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Inside Track to Successful Academic Writing PDF

361 Pages·2009·2.35 MB·English
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I N GET THE INSIDE TRACK TO INSIDE TRACK S SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING I D E Become a better academic writer and communicate your research & ideas fl uently T and successfully whatever your discipline, prior knowledge or level. R Successful Academic Writing will guide you through the whole process of academic A writing, developing your ability to communicate your ideas and research fl uently C and successfully. From understanding the task and planning your essay or assignment, right through to using feedback and editing to improve your writing K skills, it will ensure that you understand how to get the most out of the process of writing. With the in-depth understanding of the practice of academic writing that this book delivers, you will be better prepared to deal with – and succeed in – the full range of writing tasks that will be expected of you over the course of your academic studies and on into your chosen career. S Get the inside track to: U ▼ Understanding the brief C ▼ Addressing your audience C ▼ Assessment criteria E S ▼ Best practice in reading and note-taking S ▼ Awareness of different types of academic writing F ▼ The editing and proofreading process U ▼ Interpreting and using feedback L A SSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLL Visit www.smartstudyskills.com to access a wealth of useful information, C tips, templates and interactive activities to support your studies. A D About the Authors E AAAAAAAACCCCCCCCAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC Between them, Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond, Mary Martala M have many years of experience in writing and teaching I academic writing to students ranging from those with little C formal education, through prospective undergraduates to W WWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG PhD students, across a wide range of subject areas. R I T I N G ANDY GILLETT, ANGELA HAMMOND & MARY MARTALA www.pearson-books.com An imprint of CVR_GILL1710_01_SE_CVR.indd 1 27/5/09 15:46:12 A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page i SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page ii We work with leading authors to develop the strongest educational materials in academic writing, bringing cutting-edge thinking and best learning practice to a global market. Under a range of well-known imprints, including Longman, we craft high quality print and electronic publications which help readers to understand and apply their content, whether studying or at work. To find out more about the complete range of our publishing, please visit us on the World Wide Web at www.pearsoned.co.uk A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page iii INSIDE TRACK SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala University of Hertfordshire A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page iv PearsonEducationLimited EdinburghGate Harlow EssexCM202JE England andAssociatedCompaniesthroughouttheworld VisitusontheWorldWideWebat: www.pearsoned.co.uk Firstpublished2009 ©AndyGillett,AngelaHammondandMaryMartala2009 TherightsofAndyGillett,AngelaHammondandMaryMartalatobeidentified asauthorsofthisworkhavebeenassertedbytheminaccordancewiththeCopyright, DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval system,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying, recordingorotherwise,withouteitherthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisherora licencepermittingrestrictedcopyingintheUnitedKingdomissuedbytheCopyright LicensingAgencyLtd,SaffronHouse,6–10KirbyStreet,LondonEC1N8TS. Alltrademarksusedhereinarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.Theuseofany trademarkinthistextdoesnotvestintheauthororpublisheranytrademarkownership rightsinsuchtrademarks,nordoestheuseofsuchtrademarksimplyanyaffiliationwith orendorsementofthisbookbysuchowners. ISBN:978-0-273-72171-0 BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Gillet,Andy. Writingacademicessays/AndyGillet,AngelaHammondandMary Martala-Lockett. p.cm.–(Insidetrack) ISBN978-0-273-72171-0(pbk.) 1.Englishlanguage–Rhetoric–Studyandteaching(Higher)2.Academic writing.I.Hammond,Angela.II .Martala-Lockett,Mary.III.Title. PE1408.G55842009 808'.0420711–dc22 2009008664 Page1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 13 12 11 10 09 Typesetin9/12.5ptHelveticaNeueby3 PrintedinGreatBritainbyHenryLingLtd.,attheDorsetPress,Dorchester,Dorset Thepublisher’spolicyistousepapermanufacturedfromsustainableforests. iv A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page v BRIEF CONTENTS About the authors xiv Acknowledgements xiv Introduction xix 1 Understanding the task 1 2 Overcoming the blank page 13 3 Planning your work 29 4 Carrying out the research 39 5 Reading and note-taking 59 6 Features of academic writing 87 7 Writing descriptively 113 8 Writing critically 135 9 Personal and reflective writing 163 10 Working with other people’s ideas and voices 179 11 Finding your own voice 201 12 Genre and discipline-specific writing 217 13 Presenting your work 239 14 Working with feedback 255 15 Editing your work 271 A last word 283 Feedback on activities 285 Index 329 v A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page vi GET THE INSIDE TRACK TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS Written by a team of highly experienced authors, this series will equip students with effective and practical ways to improve their academic skills across all subject areas. O N LY £12.99* (cid:31)(cid:69)(cid:103)(cid:94)(cid:88)(cid:90)(cid:104)(cid:86)(cid:103)(cid:90)(cid:88)(cid:100)(cid:103)(cid:103)(cid:90)(cid:88)(cid:105)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:105)(cid:94)(cid:98)(cid:90)(cid:100)(cid:91)(cid:92)(cid:100)(cid:94)(cid:99)(cid:92)(cid:105)(cid:100)(cid:101)(cid:103)(cid:90)(cid:104)(cid:104) A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page vii CONTENTS About the authors xiv Acknowledgements xiv Introduction xix 1 UNDERSTANDING THE TASK 1 Introduction 2 Academicwriting 2 Disciplinesandtheirdifferences 4 Genresofwriting 5 Learningoutcomesandassessmentcriteria 6 Learningoutcomes 6 Assessmentcriteria 6 Theassignmenttitle 7 Basicstructures 7 Essay 8 Report 9 Othertypesofacademicwriting 9 Critique/review 10 Researchproposal 10 Labreport 10 Reflectiveaccount 10 Project 11 Casestudy 11 Summary 11 References 11 2 OVERCOMING THE BLANK PAGE 13 Introduction 14 Understandingtheassignmenttitle 14 Drawingattentiontothekeywords 14 Turningthetitleintoaseriesofquestions 15 Instructionwords 18 Approachingyourlecturer 21 Startingtowrite 22 Tacklingtheblankpage 22 Examinationquestions 27 Summary 28 References 28 vii A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page viii Contents 3 PLANNING YOUR WORK 29 Introduction 30 Thelandscapeofanassignment 30 Practicalities 31 Assessmentcriteria 31 Whattoinclude 32 Yourexistingknowledgeofthesubject 32 Research 33 Usingyourexistingnotes 33 Makingnewnotes 34 Usingoutsidesources 34 Carryingourprimaryresearch 34 Resources 34 Timemanagement 35 Summary 37 4 CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH 39 Introduction 40 Sixquestionstoask 40 Whydoyouneedtodoanyresearch? 40 Whatresearchdoyouneedtodo? 40 Sources 41 Howshouldyoudotheresearch? 44 Understandinganassignment 44 Developingyourtopic 45 Keywordsearches 46 Whenshouldyoudotheresearch? 48 Whereshouldyoudotheresearch? 48 Whoshouldyouresearch? 49 Navigatethesources 49 Evaluatethesources 57 Summary 58 References 58 Furtherreading 58 5 READING AND NOTE-TAKING 59 Introduction 60 Purposefulreading 61 Efficientreading 61 Interactivereading 62 Criticalreading 62 Effectivereadingstrategies 63 Usingthetitle 63 Usingyourknowledgeoftextstructuretounderstandatext 64 viii A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page ix Contents Scanningtolocatespecificallyrequiredinformation 67 Skimmingtogetanoverallimpression 69 Readingandnote-taking 74 Takingnotes 74 Howtotakenotes 74 Summary 85 References 85 6 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING 87 Introduction 88 Academicstyle 88 Formalvocabulary 89 Multi-wordverbs 90 Useofthepassivevoice 91 Cautiouslanguage 94 Objectiveversussubjectivelanguage 94 Emotivelanguage 96 Useofquestions 96 Contractedforms 96 Criticalwriting 97 Referencing 99 Developingparagraphs 99 Topicsentences 100 Supportingsentences 101 Creatingtopicsentences 101 Developingsupportingsentences 103 Concludingsentences 104 Connectingideaswithinsentencesandsentenceswithin paragraphs(signalling) 104 Connectingparagraphs 107 Writingplans 110 Writingdrafts 111 Writingdraftsforlecturers 111 Summary 112 References 112 7 WRITING DESCRIPTIVELY 113 Introduction 114 Defining 115 Describingthings 117 Describingprocesses 120 Instructions 122 Sequence 123 Includingchartsanddiagrams 124 ix

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Successful Academic Writing guides students through the whole process of academic writing, developing their ability to communicate ideas and research fluently and successfully. The elements of writing covered in this book include: ·        Understanding the brief ·        Address
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.