Scientific Writing as Persuasion
July 28, 2010
Jennie Ariail, Ph.D. and Tom G. Smith, Ph.D.
The Writing Center and
The Center for Academic Excellence
ariailjc@musc.edu; smithtg@musc.edu
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC
792-6390
Overview
Writing as Process
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Routines
Reading and research plan
Feedback and input
Writing as Product
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Scientific writing--IMRAD
Genre analysis
Literature review
Writing as Rewriting
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Coherence, Abstraction Ladder, Transition
Writing with and in style
Revising, editing, and abstracts
Rhetorical Theory and Persuasion
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Rhetoric—“all the available means of persuasion”
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Canons of Rhetoric
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Invention
Arrangement
Style
Memory
Delivery
Rhetorical Theory and Knowledge
Production
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Participation as a “rhetor” in producing knowledge
and encouraging action
Central questions: How is knowledge made
through communication? What constitutes
knowledge? In what manner do I contribute to
knowledge?
Rhetoric--word, phrase, clause, paragraph,
composition, citation
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Grammar--phoneme, syllable, word, phrase, phrase, clause
Mechanics—punctuation, capitalization, format, structure of
citations
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
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Rhetoric
• all the available means of persuasion
Audience Analysis
• the art of discovering all the means of persuasion
Heuristics
Inner resources
Topics
Genres
Writing as Process
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Writing Routines—Invention, Arrangement
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Time
Space
Journaling
Drafting and Outlining
Drawing and Clustering
Reading and delaying
Talking and taping
Writing as Process:
Overcoming Writer’s Block
Burke’s Pentad
What was done?
Where or when was it done?
Who did it?
How was it done?
Why was it done?
(act)
(scene)
(agent)
(agency)
(purpose)
Larson’s Problem Solving Techniques
What is the problem?
Why is the problem indeed a problem?
What goals must be served by whatever action or solution that is acted upon?
Which goals have the highest priority?
What procedures might attain the stated goals?
What can I predict about the consequences of each possible action?
Which course of action is best?
How do the actions compare with each other as potential solutions to the problem?
Produced by MUSC's Writing Center - Under the direction of Professor Tom Waldrep
Writing as Process
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Reading and Research Plans
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Target journals
Reference Management
Note taking
Clustering/Drawing/Outlining
Database to Bibliography
Writing as Process
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Outlining Principles
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Hierarchy of ideas, abstract to concrete
What to include and why to include it
Facts and implications
Does the outline stand alone
Role in the writing process
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Invention
Arrangement
Memory
Writing as Process
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Feedback and Input
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Drafting
Low stakes writing/Peer reviewing
Revising
High stakes writing/Authority reviewing
Knowledge acquisition
Writing as Product—Invention,
Arrangement, Style
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Scientific Writing
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Contextualizing
 Topic—the
CARS Model
 Process/Method
 Results
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Accumulating, Building, and Filling
Impartiality: Disclosure
Disclosure, Impartiality, Referencing
and Plagiarism
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What is the most important reason scientists
cite sources?
Why Cite?
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To persuade
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You are competent to conduct experiments
You are a peer of published authors, joining
their conversation
Your work has a logical location within a body
of literature
How citation can undermine
persuasion
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Summarize or paraphrase without contextualizing.
Use a review article as citation for a single published
research finding important to your work…rather than
citing a review based on its intended purpose (describing
the shape of a field of knowledge).
Cite a web page…WHAT!?
Cite a text book.
Cite only one article when two articles were published
about the same time, with similar findings.
Cite the first paper you find that makes your point (rather
than the first and most important paper).
Writing as Rewriting:
Arrangement/Style
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Reader Expectation
Global to local—Abstraction Ladder
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Transition/Paragraphing
Coherence
Cohesive ties
Sentences
Topic
Final
Transition—Arrangement,
Style, Delivery
•Transition implies that the writer is moving from one idea to
the next or is changing topics. If a period is a stop sign, then
transition is a flashing blinker, a signal to the reader that you
are changing lanes, going in a different direction.
•Single words can signal a change. Often they are separated
from the rest of the sentence with commas. Whole phrases and
clauses also function as transitions.
•White space
•Bullets and/or headings; numbers, bold
Coherence: Old-to-New Information
Theory of Coherence The definition of the word cohere
indicates a logical connection, a consistent “sticking
together.”
English-- subject-verb-object pattern
OLD information
subject
David
Here he
This paper
Steve
NEW information
predicate
came to the Writing Center for a consultation.
read the guidelines for research at a major medical center.
was presenting problems for David because he had to
ensure that he adhered to the hierarchy of the organization.
said….
Coherence Patterns—Style
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Topic Changing: In this pattern, the key word in the
Topic position repeats or refers back to a word or idea at
the end of the previous sentence.
Topic
Old1
Old2 (=New1)
Old3 (=New2)
Old4 (=New3)
Stress
New1
New2
New3
New4
Coherence Patterns (cont.)
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Topic Stringing:In this pattern, the key words or
ideas (synonyms for them) in the Topic positions keep
reappearing until that particular topic has been brought to a
conclusion.
Topic
Old1
Old1
Old1
Old1
Stress
New1
New2
New3
New4
Style
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Vary the length of sentences. Avoid a series of
similar length sentences.
Vary the beginnings of sentences.
Do not overuse pronouns like it and this,
especially when their antecedents are
unclear. Use “this” as an adjective only
Checklist
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Describe arrangement
Underline headings
List transitional
phrases between
paragraphs
Paragraphs--length
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Coherence
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Sentence--reader
expectation
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a. Topic (old)
b. Stress (new)
c. Subordination
Location of subject
and verb
Analysis of Style and Delivery
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Diction
Sentence length
Variety of sentence
patterns
Shortest, simplest
words
Sentence beginnings
Active voice
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Prepositional strings
Parallel structure
Editing
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a. commas
b. semicolons
Writing for Publication
Writing as Process—Engage in a routine
of writing
 Writing as Product—Samples and
feedback; be a scientist toward your writing
and writing tasks
 Writing as Rewriting—Revision is not
simply correction; it is re-seeing,
articulating ideas in new ways
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