the examiners

In the worst cases, it is seen as cheating and may result in failing, suspension or expulsion

•Every source you have used should therefore be in the bibliography - either as primary or secondary source.

•Any direct or indirect reference should be credited in a footnote

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Reference Systems: Pick one & be ConsequentReferences in the textUse of parentheses ( ) in the text body

The parentheses refer to your bibliographical list:(Last name, year, page no.)

EXAMPLES:1. Direct Quote:”… ” (Nietzsche, 1962, p.48)

2. Indirect Quote:.. an issue emphasised by both Freud and Nietzsche. (Nietzsche, 1962 p.89; Freud, 1927, p.9)

References by footnotes•The first time a source text is referred to, the entire source is stated as in the bibliography, incl. page number:Victor, David: International Business Communication. HarperCollins Publishers, 1992, p. 63

•If quoted immediately afterwards: Ibid.(+ new page no. if new page )Ibid. or Ibid., p. 64

•If the text is used again later: Author’s last name + op.cit. + page number.Victor, op.cit., p. 195

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

More on Quotation & Layout

Shorter quotes can be presented in full length in the text body

Example:Peter Kemp emphasises that the trace first gets its meaning when a causal value is added: ”We won’t see the ruin as a ruin before we have seen the whole castle.” (+Reference in parenthesis, or a footnote)

Longer quotes can be emphasised by the layout (e.g. by indenting the quote)

>>Example follows

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

A Long Quotation in the Text BodyBla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla

Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla

You do not need to use quotation marks if you are using a smaller typography when including longer direct quotes in your text, especially if you layout the quotation as a separate text block like this one.

In addition, consider the way you use italics.

I only use italics for titles, like in this example: In Language and Power, Norman Fairclough writes about the ideological structures of speech acts.

(Jensen, 2004 p. 19)

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

The Classic Report: Structure & Layout

1. Front-page: Title, author(s), study id number(s), subject, tutorial teacher, time and place. (illustration)

2. Table of contents: • The exact title and page no. of every subtitled paragraph

should be mentioned. (Read the Study Guide p.83f for more precise info).

• Consider using various font types and sizes and/or indentions to illustrate how text sections are related in a hierarchy. You can do so through templates in Word.

3. Introduction: • Elaborates on the title and subject, has a problem

statement or key question (emphasised in the layout) • This section could, for example, present the structure of

the report, the methodology used, and argue for the delimitation of topic and view point(s). (more next week)

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

The Classic Report: Structure (continued)4. The main body: Main sections and sub sections.•The problem statement is discussed through documentation and argumentation. •The main body should be divided into relevant paragraphs. •Avoid too many subtitled paragraphs (max. two per page) •Avoid too few subtitled paragraphs (If you have 6-10 pages without subheadings, something is wrong; split them up!)

5. Conclusion: •Sums up the main points•answers the problem statement•offers a perspective or perhaps a recommendation

6. Bibliography: One alphabetized list (by last names), Study Guide, p. 87

7. Appendices: Tables, figures, pictures, etc., printed web pages (if you have used them – we don’t want half of WWW on print!)

The appendix is not officially a part of the report, but consult Study Guide, 88

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

A Clear Structure is….

•Both important on a macro and a micro level (chapters, main- & sub sections) Read the details in the Study Guide, 82ff thoroughly

•Every chapter should have an opening/introduction and conclusion/closure) An example of a clear structure: - The premises come before the analysis - The background comes before the analysis - The general comes before the specific

TIP! Think logically: Use cause and effect relations when structuring your text.

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Various Principles for Structuring a textConsider structure according to contents & rhetoric

Examples of structural choices:1. Chronological (past before present, or present before past?)

2. Spatial ‘here’ before ‘there’ or ‘there’ before ‘here’?)

3. Causal (Cause before effect, or effect before cause?)

4. Claim/Data(Claim before documentation, or documentation before claim?)

5. Discussion:For/Against (‘for’ before ‘against’, or ‘against’ before ‘for’?)

6. Part /Whole (part before whole, or whole before part?)

7. General/Specific (general before specific, or specific before general?)

8. Positive/Negative (negative before positive or the opposite?)

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

General Advice on Layout

Follow the academic layout conventions:

• Your layout should be relatively neutral This doesn’t mean you cannot be aesthetic.

• Your layout should be reader friendly • Use reader-friendly founts, colours, sizes, line spacing, margins, and number all pages, appendices etc.

• Avoid unnecessary notes and supplements in the text and appendix

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

A Well Written Text (Reports, Exam Papers etc.)Present a professional product:

Focus on correct… • Spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation• Vocabulary (use a varied language – use a thesaurus)• Subject specific and academic terminology• Proofread your text

Your reader should NOT HAVE TO GUESS YOUR THOUGHTSSo make sure your reasoning is ON the paper - NOT between the lines

Introduction

Writing stages

GenreConventions

-Objectivity

-Source criticism

-Reference

-Structure

-Layout

Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Next Week….

• Academic Argumentation in more detail

• The Problem statement/Introduction

• Concrete “cases” for class evaluation