Workshop at Writing Retreat for Southampton Solent University School of Business, Law and Communication

1. CONTENTS
1. The writer in you
2. Why research & write?
3. Challenges on the road
4. What good academic
writing looks like
5. What gets in the way?
6. Writing an abstract
7. Magic referencing
@tansyjtweets
THE BAREFOOT GUIDE to
Writing for Publication

2. Finding the writer in you
• Choose a picture which appeals to you.
• Don’t think too much about it, just go for one
that speaks to you.

3. Your jottings
• Why did you choose this picture?
• How does the picture speak to you as an academic?
• How does the picture relate to your feelings as a
researcher?
• How does it relate to your feelings about writing?

4. Talk to someone
• Find a partner. Talk to him or her about your
picture and your jottings (5 mins)
• Swap around and listen to your partner’s
musings.

5. Private dimensions
Voyage of discovery
It’s about learning
The challenge
The excitement
The satisfaction
Fame and fortune
Public dimensions
It’s about collaboration
Joining a community
Sharing the learning
Publishing
Contributing to knowledge
Because we ask students to..
Why do research?

6. Because we have to…

7. Five reasons to get writing:
• It is what we do.
• Thinking happens when we write.
• It vivifies our teaching; it makes it cutting
edge.
• It enables us to share our discoveries.
• ‘Mastery’ comes out of the furnace of writing.
Why write?

8. Forms of systematic inquiry

9. The stark realities
• 90%+ rejection: of the 5% published, only 40%
cited (HE)
• Journal articles are the number one currency
• 50 million + published
• Who reads them? Data from citations +
downloads.
https://scholar.google.co.uk/

10. It’s a journey

11. It’s a discipline

12. Writing is learnt

13. • What words or phrases spring to mind?
• What is good academic writing?
• How do you know it when you see it?
What does good academic writing look
like?

14. Impressing other academics with your erudition
OR
Communicating?
Writing for your mum

15. Communicate Concreteness
Craft Choice
Creative Courage
Stylish Academic Writing: Helen Sword

16. 1. TITLE: Does the book or article have an interesting, concrete title?
2. OPENING: Engaging opening paragraph?
3. STORY: Does the book or article tell a story?
4. JARGON: Is the book or article relatively jargon-free?
5. VOICE: Does the author write with an individualistic voice?
6. INTERDISCIPLINARITY: Evidence of scholarly relationships outside
the author’s own field?
7. EXAMPLES: Concrete examples, illustration, anecdotes,
metaphors?
8. ELEGANCE AND CRAFT: Sentences carefully and elegantly crafted?
9. VERBAL FITNESS: Clear sentences that favour active verbs &
concrete nouns
10. CREATIVITY, ENGAGEMENT, HUMOUR: Conveys creativity,
imagination, originality; passion, commitment, personal
engagement; a sense of humour?
‘Best dressed’ list (Helen Sword)

17. Academic writing can be exhilarating, or quietly
pleasurable, or plain hard work. In common with
our students, it is something we – academics –
must do, usually alone. Sometimes we may feel
ourselves resisting the imperative to write; at
other times we may experience the frustration of
planning to write yet never quite getting there. So
much seems to come between us and our writing.
(Grant 2006, 483)
It’s not all plain-sailing

18. What gets in the way of your academic
writing?
Overcoming obstacles

19. or
Binge or daily grind…

20. On writing
1. Momentum – always write
2. Perfectionism? – do not try out drafts on
journal referees
3. Good writing is difficult – accept this
proposition
4. Elaborate rituals – are unhealthy
5. High rejection rates – be tough and prepared
to re-evaluate
Overcoming obstacles

21. A community of writersJoin a community of practice…

22. Exercise 3
What should be included in the abstract of a
journal article?
Writing an abstract

23. What an abstract should look like
1. What the article is about
2. Why this is important
3. How the study was conducted
4. What you found - findings
5. So what? Implications for theory/practice
Key elements of an abstract

24. Abstract 1
Evidence from 73 programmes in 14 U.K universities sheds light on the typical
student experience of assessment over a three-year undergraduate degree. A
previous small-scale study in three universities characterised programme
assessment environments using a similar method. The current study analyses data
about assessment patterns using descriptive statistical methods, drawing on a large
sample in a wider range of universities than the original study. Findings
demonstrate a wide range of practice across programmes: from 12 summative
assessments on one programme to 227 on another; from 87% by examination to
none on others. While variations cast doubt on the comparability of U.K degrees,
programme assessment patterns are complex. Further analysis distinguishes
common assessment patterns across the sample. Typically, students encounter
eight times as much summative as formative assessment, a dozen different types of
assessment, more than three quarters by coursework. The presence of high
summative and low formative assessment diets is likely to compound students’
grade-orientation, reinforcing narrow and instrumental approaches to learning.
High varieties of assessment are probable contributors to student confusion about
goals and standards. Making systematic headway to improve student learning from
assessment requires a programmatic and evidence-led approach to design,
characterised by dialogue and social practice.

25. How does it fare?
http://writersdiet.com/?page_id=4

27. Abstract 2
Research Informed Teaching is dogged by cloudy thinking and misperception.
Weak conceptions lead to traditional and content-driven approaches. RIT
becomes, “I publish research; I cite it; I teach it”, spawning the common axiom, “I
do research: therefore my teaching is research informed”. This article explores
four common myths about RIT. The first is that the ideal locus of RIT is within
research-intensive universities; the second that research-active academics are
best placed to embrace RIT; the third that doing RIT in first year is confusing for
students, and possibly imprudent; finally we troubleshoot the myth that RIT is a
selective pedagogy for high-achieving students. In this article, we use evidence
and theory to question these myths. Our purpose is to demystify RIT so that
lecturers can engage with the full range of possibilities within the research-
teaching nexus. Developing a shared language to understand RIT is the starter gun
for teachers to enter the RIT race and finish with more widespread, creative and
theoretically-informed practices which enhance student curiosity, capability and
confidence.

29. RefmeRefme

30. Becker, H. (2007) Writing for Social Scientists. Chicago. University of Chicago Press.
Boice, R. (1990) Professors as Writers: A self-help guide to productive writing.
Oklahoma. New Forum.
Grant, B. (2006) Writing in the company of other women: exceeding the boundaries,
Studies in Higher Education, 31:4, 483-495.
Jessop and Penny (1999) A story behind a story: Developing strategies for making
sense of teacher narratives. International Journal of Social Research Methodology.
2:3. 213-230.
Richardson, L. (1990) Writing Strategies: reaching diverse audiences. Thousand Oaks.
California. Sage.
Helen Sword (2013) Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge. MA. Harvard University
Press.
Helen Sword (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQsRvAVSVeM
Sword, H. (2009) Writing higher education differently: a manifesto on style, Studies
in Higher Education, 34:3, 319-336.
References