1 / 28

Chapter Two: Writing with Structure

Chapter Two: Writing with Structure. Objectives. Learn about common elements that provide structure in qualitative writing. You can absolutely write out of order!. (p. 19). Outlines. #. Formatting doesn’t matter! Outlines are living documents. Outlines and Other Planning Devices.

rickwalker
Download Presentation

Chapter Two: Writing with Structure

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. Chapter Two: Writing with Structure

  2. Objectives • Learn about common elements that provide structure in qualitative writing

  3. You can absolutely write out of order! (p. 19)

  4. Outlines # Formatting doesn’t matter! Outlines are living documents Outlines and Other Planning Devices

  5. Presentation theme # Must represent the content well • identify the key participants, locations, topics, and relationships • identify the central conceptual or theoretical relationship • consider mentioning methodology • embed keywords Titles

  6. Presentation theme # Must be qualitative • Avoid words and phrases like factors, predict, comparing, testing, or measuring • Use words like beliefs, perceptions, experiences, process, and phenomena • Focus on the study’s relative size, its particular participants, and its chronology Consider the length Titles

  7. Presentation theme # Structured vs. Non-structured • Not really that different Decide on keywords Abstracts

  8. Presentation theme # Introductions hook the reader, define the topic, forge a tone and style, and acquaint readers with key terms Gives the article’s topic immediately Many options beyond the straightforward Avoid dictionaries and distant history The All-Important Introduction

  9. Presentation theme # Previews how the argument will progress through the manuscript Place near the beginning—end of the first chapter for a book Overviews

  10. Presentation theme # The traditional: Headings introduction literature review methods results discussion conclusion

  11. Presentation theme # In many disciplines you can use custom headings, or perhaps a “hybrid structure” (Sword, 2012) You can: • be descriptive of the section • use a quotation or in vivo term Headings

  12. Presentation theme # Consider how often headings appear—not too often, not too infrequently Use headings to “chunk” topics Headings can’t do all the transition work Headings

  13. CAUTION CAUTION Speed limit DETOUR SLIPPERY YIELD SLOW 25 AREA UNDER CONSTRUCTION BEWARE OF DOG WHEN WET Signposts and Transitions

  14. Presentation theme # Connecting arguments and ideas from one part of your manuscript to another. Develops “flow” to your writing Signposts and Transitions

  15. Presentation theme # Come within and between sentences, paragraphs, sections, and chapters Basic rule: Find a linkage between the current paragraph and the previous one, and make the linkage clear within the first couple of sentences. Transitions

  16. Presentation theme # Calls attention to itself AS structure Might be used to • enumerate a process or provide chronology • introduce major components of an argument • keep readers patient Keep it strategic! Keep the focus on participants, not just your writing. signposting

  17. Presentation theme # Stating Your Thesis: Early, Explicitly, and Frequently

  18. Presentation theme # Make your thesis explicit. • “My argument is…” State your thesis more than once. • “I will argue…” • “Again, my argument that … is bolstered by this finding,” • “As I have argued throughout… .” Stating Your Thesis: Early, Explicitly, and Frequently

  19. Presentation theme # If you’re stuck on what your study is about, start with what it is NOT about (Wolcott, 2009, p. 6), your delimitations. Better defines what your study IS about. What Your Study is Not About (“Delimitations”)

  20. Presentation theme # Only use in dire situations They are distracting to readers Either: • integrate the information • cut it Content Footnotes or Endnotes

  21. Presentation theme # Chapter 6 has specific organizational options Pick your organization to best reflect findings and help readers Get advice from others about whether your organization works Organized Findings

  22. Presentation theme # You can summarize You can wrap up Perhaps take a moment to get abstract You can give practice or policy implications You can tell readers what else needs researching Give a preview of what will come Do many of these things simultaneously Strong Endings

  23. Write a title for your study • Check it against the characteristics of good titles from the chapter. • Now try drafting a few alternatives using different approaches. Title Activity

  24. Abstract Activity Find a non- structured abstract (without headings) from an article in a journal Draw a dividing line between parts of the abstracts where headings might go for a structured abstract. Label the parts with “appropriate” headings.

  25. In a copy of a well written journal article or book chapter, draw a wavy line under transitions between paragraphs. In the margins, label the relationship the transition establishes between the paragraph’s main ideas (see Figure 2.4 ). Then circle the signposts used throughout. Draw an arrow beside it indicating whether the sign points forward ( → ) or backward ( ← ) in the text. Transitions & Signposts Activity

More Related