scientific writing as persuasion july 28, 2010 jennie ariail, ph.d. and tom g. smith, ph.d. the...
TRANSCRIPT
Scientific Writing as Persuasion
July 28, 2010Jennie Ariail, Ph.D. and Tom G. Smith, Ph.D.
The Writing Center and
The Center for Academic Excellence
[email protected]; [email protected]
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC
792-6390
Overview
Writing as Process• Routines• Reading and research plan• Feedback and input
Writing as Product• Scientific writing--IMRAD• Genre analysis• Literature review
Writing as Rewriting• Coherence, Abstraction Ladder, Transition• Writing with and in style• Revising, editing, and abstracts
Rhetorical Theory and Persuasion
Rhetoric—“all the available means of persuasion”
Canons of Rhetoric– Invention– Arrangement– Style – Memory– Delivery
Rhetorical Theory and Knowledge Production Participation as a “rhetor” in producing
knowledge and encouraging action Central questions: How is knowledge made
through communication? What constitutes knowledge? In what manner do I contribute to knowledge?
Rhetoric--word, phrase, clause, paragraph, composition, citation
Grammar--phoneme, syllable, word, phrase, phrase, clause Mechanics—punctuation, capitalization, format, structure of
citations
• all the available means of persuasionAudience Analysis
• the art of discovering all the means of persuasionHeuristics
Inner resourcesTopicsGenres
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Rhetoric
Writing as Process
Writing Routines—Invention, Arrangement– Time– Space– Journaling– Drafting and Outlining– Drawing and Clustering– Reading and delaying– Talking and taping
Burke’s Pentad
What was done? (act)Where or when was it done? (scene)Who did it? (agent)How was it done? (agency)Why was it done? (purpose)
Larson’s Problem Solving TechniquesWhat is the problem?Why is the problem indeed a problem?What goals must be served by whatever action or solution that is acted upon?Which goals have the highest priority?What procedures might attain the stated goals?What can I predict about the consequences of each possible action?Which course of action is best?How do the actions compare with each other as potential solutions to the problem?
Produced by MUSC's Writing Center - Under the direction of Professor Tom Waldrep
Writing as Process:
Overcoming Writer’s Block
Writing as Process
Reading and Research Plans– Target journals– Reference Management – Note taking– Clustering/Drawing/Outlining– Database to Bibliography
Writing as Process
Outlining Principles– Hierarchy of ideas, abstract to concrete– What to include and why to include it– Facts and implications– Does the outline stand alone
Role in the writing process– Invention– Arrangement– Memory
Writing as Process
Feedback and Input– Drafting– Low stakes writing/Peer reviewing– Revising– High stakes writing/Authority reviewing– Knowledge acquisition
Writing as Product—Invention, Arrangement, Style
Scientific Writing– Contextualizing
Topic—the CARS Model Process/Method Results
– Accumulating, Building, and Filling– Impartiality: Disclosure
Disclosure, Impartiality, Referencing and Plagiarism
What is the most important reason scientists cite sources?
Why Cite?
To persuade– You are competent to conduct experiments– You are a peer of published authors, joining
their conversation– Your work has a logical location within a body
of literature
How citation can undermine persuasion
Summarize or paraphrase without contextualizing. Use a review article as citation for a single published
research finding important to your work…rather than citing a review based on its intended purpose (describing the shape of a field of knowledge).
Cite a web page…WHAT!? Cite a text book. Cite only one article when two articles were published
about the same time, with similar findings. Cite the first paper you find that makes your point (rather
than the first and most important paper).
Writing as Rewriting: Arrangement/Style
Reader Expectation Global to local—Abstraction Ladder
– Transition/Paragraphing– Coherence– Cohesive ties– Sentences– Topic– Final
Transition—Arrangement, Style, Delivery
•Transition implies that the writer is moving from one idea to the next or is changing topics. If a period is a stop sign, then transition is a flashing blinker, a signal to the reader that you are changing lanes, going in a different direction.
•Single words can signal a change. Often they are separated from the rest of the sentence with commas. Whole phrases and clauses also function as transitions.
•White space
•Bullets and/or headings; numbers, bold
Coherence: Old-to-New Information Theory of Coherence The definition of the word cohere
indicates a logical connection, a consistent “sticking together.” English-- subject-verb-object pattern
OLD information NEW information subject predicate
David came to the Writing Center for a consultation.
Here he read the guidelines for research at a major medical center.
This paper was presenting problems for David because he had to ensure that he adhered to the hierarchy of the organization.
Steve said….
Coherence Patterns—Style
Topic Changing: In this pattern, the key word in the Topic position repeats or refers back to a word or idea at the end of the previous sentence.
Topic StressOld1 New1
Old2 (=New1) New2
Old3 (=New2) New3
Old4 (=New3) New4
Coherence Patterns (cont.)
Topic Stringing:In this pattern, the key words or ideas (synonyms for them) in the Topic positions keep reappearing until that particular topic has been brought to a conclusion.
Topic Stress
Old1 New1
Old1 New2
Old1 New3
Old1 New4
Style
Vary the length of sentences. Avoid a series of similar length sentences. Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not overuse pronouns like it and this, especially when their antecedents are unclear. Use “this” as an adjective only
Checklist
Describe arrangement Underline headings List transitional
phrases between paragraphs
Paragraphs--length– Coherence
Sentence--reader expectation– a. Topic (old)– b. Stress (new)– c. Subordination
Location of subject and verb
Analysis of Style and Delivery
Diction Sentence length Variety of sentence
patterns Shortest, simplest
words Sentence beginnings Active voice
Prepositional strings Parallel structure Editing
– a. commas– b. semicolons
Writing for Publication
Writing as Process—Engage in a routine of writing
Writing as Product—Samples and feedback; be a scientist toward your writing and writing tasks
Writing as Rewriting—Revision is not simply correction; it is re-seeing, articulating ideas in new ways