1. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre1 BA in Human Resource Management: Writing an FYP Lawrence Cleary, Patricia Herron, Dr. Íde O’Sullivan, Research Officers for the Regional Writing Center, UL

2. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre2 Consilium Writing Writing and Research in an Academic Context Organizational Principles Rhetorical Principles Writing Writing and Research in an Academic Context Organizational Principles Rhetorical Principles

3. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre3 Writing What is writing? Define ‘writing’. What are its components? What forms can writing take? What are its stages of development? 3

4. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre4 Ways of Ordering Writing Process —Planning, Drafting, (Discussing / Consulting), Revising, Editing and Proofreading. Rhetorical Situation —Occasion for writing, writer, topic, audience and purpose. Writing Strategies —cognitive, metacognitive, affective and social. 4

5. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre5 The Rhetorical Situation Occasion Writer Topic Audience Purpose 5

6. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre6 Free-writing Exercise Writing Prompt: –What is your FYP about, –how will it be organized, –how far along are you and –what strategies will you employ in order to complete the task by the due date and in order to score well on the assessment? Writing Prompt: –What is your FYP about, –how will it be organized, –how far along are you and –what strategies will you employ in order to complete the task by the due date and in order to score well on the assessment?

7. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre7 Writing and Research in an Academic Context Academic Integrity Ethical Management of Information Disciplinary Ethos: The Credibility of the Evidence Crediting Sources Disciplinary Ethos: Your Credibility as an Author, a Researcher, a Scholar Academic Integrity Ethical Management of Information Disciplinary Ethos: The Credibility of the Evidence Crediting Sources Disciplinary Ethos: Your Credibility as an Author, a Researcher, a Scholar

8. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre8 When do I cite my source? Agreeing with the material that someone else wrote does not make it your own. Rearranging words from someone else's prose does not change the fact that it is not your own work. Writing a paper that consists of numerous quotations strung together does not qualify as one's own work. The fact that there are quotation marks and citations is not a substitute for the requirement that a piece of work is to be a product of the writer's own mind. Agreeing with the material that someone else wrote does not make it your own. Rearranging words from someone else's prose does not change the fact that it is not your own work. Writing a paper that consists of numerous quotations strung together does not qualify as one's own work. The fact that there are quotation marks and citations is not a substitute for the requirement that a piece of work is to be a product of the writer's own mind.

9. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre9 Organizational Principles That Thing that Motivates the Paper, Gives it Unity and, Ultimately, Coherence. The Form The Delimitation of the Research and the Qualification of the Findings That Thing that Motivates the Paper, Gives it Unity and, Ultimately, Coherence. The Form The Delimitation of the Research and the Qualification of the Findings

10. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre10 Points of Order Research papers are organized around the problem, not the topic per se. The problem, in a sense, is the topic. Problems, however, exist in contexts, as do solutions. 10

11. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre11 Pints of Porter The literature that you read informs both the immediate context of the problem and the larger context of which it is a part. The methodology you choose determines the data you get, as does your analytical methodology determine what you get from that data. 11

12. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre12 Writing Prompt What question am I trying to answer / problem am I trying to solve / hypothesis am I trying to affirm / claim am I trying to defend? What do I need to know in order to answer that question? What other questions do I need to answer? 12

13. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre13 Writing the Literature Review What is it? What is its purpose? –To guide and inform your process –To inform your audience about the credibility and value of your conclusions 13

14. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre14 Issues of Credibility Definition from Merriam-Webster: “an interpretation and synthesis of published research” (Merriam qtd in Murray 2006: 108). Choices speak to your understanding of the puddle. 14

15. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre15 Writing Prompt What do I know about my research topic? What I am looking for in the literature is... What are the schools of thought in the literature? The ‘great debates’ in my area are... 15

16. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre16 Organization How will I organize my literature review? Can I classify or categorize the stuff I’ve read so far? Can I say how each piece of literature has helped to inform my over-riding questions and/or sub-questions? 16

17. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre17 Questions Your Lit Review Should Answer (Murray 2006: 115) Why is this subject important? Who else thinks it’s important? Who has worked on this subject before? Who has done something similar to what I am doing? What can be adapted to my own study? 17

18. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre18 Questions Your Lit Review Should Answer (Murray 2006: 115) (Con’t) What are the gaps in the research? Who is going to use my material? What use will my project be? What will my contribution be? What specific question will I answer? [What specific questions will my research not be able to address?] 18

19. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre19 Writing Prompt If we can frame the main question in a hierarchy, below which are framed the sub-questions, and we can put these frames in a larger frame called the Literature Review, what frames are you ready to fill in? If you do not organize your literature around your question and sub-questions, how else will you categorize the literature in order to organize your discussion? 19

20. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre20 Dissertation Structure Some things typically assessed:Some things typically assessed: –process, –presentation, –methodology, –content, –development of argument, –depth of analysis.

21. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre21 Dissertation Structure The structure of any dissertation is largely determined by the nature of its inquiry and by the methods employed to satisfy that query.The structure of any dissertation is largely determined by the nature of its inquiry and by the methods employed to satisfy that query. A dissertation like an essay is motivated by a thesis that needs defending, a question that needs answering, or a hypothesis that needs testing.A dissertation like an essay is motivated by a thesis that needs defending, a question that needs answering, or a hypothesis that needs testing.

22. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre22 Dissertation Structure (Quantitative) (Leedy and Ormrod 2001, p. 126) I.The problem and its setting II.The review of the related literature III.The data and the treatment of the data IV.The qualifications of the researcher and any assistants V.An outline of the proposed study (steps taken, timeline, etc.) VI.References VII.Appendices

23. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre23 Dissertation Structure (Qualitative) (Leedy and Ormrod 2001, p. 126-27) I.Introduction II.Methodology III.Findings IV.Management plan, timeline, feasibility V.References VI.Appendices

24. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre24 Logical Organization I.Introduction A.General background for the study B.The statement of the problem and the sub-problems C.The hypothesis (a prediction of the results based on evidence in the literature) D.The delimitations and limitations E.The definition of terms F.The assumptions G.The importance of the study

25. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre25 Logical Organization II.The Methodology III.The review of the related literature A.The literature related to the general discourse B.The literature related to the problem C.The literature related to the methodological investigation and analyses

26. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre26 Logical Organization IV.Presentation of the data (summarization of findings) V.Discussion of the data (detailed) A.Relationship to findings in the literature B.Relationship to predictions based on theory C.Relationship to literary / cultural context

27. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre27 Logical Organization VI.Conclusion A.Implications for current knowledge in the field B.Theoretical implications C.Implications for our understanding of the literary / cultural context D.Implications for future research VII.References and Bibliography VIII.Appendices

28. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre28 Preliminaries Title page Table of Contents List of Figures / List of Tables AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsGlossaryAbstract Body Chapter 1 Chapter 2… Chapter 7 End Matter ReferencesBibliographyAppendices

29. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre29 Rhetorical Principles Inventio, Dispositio, Elocutio, Memoria, Actio Logos, Ethos, Pathos, Bathos, etc. Triangulations for best effect! Inventio, Dispositio, Elocutio, Memoria, Actio Logos, Ethos, Pathos, Bathos, etc. Triangulations for best effect!

30. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre30 Me, an Academic Writer? When given an ‘academic’ writing assignment, or any kind of writing assignment, what are your immediate feelings and thoughts? 30

31. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre31 Satisfying Academic Audiences: Issues of Style When someone says academic writing, what features characterize that kind of writing for you? 31

32. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre32 Academic Writing Complexity Formality Objectivity Explicitness Hedging ResponsibilityResponsibility 32

33. 19/10/2015 Regional Writing Centre33 Sources Critical Thinking—Demo, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Florida (2005) “Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid” [online], available: http://www.cte.usf.edu/materials/institute/ct/index.html [accessed: 15 Aug. 2008]. http://www.cte.usf.edu/materials/institute/ct/index.html Ebest, S.B., Alred, G.J, Brusaw, C.T. and Oliu, W.E. (2005) Writing from A to Z: The Easy-to-use Reference Handbook, 5 th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. K U Writing Center (2009) Academic Integrity, University of Kansas Writing Centre [online], available at: http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/guides/integrity.shtml [accessed July 12, 2009]. http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/guides/integrity.shtml Leedy, P. and Ormrod, E. (2005) Practical research: Planning and Design (8 th edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education International. Murray, R. (2006) How to Write a Thesis, 2 nd ed. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press. UEfAP.com 2008 Writing: Rhetorical Functions, Comparing and Contrasting Exercise 2 [online], available: http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/compcon2.htm [accessed Aug 16 2008]. http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/compcon2.htm Critical Thinking—Demo, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Florida (2005) “Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid” [online], available: http://www.cte.usf.edu/materials/institute/ct/index.html [accessed: 15 Aug. 2008]. http://www.cte.usf.edu/materials/institute/ct/index.html Ebest, S.B., Alred, G.J, Brusaw, C.T. and Oliu, W.E. (2005) Writing from A to Z: The Easy-to-use Reference Handbook, 5 th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. K U Writing Center (2009) Academic Integrity, University of Kansas Writing Centre [online], available at: http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/guides/integrity.shtml [accessed July 12, 2009]. http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/guides/integrity.shtml Leedy, P. and Ormrod, E. (2005) Practical research: Planning and Design (8 th edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education International. Murray, R. (2006) How to Write a Thesis, 2 nd ed. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press. UEfAP.com 2008 Writing: Rhetorical Functions, Comparing and Contrasting Exercise 2 [online], available: http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/compcon2.htm [accessed Aug 16 2008]. http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/compcon2.htm