Introduction
1. Introduction to academic writing
Writing stages
2. Stages in academic writing
Genre
Conventions
3. Genre conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
- written reports
- 5 requirements to academic texts
- Objectivity
- Source criticism
- References (notes, quotes, bibliography etc)
- Structure
- Layout and formal aspects
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
1. Several courses will be involve project reports or written home assignments, papers, written exams.
Genre
Conventions
2. Major milestones in your study period are:
-Objectivity
• the bachelor project
• For some, the final thesis
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
3. Writing skills are also extremely important in professional business life:
Evaluation reports, Memos, Newsletters, Market analyses etc.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions Writing a report, an essay, a paper etc. is roughly about
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
•gathering information
•reading, thinking, analyzing
•structuring
•and writing.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction 1. SURVEY MATERIAL
Writing stages
2. SELECT MORE RELEVANT MATERIAL
3. TAKE NOTES
Genre
Conventions
4. MAKE A BRAINSTORM and/or MINDMAP
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
5. MAKE A PROBLEM STATEMENT
6. MAKE AN OUTLINE
7. WRITE A FIRST DRAFT
8. ORGANISE TEXT BODY, WRITE INTRODUCTION AND
CONCLUSION
9. WRITE + REVIEW 2 ND DRAFT
10. HAND IT IN WITH A SMILE : )
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
1. SURVEY MATERIAL/SOURCES
•Use the bibliographic references in the literature you have
Writing stages
•Use the library at the business school and the university.
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
•Start early – some books may be hard to get
•Check out relevant journals (e.g. ASB’s library databases)
NOTE ALL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES TO BEGIN WITH!
2. SELECT RELEVANT MATERIAL/SOURCES -Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Read actively and ask questions to the texts
•How do they fit your subject and your theoretical focus?
•Are you going to analyse on some material? Using which theory?
•Why is this text relevant for your paper?
•Are there conflicting points of view that could be discussed?
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction 3. TAKE NOTES TO, SUMMARISE & COMPARE SOURCES
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
•use your OWN words (it makes subsequent writing easier)
•How can your sources complement each other?
NOTE GOOD QUOTES (EXACT transcription and page number, etc.)
4. BRAINSTORM (e.g. mind-map, organising relations!)
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
• Identify connections between different ideas and approaches
• Identify interesting and relevant issues for your paper.
Is it a new angle? Documentary statistics, or……?
• Review if you have the literature you need
5. MAKE A PROBLEM STATEMENT or INTRODUCTION based on former steps, notes etc.
•What is the key question of your paper?
•What is the aim of your project?
•What do you want to convince your reader to believe? (thesis)
•How do you make the wording suit your thesis and line of argumentation?
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
6. MAKE AN OUTLINE
– as detailed as possible – it saves you a lot of time!
•How do you want to structure your text and your arguments?
(topic in next week’s session)
•How do you convince your reader through structuring?
•Make a draft of a table of contents (test that structure)
•Describe the aim and content of each section in details.
A well prepared outline will help you write coherently without losing track of where to go next
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
7. WRITE A FIRST DRAFT OF THE MAIN BODY
•Include ALL references and quotations as you write
(It’s much harder to find the them afterwards)
•Constantly refer back to the outline
– are you following its structure and points? (synchronise)
•Use the outline as a guide to organising your text in
SECTIONS and PARAGRAPHS
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
8. ORGANISE & WRITE CLEAR INTRODUCTION &
CONCLUSION
• “Kill your darlings” (initial ideas that have become irrelevant)
•Be a critical reader of your own text
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
What have you, in fact, written?
In which order?
With which argumentation and logic?
Did you answer the key question?
Does your line of argumentation hold?
• Make adjustments: Introduction and the conclusion must correspond - to each other, and to the main body of text -Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
9.WRITE 2 ND DRAFT & PROOFREAD IT
•Add correctly phrased footnotes & complete/exact bibliography
•Incorporate tables and figures
•Work on lay-out, table of contents, front page etc.
• Proofread your report
(I recommend once for language, once for argumentation, and once for quotations, footnotes and references)
10. HAND IT IN WITH A SMILE - let others read your text
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Expository/Discursive
Text Types
Expository/Discursive Genres
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
•Causal Analysis
(to analyse the causes of something)
• Academic research papers
• Academic reports
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
•Problem Solving
(to identify a problem and to propose solutions to the problem)
•Argumentation
(to argue for and against; to take a position on an issue)
• Academic articles
• Academic books
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction • The report is an analytical text in academic prose
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
“Analytical”: complex connexions split up into well-arranged sections
“Academic prose” :
1. linguistically correct
2. coherent
3. objective exposition and argumentation
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
• Reports should present new knowledge
Basically, this can be done in two ways:
1. Asking new questions about old issues
2. Asking old questions about new issues
The report is thus a meeting place for tradition and innovation
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
Continental tradition
•”Thinking” texts
•Foregrounds sources
•Philosophy, history etc.
•Emphasis on concepts and theories
Anglo-American tradition
•Problem solving text
•Foregrounds problems
•Facts, realities, empiricism etc.
•Emphasis on applied methods
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
•Interpretation
(preservation) of traditional culture and traditions
•Numerous points, claims and conclusions
•Often nonlinear structure
•Digressions allowed
•Academic writing as art
•New understandings evaluations and action in focus
•One point, one claim, one conclusion
•Linear structure,
•Digressions discouraged
•Academic writing as craftsmanship
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
1) An exact problem statement (thesis or key focus)
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
2) A clear structure, supportive of the argumentation
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
3) Coherent, exact and well documented argumentation
4) Professional and clear layout and consistent formal treatment
5) Impeccable language (language, syntax)
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
The personal essay is very popular in Danish high school tradition
Writing stages
Exercise:
Rephrase these sentences into more objective statements
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
1. “Personally, I don’t believe in this argument, because…”
2. “ I think the writer is right because….”
3. “ With this paper, I want to…”
4. “I am absolutely sure that….”
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Academic objectivity can be signalled through word choices
For example:
• Try to rephrase personal pronouns “I”, “my”
• Learn the academic style from the theorists you read
Focus on objective argumentation => improved structure & convincing argument in an academic jargon.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Considering an issue from several angles!
Writing stages
It proves you are….
Genre
Conventions 1. Well-read
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
2. Able to approach an issue from more angles
3. Able to discuss viewpoints pro et contra before you make a judgment)
4. Able to use source criticism on the books, reports, articles and internet pages you have consulted
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
DON’T TAKE YOUR SOURCES FOR GRANTED WISDOM:
Source criticism means questioning your sources!
What is the content and utility of the source in a given context?
Genre
Conventions •Always ask wh-questions? (What, who, where, when, how why)
• Each of these questions may have complex answers:
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
“Who” refers not only to the author’s name, but also his/her historical role in an institutional/social context
MANY theorists present their text books as the new and improved way of approaching an issue.
But why do they do so?
•Because they are genuinely innovative?
•…or because they want to sell their books?
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Powell’s Speech in UN Before the Iraq Invasion
Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
What: A political speech (Read the speech in its entity)
Who: The American Minister of Foreign Affairs
Where: In UN headquarters in New York
When: Feb. 5, 2003
How:
•The style is very confident
•Evidence is supplied, e.g. CIA-photos (In fact later investigations prove that they were taken from a 12 year old
English study report!!!) -Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
Why: The US wants to convince UN about why Iraq should be invaded and Saddam Hussein driven from the throne.
-Layout
What is not in the source material?:
Information about how CIA were able to take air-photos of weapons the UN-inspectors couldn’t find on the ground!
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
WOMAN WITH BASKET (by Photo Journalist Peter Turnley)
Woman standing in garbage with a basket on her head at sunset in
Cite Soleil.Cite Soleil is considered one of the worst slums in the western hemisphere with open sewers and 25 percent of the area’s children suffering from malnutrition.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
•First hand or second hand witness?
Writing stages
•Primary source or secondary source?
Genre
Conventions •Tendency/bias? (i.e. how objective)
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Good source criticism is based on both analytical skills and knowledge about the context in which the source came into being.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Avoid building your report or paper only on internet sources.
The web sources you do use should undergo the following criticism:
Sender? Name, institution etc. (”Google” author)
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
Credibility and academic level
• Can the sender/author be contacted?
• Is the page sponsored – by whom and why?
•Are there references and links from/to other reliable pages?
•Is the information updated?
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Exercise: What’s the difference between
• www.whitehouse.gov
• www.whitehouse.net
• www.whitehouse.org
Presentation and accessibility
•Does the page have a professional design?
•Is the page and site design usable?
ALWAYS Print out the pages you do use– they might be moved
Put the pages you actually quote from/refer to in an appendix
(so your argumentation etc. can be controlled if the pages ARE removed)
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction Correct bibliographical references is a must for:
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
• Direct quotes
“To be or not to be – that’s the question”
•General/indirect references : (e.g. to a critic’s work on H.)
•Tables, models or pictures, or statistics :
•Reporting points of view :
Some criticised the Hamlet character, whereas others fore grounded the female lead, Ophelia
-Objectivity
The lack of correct references will be penalized by the examiners -Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
In the worst cases, it is seen as cheating and may result in failing, suspension or expulsion
•Every source you have used should therefore be in the bibliography either as primary or secondary source.
•Any direct or indirect reference should be credited in a footnote
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
References in the text
Use of parentheses ( ) in the text body
The parentheses refer to your bibliographical list:
(Last name, year, page no.)
References by footnotes
•The first time a source text is referred to, the entire source is stated as in the bibliography, incl. page number:
Victor, David: International
Business Communication.
HarperCollins Publishers, 1992, p.
63
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
EXAMPLES:
1. Direct Quote:
”… ” (Nietzsche, 1962, p.48)
2. Indirect Quote:
.. an issue emphasised by both Freud and Nietzsche.
(Nietzsche, 1962 p.89;
Freud, 1927, p.9)
•If quoted immediately afterwards: Ibid.(+ new page no. if new page )
Ibid.
or Ibid., p. 64
•If the text is used again later: Author’s last name +
op.cit. + page number.
Victor, op.cit., p. 195
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Shorter quotes can be presented in full length in the text body
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
Example:
Peter Kemp emphasises that the trace first gets its meaning when a causal value is added: ”We won’t see the ruin as a ruin before we have seen the whole castle.” (+Reference in parenthesis, or a footnote)
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Longer quotes can be emphasised by the layout
(e.g. by indenting the quote)
>>Example follows
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
You do not need to use quotation marks if you are using a smaller typography when including longer direct quotes in your text, especially if you layout the quotation as a separate text block like this one.
In addition, consider the way you use italics.
I only use italics for titles, like in this example:
In Language and Power, Norman Fairclough writes about the ideological structures of speech acts.
(Jensen, 2004 p. 19)
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla. Bla.
Bla. Bla
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
1. Front-page:
Title, author(s), study id number(s), subject, tutorial teacher, time and place. (illustration)
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
2. Table of contents:
• The exact title and page no. of every subtitled paragraph should be mentioned. (Read the Study Guide p.83f for more precise info).
• Consider using various font types and sizes and/or indentions to illustrate how text sections are related in a hierarchy. You can do so through templates in Word.
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
3. Introduction:
• Elaborates on the title and subject, has a problem statement or key question (emphasised in the layout)
• This section could, for example, present the structure of the report, the methodology used, and argue for the delimitation of topic and view point(s). (more next week)
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
4. The main body: Main sections and sub sections.
•The problem statement is discussed through documentation and argumentation.
•The main body should be divided into relevant paragraphs.
•Avoid too many subtitled paragraphs (max. two per page)
•Avoid too few subtitled paragraphs (If you have 6-10 pages without subheadings, something is wrong; split them up!)
-Objectivity
5. Conclusion:
•Sums up the main points
•answers the problem statement
•offers a perspective or perhaps a recommendation
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
6. Bibliography:
One alphabetized list (by last names), Study Guide, p. 87
7. Appendices:
Tables, figures, pictures, etc., printed web pages (if you have used them – we don’t want half of WWW on print!)
The appendix is not officially a part of the report, but consult Study Guide, 88
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
•Both important on a macro and a micro level
(chapters, main- & sub sections)
Read the details in the Study Guide, 82ff thoroughly
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
•Every chapter should have an opening/introduction and conclusion/closure)
An example of a clear structure:
- The premises come before the analysis
- The background comes before the analysis
- The general comes before the specific
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
TIP! Think logically :
Use cause and effect relations when structuring your text.
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction Consider structure according to contents & rhetoric
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Examples of structural choices:
1. Chronological (past before present, or present before past?)
2. Spatial ‘here’ before ‘there’ or ‘there’ before ‘here’?)
3. Causal (Cause before effect, or effect before cause?)
4.
Claim/Data (Claim before documentation, or documentation before claim?)
5. Discussion:For/Against (‘for’ before ‘against’, or ‘against’ before
‘for’?)
6. Part /Whole (part before whole, or whole before part?)
7. General/Specific (general before specific, or specific before general?)
8. Positive/Negative (negative before positive or the opposite?)
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages • Your layout should be relatively neutral
This doesn’t mean you cannot be aesthetic.
Genre
Conventions
• Your layout should be reader friendly
-Objectivity
• Use reader-friendly founts, colours, sizes, line spacing, margins, and number all pages, appendices etc.
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
• Avoid unnecessary notes and supplements in the text and appendix
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction Present a professional product:
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
Focus on correct…
• Spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation
• Vocabulary (use a varied language – use a thesaurus)
• Subject specific and academic terminology
• Proofread your text
Your reader should NOT HAVE TO GUESS YOUR THOUGHTS
So make sure your reasoning is
ON the paper - NOT between the lines
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions

Introduction
Writing stages
Genre
Conventions
-Objectivity
-Source criticism
-Reference
-Structure
-Layout
• Academic Argumentation in more detail
• The Problem statement/Introduction
• Concrete “cases” for class evaluation
Study Tech, #2. Academic Writing Conventions