The Graduate Students’ Toolbox for Academic Writing Dr. Kakali Bhattacharya Educational Administration and Research FC 224 http://kakali.org Email: kakali.bhattacharya@tamucc.edu

What is Academic Writing? Scholarly citations Evidence-based Synthesis of literature APA format Develop and defend arguments Contribute to an area of research Construct new knowledge Is not about solving the world’s problem in one dissertation, research paper, book chapter, or book

Developing an Academic Voice Can you say what you really think about an issue? What if you are passionate about your research? How do you know if you are being too “subjective?” What is an academic voice? Where do you express your own ideas in your dissertation, in a research paper?

Developing an Academic Voice (cont’d…) Carry a notebook with you at all times Record thoughts, citations, quotes in notebook Do some free writing Connect ideas from free writing to literature Develop arguments Arguments become your thesis sentence Support thesis sentence with citations

Developing an Academic Voice (cont’d…) If critical of existing literature, read the literature the authors are citing Present a well thought out summary if you are critically appraising or elucidating someone else’s philosophy If presenting your own thoughts, ALWAYS pair them with similarly cited ideas, or contrasting ideas, to demonstrate careful deliberation

Structure of a Paragraph Treat each paragraph as a mini essay Begin each paragraph with a thesis sentence Develop arguments with evidence (background information) Meat of the paragraph= actual points of discussion Move back between evidence-based general statements and concrete details Conclude paragraph to establish the implications of the thesis sentence (so what?), or develop thesis sentence further to get to the (so what?) within the next few paragraphs Keep language tentative

Hands-on Activity Take a look at the article in front of you. Read a couple of paragraphs What is the author’s voice? How can you tell it is the author’s voice? What is the structure of the paragraph? What are the thesis sentences? How is evidence cited, offered?

Writing Tips Be concise. Think economy of words. Each word and its relevance should be considered Follow citation rules Have a bibliography management system (Endnote demo later) Write directly. State the conclusion; then reference it. If the conclusion needs amplification, do it following statement of the main idea. Avoid generalized and generic statements

Writing Tips (cont’d…) Use proper citation style Pay attention to tense After finishing your writing, see if you can identify the thesis sentences in each paragraph. Ask the following questions Is the thesis sentence clear? Are my arguments backed up with citations? Have I developed all points of discussion? Have I connected my implications to the thesis sentence and the discussion points?

Avoid Contractions Passive voice Second person writing (first and third person is acceptable depending on the field) Incomplete sentences (every sentence should have a subject and a verb unless part of a direct quote. No exceptions) Slang, clichés, colloquialisms Excessive wordiness Improper punctuation. Let’s eat Grandma! Versus Let’s eat, Grandma!

Avoid (cont’d…) Excessive quotations Grammatical/language use errors – never submit your first draft Your versus you’re Its versus it’s Affect versus effect Further versus farther There versus they’re or their Who’s versus whose Who versus whom Plagiarism Uncited quotes Uncited ideas Excessive cited quotes that form the prose of the paper Submitting the same paper twice in two different classes

Use of Quotations To support your ideas To present an opposing idea or criticism of an existing idea To present someone’s ideas verbatim To reveal inconsistencies or tensions amongst competing ideas, authors, etc. your topic Note: ALWAYS unpack a quotation with your interpretation. Why are you stating this? What focus are you bringing to this quote in terms of developing your argument?

Structure of Dissertation Chapter 1 – Introduction Chapter 2 – Literature Review Chapter 3 – Methodology Chapter 4 – Findings and Discussion Chapter 5 – Conclusions and Implications Note: Research papers are condensed versions of a dissertation

Critical Thinking Scholarly writing demonstrates critical thinking What does critical thinking mean to you? What does critical thinking look like to you? Who informs your critical thinking? What is informing your beliefs? Have you taken the time to analyze, observe, and seek out legitimate statements with citation authority?

Writer’s Block Pick a topic that can sustain your interest Think of what you are curious Develop a list of things that worked for you the last time you wrote well Find different places to write Write with people Stop writing, at an interesting point in your thoughts

Activity Write a paragraph with the following errors Lack of citation Lack of critical thought Clear grammatical errors Lack of paucity of words Passive voice writing Read someone else’s paragraph and identify the errors

Questions? Nuggets?