Grad.Dip./M.A. in Educational Mentoring

1. Grad.Dip./M.A. in Educational Mentoring Lawrence Cleary, Patricia Herron, Dr. Íde O’Sullivan The Regional Writing Centre, UL

2. le tour du jour • Academic writing—what is it and why are you doing this to me? • Academic writing—now what? Regional Writing Centre, UL

3. What is this academic writing and why are you doing this to me? Academic writing Regional Writing Centre, UL

4. Features of Academic Writing • What are some of the typical things that mark academic writing as academic? • Complexity • Formality • Objectivity • Explicitness • Honesty (not overstating the value of evidence or conclusions) • Responsibility (acknowledging the work of others) Regional Writing Centre, UL

5. Features of Academic Writing • Writing tends toward the argumentative, • All writing is rhetorical, • Arguments tend to be balanced and critical, and • Conceptual frameworks tend to be intricate. Regional Writing Centre, UL

6. Writing to a Prompt • Freewriting Prompt: Write openly about the topic of your paper. Perhaps talk about the critical argument you wish to make. • Write for five minutes without stopping. • Write in full sentences, but do not worry about grammar or mechanics. • If you do not yet have an argument, speculate on possibilities. • Write freely, knowing that no one will read your writing. Regional Writing Centre, UL

7. Critical Inquiry • What do we mean by critical thinking? • You are able to clarify your thoughts on a subject. • You tend to demonstrate a healthy scepticism and verify claims that others make. • You state things precisely. You do not settle for approximations of what you mean. Regional Writing Centre, UL

8. Critical Inquiry • There is unity between what you talk about and your purpose for writing. All that you offer is relevant to your argument. • The complexity of the issues are addressed. • All significant points of view are presented without distortion or bias. • You are consistent and logical in your thinking. Regional Writing Centre, UL

9. CLARITY: • Could you elaborate further on that point? • Could you express that point in another way? • Could you give me an illustration? • Could you give me an example? (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

10. CLARITY: • Clarity is the gateway standard. If a statement is unclear, we cannot determine whether it is accurate or relevant. In fact, we cannot tell anything about it because we don't yet know what it is saying. For example, the question, "What can be done about the education system in America?" is unclear.   (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

11. CLARITY: • In order to address the question adequately, we would need to have a clearer understanding of what the person asking the question is considering the "problem" to be. A clearer question might be "What can educators do to ensure that students learn the skills and abilities which help them function successfully on the job and in their daily decision-making?" (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

12. ACCURACY • Is that really true? • How could we check that? • How could we find out if that is true? A statement can be clear but not accurate, as in "Most dogs are over 300 pounds in weight.“ (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

13. PRECISION • Could you give more details? • Could you be more specific? A statement can be both clear and accurate, but not precise, as in "Jack is overweight." (We don’’t know how overweight Jack is, one pound or 500 pounds.) (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

14. RELEVANCE • How is that connected to the question? • How does that bear on the issue? A statement can be clear, accurate, and precise, but not relevant to the question at issue. For example, students often think that the amount of effort they put into a course should be used in raising their grade in a course. Often, however, the "effort" does not measure the quality of student learning; and when this is so, effort is irrelevant to their appropriate grade. (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

15. DEPTH • How does your answer address the complexities in the question? • How are you taking into account the problems in the question? • Is that dealing with the most significant factors? A statement can be clear, accurate, precise, and relevant, but superficial (that is, lack depth). For example, the statement, "Just say No!" which is often used to discourage children and teens from using drugs, is clear, accurate, precise, and relevant. Nevertheless, it lacks depth because it treats an extremely complex issue, the pervasive problem of drug use among young people, superficially. It fails to deal with the complexities of the issue. (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

16. BREADTH • Do we need to consider another point of view? • Is there another way to look at this question? • What would this look like from a conservative standpoint? • What would this look like from the point of view of . . .?  A line of reasoning may be clear accurate, precise, relevant, and deep, but lack breadth (as in an argument from either the conservative or liberal standpoint which gets deeply into an issue, but only recognizes the insights of one side of the question.) (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

17. LOGIC • Does this really make sense? • Does that follow from what you said? • How does that follow? • But before you implied this, and now you are saying that; how can both be true? When we think, we bring a variety of thoughts together into some order. When the combination of thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking is "logical." When the combination is not mutually supporting, is contradictory in some sense or does not "make sense," the combination is not logical. (“Universal Intellectual Standards”) Regional Writing Centre, UL

18. The Research/Writing Link • Reading, Thinking, Writing • What in your reading has surprised you? • When reading, has anything struck you as stupid, odd or illogical?—for instance, the way things are done or the way they are viewed. • Is there anything in the reading that offends your intellectual or emotional sensibilities? Regional Writing Centre, UL

19. Now what? Academic writing Regional Writing Centre, UL

20. Where are you now? • What are you currently doing? • Writing Prompt: • What are you currently doing? What have you done? What will you do next? • Talk about what you are currently doing in terms of your short-term plans—goals you intend to reach in the next few weeks—and your medium and long-range plans? • Write for five minutes • Write in sentences, but do not self-edit • No one else will read this, so it does not have to be perfect • Talk to the paper; speak as if you were explaining this to one of your peers • Continue to write, even if you think that you have nothing to say Regional Writing Centre, UL

21. What is your strategy? • Talk to your colleagues: • What is your strategy? • What is your long-term plan? • What will you have finished by summer’s end? • What will you have done by the end of the second week in March? Regional Writing Centre, UL

22. Ground Work • Writing Process • Assessment of the context into which you write • Writing Strategies and Strategy Development • Research Process Regional Writing Centre, UL

23. Your Writing Process • Prewriting • Assessing the rhetorical context • Planning • Gathering information • Drafting • Revising (Global Concerns) • Reassessment of the paper in terms of its rhetorical context • Editing and Proofreading (Local Issues) Regional Writing Centre, UL

24. Assessing the Context into which you Write • You as a writer • The occasion for writing • Your topic • Your audience • Your purpose for writing Regional Writing Centre, UL

25. Writing Strategies • Cognitive • Metacognitive • Affective • Social Regional Writing Centre, UL

26. Writing is a Social Activity • Lexical-grammatical choices affect the culture of register, which in turn affects the culture of genre. • Illustration: (Martin & Rose, 2003, p. 254 cited in BALEAP 2007). Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

27. Logical Choices and Unity of Purpose • Every choice serves to defend a claim, answer a question, or confirm a hypothesis • Word, phrase, sentence-structure • Does the choice satisfy audience expectations • Does it speak to your authorial credibility • Does it further your argument, analysis, Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

28. Unity and Coherence • If information included in your dissertation does not contribute to an understanding of the value of your conclusions and recommendations, then it only serves to befuddle the logic of your piece. • A unified text is a more coherent text. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

29. Form and Content... • ...Content and Form • ‘Understanding organisational behaviour has never been more important for managers’ (Robbins, 2003:14). • Explain why this is the case, outlining in your answer the challenges and oppor- tunities faced by managers, and the value of understanding organisational behaviour to a practicing manager. Regional Writing Centre, UL

30. Arguments & Logic • A good argument will have, at the very least: • a thesis that declares the writer's position on the problem at hand; • an acknowledgment of the opposition that nods to, or quibbles with other points of view; • a set of clearly defined premises that illustrate the argument's line of reasoning; • evidence that validates the argument's premises; • a conclusion that convinces the reader that the argument has been soundly and persuasively made. (Dartmouth Writing Program 2005) Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

31. Literature Review & Logic • The Lit. Review that you wrote for your proposal will not necessarily be the same review that you submit as part of your dissertation. • Think in terms of your argument and the support that you provided for claims: • Include a review of all the literature that you read to learn about your topic and the particular aspect of your topic that you focus on. • Include a review of the literature on the methodologies that you used. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

32. Methodologies & Logic • When you know what you need to know in order to answer a question, then it is logical to choose methods of inquiry that will supply the reliable verifiable data that you need in order to answer the question. • Don’t forget to qualify your data—what does it tell you and what is it unable to tell you? Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

33. Methodologies & Credibility • All data has to be analyzed. You need a methodology for analyses as well. • Quantitative data: can it be generalized? • Qualitative data: what criteria will be used to establish its value? • Do not overstate your results. An honest, quality analysis will speak volumes about your credibility, regardless of the quality of the data. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

34. Writing Strategies • Where are you now? • Strategies for getting started • Research strategies v. Writing strategies • Strategies that motivate you to write • Strategies that help you switch from writing for yourself to writing for others • Where do you want to be in a month? Two months? Six months? Regional Writing Centre, UL

35. Writing Strategies • Map your paper • What sections or subsections are completed (keeping in mind you still have to revise), • Pick one or two of the holes in your paper that you would feel comfortable filling, • Assess the reasons for any anxiety you have over the unfinished parts that cause you anxiety • Do you need to read more? • Do you need to rethink your paper? Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

36. Writing Strategies • Outline your paper • Devise headings and subheadings for uncompleted sections • This helps you see the logical progression (or lack of it) of your ideas • It identifies the main ideas • It helps detect omissions Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

37. Writing Strategies • Write about what you are having difficulty with right now. • It gets the fingers tapping and the cerebral juices flowing • An awareness of fears and anxieties helps you to develop strategies to overcome those emotional roadblocks • You may discover that the reason that you are having difficulty is that you still haven’t a vision or a complete picture. There may still be things of which you need to have a better understanding. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

38. Writing Strategies • Don’t allow yourself to freeze up. When you are feeling overwhelmed… • Satisfy yourself with small advances until you feel more confident and unstuck • Seek help. Talk to friends. Talk about how you feel, but talk about your ideas as well. • Eat lots of ice cream and candy Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

39. Works Cited • Ebest, Sally Barr, Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu, and Gerald J. Alred, G. Writing From A to Z. The Easy-to-Use Reference Handbook. Mt. View, CA: Mayfield, 1977. • Leedy, P. and Ormrod, E. Practical research: Planning and Design,8th ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2005. • Murray, Rowena. How to Write a Thesis, 2nd ed. Maidenhead: Open UP, 2006. • “Universal Intellectual Standards.” Criticalthinking.org. 27 Feb. 2009. <http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/universal-intellectual-standards.cfm>. • “Describing & Analysing Language: Handouts.” 2009. University of Hertfordshire, School of Combined Studies. 08 Jan. 2008. <http://www.uefap.com/courses/baecc/dal/handouts.htm>. • “Using Bloom's Taxonomy in Assignment Design.” 2009. University of Maryland University College, UMUC Effective Writing Center. 27 Feb. 2009. <http://www.umuc.edu/ewc/resources/bloomtax.shtml>. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre