1. Writing Consultant, Regional Writing Centre, University of Limerick
M. Sc. in Strategic Quality Management – Lean Sigma Systems: Writing your Dissertation
Lawrence Cleary
Writing Consultant, Regional Writing Centre, University of Limerick

2. Game Plan Academic Writing Structuring your Argument
Using Theory to Support you Research Question
Presenting your Argument in an Academic Style
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3. Academic Writing: Defining Terms
What is Academic Writing? What are its standards?
5 minutes: Freewrite…
for five minutes, talk on paper about what you like about your own writing.
What is distinguishes academic writing from other kinds of writing?
freewriting is private, so don’t edit or censor
write in sentences: write complete thoughts rather than bulleted phrases
Free writing is free: you have a topic on which to focus, but you are allowed to digress if you find it productive
Keep writing. If you’ve nothing to say, write: I have nothing to say. I have nothing to say. I have nothing to say. …but keep saying that until you have something to say.
Peter Elbow, UMass, Amherst, Writing Without Teachers (1975); Closer to home, Rowena Murray, How to Write a Thesis, 3rd edition (2011).
Get a list of things they like about their own writing.
What makes for a good writer?
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4. Thaiss and Zawacki (2006)
Clear evidence in writing that writer(s) have been persistent, open minded, and disciplined in study.
The dominance of reason over emotion or sensual perception.
An imagined reader who is coolly rational, reading for information, intending to formulate a reasoned response.
Thaiss, C. and Zawacki, T. (2006), Portsmouth N.H.: Boynton/Cook, Heinnemann. Engaged Writers, Dynamic Principles: Research on the Academic Writing Life
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5. Formal/Conceptual Feature
…what is the relationship of the language to the topic?
…how does language communicate the author’s attitude toward the reader, the topic, those who also talk about it?
…what is the relationship of the language to the rhetorical situation?
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6. Rhetorical Appeals Logos Pathos Bathos Ethos Etc. 18/01/2019 16:45:46

7. Process to Product Writer-based writing Reader-based writing
Pre-writing
Drafting
Reader-based writing
Revision
Editing and Proofreading
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8. Writer-based Writing Writer-based writing is you talking to you:
Trying to figure out what you’re going to say
Trying to figure out what you’re saying
Trying to figure out if what you’re saying makes any sense to you or if you’re claim is defendable or if it is possible to say what you want to say within the word limit or…
Two stages of the process pertain to this kind of writing:
Pre-writing
Drafting
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9. Pre-writing Assessment of the writing context or rhetorical situation
Occasion
Topic
Audience
Purpose
Writer
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10. Pre-writing Inventing
Finding a topic and how to approach it
Developing ideas
Forming a thesis: a relevant question, problem, claim or hypothesis
Gathering information: critically reading, note-taking
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11. Drafting
Continuing to develop the ideas in order to say something relevant and scholarly
Finding order; making the case
Giving arguments shape and supporting claims with evidence
Reporting what others have said on the issue in support of the argument, but also reporting on the work of others in opposition—contention and concessions—seeking to determine the truth of the matter (What is truth?)
Drawing conclusions based on the evidence revealed through the research
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12. Reader-based Writing
Reader-based writing is you trying to explain it to everyone else
Are the ideas relevant to the audience and will they be able to make sense of what you’ve said?
Is the language and tone appropriate to the audience?
Is your message in a form that the audience will welcome?
Is it clear who’s talking?
When we think of Reader-based writing, we think of
Revision
Editing and Proofreading
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13. Revision Re-seeing the paper Is the question worth pursuing?
Is it time to rethink the thesis?
Is the question too big for the occasion? Can I make a case for a smaller, related problem?
Is the answer, solution, defence or affirmation/negation clear, persuasive, ethical, appropriate to the context (an academic context)
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14. Revision Looking at the structure of the argument Does the logic flow?
Is it easy to follow?
Does the topic of the paragraph logically follow from the previous paragraph; does it logically flow into the topic of the paragraph that follows?
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15. Editing and Proofreading
Paragraph internal logic
Sentence level issues:
Meaning
Logic
Language
Denotation/Connotations
Tone
Register
Appropriate to the context
Rhetorical value (think audience)
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16. Structuring your Argument
A typical Masters dissertation will have the following indicative structure and word length (variations depend on the topic and method of research):
Title page
Table of contents
List of tables, figures (diagrams, charts)
Acknowledgements
Abstract.
Introduction and rationale for investigation 2000 words
A concise and thorough literature review 4000 words
A research methods chapter 2000 words
Results chapter(s) 3500 words each
Conclusions, discussion and recommendations 3500 words
Bibliography
Any appendices
Section 7 in guidelines
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17. Writing Prompt What is your paper going to do?
What claim will you defend?
What question will your FYP answer?
What problem will it solve?
What hypothesis will your paper test?
State it in a single sentence or question.
This is your thesis.
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18. Structuring your Argument
So how are each of these sections going to carry the argument?
Title page
Table of contents
List of tables, figures (diagrams, charts)
Acknowledgements
Abstract.
Introduction and rationale for investigation 2000 words
A concise and thorough literature review 4000 words
A research methods chapter 2000 words
Results chapter(s) 3500 words each
Conclusions, discussion and recommendations 3500 words
Bibliography
Any appendices
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19. Writing Prompt How will you address your thesis?
If a question, how will you establish that the question is important enough to try to answer?
How do you know that this question hasn’t been already answered a million times? How do you justify asking it again?
How will you establish that your way of answering the question is a valid way of answering it?
What evidence will make the answer convincing?
If you were to try to answer the question in a certain way, what would you expect to find?
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20. Aristotle: the Enthymeme
A claim and a ‘because’ clause
What are you saying is true?
What evidence supports your claim?
Facts
Statistics
Logical reasoning
Quotes from very knowledgeable, erudite people
Your mom says it’s so
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21. Toulmin’s Model Components of an Argument:
Claim: the position or claim being argued for; the conclusion of the argument.
Grounds: reasons or supporting evidence that bolster the claim.
Warrant: the principle, provision or chain of reasoning that connects the grounds/reason to the claim.
Backing: support, justification, reasons to back up the warrant.
Rebuttal/Reservation: exceptions to the claim; description and rebuttal of counter-examples and counter-arguments.
Qualification: specification of limits to claim, warrant and backing. The degree of conditionality asserted.
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22. Types of Arguments Categorical and Definitional: X is (is not) a Y.
Causal Arguments: X causes (does not cause) Y
Resemblance Arguments: X is (is not) like Y
Evaluation and Ethical Arguments: X is (is not) a good Y; X is right (Wrong)
Proposal Arguments: we should (should not) do X.
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23. Time/Space
Good writers use strategies for filling the required space in an allotted time.
Strategies for filling space can be reduced to two tasks:
Ringfencing
Freewheeling
(Murray 2002)
Murray, R. (2002) How to Write a Thesis, Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press.
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24. Ringfencing Outlining—a way of ringfencing space
1st Level Outline
2nd Level Outline
3rd Level Outline
Outline in terms of the Research Proposal
Rationale
Objectives
A working set of questions, themes or issues
Indicative literature review
Methodology
Work with the Proposal
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25. Freewheeling
Freewriting, Generative Writing, Writing to Prompts—ways of filling space
Freewriting—for getting going, for exploring possibilities, for getting ideas out before they disappear, developing fluency, increasing confidence
Generative Writing—for getting focused, developing drafts, for working out how to best organize complex ideas, for working out complicated arguments
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26. Writing Strategies Cognitive Metacognitive Affective Social
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27. Write what you’re ready to write!
If you have a rough idea of what your thesis statement is, freewrite in order to work out the questions you’ll need to answer in order to answer your big question.
Write for five minutes, don’t stop
Don’t edit or sensor (private writing)
Write in complete sentences (thoughts)
Let your mind range over various angles (open)
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28. Theory
For discussion: What are some of the theories that ground what you know?
Theory of Constraints
Sigma Six
Lean
How do we organize the way we talk about these theories?
What do they have in common? How do they differ?
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29. Writing to Prompts: Exercise
Going back to your thesis: if you were to try to answer your question in a particular way, you should have an idea of what you will find.
Going back to your rationale: if you reason that answering a particular question in a particular way, your reasoning is grounded in certain assumptions about the value of the methods and the value of the answer, amongst other things.
In what theories are your assumptions grounded?
If the answer that you anticipated is not realised, what does this say about the assumptions that ground your hypothesis or rationale? What theories rationalise your findings?
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30. Me, an Academic Writer?
When given an ‘academic’ writing assignment, or any kind of writing assignment, what are your immediate feelings and thoughts?
Freewrite
Write for five minutes without stopping
Don’t censor
Private writing
First, Writing prompt: feelings and thoughts…Are you up for it? Does the thought of it cause you anxiety? Do you panic? Are you lost? Are you familiar with the genre or is it something you have to learn about?
5 minutes’ writing
In sentences, but don’t worry about grammar, punctuations, spelling etc. Just express whatever comes into your head around this prompt.
Private writing -- no one will read it
To be discussed in pairs/groups

31. Academic Style
The division between what you say and how you say it is an ancient, useful pedagogical convenience.
When the language is inappropriate to the context, people stop listening to what you are saying and begin focusing on how you are saying it.
With what consequence?
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32. Satisfying Academic Audiences
When someone says academic writing, what features characterize that kind of writing for you?
Second, a discussion/ get groups to make a list of features—put on board.

33. Academic Writing Complexity Formality Objectivity Explicitness Hedging
Responsibility
Features of Academic Writing (handout)