Academic Writing St Joseph Fall 2014

1. Mathias Klang @klangable mklang@sju.edu
Writing in Academia

2. But first, more disobedience
And (minor) changes to the schedule

4. WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
Excercise in the clear presentation of evidence, reasons and
arguments to arrive at a conlcusion.

5. Every text:
• Plan & Structure
• Definitions of key
concepts
• ARGUMENT, critical
thinking
• Readable English &
Accurate spelling
• References
• No unnecessary points

6. “I CAN’T WRITE…”
Writing is a process
Not an automatic skill
Learning by doing and practicing
Laziness
Write and re-write
Work with your text
Spelling and grammar

7. Strict Natural Science Structure
• Title page
• Introduction
• Purpose/Question
• Background
• Theory
• Related Work
• Method
• Result
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
Objective
Analysis &conclusions
drawn from material

8. TIME
Simple math
When is it due?
Length?
”simple” mathematics
Advanced math
weekends
Boredom
I never thought it would happen…

9. Do NOT begin at the beginning
Borrow/steal ideas & text for inspiration (beware plagiarism)
Write down ideas straight away!
WRITING

10. Pictures
Brainstorming
Mindmaps
Notebooks
Read similar stuff
Write down every ”aha”
GETTING
STARTED

11. One of the primary hurdles in getting people to
read your paper is getting them to read the
content of the paper. If the title is misleading,
and if the abstract and introduction do not
manage to establish the setting in an interesting
way, chances are that the reader will not go any
further, unless they are very devoted to the
topic, appointed reviewers (in which case you
are in trouble anyway), or a close friend.
(Sørensen)
Why does anyone read essays?

12. Or, if
you love
me you
would…

13. What is your
question?
Why is it
important
Tell us quickly
Avoid poetry
Catch the reader

14. BORROWING, COPYING AND
PLAGIARISM

15. What’s wrong with Copy Paste

16. Have FUN

17. Deadlines!

18. Mathias Klang
mklang@sju.edu or @klangable
www.klangable.com
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