1. AGEC 640 November 20, 2018 Project planning and tips on effective writing
Today’s goals:
1. Discuss the final project
2. Talk about the “academic” writing process in general
3. Work a bit on titles

2. Paper Structure 1. Title, name, email address, date.
2. Left justify (only).
3. Blocked paragraphs, not extra spaces.
4. In text reference style: (Lastname, date).
5. Include page #s.
6. References: complete list and information.
7. Tables and figures: numbers and titles.
8. Tables and figures: cite in text.
9. Tables and figures: provide source.
10. Plagiarism: Don’t do it!

3. Writing Why do we write? For what audience? What do we like to read?
Make your story…
Interesting
Clear (especially motivation and methods)
NOT a mystery

4. Project Organize Imitate
Edit List of references due today Final version (electronic) due 12/14 Don’t procrastinate!!!

5. Project Title Abstract (≈50 words) Introduction (≈2pp)
(several alternatives for middle of paper)
Conclusions (≈2pp)
References (10-15 sufficient for this)
Tables (not integrated with text)
Figures (not integrated with text)

6. Writing How to become a better writer? Practice! Write, write, write.
Edit!
Share!
Present your work to clarify ideas and storyline.
Think of your paper as a garden…

7. Writing Other strategies: Use present tense rather than past tense.
Use active voice rather than passive voice.
Try to avoid using “is”.
Read and mimic good writing.
Follow accepted norms/patterns.
Avoid “cuteness”.
Write with confidence but not arrogance.
Provide a complete literature review.

8. Citing and “borrowing”
You can use and build on the ideas of others, but you must document your sources.
You should avoid using someone else’s exact words. If you do use them, you must place those words inside quotation marks.

9. Plagiarism
Using the words or ideas of others without providing credit.
Not limited to using exact words.
Can include self-plagiarism.
Paraphrasing alone may not be enough.

10. Example
Shively, G. (2001) “Agricultural Change, Rural Labor Markets, and Forest Clearing: An Illustrative Case from the Philippines” Land Economics 77(2):
OK:
According to Shively (2001; p. 269) “incentives for clearing forest are determined, in part, by the relative returns to labor directed at cutting trees.” [note the page number reference for a direct quote]
Better:
Shively (2001) studied labor allocation and forest clearing in a frontier region of the Philippines, and found that rates of forest clearing reflected the relative returns to labor in forest-clearing and non-forest activities.
Why? 2nd example relies on your synthesis of Shively’s work.

11. “Similarity” Reports A report will be provided for your paper.
It will contain:
An indication of the percentage “match” with existing documents (not the entire universe of documents, but those in the iThenticate database); and
A detailed list of the specific matches and sources.

12. “Similarity” Reports
Match report excludes bibliography and strings of 5 words or less.
Matches of 5% are relatively common, and probably not reason for great concern.
Matches of 10% or more may raise concern and may indicate lax habits in properly documenting the work of others.
Review your report and make efforts to eliminate any problems.

13. Titles What makes a good title? Informative and specific.
As short as possible, but long enough to convey the contents of the paper.
Free from grammatical errors.
Free from typographical errors. Avoid using duplicate words. Try removing words…does the title suffer?
Why does a good title matter? It communicates and “sends a signal”

14. Title Exercise
Choose a partner.
Complete the worksheet.

15. Abstracts An abstract of YOUR paper, not the topic!
Answers the following:
What is the research problem? (the main question motivating the work)
Why is it important? (justification/motivation)
How do you study it? (data and methods)
What have you learned? (results)?

16. Writing the Introduction
What makes a good introduction?
Well written (put extra effort here).
Succinct (to the point).
Place the research in a larger context.
Expect to write your introduction at the start and then rewrite it at the end.

17. Writing the Introduction
 Usually answers the following questions :
What is the research question?
Why is it important?
How is it studied in the paper? Maybe:
What do you find?
Who should care and why?
Sound familiar?
Remember: the paper shouldn’t be a mystery!

18. Writing the Introduction
 Some main points:
Leading with a question is GOOD.
Main point should come relatively EARLY.
Foreshadowing the results is a good idea.
Many writers include a final paragraph such as:
The remainder of the paper is organized
as follows…
Such a paragraph is probably not needed in a short paper that is organized along traditional lines. It is simply a waste of space.

19. Writing the Conclusion
Synthesize the research question, methods and findings (don’t simply repeat the findings).
Should be based ONLY on results from the paper. This is not the place for speculation or opinions that go beyond what you have discovered and reported in the results.
Don’t introduce new topics or cite new sources.