Scientific writing
& writing assignment
Mattias Kristiansson
www.ida.liu.se/~matkr28
Nils Dahlbäck
www.ida.liu.se/~nilda
729g12
Content
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Levels of language competence
The writing focus for this course/assignment
Coherence and cohesion
7 advices - general specifics for this assignment
The assignment
"Writing and reading"- content specifics for this
assignment: part 1
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Practice, thinking, and practice
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All professional academics must be able to write in a
clear and proper way
It must be practiced throughout all educational levels
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"Clear writing goes hand in hand with clear thinking.
Improving either will improve the other." -Hollan
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To know without being able to express
”Vad du ej klart kan säga, vet du ej: med tanken
ordet föds på mannens läppar: det dunkelt sagda är
det dunkelt tänkta”
Esaias Tegnér, Epilogue at Magister-promotion in Lund 1820
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"What you cannot express clearly, you do not know:
with thoughts words are formed on the lips of men:
what is obscurely said is also what is obscurely thought"
(our translation)
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Levels of language competence
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Spelling and grammar
Relationships between parts
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Coherence - consistent relationships between ideas/parts
Cohesion - explicit linguistic connections between parts
Differences between text genres
Writing stilistically enjoyable and engaging texts
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Why is it important with the lowest level?
If a text contains a few minor spelling errors or
grammatical errors:
1. It takes 5 percent longer time to read
2. Readers trust to the content decreases with 20 percent
3. Minor sloppy errors have a larger negative effect than
errors due to lack of knowledge
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Reference: Melin, L (2007) Vad är det för fel på ett fel? Forskning och
framsteg (2007/1), s. 52-55
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Aspects for this assignment
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Spelling and grammar but still important for grades!
Relationships between parts
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Coherence - consistent relationships between ideas/parts
Cohesion - explicit linguistic connections between parts
Differences between text genres
Writing stilistically enjoyable and engaging texts
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Coherence and cohesion (1)
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A text is a coherent whole
The whole must be shown both through disposition
of content (coherence) and linguistic markers
(cohesion)
Testing coherency:
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Move around parts - if it does not become completely
unreadable, start over again :-)
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Swapping parts
Disp.1
Disp.2
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Coherence
Kristiansson (2005, p. 2, please never quote)
"And just because we today do not fully understand how our mind works it is nothing that
says that we in the future cannot build a machine with consciousness. Just as evolution
changed man's view of life, AI will change mind's view of mind. He [Minsky] means that we
need to make machines more, clumsily expressed, unexpected. He says that everyone
know that if one tries enough number of things randomly it will always end with that you
can do anything." (likely a bad translation)
!
Consistent ideas between parts?
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Cohesion
Kristiansson (2005, p. 3, please never quote)
"The chinese room: input data is processed without knowledge about the output data.
Out comes output data that can be viewed as an intelligent solution from a thinking
agent. If something can be viewed as thinking it can be also understood as thinking. It
does not matter if the "the room" is unaware of its actions. Even if we in this case can
acquire knowledge about the world - the room works it is nevertheless as Kant says that
we have "glasses" through which we observe the world. And it is this world that is relevant
and that we should assume." (likely a bad translation)
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Explicit markers between parts?
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Advice(s) 1 - cohesion/ micro-level
Useful words and expression:
• Since/because
• However
• On the one hand... on the other hand...
• A conclusion from this...
• An interpretation of this...
• ...
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Precise language: "They think...", "They believe..." vs. "They
argue...", "They write..." etc.
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Advice 2 - coherence
Units on different levels
• Article - section - paragraph - sentence - clause word
• Mind the structure and content of all levels
• But mind the higher levels first and the lower
levels last
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Based on Hollan's slides (http://hci.ucsd.edu/hollan/Pubs/Advice.pdf)
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Advice(s) 3 - mind the reader
Identify your reader
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What is the knowledge base of the reader?
What are their interests?
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What is the main point with the text?
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How should you guide the reader to that conclusion?
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What background information is necessary?
What is the most logical order of arguments?
What possible counter arguments can you expect?
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Advice(s) 4 - mind the gap
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Always let the text "rest" before sending it in - read it
again before sending it in (and change things)
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The conflict between being a writer and a reader
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Focusing on the new information vs. interpreting that new
knowledge
Solution: first, you need to get the thoughts out there and then
rewrite
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Based on Hollan slides (http://hci.ucsd.edu/hollan/Pubs/Advice.pdf)
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Advice(s) 5 - mind the source
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Make a clear distinction of what is your own
contribution and what is the work of other
To copy or paraphrase someone else without proper
citing is cheating, and is punished - not just for
students. Use your own words.
http://noplagiat.bibl.liu.se/default.en.asp
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Correct reading is important
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Read important original sources
Never write that Miller showed that the short-term memory is
7+/-2. ”Everybody knows that there is a finite span of immediate
memory an that for a lot of different test materials this span is
about seven items in length” (Miller, 1956, p. 91)
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Advice 6 - dispositions
Choose a disposition that is suited to the content
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For instance do not present a design study or an ethnographic study
as an experimental report
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There is no general report
Different sciences write in different ways
Different kinds of reports look differently
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Textual genres
Personal messages (letter, e-mail,...)
Advertisement
Journal article
Scientific articles
...
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Scientific textual genres
Overview of previous research (review) - See parts of Garbis
Report on experiments - See Beilock & Goldin-Meadow
Theoretical analysis - See Kirsh
[The assignment - review of thoughts + argumentative]
...
Popular scientific text
Exam
...
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What is special within Cognitive Science?
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Nothing!
There is no standard writing within cognitive science we work within different scientific fields
Different fields have different ideals, because of
different ways of seeking knowledge
Choose style according to genre
Heuristic principle: write as other researcher do
within the current field you work in
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Advice(s) 7 - using references
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Only use scientifically accepted sources
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No encyclopedias
Only use review-based journals and conferences - most sources
on the internet are not review-based
Personal comments/citations only after permission
from the person being cited - for this assignment it is also
true for lectures
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Guidelines for references
Information on how to write correct references can be found
at many places on the web. You can for example use the
following sources from Bournemouth University:
• http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/how-to/citingrefs.html
Bournemouth University also has a page with information on
the so-called APA-system, which is more or less a standard in
the social sciences:
• http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/how-to/citing-refspsychology.html
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Language support (1)
Academic english and swedish support at LiU:
• Open for all students
• Help with writing and speaking academic english and
swedish
• Available on all campuses
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http://www.liu.se/ikk/aes?l=en&sc=true
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Language support (2)
Language guidelines (swedish/
english):
• Essential knowledge on writing
and language usage
• More useful links on their website
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http://www.student.liu.se/studentstod/
sprakguide?l=sv
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Questions and comments?
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Writing assignment - finally
Write a text approx. 3 pages long (references not included) that
answers the following question:
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Hutchins suggests that a fundamental error was made when the view of
thinking as internal mental computation and the PSS-hypothesis was
established within cognitive science. According to Hutchins, this error
led, among other things, to neglect of cultural aspects of cognition and
misinterpretation of similarities between human and machine
cognition. What was this error? According to Hutchins, how did this
error occur? Also mention additional consequences for the idea of
cognition that this fault gave rise to, and how research on cognition can
and should be conducted according to Hutchins. Do you share
Hutchins´s opinions? Motivate your opinions!
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Writing assignment - structure
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A longer version of an exam question
But with the important difference:
• Stringency, coherence, logical sound arguments and similar aspects are
important.
• Correct referencing and other qualities relating to proper technical writing are
also important.
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The answer should therefore be written as much as possible as a publishable text
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The reader population: students in a cognitive science education program without
prior coursework in distributed and situated cognition. !
For more specifics read the assignment that will be uploaded on the website
tomorrow morning
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Which sources do you have?
a. Hutchins chapter 9
b. Hollan, Hutchins & Kirsh (2000)
c. Lecture 6
perhaps more...
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What disposition should you go for?
The structure of the assignment is one way: (a) the error, (b)
how did it happen?, (c) consequences, (d) how research can
and should be conducted, (e) your well-grounded opinions
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But do not forget introduction and concluding: recall "can
machines think".
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Driving a thesis statement versus reviewing
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Reading chapter 9 - pitfalls part 1.a
Hutchins (1995, p.353)
What is a cause and what is a consequence?
The purpose of the chapter and the purpose of the
question
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Reading chapter 9 - pitfalls part 1.b
What do we know
about what Turing
thought about
human cognition?
Just according to
this passage, little.
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Mind who says
what!
Hutchins (1995, p.361)
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Reading chapter 9 - pitfalls part 1.c
Hutchins (1995, p.362)
Mind the reader
Sociocultural?
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The assignment process
a. Handing in by Oct. 23
b. Peer-reading
c. At the seminar:
1. Discussing each others texts and giving each other
feedback on content and structure (30 min) - I will walk
around
2. I will sum up discussions in the groups
3. Reading chapter 9: pitfalls part 2 - based on your hand-ins
4. Time for questions in group or individually
d. After seminar:
1. Receive short feedback through e-mail from one of your
feedback:ers: Robin, Sam, Mikael, or me
e. Handing in by Nov. 6
f. Complete feedback and grading within 10 working days
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The end.
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