Abdul KHALIQ
ELI-83
Instructor: Kelly McClanahan
April 18, 2005
Convention Analysis Project-Academic Writing in Economics
CAP Part 7. Expert Interview
Interview Information:
Interviewee name: Hazel Parcon
Position: Graduate Assistant at Department of Economics
Date: April 14, 2005
Location: Hale Manoa
Introduction:
The purpose of expert interview is to check my findings with an expert in
Economics and to talk about scholarly writing with him/her. Another reason is to help me
to develop my academic writing skill, and also to improve my knowledge in my field of
study. For this reason, I have selected one graduate assistant at Department of Economics
who has good experience in academic writing in the field of Economics.
My interview questions were:
1. Do you think writing skill plays a significant role to succeed in Economics study?
Why?
2. What are the major/main writing conventions in Economics?
3. What general guidelines do you know about for writing in Economics?
4. What do professors want to read in a student’s paper?
5. What are the important issues that students, especially international students, should
pay more attention to in our academic writing?
6. What do you recommend that I do to write my literature review?
7. What has been your experience in writing for this field?
8. What is a good paper by your standard?
9. What suggestions do you have for graduate students?
Summary of interview
Based on interview results was conducting on April 14, I found that even though
an economist is expected to do better in Mathematics than English, it doesn’t mean to
underrate the importance of writing skills. An economist should have good writing skills
if Economic Research is going to be his/her lifeblood.
The interviewee stated that the writing conventions in Economics depend on the
material. Most graduate level papers in Economics are highly Mathematical. A paper
would certainly include a model and an application of the model. While, undergraduate
level papers in Economics are not very rigorous in Math, they can be very highly
technical.
Moreover, she explained that it is important that terms used in the material are
well-defined. Also, it is important to cite the source of our claims. And the author
should keep in mind the purpose of his writing (purposeful writing). Is it to impress or to
convey information? If the latter is the purpose, then use simple vocabulary so that the
writing does not confuse the reader more by using complicated words. If the former is
the purpose, then more elaborate vocabulary may be used
In Economics, if the paper which is written contains a long proof, it is best to put
the proof in the appendix. Also, if there are several equations mentioned in the paper, the
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author should number the equations so that he and the reader can easily refer back to the
equations. This will also make it easier for the reader to read the paper. If the paper has
numerous tables, then they should be numbered. Again, this applies to any field, not just
Economics.
According to Hazel, in Economics, professors want to make sure that students
understand the theory/theories that they are using to develop their paper. The model used
should also be well-specified. In general, she thought professors want to make sure that
students know what they are writing about, and that students just don’t “lift” from other
materials.
In Hazel’s experience, writing in Economics has taught her that it is important to
know who are writing for – that is, know who is going to read the material that we are
writing. If we are writing a journal article that will be read by experts in the field, then it
is fine to use highly technical terms. But if we are writing for an audience who has
limited knowledge about the field, then avoid using highly technical terms. If use of
technical terms cannot be avoided, then make sure that the terms will be defined in the
material.
According to Hazel, a good paper is if it can be understood by the writer’s
intended audience. If the writer can effectively convey his points to them, then that, for
Hazel, is a good paper.
Hazel suggested to students, especially international students, it is best keeping
the language and manner of writing simple. Students should know their main purpose of
writing a certain material. If it is to convey information, then using too elaborate
vocabulary may just confuse their reader. Students should remember that they can write
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simple and yet smart. In addition to, she recommended paying attention more on citation
of the sources, particularly when they are directly lifting a statement from a book. She
also stated that it is important for the writer to keep the vocabulary simple because the
purpose of writing is to effectively convey the information to intended audience.
Furthermore, she recommended some tips to do when write literature review. She said
that when read an article, try to paraphrase the important points in the article instead of
directly lifting a statement or paragraph because through this, students will be able to
know and understand the material. But, if the exact words of the author should be used
when writing, we can directly lift the author statement as long as we quote. Next, she
suggested making sure the flow of ideas is organized and not just mention all the articles
that have been read. Then, in writing, she advised to make the connection from one
article to another.
Analysis and Conclusion
Based on interview results, I notice that there are some important points which are
students should pay attention, namely, the material of writing, for most graduate level
papers in Economics are highly Mathematical and for undergraduate level papers in
Economics are not very rigorous in Math; when the students wrote a paper they should
understand the theory/theories that they are using to develop their paper. The model used
should also be well-specified.
The interview has given me some valuable information in academic writing in
Economics field because the interviewee has real experiences that I could transfer from.
Based on interview, I have learned from her experiences in academic writing, particularly
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what the economists concern in their writing. It is not only giving me what a good writing
is, but also what the writer should focus on. Therefore, I will try to follow her suggestions
when I write economic paper in the future.
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