GPSC International Writing Workshop

1. GPSC International Writing Workshop Week 1 Jan. 19 Kara Johnson Student Info HO

2. Goals • Develop writing skills needed for academic theses, dissertations, and publications • Support non-native speakers of English who are currently writing • Introduce both sentence and word level issues, as well as larger organizational and conventional issues • Give writers techniques for revising their writing

3. Weekly topics • Learning your audience & organizing your writing • Using academic vocabulary I: connecting ideas & learning conventions of your discipline • Using academic vocabulary II: defining ideas & integrating source material • Using academic vocabulary III: academic styles & writing introductions • Using academic vocabulary IV: evaluative language & reviewing the literature

4. Recommended book • Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills. 3rd ed. University of Michigan Press.

5. Inventory • TASK ONE • What is your main writing strategy? • What strategies would you like to develop? • Right now, what do you feel your strengths of writing are? • Right now, what do you feel your weaknesses of writing are? P2 HO

6. Learning your audience • Personal • Students • Advisors • Thesis committees • Reviews • Editors • Conference or journal readers (academics) • Purpose • Strategy • Vocabulary • Details • Organization Who are the audiences you write for? What about your writing changes when you change audience?

7. Learning your audience • Audience interconnected with purpose and strategy…how does that affect us? • All are frequently changing • For graduate writers, a purpose is often to display familiarity, expertise, and intelligence • There is a need to consider how to position yourself to leave the impression you want • Pg 5 missing lines: • A potentially cheaper technology called membrane desali- nation may expand the role desaliantion worldwide, which P4-5 HO

8. Your writing • Let’s consider your current work: • Who is your audience? • What is your purpose? • What impression do you want to leave with your audience? • What is a strategy you are or can use?

9. Break time! • Organizing your ideas, when we return

10. Organizing your writing • Academic writing has some typical organizations • Emails • Bad news letters • Good news letters • Book reviews • Dissertation • Journal article • You can deviate, but too far, and the reader can be confused • Strive for appropriate style

11. Organizing your writing • How do you find the organizational conventions of your field? • For your specific type of writing? • Typical organizations for sections or paragraphs: • General/specific • Situation/problem • Comparison/contrast

12. General-Specific organization • Very common structure for orientating the reader • Pattern is the following: • A general statement • An elaboration • More elaboration • Often returns to a broader statement • The general statement could be: • A short definition • A generalization or purpose statement (From Swales & Feak, 2012, p 56)

13. General-Specific organization • Very common structure for orientating the reader • Pattern often used for: • An answer to an examination question • A course paper • An opening paragraph of an assignment • Background to an analysis or discussion (From Swales & Feak, 2012, p 55)

14. General-Specific organization • EXAMPLE: Reality TV Formats (PDF) • Glance through Abstract and Introduction to position the article • “From documentaries to docu-soaps…” 1st paragraph • How does the author take readers from the general opening emphasis on reality TV to the final focus on “docu-soaps and game docs to makeovers and quiz shows”? • Can you find the connections between each sentence? • What specific issue does the next paragraph reach?

15. Problem-Solution Organization • General-specific—tends to be descriptive and expository • Problem-solution—tends to be argumentative and evaluative, perhaps convincing

16. If time… • In your writing, look for a general statement, a generalization, a definition, something that could become more specific… • Then see if you brought it more specific

17. Problem-Solution Organization • EXAMPLE: Scientific Writing of Novice Researchers (PDF) • Glance through Abstract to position the article • Introduction to p. 512 first paragraph • What problem-solution is set up in “Conclusions” • How is this expanded in the “Introduction” (up to p512, first paragraph)? • What is the problem? • What is the solution? P103 HO

18. Compare-Contrast Organization • General-specific—tends to be descriptive and expository • Problem-solution—tends to argumentative and evaluative, perhaps convincing • Compare-Contrast—seeks to highlight overlapping views and differences in a way that have not been seen before

19. Compare-Contrast Organization • Suggestions for organization: • Use chart, table or diagram to help yourself see connections or common threads • Write by key points, not by sources • A single paragraph usually is not from a single source • Use language to show similarity • E.g., Similarly,…; Similar to…; Likewise,…; As in __, in __... • Use language to show contrast • E.g., In contrast, …; Unlike ___, ___...; Whereas __, __...

20. Homework • Bring an article from a journal in your discipline (hard copy or on your computer)

21. Workshop • Partners—same or different discipline. • Instructions for pairs • Two have signed up to meet me today. • Partners: • Consider what you struggle with (or have been told) in order to ask your partner to look for specific things.

22. If time (From Liu & Hansen, 2002, p 138)