Academic Literacies 2

Lecture 2:
Developing an efficient
research and writing
strategy
Lecture outline
 Your role as an academic writer
 Developing an effective research and
writing strategy
 Establishing supervisory and peer
relationships to support scholarship

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Readings
 Writing from A-Z, pp. 28-34 (Research
Processes).
 How to be a Student, pp. 83-88
(Feedback).

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Your role as an academic writer
 Choose another type of writing other than
academic writing, for example, journalism.
What is that writer’s role/function?
Compare this to the role of someone
writing in academia. What is your role in
this context?

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Ballenger (2007:10):
The Curious Researcher
 The understanding that inquiry is driven by
questions not answers.
 The willingness to suspend judgement and to
tolerate ambiguity.
 The notion that new knowledge or perspectives
are made through the back and forth of
conversation in which the writer assumes at least
two seemingly contrary roles: believer and
doubter, generator and judge.
 The writer’s willingness to take responsibility for
his or her ideas, accepting both the credit for and
the consequence of putting forth these ideas for
dialogue and debate.

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The research writers’
responsibilities
 Choose sources that strengthen your
credibility.
 Use material from your sources
appropriately and effectively.
 Avoid both intentional and unintentional
plagiarism.
(Ebest et al. 2004:29-34)

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Your role as an academic writer
 You as a writer (Hyland 1995:105)
 Set out a claim
 Find the truth
 Establish credibility
 Establish solidarity with your discourse
community

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Remember: Assess the rhetorical
situation
 Occasion
 Topic
 Audience
 Purpose
 Writer

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What is expected of you as an
academic writer?
 What exactly are tutors looking for in your work?
 What do you think are the most important criteria?
 How do you find out what tutors are looking for in
your writing?
 Example: “Psychology assignments typically
encourage you to become more confident in finding
evidence, evaluating its persuasiveness and using
it to formulate your own ideas and arguments
about a topic” (Norton et al. 2009:25).
 What is your tutor going to assess you on?

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Assessment criteria
Basic core assessment criteria for essay writing
(these change from discipline to discipline, task
to task):
 Answering the question
 Structuring the essay
 Demonstrating understanding
 Developing an argument
 Using evidence
 Evaluating sources
 Use of written language
(Norton et al. 2009:34)
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Example: Assessment criteria for
AW4002
 Relevance to the content of the course
 Depth and degree of understanding of topics under
discussion
 Knowledge and understanding of relevant readings and
sources
 Critical discussion of relevant readings
 Coherence of argument
 Clarity and depth in the analysis of theory and topics under
discussion
 Clarity and relevance of introduction and conclusion
 Clarity and precision of expression and presentation
 Use of appropriate and consistent referencing and citation
conventions
 Clarity of writing including grammar, punctuation, spelling
and sentence construction 
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Addressing the question
 “This is very important, I do insist on the
question that I asked being answered.
People are more likely to fail or do badly if
they just write everything they know
about a topic and don’t focus on the
question.”
(Norton et al. 2009:40)

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The components of the assignment
question
 Identify the topic.
 Ask yourself if the question is asking you to limit
your conversation to a certain aspect of the topic.
 Identify the instruction. (Most assignments
contain an instruction word such as ‘discuss’,
‘compare’, ‘analyse’, or ‘explain’.)
 Ascertain if the professor is asking you to write
from a particular point of view.
 Identify any assignment words that restrict, or
expand on, your subject.
(Gillet 2010)

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Analysing and understanding the
assignment question
Example: ‘Explain Chomsky’s idea
of Universal Grammar (UG).’
1. Topic: ‘Universal Grammar’
2. Instruction: ‘Explain’
3. Aspect: ‘Chomsky’s idea of’
4. Restriction or expansion: none
5. Viewpoint: none

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Analysing and understanding the
assignment question
Think 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.

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Analysing and understanding the
assignment question
 Keep in mind the assignment question,
any questions you need to answer in order
to answer the assignment question, and
the instruction word as you plan your
essay.
 From beginning to end, the point of order
is the initial question, claim or hypothesis.
 Do not “write down all you know about…”
 Checklist

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Establishing supervisory and peer
relationships to support scholarship
 Writing buddies
 Writers’ groups
 Peer-review
 Feedback

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Readings for next week (Week 3)
 Using English for Academic Purposes,
Genres/Functions:
www.uefap.com/writing
 The OWL at Purdue, Subject-specific
Resources:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section
/4/
 Lab preparation for next week

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Resources
 Norton et al. (2009) Writing Essays @
University: A guide for Students by
Students. London: Write Now Centre for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Available online at:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/londonmet/f
ms/MRSite/acad/psychology/writing/Writin
gEssaysatUniversity.pdf
 Using English for Academic Purposes:
www.uefap.com/writing

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