Stylish Academic Writing

Author: Helen Sword
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674069137
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
Elegant data and ideas deserve elegant expression, argues Helen Sword in this lively guide to academic writing. For scholars frustrated with disciplinary conventions, and for specialists who want to write for a larger audience but are unsure where to begin, here are imaginative, practical, witty pointers that show how to make articles and books a pleasure to read—and to write. Dispelling the myth that you cannot get published without writing wordy, impersonal prose, Sword shows how much journal editors and readers welcome work that avoids excessive jargon and abstraction. Sword’s analysis of more than a thousand peer-reviewed articles across a wide range of fields documents a startling gap between how academics typically describe good writing and the turgid prose they regularly produce. Stylish Academic Writing showcases a range of scholars from the sciences, humanities, and social sciences who write with vividness and panache. Individual chapters take up specific elements of style, such as titles and headings, chapter openings, and structure, and close with examples of transferable techniques that any writer can master.

Essential Actions for Academic Writing

Author: Nigel A. Caplan
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 047203796X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Book Description
Essential Actions for Academic Writers is a writing textbook for all novice academic students, undergraduate or graduate, to help them understand how to write effectively throughout their academic and professional careers. While these novice writers may use English as a second or additional language, this book is also intended for students who have done little writing in their prior education or who are not yet confident in their academic writing. Essential Actions combines genre research, proven pedagogical practices, and short readings to help students develop their rhetorical flexibility by exploring and practicing the key actions that will appear in academic assignments, such as explaining, summarizing, synthesizing, and arguing. Part I introduces students to rhetorical situation, genre, register, source use, and a framework for understanding how to approach any new writing task. The genre approach recognizes that all writing responds to a context that includes the writer's identity, the reader's expectations, the purpose of the text, and the conventions that shape it. Part II explores each essential action and provides examples of the genres and language that support it. Part III leads students in combining the actions in different genres and contexts, culminating in the project of writing a personal statement for a university or scholarship application.

A Geopolitics Of Academic Writing

Author: A. Suresh Canagarajah
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN: 9780822972389
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 348

Book Description
A Geopolitics of Academic Writing critiques current scholarly publishing practices, exposing the inequalities in the way academic knowledge is constructed and legitimized. As a periphery scholar now working in (and writing from) the center, Suresh Canagarajah is uniquely situated to demonstrate how and why contributions from Third World scholars are too often relegated to the perimeter of academic discourse. He examines three broad conventions governing academic writing: textual concerns (matters of languages, style, tone, and structure), social customs (the rituals governing the interactions of members of the academic community), and publishing practices (from submission protocols to photocopying and postage requirements). Canagarajah argues that the dominance of Western conventions in scholarly communication leads directly to the marginalization or appropriation of the knowledge of Third World communities.

Writing and Identity

Author: Roz Ivani?
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027217971
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Book Description
Writing is not just about conveying 'content' but also about the representation of self. (One of the reasons people find writing difficult is that they do not feel comfortable with the 'me' they are portraying in their writing. Academic writing in particular often poses a conflict of identity for students in higher education, because the 'self' which is inscribed in academic discourse feels alien to them.)The main claim of this book is that writing is an act of identity in which people align themselves with socio-culturally shaped subject positions, and thereby play their part in reproducing or challenging dominant practices and discourses, and the values, beliefs and interests which they embody. The first part of the book reviews recent understandings of social identity, of the discoursal construction of identity, of literacy and identity, and of issues of identity in research on academic writing. The main part of the book is based on a collaborative research project about writing and identity with mature-age students, providing: - a case study of one writer's dilemmas over the presentation of self;- a discussion of the way in which writers' life histories shape their presentation of self in writing;- an interview-based study of issues of ownership, and of accommodation and resistance to conventions for the presentation of self;- linguistic analysis of the ways in which multiple, often contradictory, interests, values, beliefs and practices are inscribed in discourse conventions, which set up a range of possibilities for self-hood for writers.The book ends with implications of the study for research on writing and identity, and for the learning and teaching of academic writing.The book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of social identity, literacy, discourse analysis, rhetoric and composition studies, and to all those concerned to understand what is involved in academic writing in order to provide wider access to higher education.

How to Write a Lot

Author: Paul J. Silvia
Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn
ISBN: 9781591477433
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 149

Book Description
All students and professors need to write, and many struggle to finish their stalled dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. In this practical, light-hearted, and encouraging book, Paul Silvia explains that writing productively does not require innate skills or special traits but specific tactics and actions. Drawing examples from his own field of psychology, he shows readers how to overcome motivational roadblocks and become prolific without sacrificing evenings, weekends, and vacations. After describing strategies for writing productively, the author gives detailed advice from the trenches on how to write, submit, revise, and resubmit articles, how to improve writing quality, and how to write and publish academic work.

Academic Writing and Grammar for Students

Author: Alex Osmond
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1473947189
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
Grappling with grammar? Struggling with punctuation? Whether you′re writing an essay or assignment, report or dissertation, this useful guide shows you how to improve the quality of your work at university – fast – by identifying and using the correct use of English grammar and punctuation in your academic writing. Using tried and tested advice from student workshops, Alex Osmond shares practical examples that illustrate common mistakes, and shows you how to avoid them. You’ll also discover guidance on: Writing structure – the what and how of crafting sentences and paragraphs Conciseness – how to express your point succinctly and clearly, showing you understand the topic Effective proofreading – the importance of the final ‘tidy up’, so your work is ready to hand in Referencing – common systems, and how to reference consistently (and avoid plagiarism). This new edition also includes separate chapters on critical thinking and referencing, exploring each topic in more detail, and learning outcomes in every chapter, so you can identify what new skills you’ll take away. The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips and resources for study success!

Writing Programs Worldwide

Author: Chris Thaiss
Publisher: Parlor Press LLC
ISBN: 160235345X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 540

Book Description
WRITING PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE offers an important global perspective to the growing research literature in the shaping of writing programs. The authors of its program profiles show how innovators at a diverse range of universities on six continents have dealt creatively over many years with day-to-day and long-range issues affecting how students across disciplines and languages grow as communicators and learners.

Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks

Author: Wendy Laura Belcher
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 141295701X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Book Description
This book provides you with all the tools you need to write an excellent academic article and get it published.

Fun-Size Academic Writing for Serious Learning

Author: Gretchen Bernabei
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1452268614
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
"Here is what I love about this book:€ It has gobs and gobs of student writing samples with smart and lively explanations of how to use each as the focus of a craft lesson to teach writing. The right models of student writing are the best mentor texts a teacher can find and with this book, you need look no further. ... Breathe, fellow writing teachers.€ Much needed and wanted help has arrived."--Ruth Culham, Author of Traits WritingSometimes a student's best teacher is another studentIf ever there were a book to respond to the pressure to increase students' test scores, this is it. You see,

Inside Academic Writing

Author: Grace Canseco
Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT
ISBN: 9780472033898
Category : Academic writing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Inside Academic Writingis designed to prepare students in any academic discipline for graduate-level writing. The text situates students within their writing communities by prioritizing the steps of learning; students are directed to use common threads of academic writing across disciplines. The goal ofInside Academic Writingis to give students the opportunity to write for a variety of audiences and to develop the knowledge necessary to recognize how to write for different audiences and purposes. Inside Academic Writingallows students to examine basic assumptions about writing before they learn specific strategies for targeting the audience or mapping the flow of information. Through the material in this textbook, students will create a portfolio of writings that includes a biographical statement and a research interest essay—important pieces of writing that are rarely taught in courses. Other types of writing featured are a summary, a problem-solution text, a comparative structure paper, and a commentary. Other textbooks prepare students for graduate writing, butInside Academic Writingwas designed to bridge the gap between non-academic writing and the writing required within an academic community, with one’s peers, colleagues, and field experts. In addition,Inside Academic Writingoffers guidance on writing materials for grants, fellowships, conferences, and publication.