Academic Writing The Mechanics

Sentences Must have a subject and a verb Pay attention to the tense and maybe an object Who, what the subject is doing, to what Pay attention to the tense Keep the main subject and verb close together Create complex compound sentences Use connecting words And punctuation Check for clarity Do you have a long preamble at the start? Makes it difficult for the reader to get the point Are the subject and verb close enough together?

How to write a sentence Start with the subject What the sentence is about E.g. Software Development Projects Perhaps add a short introductory phrase Keep subject and verb close E.g Software development projects frequently fail due to a lack of understanding of requirements by the project team. OR However, it is widely recognised that software development projects frequently fail due to a lack of understanding of requirements by the project team

Problems Sentence Fragments Incomplete, cannot stand alone E.g. Emphasising the fact that software development is difficult. Corrected The consistent level of software project failure as reported in the Standish Chaos reports emphasises the fact that software development is difficult.

Punctuation - Comma Separate items in a list E.g. Software development consists of the phases analysis, design, implementation, testing and maintenance. To mark a phrase at the start or end of a sentence E.g. However, … To mark a phrase in the middle of sentence E.g. The number of software development projects considered to be failures, as identified in the Standish Chaos reports, has remained largely consistent for the last five years. Follows template: First part, non-essential part, second part

Punctuation - Comma To join main clauses To introduce a quote E.g. The waterfall model is still widely quoted as a model of software development, but it is recognised as being unrealistic. To introduce a quote As Boehm states, “ Beware of the ‘comma splice’ Joining two sentences with a comma

Incorrect? Business analytics has been identified as one of the top ten technologies in the last few years, typically it is in the top five. This proves that sequential software development processes do not reflect the reality, detailed surveys of project teams will support this.

Punctuation – Colon Use after a statement to introduce explanation, clarity, illustration or reinforcement of that statement Initial Statement : Second Statement Can be used to introduce a quote

Punctuation – Semi-Colon Join two sentences closely related in meaning To replace words like ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘but’… To replace words like ‘however’, ‘moreover’, ‘further’ in the middle of sentences To separate items in a list if commas are already used Key researchers in the field of software development are Barry Boehm, creator of the Spiral model; the main developer of the RAD methodology, James Martin; and Kent Beck, creator of the XP methodology.

Punctuation – Apostrophe Indicate possession Comes directly after the affected owner David’s… The student’s … The students’… It’s = ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ Its – belongs to it Generally do not use contractions Can’t, don’t, won’t etc

Paragraph A collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. Use to decompose your narrative Break it into chunks Present ideas coherently Each paragraph Should have a clear central point Focus on one topic Contain only relevant information If you feel your paragraph addresses more than one topic Introduce another paragraph

Paragraph Construction Every paragraph should have one and only one independent idea. A paragraph should always have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning introduces your idea with a topic sentence. The middle explains your idea with supporting sentences. The end connects your idea to the rest of the paragraph or the section with a concluding sentence. In academic writing, the concluding sentence is typically used only for long paragraphs. Be careful of long paragraphs as they usually contain more than one independent idea.

Topic Sentence The topic The main point about the topic <topic><main point> The waterfall model of software development is a useful tool in introducing the phases of software development to novice developers. <main point><topic> A useful tool in introducing the phases of software development is the waterfall model of software development. Signals the content of the paragraph.

Writing with flow Write Coherent Paragraphs Sentence Connectors You have to connect your sentences in a paragraph Provide Flow Sentence Connectors used to link ideas from one sentence to the next and to give paragraphs coherence. placed at the beginning of a sentence. used to introduce, order, contrast, sequence ideas, theory, data etc.

Sentence Connectors Category Sample words addition again, also, equally important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, second Sequence first, second, lastly, earlier, later, in parallel, in addition, further, furthermore, also comparison also, likewise, similarly contrast although, yet, despite, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, regardless, compared to concession granted, naturally, of course emphasis/importance certainly, indeed, in fact, of course, significantly, most significantly, primarily, above all example after all, as an illustration, even, for example, for instance, in conclusion, indeed, in fact, in other words, in short, it is true, of course, namely, specifically, that is, to illustrate, thus, truly summary as has been said, finally, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to summarize conclusion as a result, as a consequence, therefore, thus, consequently, hence, in conclusion

Links between paragraphs Pick up key points and words from previous paragraphs Use linking words (see sentence connectors) as transition http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/1/

Concluding sentences Put key points at the end of sentences Put key findings at the end of paragraphs

Writing Paragraphs Create a topic sentence Introduce the main idea Explain or define any terms needed to clarify the topic sentence Show evidence to support the main idea/argument Comment on the evidence and mention other evidence Conclude

WEED for paragraph construction What Is it clear what point I am making Evidence Have I provided evidence for what I am saying Example Do I need to give an example to illustrate what I am saying Do So what? What do I do with what I have presented?

Start Middle End Using the Diamond Paper is a diamond Each section is a diamond Each paragraph is a diamond Start Middle End

Using the Diamond Main body is a series of diamonds linked Section with one or more paragraphs Main body is a series of diamonds linked Each section is a series of diamonds linked Links to the next section etc

Useful Resources Grammar Basics Establishing Arguments http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/ Establishing Arguments http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/ Writing Concisely http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/01/ Sound Alike Words http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/660/01/ Useful Phrases http://www.englishforresearch.com/phrasebooks/examples.htm