“i must confess that, personally, i have learned many things i never knew before…just by...

J. Vincent | York St John University | 2013

“I must confess that, personally, I have learned many things I never knew before…just by writing.”

Saint Augustine

CHAPLAINCY WRITING


What we are interested in writing about?

Barriers to writingSolutions to writing Different forms of chaplaincy writing

Toolkit for academic reading, writing and reviewing

WHAT WE WILL COVER:


WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WRITING ABOUT?

What I am researching /writing or would like to be researching /writing about: Short term Medium Term Long Term

Name:Contact:


Stick it up on the wall

Go round and read what other people are / would like to be writing about

Talk to others about theirs or explain more about yours

WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WRITING ABOUT?


WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO WRITING?


Solutions to barrier

PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO WRITING

Describe one barrier to writing


Barriers Time Language Focus Commitment Skill and fl ow How to start Confi dence Writing Style Creative energy Reputation Credibil ity of what I might

write

Solutions

BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS


5 KEY BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS


Everything that you do can be seen as research!

“Until you have reconfigured your work and your ideas – in writing – they will continue to seem far too modest for a paper in an academic journal.”

(Murray, 2009, p24)Be reassured that most research only makes

modest contributions – simply define what yours is and how you would like or is the most appropriate format to explain it.

“I HAVEN’T DONE ANY RESEARCH!”


Be organised! Set realistic goals for yourselfReward yourself

“I DON’T HAVE TIME!”


Confidence comes from a lack of education about academic writing: first admit there is a ‘gap’ and then do something about it – look for a course, mentor, group or website to help.

Writing is a way of developing confidence and ‘voice’ – the process itself teaches us how to raise the standard of our writing

Safety in numbers - write together!Start with something small-scale and build

up

“I DON’T FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO WRITE!”


Find a supervisor, more experienced writer, colleague or critical friend to give direction

Follow the methodology of a similar piece of research

“I DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING WITH IT!”


“I JUST CAN’T GET STARTED”

Spend 1 minute writing about anything…Might write about:- How you are feeling about your job- What you did last weekend - Your favourite film, book, series or

music- Why it is diffi cult to think of things to

write about when someone asks you to


“I JUST CAN’T GET STARTED”

How many words did you write?

Was it easy or hard?

Free writing is a way of ‘warming up’ for writing. Murray (2006) suggests spending 5 mins free writing about your topic in order to get you going.


DIFFERENT STYLES OF CHAPLAINCY WRITING


Skim read one article each in your groups

Write down in no more than 50 words what it is about

Explain how it does or could relate to university chaplaincy

What do you think?

READING TASK

Theological reflection

Narrative research

Case Studies

Quantitative

research


Be able to explain the key ideas

How has it been or could it be applied to HE chaplaincy writing?

Evaluation: what do you think?

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION


“Reflective practice writing is a way of expressing and exploring our own and others’ stories: crafting and shaping it to aid our understanding and development. These stories are data banks of skill, knowledge and experience: much of our knowing is in our doing…Sharing reflective writings and discussing them in depth enables practice development because the outcomes of reflection are taken back into practice.” (Bolton 2006, p23)

NARRATIVE RESEARCH


“Wherever we walk we put our feet on story” (Cicero)Be able to explain the

key ideasHow has it been or

could it be applied to HE chaplaincy writing?


NARRATIVE RESEARCH


CASE STUDIES





QUANTITATIVE STUDIES





WHICH STYLE WOULD BEST SUIT YOUR AREA?

ARE THERE OTHERS MORE APPROPRIATE?


TOOLKIT FOR WRITING


TOOLKIT FOR ACADEMIC WRITING

Planning Critical reading strategies

Analytical writing strategies

Reviewing techniques


WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PIECE OF WRITING?

Be clear what you want to say

Consider your thesis and write an initial plan

Find out where and how the academic literature fits with your thesis and what patterns are emerging

Separate your thinking into logical points that work to form your argument/prove your thesisSelect literature/evidence that support your points

In your writing, develop each main point into a paragraph, supported by evidence that leads towards your conclusionReview your work for logic and to ensure that it follows the writing conventions of the journal/publication

Essay journey


A topic is merely the subject of your essay: for example, Chaplaincy in England.

What you have to say about that topic is your thesis. A thesis is not a statement of fact, but rather a statement of your view of that fact ; not “University chaplaincy is under threat” but “University chaplaincy is under threat as a direct result of philosophical, theological and financial reconsiderations of the role in the twenty-first century.”

Then the evidence you bring to support your thesis, together with the way in which you arrange it, is your argument.

TOOLKIT FOR WRITING: PLANNING

Topic Thesis Argument


Initial thinking and plan

Reading

THE PLANNING CYCLE

Some like to continue this process throughout their writing - constantly building up their argument as they

go.


In using literature for academic writing, Hart (2000) states, “Quality means appropriate breadth and depth, rigour and consistency, clarity and brevity, and eff ective analysis and synthesis, in other words, the use of the ideas in the literature to justify the particular approach to the topic, the selection of methods, and demonstration that this research contributes something new.” (Hart, 2000, p1ff)

READING: BREADTH AND DEPTH


Read widely to place yourself/ideas in academic landscape

You can’t read everything - be selective Read for specific questions or aspects of your

thesis / argument

TOOLKIT FOR ACADEMIC WRITING: READING


Read for meaning / main ideasBe critical in your reading – use a

reading frame to assist and to help you organise your notes.



Use the writing frame provided to make notes on a section from one of the articles we looked at earlier

How could you improve it or make it more effective for your needs?



Analyse the literature for patterns and themes


Force yourself to sum up the main ideas from a text in 10-15 words

Write them on small pieces of paper/post-it notes

Move them around according to themes and logic


Build a free-standing structure out of the marshmallows and cocktail sticks that can hold the weight of an orange for more than 5 seconds…

TOOLKIT FOR ACADEMIC WRITING: WRITING


Be clear what are you arguingEnsure that your argument flows and

links throughout each paragraph and section towards the conclusion

Make sure that your arguments (marshmallows and sticks) can hold the weight of your conclusions (orange)

TOOLKIT FOR ACADEMIC WRITING: WRITING


MAKE YOUR PARAGRAPHS COUNT

Topic Sentence (My point)Developing sentences (Moreover, my point)

- Defining, classifying, expanding- Give reasons, effects or examples- Contrasting, describing, explaining- Refuting counter argumentsClosing or transition sentence (Therefore)

Adapted from: http://www.soas.ac.uk/add/studyskills/helpyourself/


EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH

An economic system is defined by Dixon as the system of “production, distribution and consumption of goods and services” (1981, p12). More abstractly, it is the set of principles and techniques by which problems of economics are addressed such as the problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources (Castro, 1994). It is composed of both people and institutions, including their relationships to productive resources, such as through owning and exploiting property. Examples of contemporary economic systems include capitalist systems, socialist systems and mixed economies. Cuba, for instance, is said to be socialist which refers to its domination by a political, bureaucratic class attached to one single communist party. This party follows Marxist doctrines and claims to represent the proletariat, though in a non-democratic fashion. It is clear that “economic systems” in the sense defined can be viewed broadly and is often driven by the culture in which it is situated.

Topic sentence | Development (classifying/examples | Closing/transition


EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH

An economic system is defined by Dixon as the system of “production, distribution and consumption of goods and services” (1981, p12). More abstractly, it is the set of principles and techniques by which problems of economics are addressed such as the problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources (Castro, 1994). It is composed of both people and institutions, including their relationships to productive resources, such as through owning and exploiting property. Examples of contemporary economic systems include capitalist systems, socialist systems and mixed economies. Cuba, for instance, is said to be socialist which refers to its domination by a political, bureaucratic class attached to one single communist party. This party follows Marxist doctrines and claims to represent the proletariat, though in a non-democratic fashion. It is clear that “economic systems” in the sense defined can be viewed broadly and is often driven by the culture in which it is situated.

Topic sentence |Development (classifying/examples) | Closing/transition


Backwards outlining exercise:Write out summary statement for

each paragraphIf struggling – consider revising,

deleting or movingDoes point support your main

argument and lead to your conclusion?

TOOLKIT FOR ACADEMIC WRITING: BACKWARDS OUTLINING


Q&A


Astley J., Francis L. J., Robbins M.,(2012) Assessing attitude towards religion: the Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude towards Theistic Faith, British Journal of Religious Education , Vol.34 No.2, 183-193

Bolton G., (2006), Refl ective Practice: Writing and Professional development (2nd Ed), London, Sage Publications Ltd

Fitchett G, (2011), Making Our Case(s), Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy , Vol.17 No.1-2, 3-18

Hart, C. (2000) Doing a Literature Review, SAGE Publications Ltd, London

Murray, R., (2005) Writing for Academic Journals , Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw-Hill.

Murray R., (2006) How to write a thesis , Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw-Hill.

Swinton J., (2002), Rediscovering Mystery and Wonder: Toward a Narrative-Based Perspective on Chaplaincy, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy , Vol.13 No.1, 223-236

Warren H.A, Murray J.L, Best M.M, (2002) The Discipline and Habit of Theological Refl ection, Journal of Religion and Health , Vol 41, No 4, 323-331

REFERENCES

“i must confess that, personally, i have learned many things i never knew before…just by...

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