EFS 698C - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Writing and Presenting Research

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EFS 698C: Week 5 Notes
 

I. Finish the overview of the writing process handout: raising consciousness and increasing efficiency

II. Formal writing for publication: some key concepts from EFS 698B (we'll discuss some of these in more detail as the course goes on)

• Style and correctness; convention (from Williams & Colomb Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace)

• Clarity:           verbal over nominal style

                        main character as subject

                        control of passives

• Cohesion: flow of one idea to the next; given/new structure

• Coherence: logical development of the text, sequence of topics

• Emphasis: important information last

• Concision: eliminate unnecessary elements

• Controlling long sentences--dealing with interruptions; modifiers

OTHER

• Genres: structure of academic papers; conventions of your individual fields (see assignment 2 below)

• Discourse functions

• Abstracts

• Introductions

• Dissertation writing

• Conclusions

III. Other areas (not in 698B)

• Discussion sections

• Figures, tables, appendices

• Titles

• Writing in posters and PowerPoints

        • Other?

IV. Proposal writing:

• http://orsp.umich.edu/proposals/pwg/pwgcontents.HTML (proposal writer's guide)

• http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/current_students/scholarly_pursuits.php Harvard professional development guide

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Homework: 

1) Work on a current piece of writing--send me up to 10 pages or write a grant proposal. Come prepared to discuss any specific writing issues you have based on the preceding list.

2) Find a model paper from your field and fill out the worksheet handed out in class. Bring both in to discuss next week.