TY - BOOK AU - Craswell, Gail AU - Poore, Megan TI - Writing for academic success SN - 9780857029270 AV - LB2369 CRA PY - 2012/// CY - London PB - Sage KW - Academic writing KW - Report writing KW - Universities and Colleges KW - Graduate work N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index; Contents List of Figures xii List of Tables xiii Introduction 1 Aims, limits and organization of the book 2 Terminology and other practices 3 1. Managing your Writing Environment 5 Effective self-management 6 Networking for support 6 Pre-planning: maximizing effort 8 Electronic tools for increasing productivity 12 Managing multiple communication tasks 14 Communicating with lecturers and supervisors 16 Resolving uncertainties 17 Digital communication issues 18 Issues in cross-cultural writing and communication 20 Being critical 20 Developing independence 20 Accepting guidence 21 Entering tutorial ̀conversations' 21 Using the English language 21 Using the disciplinary language 22 Conducting interpersonal relations 22 Researching on the move 23 Advantages of using mobile technologies 23 Keeping safe online 25 Backing up your work 30 Further resources 32 2. Fundamentals of Solid Preparation 33 Understanding the graduate writing culture 34 Mastering disciplinary writing practices 35 Treating information critically 38 Critically appraising source materials 38 Critically evaluating theory 40 Critical enquiry and the status of existing knowledge 42 Working with different types of information 42 Following your hunches 43 Ensuring task-focused information 44 Assessing the academic merit of source materials 45 Avoiding the urge to rush into data-gathering 46 Discriminating information needs 47 Managing your reading load 49 Reading intensively and skimming 49 Strategies for information storage 50 Managing common writing concerns 51 Monitoring your approach 52 Confronting the ẁriting block' 53 Handling critical feedback 54 Further resources 55 3. Essentials of Academic Writing 56 The mechanics of academic writing 56 Ensuring consistency of practice 57 Spelling, grammar and proofreading 57 Punctuation 58 Referencing and plagiarism 58 Choosing a referencing style 59 Avoiding plagiarism 60 Attending to readers' needs 63 The reader as disciplinary practitioner 64 The reader as subject specialist 64 Signposting: signalling your intentions 65 Clarity: the first rule of style 65 Other style issues 66 Conciseness 68 Aspects of voice and tone 70 Further resources 72 4. Principles of Sound Structure 73 Visual mapping of material 74 Brainstorming and mind-mapping 74 Sequential outlining 75 Using sub-headings effectively 77 Developing texts 79 Effective paragraph development 80 Strategies for linking paragraphs 82 Manipulating sentence structure 84 The ̀discards' file 85 Improving overall structure 86 Further resources 87 5. Research Essays 88 Èssays' and their synonyms 88 The short essay 89 The research essay as formal argument 90 Decoding the meaning of àrgument' 90 Basic criteria applied in assessing essays 91 Topics (or questions) 91 Setting up a topic 92 Analysing a given topic 92 Compiling an introduction 94 Establishing the context 95 Defining important terms, phrases or concepts 95 Laying out a position 95 Making a procedural statement 96 Building an argument 97 Building a ̀position' as you read 97 Arguing from sources 98 Avoiding faulty reasoning 99 Strategies that strengthen argument 100 Developing an argument 102 Ensuring structural coherence 102 Maintaining relevance 103 Working up a conclusion 104 Cutting to meet word length 104 Reviewing the essay presentation 105 Further resources 106 6. Book or Article Reviews and Online Writing 107 Book or article reviews 107 The different types of reviews 107 Conducting an academic review 108 Structuring a review 110 Online writing 110 Blogs 111 Wikis 111 7. Coursework Exams 113 Setting up a revision plan 114 Stage 1 Focusing Your Plan 114 Stage 2 Systematizing Your Plan 116 Stage 3 Testing The Efficacy Of Your Plan 119 Exam room strategies 120 Interpreting exam paper instructions 120 Determining the order of your answers 120 Working out a time schedule 121 Writing the exam paper 121 Essay papers 122 Short answer papers 123 Multiple-choice papers 123 8. The Literature Review 125 Purpose and functions of a literature review 125 Writing tasks engaged 126 Review mode and orientation 126 Exploiting library and Internet resources 127 Your institution's library 127 The Internet 129 Strategically managing the reading 129 Discovery mode 130 Refining mode 131 Appraisal mode 131 Critical appraisal of the literature 132 Processing information to facilitate writing 133 Processing information 134 Processing and structure 135 Shortcomings in reviews 136 Reader processing needs 136 Contrary findings in the literature 136 The all-important: S̀o what?' 136 How your research fits in 137 Further resources 138 9. Reports and Research Proposals 139 Reports 139 Possible audience considerations 140 Business reports 141 Focusing a business report 141 Experimental or technical reports 142 The interlocking relationship of the structural divisions 142 Focusing the different parts of the report 144 Formal reports 146 Two prominent structures 146 Distinctive features of the formal report 147 Field reports 148 Keeping precise records 148 Progress reports 149 The purpose of a progress report 149 Research proposals 150 The different purposes of proposals 150 Focusing and developing a proposal 151 Further resources 154 10. Thesis Writing 155 Managing the project 156 Orientation to thesis writing 156 Using online tools to manage the research project 157 Anticipatory thesis management strategies 158 Setting up a thesis writing schedule 159 Settling on typography and formatting 161 Expectations of theses 161 Standard expectations 161 Bringing examiners into view 162 Longer theses 163 Quality indicators in examiners' reports 163 Shorter theses 169 Different topic orientations 169 Constraining factors 170 Structuring a thesis 171 Dividing up the text 171 Key structuring strategies 172 The thesis statement 174 Chapter structuring options 175 A science model 175 A social science model 175 An illustrations-based model 175 A sequential model 176 An open-ended model 176 Gaining overall thesis control 177 Visually mapping core chapters 177 The table of contents 178 The detailed thesis outline 179 The thesis abstract 181 The thesis introduction 182 Timing the writing of an introduction 182 Focusing an introduction 182 The thesis conclusion 183 Processing the thesis findings 184 Organizing a thesis-writing group 186 Further resources 187 11. Presentations 188 The nature of oral presentations 189 Distinctive features of presenting 189 Tutorial and seminar presentations 190 Clarifying expectations 190 Forestalling criticism in progress review seminars 191 Conference presentations 191 Getting a paper accepted 191 Poster presentations 193 Factors that might influence design 194 Design principles 194 Planning for success 196 Audience analysis 197 Language appropriateness 198 Venue considerations 198 Building ̀time' into a plan 199 Formatting options 199 Using scripted notes 199 Reading a paper as a presentation 200 Reworking a lengthy paper to present 201 Slideshow (PowerPoint) presentations 201 Fine-tuning and rehearsal 204 Encoding audience management 204 The value of prior rehearsal 207 On the day: issues of delivery 207 The presenting venue 207 Dealing with the unexpected 208 Canvassing audience questions 208 Managing nervousness 209 Further resources 210 12. Publishing and Raising Your Profile 211 Pre-publishing or self-publishing online 212 Advantages of distributing work online 212 Some points to watch 213 Raising your profile: setting up an eportfolio 214 Basic eportfolio 215 Expanded eportfolio 215 Choosing a service to host your eportfolio 217 What to include in your eportfolio 218 Journal publication 219 Ejournals 219 Open access journals 220 Including supervisors as co-authors 220 Targeting an appropriate journal 221 Profiling the targeted journal 221 Shaping a paper for publication 222 Being professional 222 Focusing the abstract 222 Reviewing scholarly practices 223 Engaging the reader 223 Approaching a book publisher 226 Strategic considerations 226 The peer review process 228 Questions addressed by referees 228 Dealing with the outcome of peer review 229 Forming a publication syndicate 230 Further resources 231 Appendix: Words and Phrases for Developing Discussions 232 References 235 Index ER -