Write RightWrite RightAn Overview of Academic WritingAn Overview of Academic Writing

““Read, read, read. Write, write write.”Read, read, read. Write, write write.”Patrick WhitePatrick White

What do you expect from this presentation?

Is WRITING important to your growth as a scientist and professional?

Where do you place WRITING as a skill on a scale of 1 to 5 and why?

The 5 StepsThe 5 Steps

Academic Writing

The Germ

The Map

Critical Thinking & Logic in ArgumentGrammar & Stylistic Elements

Revision & Rewriting

Incubating the GermIncubating the GermGuess what?

Which is the challenge.

Prove it! Which you will do through research. Then the

last challenge...

So what?Was all that work worth it? Are you adding something new to your area of knowledge?

Stasis TheoryStasis Theory

It is a theory which writers use in investigation and when trying to determine a question.

The Facts (Conjecture) The Meaning or Nature of the Issue (Definition)

The Seriousness of the Issue (Quality) The Plan of Action (Policy)

The InquiryThe Inquiry FACT

What are the facts?

Did something happen?

Is there a problem or issue?

How did it begin and what are its causes?

What changed to create the problem?

Can the facts be changed?

DEFINITION What is the

nature of the problem?

What kind of a problem is it?

To what larger class of things or events does it belong?

What are its parts and how are they connected?

AndAnd

QUALITY Is it a good thing

or a bad thing?

How serious is the problem or issue?

Whom might it affect?

What happens if you do nothing?

What are the costs?

POLICY Should action be

taken?

Who all should be involved?

What should be done about the problem?

What needs to happen to solve the problem?

Using The Stasis TheoryUsing The Stasis TheoryShould we take action to stop Global Warming?Should we take action to stop Global Warming?

Fact or Conjecture (Does it exist? Did it happen?)

Is climate on Earth changing? If so, is it getting warm, cold or both? How and when did these changes begin? What factors are causing these changes? Are humans responsible? Or is it natural? Can these changes be slowed down or stopped?

Definition or Nature (How can the event be defined?)

Are these climatic changes really global warming or are they something else? Then how should global warming be defined? What is its connection with other aspects of climate change? How does it fit into the theory of the ice age which was due to climate change too? What are the different parts of the process of climate change?

Using The Stasis TheoryUsing The Stasis TheoryShould we take action to stop Global Warming?Should we take action to stop Global Warming?

Seriousness & Quality (What is the character of the act?)

Is climate change detrimental? Is it right to try and stop it? Economic growth versus energy conservation? Which is important, short-term economic prosperity or long-term environmental stability?

Policy or Plan of Action (What should be done?)

Should we attempt to stop climate change? What are the implications if we do nothing? Should we reduce greenhouse gases? Should we conserve energy? Is nuclear power an option? Will these steps reduce global warming? Will these actions lead to other problems?

Brainstorming Brainstorming Make a Mind Tree with the Issue or Problem in the center

and branches radiating outwards.

Ask why you are a writing this essay or paper

Diagram your major points

Write down everything – the good & bad points

Don't censor

Anticipate the questions the reader would ask

Ask the Journalistic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? So What?

The Thesis StatementThe Thesis Statement

Analytical , Expository or Argumentative

Specific

Should describe only what you plan to discuss in your paper

Debatable

Ex: Pollution is bad for the environment.

Narrow

Ex: Drug use is detrimental to society.

What is Critical Thinking?What is Critical Thinking?

An unexpected insight or original thought

An acute discrimination of facts

To be able to differentiate between theory and practice

The capability to combine both a logical and original opinion

How to Think Critically?How to Think Critically? Question the question itself.

Are terms defined and by what criteria?

How reliable is the source?

How relevant is the point in discussion?

Are claims supported by evidence?

Is there consistency in an argument?

What is left unexplained in the argument?

Can the claims be verified and how?

Is the writer biased in any way?

Don't accept published material at face value.

Always double check references for yourself .

Logic in ArgumentsLogic in Arguments

Slippery Slope

Ex: If we ban all luxury cars with low mileage because they are bad for the environment, then the government will eventually ban all cars, therefore we should not ban luxury cars.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (After this, therefore because of this)

Ex: I ate out yesterday and I am sick, so the food must have made me sick.

Genetic Fallacy

Ex: The TATA Nano will be a bad car because it displaced and caused injustice to X number of farmers in Singur.

Bagging the Claim

Ex: Filthy and polluting industries should be banned.

Either/Or

Ex: We can either stop using cars or destroy the world.

Ad Hominem

Ex: The paper in question is written by a professor at JNU, so it is bound to have leftist and socialistic traits.

Ad Populum

Ex: If you are a true Indian you will support the moral policing practiced by certain factions in the country.

Red Herring

Ex: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will the fishermen do to support their families?

Grammar & Stylistic Elements

Succinctness

Use specific words. Avoid vagueness. The speaker spoke about several of the merits of writing

without using small and redundant words in his speech. (19)

The speaker elucidated concise writing in his speech. (8)

Vivek believed but could not confirm that Ritika had feelings of affection for him. (14)

Vivek assumed that Ritika adored him. (6)

Question every Word Many have made the wise observation that when a stone

is in motion rolling down a hill or incline that, that stone is not likely to be covered all over with the kind of thick green moss that grows on stationary unmoving things and becomes a nuisance and suggests that those things haven't moved in a long time and probably won't move anytime soon. (67)

A rolling stone gathers no moss. (6)

Combine Sentences This lecture talks about writing. It explains good writing. It

shows ways in which we can improve our writing. Some parts were useful. Other parts were not. (27)

This lecture is about good writing and suggests both useful and not so useful aspects to improve this skill. (19)

Eliminating Words

Eliminate Determiners & Modifiers

kind of, sort of, type of, really, basically, actually, generally

Remove Redundant Pairs

past memories, each individual, end result, free gift, true facts, terrible tragedy, past history, very unique

Remove Redundant Categories

Large in size, of a bright color, round in shape, of an uncertain condition, extreme in degree, in a confused state

Changing Awkward Phrases

Convert Phrases into Single Words or Adjectives

The students with ambition.

The ambitious students.

The department showing the best performance.

The best performing department.

Convert 'That', 'Who' and 'Which' Clauses into Phrases

The report which was released recently.

The recently released report.

The system that is most efficient and accurate.

The most efficient and accurate system.

Change Passive Sentences into Active Voice An experiment was done by Ramesh.

Ramesh did an experiment.

Your figures were checked by the research department.

The research department checked your figures.

Revision & RewritingRevision & Rewriting Macro Editing

Structure of the essay/thesis/paper

The manuscripts relevance to the original question and your discussions

Do the introduction and conclusion correlate

Logic

Irrelevant discussions

Are paragraphs linked correctly

Micro Editing Grammar

Spelling

Punctuation

Referencing

SourcesSources

1. Easy Writer, Stephen McLaren2. Science and Technical Writing, Philip Rubens3. Online Writing Lab at Purdue (OWL at Purdue)4. “Stasis Theory: Finding Common Ground and Asking

Pertinent Questions,” John R. Edlund

5. A useful resource : http://www.thefreedictionary.com/