Write Right
An Overview of Academic Writing
“Read, read, read. Write, write write.”
Patrick 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 Steps
The Germ
The Map
Revision &
Rewriting
Academic Writing
Grammar & Stylistic Elements
Critical Thinking &
Logic in Argument
Incubating the Germ
Guess 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 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 Inquiry

FACT

DEFINITION

What are the facts?


Did something
happen?
What is the nature
of the problem?

Is there a problem
or issue?
What kind of a
problem is it?

How did it begin
and what are its
causes?
To what larger class
of things or events
does it belong?

What are its parts
and how are they
connected?



What changed to
create the problem?

Can the facts be
changed?
And

QUALITY

POLICY

Is it a good thing or
a bad thing?

Should action be
taken?

How serious is the
problem or issue?

Who all should be
involved?

Whom might it
affect?


What happens if
you do nothing?
What should be
done about the
problem?

What needs to
happen to solve the
problem?

What are the costs?
Using The Stasis Theory

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 Theory
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

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 Statement

Analytical , Expository or Argumentative

Specific


Debatable


Should describe only what you plan to discuss in
your paper
Ex: Pollution is bad for the environment.
Narrow

Ex: Drug use is detrimental to society.
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?

Are terms defined and by what criteria?


How reliable is the source?
How relevant is the point in discussion?




Question the question itself.
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 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)



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)



Question every Word
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


Remove Redundant Pairs


kind of, sort of, type of, really, basically, actually,
generally
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 & 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
Sources
1.
2.
3.
4.
Easy Writer, Stephen McLaren
Science and Technical Writing, Philip Rubens
Online Writing Lab at Purdue (OWL at Purdue)
“Stasis Theory: Finding Common Ground and Asking
Pertinent Questions,” John R. Edlund
5.
A useful resource : http://www.thefreedictionary.com/