Friday, August 29 Introduce Process Activity 1: Developing a Goal-based Plan IPHY 3700 Writing Process Map

Key Questions in the Writing Process  What should you talk about in your paper?  What should you avoid talking about?  When you're reading published scientific articles, how do you know what's relevant—that is, what to adopt and adapt for your paper?  How do you develop ideas that go beyond just summarizing what you've read? And how do you build strong evidence and reasoning for original, convincing arguments?  What are the best ways to organize the ideas that are in your mind, notes, and outlines?  How can you avoid going off on tangents when you're drafting?  When you read your first drafts during stages of revision, how can you tell whether the content—that is, the information, ideas, and arguments—is strong or weak?

Some goals are more powerful than others Goals for a job application letterJust-Okay Goals rhetorical Goals To impress the employer To make the letter look sharp To use good grammar To present my unique qualifications for the job, so that the employer views me as sufficiently prepared To convince the employer that I'm motivated for this sort of work To demonstrate my knowledge about the company that's offering the job, so that the employer sees my resourcefulness

Rhetorical goals are statements about what to say and why to say it Rhetorical goal: To demonstrate my knowledge about the company that's offering the job, so that the employer sees my resourcefulness What to say (content-generating): my preliminary knowledge about the company that's offering the job Why to say it (audience-affecting): so that the employer sees my resourcefulness

Strategies are specific ways to accomplish rhetorical goals Rhetorical Goal: To present my unique qualifications for the job, so that the employer views me as sufficiently prepared Strategies 1. Present my qualifications based on my educational background. Emphasize the wide range of sport science courses that I've taken: sport psychology, exercise physiology, and biomechanics. Give examples of how my "generalist" scientific background will benefit the athletes with whom I work. 2. Present details about my previous coaching experience as a graduate assistant. Talk about my specific responsibilities in designing and implementing training programs for college runners. Emphasize the recruiting skills that I learned. 3. Present my philosophy of training distance runners. Explain how I apply principles of progression to gradually increase training loads. Explain my emphasis on developing strength and good technique to avoid injury.

Rhetorical Goals for the Introduction Section of Research Papers 1. Convince readers that your research issue is important to science and society. 2. Present the research issue that motivated your study, so that readers understand why you're raising your specific research question. 3. State your hypothesis and explain its rationale and support, to convince readers that your study is built on a sound conceptual foundation. 4. State your study's specific aims (or purposes), to give readers a foundation for understanding your methods and results. Sample Introduction Section: Dunn et al. (2002)

Rhetorical Goals and Strategies in Scientific Writing An example of one goal and a set of strategies for the body of a position paper on massage therapy for prematurely born infants Rhetorical Goal: To convince readers to accept my claim, by presenting supporting evidence from published research. Strategy 1: Present data from studies showing that preterm infants who received massage therapy gained weight more quickly than infants treated with conventional drug therapies; explain the health risks associated with low birth weight and the positive health outcomes for preterm infants who gain weight rapidly. Strategy 2: Present data from studies showing that preterm infants who received massage therapy reached developmental milestones for motor skills, like walking, faster than infants treated with conventional drug therapies. Strategy 3: Present data from studies showing the cost-benefit to hospitals with massage therapists on staff compared to hospitals that use conventional treatment methods.

Skeleton Outline of a Goal-based Plan for a Research Paper SECTION: Introduction Rhetorical goal 1 Strategy 1.1 Strategy Strategy 1.X Rhetorical goal 2 Strategy 2.1 Strategy Strategy 2.X Rhetorical goal X Strategy X.1 Strategy X.2.. Strategy X.X SECTION: Methods Rhetorical goal 1 AND SO ON for the other sections of the paper!

Why develop a goal-based plan?  To align your paper's content with the conventions and criteria for effective content in scientific writing  To avoid "going a long way out of your way to come back a short distance correctly"going a long way out of your way to come back a short distance correctly  To organize and optimize your thinking—that is, how you store and retrieve information  To avoid being overwhelmed by EVERYTHING you might talk about in a scientific paper  To gain the cognitive leverage that comes with abstract thinking, or "helicopter thinking“helicopter thinking  To produce goal-directed rather than topic-based writinggoal-directedtopic-based  To stay focused on appropriate content as you're drafting  To guide ALL processes in planning, drafting, and revising content

How to Develop a Goal-based Plan Use your writing experience, topic knowledge, and common sense. Adopt and adapt scientific discourse conventions. Use model papers (like the one by Moreau et al., 2003)Moreau et al., 2003 Use your task and audience analyses. Use the helicopter thinking method. Start drafting!

A Checklist for Evaluating Goal-based Plans Check for whether your rhetorical goals are appropriate for the paper's sections in which you've placed them Check for whether the plan for each rhetorical goal progresses from the general to the specific Check your rhetorical goals for their content-generating potential Check your rhetorical goals for their audience-affecting potential Check your strategies for their depth and detail Check your strategies for whether they are logically related to their rhetorical goals