CONTENTS

1. The writer in you2. Why research & write?3. Challenges on the road4. What good academic

writing looks like5. What gets in the way?6. Writing an abstract7. Magic referencing

@tansyjtweets

THE BAREFOOT GUIDE toWriting for Publication

Finding the writer in you

• Choose a picture which appeals to you.

• Don’t think too much about it, just go for one that speaks to you.

Your jottings

• Why did you choose this picture?

• How does the picture speak to you as an academic?

• How does the picture relate to your feelings as a researcher?

• How does it relate to your feelings about writing?

Talk to someone

• Find a partner. Talk to him or her about your picture and your jottings (5 mins)

• Swap around and listen to your partner’s musings.

Private dimensions

Voyage of discoveryIt’s about learningThe challengeThe excitementThe satisfactionFame and fortune

Public dimensions

It’s about collaborationJoining a communitySharing the learningPublishingContributing to knowledge Because we ask students to..

Why do research?

Because we have to…

Five reasons to get writing:

• It is what we do.• Thinking happens when we write.• It vivifies our teaching; it makes it cutting

edge.• It enables us to share our discoveries.• ‘Mastery’ comes out of the furnace of writing.

Why write?

Forms of systematic inquiry

The stark realities

• 90%+ rejection: of the 5% published, only 40% cited (HE)

• Journal articles are the number one currency• 50 million + published• Who reads them? Data from citations +

downloads.https://scholar.google.co.uk/

It’s a journey

It’s a discipline

Writing is learnt

• What words or phrases spring to mind? • What is good academic writing?• How do you know it when you see it?

What does good academic writing look like?

Impressing other academics with your erudition

OR

Communicating?

Writing for your mum

Communicate Concreteness

Craft Choice

Creative Courage

Stylish Academic Writing: Helen Sword

1. TITLE: Does the book or article have an interesting, concrete title? 2. OPENING: Engaging opening paragraph? 3. STORY: Does the book or article tell a story? 4. JARGON: Is the book or article relatively jargon-free? 5. VOICE: Does the author write with an individualistic voice? 6. INTERDISCIPLINARITY: Evidence of scholarly relationships outside the

author’s own field?7. EXAMPLES: Concrete examples, illustration, anecdotes, metaphors? 8. ELEGANCE AND CRAFT: Sentences carefully and elegantly crafted?9. VERBAL FITNESS: Clear sentences that favour active verbs & concrete

nouns10. CREATIVITY, ENGAGEMENT, HUMOUR: Conveys creativity, imagination,

originality; passion, commitment, personal engagement; a sense of humour?

‘Best dressed’ list (Helen Sword)

Academic writing can be exhilarating, or quietly pleasurable, or plain hard work. In common with our students, it is something we – academics – must do, usually alone. Sometimes we may feel ourselves resisting the imperative to write; at other times we may experience the frustration of planning to write yet never quite getting there. So much seems to come between us and our writing.

(Grant 2006, 483)

It’s not all plain-sailing

What gets in the way of your academic writing?

Overcoming obstacles

or

Binge or daily grind…

On writing

1. Momentum – always write2. Perfectionism? – do not try out drafts on

journal referees3. Good writing is difficult – accept this

proposition4. Elaborate rituals – are unhealthy5. High rejection rates – be tough and prepared

to re-evaluate

Overcoming obstacles

A community of writers Join a community of practice…

Exercise 3

What should be included in the abstract of a journal article?

Writing an abstract

What an abstract should look like

1. What the article is about2. Why this is important3. How the study was conducted4. What you found - findings5. So what? Implications for theory/practice

Key elements of an abstract

Abstract 1

Evidence from 73 programmes in 14 U.K universities sheds light on the typical student experience of assessment over a three-year undergraduate degree. A previous small-scale study in three universities characterised programme assessment environments using a similar method. The current study analyses data about assessment patterns using descriptive statistical methods, drawing on a large sample in a wider range of universities than the original study. Findings demonstrate a wide range of practice across programmes: from 12 summative assessments on one programme to 227 on another; from 87% by examination to none on others. While variations cast doubt on the comparability of U.K degrees, programme assessment patterns are complex. Further analysis distinguishes common assessment patterns across the sample. Typically, students encounter eight times as much summative as formative assessment, a dozen different types of assessment, more than three quarters by coursework. The presence of high summative and low formative assessment diets is likely to compound students’ grade-orientation, reinforcing narrow and instrumental approaches to learning. High varieties of assessment are probable contributors to student confusion about goals and standards. Making systematic headway to improve student learning from assessment requires a programmatic and evidence-led approach to design, characterised by dialogue and social practice.

How does it fare?

http://writersdiet.com/?page_id=4

Abstract 2

Research Informed Teaching is dogged by cloudy thinking and misperception. Weak conceptions lead to traditional and content-driven approaches. RIT becomes, “I publish research; I cite it; I teach it”, spawning the common axiom, “I do research: therefore my teaching is research informed”. This article explores four common myths about RIT. The first is that the ideal locus of RIT is within research-intensive universities; the second that research-active academics are best placed to embrace RIT; the third that doing RIT in first year is confusing for students, and possibly imprudent; finally we troubleshoot the myth that RIT is a selective pedagogy for high-achieving students. In this article, we use evidence and theory to question these myths. Our purpose is to demystify RIT so that lecturers can engage with the full range of possibilities within the research-teaching nexus. Developing a shared language to understand RIT is the starter gun for teachers to enter the RIT race and finish with more widespread, creative and theoretically-informed practices which enhance student curiosity, capability and confidence.

Refme Refme

Becker, H. (2007) Writing for Social Scientists. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. Boice, R. (1990) Professors as Writers: A self-help guide to productive writing. Oklahoma. New Forum. Grant, B. (2006) Writing in the company of other women: exceeding the boundaries, Studies in Higher Education, 31:4, 483-495.Jessop and Penny (1999) A story behind a story: Developing strategies for making sense of teacher narratives. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 2:3. 213-230.Richardson, L. (1990) Writing Strategies: reaching diverse audiences. Thousand Oaks. California. Sage.Helen Sword (2013) Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge. MA. Harvard University Press. Helen Sword (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQsRvAVSVeMSword, H. (2009) Writing higher education differently: a manifesto on style, Studies in Higher Education, 34:3, 319-336.

References