Scholarly Style Chapter Nine: Academic Writing Tuesday April 3, 2007 Strategies for Writing English 112 UBC. Chapter Nine: Academic Writing Tuesday April 3, 2007 Strategies for Writing English 112 UBC.

Thinking ? Or, non specific goal strategy in problem solving remembering? calculating? The language of scholarly discourse is specific, not general.

Common Sense Uncommon Sense “Research activities seek to subject [...] common-sense assumptions to examination, and this process of examination is represented in the distinctive language of the scholarly genres (Giltrow AW 165). ” In efforts to to reorganize common- sense knowledge of the world into uncommon sense, researchers analyze issues and entities into smaller parts, differentiating those parts into segments. Those segments then become the objects of study.

The names of the objects of study are necessary to reporting the results of the study (Giltrow AW 166). Nominal Style Events and attributes are turned into ‘things.’ Verbs and adjectives are turned into nouns. This behaviour is criminal. Strategies solve problems This criminal behaviour... Problem solving strategies....

The research is outdated. The dated research..... The skills required to be digitally literate. Digital literacy skills.... Everyone attended class today. Full class attendance.... Everyone participates fully in class discussions. Complete class discussion participation...

Textual Coherence The scholarly genres typically maintain coherence and relevance by repeated references to high level abstractions. These abstract terms are the ‘nominal versions of actions and events’. Abstractions need to re-instated to accommodate your reader’s ‘mental desktop’. “Like elevated platforms from which the content of the argument can be captured at a glance” (AW, 179). Event or activity: ‘everyone participates (verb) in class discussions’ Abstraction or ‘nominal phrase’: ‘complete class discussion participation (noun)’ What is the object of study?

Messages about the Argument : The crucial point for this paper is... Our main interest here is... The general point here is... I want to highlight in Smith’s explanation... Before proceeding to a more precise example... Two basic issues will be addressed by Smith’s example... Statements about how the argument will be organized -- and, forecasting what readers can expect: This paper is an attempt to re-examine... Utilizing Smith’s study, we question.... Our research demonstrates....

I and ‘opinion’ The ‘constrained’ discursive I : We want to suggest We want to begin We shall focus We explore, examine, evaluate We close, provide, describe We draw on evidence The Discursive ‘I’

In research writing sentences beginning with ‘it’ can accomplish emphasis: It was Foucault’s work that mobilized research of institutions under the “surveillance” theme. It was the turning of the 20th century that ushered in theories of ‘post-modernity’. It is overeating that causes these problems, not the time of day in which the meal is eaten. Emphasis & ‘it’

Presupposing vs. Asserting Which is which? The history of 19th century psychiatry has explored... Psychiatry was practised in the 19th century. The five basic skills necessary to achieve a basic level of digital literacy are... Digital literacy is necessary for higher education The economic digital divide has created a unique global situation... The global economic digital divide is created by the uneven distribution of wealth across the globe.

Scholarly Style Techniques Nominal style Abstractions as ‘sign posts’ Messages about the Argument The Discursive I Forecast & Emphasis Presupposing vs asserting

That’s it ! for now