useful tips for boosting your academic writing skills Íde o’sullivan shannon consortium regional...

Useful tips for boosting Useful tips for boosting your academic writing your academic writing

skillsskills

Useful tips for boosting Useful tips for boosting your academic writing your academic writing

skillsskills

Íde O’SullivanShannon Consortium

Regional Writing Centre

Regional Writing Centre 2

Freewriting• What I like/dislike about writing………

• Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes.• Write in sentences.• Do not edit or censor your writing.• Private writing -- no one will read it.• Discuss what you have written in pairs.


Reflection and discussion

• ReflectionWhat impact did the previous exercise have on you?How might this type of writing activity be useful?

• DiscussionWhat do you worry about or struggle with when faced with a writing task?


Difficulties associated with writing

• Anxiety and fear of writing• Lack of confidence and motivation• Cracking the codes of academic writing• Getting started• Getting stuck – writers’ block• Lack of guidance, practice and feedback• Misconceptions of writing

– Good writing skills are innate X– Think first, then write X


Writing to prompts• Strategies that might help boost

my academic writing skills………

• Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes.

• Write in sentences.• Do not edit or censor your writing.• Discuss what you have written in

pairs.


Strategies to boost your academic writing

skills• Summarise in writing the main

points of the previous discussion.• Did this writing exercise help

focus/organise the main points of the discussion for you?

• Did the writing exercise help clarify the main points/outcomes of the discussion?


Writing as a process• Pre-writing• Drafting• Revision• Editing and proof-reading


Writing as a process• Understanding the assignment question

and the instructions• Brainstorming• Research• Planning and organising your

essay/report• Getting started• Structuring your essay/report• Developing an argument• Drafting and redrafting• Editing and proofreading


Getting started: Joining the

conversationThink of an assignment question as an invitation to participate in the discourse already taking place in the community that shares in your academic interests.• Recall that you have joined an already

on-going conversation. • Think about the particular conversations

already taking place with respect to both your topic and the particular aspect of your topic that you have been asked to write about.


Getting started• Create time and space for writing• Freewriting• Writing to prompts

– “What writing have you done for this assignment, what writing would you like to do……”

– “The aim of this assignment…”• Experiment with different types of

writing


Other types of writing• Keep a learning diary (Moore and

Murphy, 2005:61) / writing diary / process journal (Elbow and Belanoff, 2003:19).– When do you feel most/least motivated to

write?– What strategies have/have not worked in the

past? • Write a little bit every day (Moore and

Murphy, 2005:117):“we learn to write through writing” (Hyland, 2002:81).

• Keep a notebook with you to record ideas when they come to mind (Moore and Murphy, (2005).


Cracking the codes• Analysing the genre/text and modelling• Generate a list of

– The most important features of academic writing

– Criteria to make your writing more effective– The important conventions in your discipline– What is/is not acceptable in your discipline

• Develop a “writing charter” Murray and Moore (2006:135), that you can consult for guidance.

• Journal guidelines for contributors


Discipline-specific conventions

• What organisational features/patterns are in evidence?

• How are arguments and counterarguments presented and structured?

• What types of evidence are important in this discipline?

• What stylistic features are prominent?• Is the text cohesive? How does the author

achieve such cohesion?• What kind(s) of persuasive devises does

the author employ?• Are there noticeable features that can be

transferred to other disciplines?


Dialogue about writing• Talking about writing• Getting feedback on writing

– Peer-review– Generative writing– The “writing sandwich” (Murray,

2005:85): writing, talking, writing– Writing “buddies” (Murray and Moore,

2006:102)

• Engaging in critiques of one another’s work allows you to become effective critics of your own work.


Dialogue about writing• Writing prompt:

“How I go about writing……”• Reflection

How does talking about writing help my writing?


Writing time• Dealing with issues of time• Setting goals• “Binge” and “snack” writing

(Murray, 2005)• Do I need a big block of time to

write productively? • “Short bursts of productive writing”

(Murray and Moore, 2006:17)• Outlining (Murray, 2005)


Strategies that work for you

• The importance of reading• Images and diagrams• Mind mapping• Writing dictionaries• Writing is a personal process – find out

what works for you

• Writing can be a positive and enjoyable experience

• Be proud of your writing

• Get stuck in


Writing activity• Write a Limerick commencing with

the following line:Now that I’ve strategies to write…….


Works cited• Elbow, P. (1998) Writing without Teachers (2nd

edition). New York: Oxford University Press.• Elbow, P. and Belanoff, P. (2003) Being a Writer: A

Community of Writers Revisited. New York: McGraw-Hill.

• Hyland, K. (2002) Teaching and Researching Writing. London: Pearson Education Ltd.

• Moore, S. and Murphy, M. (2005) How to be a Student: 100 Great Ideas and Practical Hints for Students Everywhere. UK: Open University Press.

• Murray, R. (2005) Writing for Academic Journals. UK: Open University Press.

• Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006) The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach. UK: Open University Press.

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