THE WRITING PROCESS:PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS What am I going to write about? Have I got something to say of my own? What is it? ◦ Hypothesis ◦ Thesis statement Why do I want to say it? What difference will it make? How shall I know that what I am going to say is the correct thing? After I have known that it is correct, how shall I say it in my writing? SOURCE: PETER C. B A GUIDE TO ACADEMIC WRITING. ELDORET: ZAPF CHANCERY.

WRITING WELL: THE STEPS Identifying the area of interest Creating an awareness of the problem Limiting the area of interest Reviewing the available literature Developing a thesis statement Formulating an outline Writing the 1 st draft Editing the 1 st draft (filling the gaps) Polishing and submission of final draft

DEVELOPING AN ACADEMIC STYLE “To learn to write well, you should read good writing. Read your professional journals yes but also read Shakespeare” ◦ Style is not just for art ◦ Academic writing too needs style- expectations ◦ What characterizes academic writing??

READERSHIP CONSCIOUSNESS Who is going to read your paper? ◦ Fellow scholars? In a related field? ◦ Examiners appointed by university ◦ Beginners and students in your field?  How much can you assume?- what terms should you define?  What depth should you go to?  What grounds should you cover  What kinds of sources?

CONTEXT CONSCIOUSNESS Situate your write up within the debates in the subject, discipline, issue etc. demonstrate: ◦ Consciousness of the central trends/arguments in the field ◦ What have others been saying? ◦ Evidence that you know what others have been saying- through citations.

ORIGINALITY CONSCIOUSNESS What is your original contribution to the debate- your signature! ◦ New perspective? ◦ new ◦ New methodological approach ◦ Exposure of a fallacy previously held as fact or logically accurate? ◦ New interpretation of a disputed fact? Set your contribution from the rest- spot the difference!!

READABILITY CONSCIOUSNESS Avoid winding arguments and long complex sentences that obscure your main point- Be concise and precise Do not be verbose- big words for nothing Avoid obscurity and ambiguity- make your point Use technical words appropriately Do not write to impress write to communicate

VALUE CONSCIOUSNESS Do not merely inform but also aim to transform- make a difference through your writing Avoid merely accumulating and piling data upon data Ask questions about what you are reading and writing contributes to society- life

CLARITY CONSCIOUSNESS Be clear on the following: ◦ What is the problem you are investigating and writing about ◦ What is the hypothesis you wish to test- what is your hunch? ◦ How have you arrived at that conclusion?  Collecting data- methodology- reliability Clearly state your purpose in the introduction of your writing and ensure its delivered in your conclusion

SPACE CONSCIOUSNESS Can your argument be made in the space provided? How many pages have you got pages for this class. How much time have you got? ◦ Research sufficiently so that you are not thin on content ◦ Be selective in your choice of what to include to avoid clogging the paper with too much half baked information. ◦ Plan your time to avoid incomplete work!!- hanging ideas!!

GROUP WORK In groups: help each other fine tune your topic to ensure: ◦ Demarcation ◦ Depth ◦ Breadth. Individually- go and read your papers to ensure adherence to the above principles. ◦ You can share the papers as group members and assist one another. ◦ Use the discussion forum to send each other messages, discussions etc in the course of the week. ◦ Prepare a one page write up on what you have done to your paper and prepare to share that in class next week.

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