1 / 15

Effective Writing at the Graduate Level: Overview

Effective Writing at the Graduate Level: Overview. Student Development Services Writing Support Centre UCC 210 www.sds.uwo.ca/writing. Effective Writing. Know your audience General/specific audience Always determine appropriateness The final product is the most important part.

idana
Download Presentation

Effective Writing at the Graduate Level: Overview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Effective Writing at the Graduate Level: Overview • Student Development Services • Writing Support Centre • UCC 210 • www.sds.uwo.ca/writing

  2. Effective Writing • Know your audience • General/specific audience • Always determine appropriateness • The final product is the most important part

  3. Layers of Effective Writing Layer 1: Appearance Grammar, Formatting, Etc. Layer 2: Writing Style Sentence Flow Layer 3: Organization Connecting the Ideas Layer 4: Content The Ideas

  4. Reader vs. Writer • While appearance, then style may be the first things noticed by a reader, this should not be your first concern when writing • Start with a clear idea of the content and how you will organize it

  5. 4: Content • The foundation of effective communication • Need a clear understanding to be able to communicate effectively

  6. 3: Organization • Present your ideas in a logical (not chronological) order • Essential at the micro (paragraph) and macro (paper) levels

  7. 3: Paragraph Organization • All about Topic Sentences and Support • Each paragraph should cover one Topic that is Supported by clear evidence • Follow a logical order (A-B, B-C, C-D) • Use transitions to connect sentences and paragraphs

  8. Paragraph Example • 1. Determining tissue-diet discrimination may suggest the isotope composition of an animal’s diet, but there is considerable intra- and inter-species variation. 2. The 13C and 15Nbone collagen-diet values of red-backed voles fed diets with different amounts of protein varied by as much as 3 and 2.5‰ respectively, while hair varied by as much as 3.5 and 3‰ respectively (Sare et al., 2005). 3. Moreover, analysis of the gut contents of several small mammal species showed considerable inter-species variation in 15N absorption and 13C values that differed from ungulates by approximately 3‰ (Hwang et al., 2007). 4. Blood, liver, muscle and hair tissues are most commonly used in ecological studies to infer diet, and the tissue-diet discrimination values of these must be measured in a controlled setting before making conclusions about natural diet.

  9. 3: Paper Organization • See the “Research Paper Organization” and “Essay Organization” presentations for detailed advice on organizing larger written works

  10. 2: Writing Style • Discipline specific • Most areas encourage a clear and concise writing style • See “Academic Writing Style” Presentation for more detailed advice

  11. Clarity • If it can be misinterpreted, then it is wrong • Word choice is key • Many clarity issues are caused by inappropriate words

  12. Conciseness • Shortening the text without impacting clarity • Not the same as brevity • Usually improves clarity • If a word or phrase can be removed or shortened without losing meaning, do it

  13. 1: Spelling, Grammar • There are rules, learn them • Sloppy writing indicates sloppy thinking • Spellcheck helps, but it can be a crutch

  14. 1: Formatting • Know the required format • Different for almost every science journal, grant and scholarship and class

More Related