Writing BETTER & FASTER

1. Writing BETTER &FASTER

2. Six Steps to Better Writing Step 1: Gather Data Step 2: Prepare Thesis Step 3: Create Structure Step 4: Prepare Draft Step 5: Critique Draft Step 6: Revise

3. Step 1: Collect Data • collect data—you can’t write without any • information helps you think about the subject • when taking notes from books/articles paraphrase • rewording ensures understanding, helps avoid PLAGIARISM • if you can’t reword?

4. Understand words & concepts • look up any words you do not understand • review fundamental concepts about which you are uncertain • whether the subject is “proton exchange membrane fuel cells” or the “Louisiana Purchase,” know your concepts!

5. Step 2: Draft Thesis Statement • “A short statement conveying an explicitjudgment concerning a limitedtopic and based on suitable evidence” • It is what the paper discovers • You may not see theses directly expressed in the literature

6. Purpose: Writer’s POV • A check on the research/writing process • The touchstone against which all else will be judged

7. Purpose: Reader’s POV • Informs the reader of the key findings • Not a simple statement of accepted fact • Not an “opinion” • A judgment based on evidence • Single-sentence “executive summary” • Similar to requirements on some grant applications

8. 2. Effective Thesis statements Ineffective Better In the majority of pet-owning households in the UK, pets either replace or supplement human children in the social order of the home. • Pets are a source of joy and love. (boring) • In clinical terms, the pet/owner relationship can be viewed from many angles. (ambiguous) • This essay will be about pets. (too obvious) • In my opinion, I think pets are a source of joy. (about the writer)

9. Thesis Statements Aim: Thesis: Transformational leadership is the predominant style of nurse managers practicing at a multinational hospital in Saudia Arabia. • The study explored the predominant leadership style of nurse managers through self-evaluation and staff nurses’ evaluations.

10. Try a short quiz. . . . • Judge whether each example is a thesis statement • Note what makes it a thesis statement (if it is one) • Indicate what is missing (if it is not)

11. Responses • In Norway, 147 undergraduates participated in a pilot of the national leadership program this September. • This is a statement of fact (if it’s true) • It is not an inference from evidence • A thesis may be supported by obvious statements of fact, but it usually involves evaluation of some kind

12. Responses 2. We believe that nurse administrators should not practice transactional leadership. • This is certainly a definite judgement, but it is presented as an opinion (“we believe”) • The thesis is presumably “the hazards of this leadership style make it inadvisable that nurse administrators practice transactional leadership” • Even better: enumerate those hazards • This would produce a “because” statement

13. Responses 3. Because amount of aerobic exercise correlated positively with high fitness and endurance, it is the most beneficial of the three physical regimens surveyed. • This is certainly a definite judgement, and the basis for it is specified • Any comment on “because”?

14. Responses 4. There are advantages and disadvantages to the use of hydrogen fuel cells in electric drive vehicles. • This is too broad • In all but the most extreme situations, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything • Defining and assessing the advantages and disadvantages would make a thesis

15. Responses 5. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the post-stall airfoil characteristics of wind turbine blade elements. • This was the aim of the study • Add results and qualify the statement—add specifics: Steady-state UAE-average post-stall airfoil data, and the Viterna equations guided by flat plate theory predict the power curve for the Phase VI UAE rotor.

16. Finding Thesis Statements • Often indirectly expressed • Special concerns discourage directstatements • Research method determines extent/strength of statement • Partly a result of format, partly a way of maintaining objectivity • Typically, you must infer the thesis by examining several parts of the paper

17. Test Case: Malloy, T., & Penprase, B. (2010). Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment. Journal of Nursing Management, 8, 715-724.doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01094.x

18. Aim

19. Aim?

20. Conclusion

21. “Background” Section

22. As a Thesis Statement: • Note that this thesis cannot be “quoted”—it never appears in the original but must be inferred from it • “Cause and effect” theses are typically described as “correlations” Transformational leadership promotes a positive psychosocial work environment for registered nurses.

23. Why the Obscurity? • Precision: the thesis we eventually created is an inference (a type of judgment) • Studies eliminate unjustified inference, emphasizing objective observations • Though the “aim” may be to prove your hypotheses, you try not to let this affect your research process or interpretation

24. Using the Thesis Statement • A provisional thesis statement guides you as you test your ideas against those of others—Ask . . . • Is the statement still supported by the evidence? • Does the inclusion of new information required that it be modified?

25. Step 3: Create Structure • create an outline of your paper • introduction, methods, results, and discussion (IMRAD) • Disciplinary variations exist, but this is highly influential

26. Structure • Sketching the structure has two chief benefits: • Immediately makes writer aware of deficits in evidence • “Divide and conquer” strategy: makes the writing task seem more manageable

27. Step 4: Rough Draft • Use “freewriting” • Let nothing stop you: missing data, weak phrasing, confusion • Rough in each section • Should be completed in a single session at this stage

28. Step 5: Critique • review your draft in multiple stages: • Data • Logic • Diction (word choice)

29. Critique • Data: Determine whether further research/experimentation is needed • distinguish between necessary material (body of report) and extra material (appendices)

30. Critique • Logic: examine every statement to test for • relevance to your thesis: can you show how it ultimately supports your thesis? • validity: do you provide a citation or evidence to support it? Is it a logical inference from other information?

31. Critique • Diction • Examine the stance suggested by the wording: is the level of confidence appropriate?

32. Validity Markers • hedges: perhaps, may, might, often, usually, apparently, seemingly • emphatics (boosters): clearly, undoubtedly, it is obvious that, of course • attributors: “according to Wilson (1999)”

33. Step 6: Revise • Revise in same order: data, logic, and diction • Add a separate step to check format and mechanics (all citations, punctuation, grammar, references) • Then set it aside and review it one more time

34. Final Revision • Focus on clarity, economy, and validity • Ensure your terminology is consistent and correct • Eliminate wordy phrasing • Examine your Validity and Attitude markers • Attitude: surprisingly, unexpectedly,

35. Five Revision Rules • Stick to the point • delete any irrelevant information, however interesting • you may be able to place it in the appendix • removing extra information makes what remains clearer

36. 2. Say what you mean • reading out loud helps • having another person read it helps more • never repeat a phrase you have read elsewhere unless you understand it thoroughly (the other writer may be wrong)

37. 3. Keep forward momentum • repeat key words as necessary so that a clear argument develops • use appropriate connectives to ensure clear progress (example)

38. Identify the connectives In saturated air (100% relative humidity), the worms lost about 20% of their initial body weight during the first 20 hours but were then able to prevent further dehydration. In contrast, worms maintained in air of 70-80% relative humidity experienced a much faster rate of dehydration, losing 63% of their total body water content in 24 hours. As a consequence of this rapid dehydration, most worms died within the 24-hour period.

39. In saturated air (100% relative humidity), the worms lost about 20% of their initial body weight during the first 20 hours but were then able to prevent further dehydration. In contrast, worms maintained in air of 70-80% relative humidity experienced a much faster rate of dehydration, losing 63% of their total body water content in 24 hours. As a consequence of this rapid dehydration, most worms died within the 24-hour period.

40. The social condition of the rich of England did not change greatly during the Black Death. The status and condition of the poor changed in many ways. Rich lords could retreat to well-guarded castles. They suffered a low mortality. The labouring classes remained in towns and cities. They suffered high mortality. This exposure of the many was to the benefit of the few. Over 30% of the labour force died. The remaining workers could—and did—demand higher wages. Losses among priests had been severe. Many lay folk advanced to the clergy. The Black Death spurred the rise of the middle classes.

41. Although the social condition of the rich of England did not change greatly during the Black Death, the status and condition of the poor changed in many ways. Whereas rich lords could retreat to well-guarded castles and suffered a low mortality, the labouring classes remained in towns and cities and suffered high mortality. However, this exposure of the many was to the benefit of the few. Over 30% of the labour force died, but the remaining workers could—and did—demand higher wages. Moreover, losses among priests had been severe; consequently, many lay folk advanced to the clergy. Thus, the Black Death spurred the rise of the middle classes.

42. 4. Indicate interpretations • Signal all interpretations clearly The difference in absorption rates is evident in Table 1.

43. 4. Indicate interpretations • Signal all interpretations clearly Clearly, alcohol is more readily absorbed into the bloodstream from distilled, rather than brewed, beverages (Table 1).

44. 5. Avoid overlap & repetition • Be concise. . . . Our results were based on observations of short-term changes in behavior. These results showed that feeding rates did not vary with the size of the caterpillar.

45. 5. Avoid overlap & repetition • Be concise. . . . Our observations of short-term changes in behavior indicate that feeding rates did not vary with the size of the caterpillar.

46. 5. Avoid overlap & repetition • Be concise. . . . Feeding rates did not appear to vary with the size of the caterpillar (Table 2).

47. 6. Bonus Rule: Make Back-ups! • Most common error: saving OVER existing document • Difficult to reverse • Practice saving with a new name so this never happens

48. Afterword • Technology: can offer a clean, non-distracting environment . . . and more • Writeroom, Q10, Write Monkey

49. Write Monkey

50. Write Monkey