Useful tips for boosting your academic writing skills

1. Useful tips for boosting your academic writing skills Íde O’Sullivan Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

2. Freewriting • What I like/dislike about writing……… • Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes. • Write in sentences. • Do not edit or censor your writing. • Private writing -- no one will read it. • Discuss what you have written in pairs. Regional Writing Centre

3. Reflection and discussion • Reflection What impact did the previous exercise have on you? How might this type of writing activity be useful? • Discussion What do you worry about or struggle with when faced with a writing task? Regional Writing Centre

4. Difficulties associated with writing • Anxiety and fear of writing • Lack of confidence and motivation • Cracking the codes of academic writing • Getting started • Getting stuck – writers’ block • Lack of guidance, practice and feedback • Misconceptions of writing • Good writing skills are innate X • Think first, then write X Regional Writing Centre

5. Writing to prompts • Strategies that might help boost my academic writing skills……… • Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes. • Write in sentences. • Do not edit or censor your writing. • Discuss what you have written in pairs. Regional Writing Centre

6. Strategies to boost your academic writing skills • Summarise in writing the main points of the previous discussion. • Did this writing exercise help focus/organise the main points of the discussion for you? • Did the writing exercise help clarify the main points/outcomes of the discussion? Regional Writing Centre

7. Writing as a process • Pre-writing • Drafting • Revision • Editing and proof-reading Regional Writing Centre

8. Writing as a process • Understanding the assignment question and the instructions • Brainstorming • Research • Planning and organising your essay/report • Getting started • Structuring your essay/report • Developing an argument • Drafting and redrafting • Editing and proofreading Regional Writing Centre

9. Getting started: Joining the conversation Think of an assignment question as an invitation to participate in the discourse already taking place in the community that shares in your academic interests. • Recall that you have joined an already on-going conversation. • Think about the particular conversations already taking place with respect to both your topic and the particular aspect of your topic that you have been asked to write about. Regional Writing Centre

10. Getting started • Create time and space for writing • Freewriting • Writing to prompts • “What writing have you done for this assignment, what writing would you like to do……” • “The aim of this assignment…” • Experiment with different types of writing Regional Writing Centre

11. Other types of writing • Keep a learning diary (Moore and Murphy, 2005:61) / writing diary / process journal (Elbow and Belanoff, 2003:19). • When do you feel most/least motivated to write? • What strategies have/have not worked in the past? • Write a little bit every day (Moore and Murphy, 2005:117): “we learn to write through writing” (Hyland, 2002:81). • Keep a notebook with you to record ideas when they come to mind (Moore and Murphy, (2005). Regional Writing Centre

12. Cracking the codes • Analysing the genre/text and modelling • Generate a list of • The most important features of academic writing • Criteria to make your writing more effective • The important conventions in your discipline • What is/is not acceptable in your discipline • Develop a “writing charter” Murray and Moore (2006:135), that you can consult for guidance. • Journal guidelines for contributors Regional Writing Centre

13. Discipline-specific conventions • What organisational features/patterns are in evidence? • How are arguments and counterarguments presented and structured? • What types of evidence are important in this discipline? • What stylistic features are prominent? • Is the text cohesive? How does the author achieve such cohesion? • What kind(s) of persuasive devises does the author employ? • Are there noticeable features that can be transferred to other disciplines? Regional Writing Centre

14. Dialogue about writing • Talking about writing • Getting feedback on writing • Peer-review • Generative writing • The “writing sandwich” (Murray, 2005:85): writing, talking, writing • Writing “buddies” (Murray and Moore, 2006:102) • Engaging in critiques of one another’s work allows you to become effective critics of your own work. Regional Writing Centre

15. Dialogue about writing • Writing prompt: “How I go about writing……” • Reflection How does talking about writing help my writing? Regional Writing Centre

16. Writing time • Dealing with issues of time • Setting goals • “Binge” and “snack” writing (Murray, 2005) • Do I need a big block of time to write productively? • “Short bursts of productive writing” (Murray and Moore, 2006:17) • Outlining (Murray, 2005) Regional Writing Centre

17. Strategies that work for you • The importance of reading • Images and diagrams • Mind mapping • Writing dictionaries • Writing is a personal process – find out what works for you • Writing can be a positive and enjoyable experience • Be proud of your writing • Get stuck in Regional Writing Centre

18. Writing activity • Write a Limerick commencing with the following line: Now that I’ve strategies to write ……. Regional Writing Centre

19. Works cited • Elbow, P. (1998) Writing without Teachers (2nd edition). New York: Oxford University Press. • Elbow, P. and Belanoff, P. (2003) Being a Writer: A Community of Writers Revisited. New York: McGraw-Hill. • Hyland, K. (2002) Teaching and Researching Writing. London: Pearson Education Ltd. • Moore, S. and Murphy, M. (2005) How to be a Student: 100 Great Ideas and Practical Hints for Students Everywhere. UK: Open University Press. • Murray, R. (2005) Writing for Academic Journals. UK: Open University Press. • Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006) The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach. UK: Open University Press. Regional Writing Centre