1Dr Marco Angelini,UCL Transition ProgrammeWith thanks to Dr Colleen McKenna for kindpermission in reproducing her material in thispresentationApproaches to criticalreading and writingOutline for today Introduction Considering your writing practices Reading as part of writing Writing as part of thinking Planning Organising written work Looking at text Finding time to write2What type of writer areyou?4The diver35The … Continue reading “UCL Transition Programme | My Assignment Tutor”
1Dr Marco Angelini,UCL Transition ProgrammeWith thanks to Dr Colleen McKenna for kindpermission in reproducing her material in thispresentationApproaches to criticalreading and writingOutline for today Introduction Considering your writing practices Reading as part of writing Writing as part of thinking Planning Organising written work Looking at text Finding time to write2What type of writer areyou?4The diver35The patchworker6The architect47The grand planner8Identifying your writingstyle5Previous writingexperiences …Reading as part of writing6Critical reading (and howit benefits your writing) Helps you determine what is andwhat is not a robust piece ofresearch and writing in your field Helps you identify where existingresearch has left a gap that yourwork could fill Attention you pay to writing of othershelps you become more self-awareof your own written work:– Sufficient evidence to back up claims;argumentation/reasoning; becomingalert to your assumptions and how theyaffect your claims Wallace and Wray, 2006Critical reading?How do you go aboutreading an academic textin your field?7Critical reading? Somepossible approachesHow do you go about reading anacademic text? Use parts of the text: abstract,contents, index, sub-headings,graphs, tables, introduction andconclusion Skim to get the gist of the argument Read with questions in mindCritical reading? Somepossible approaches Make notes/mind map/ usehighlighter Write a summary in your own words Write a brief critical response Keep note of bibliographic details8Critical reading/ critical writingHandout – p. 12-13 Wallace and Wray As a critical reader, one evaluatesthe attempts of others tocommunicate with and convincetheir target audience by means ofdeveloping an argument; As a writer, one develops one’s ownargument, making it as strong andas clear as possible, so as tocommunicate with and convinceone’s target audience.– Wallace and Wray, 20069Free writing Way of using writing as a tool forthinking Allows you to write withoutconstraints.To do it –Write continuously, in completesentences, anything that occurs toyou.Free writingPlease write down EITHER1. An idea / theme from your fieldOR2. Use the topic:‘what I enjoy about writing…’Use a free writing technique to writeanything at all that occurs to youabout this topic.This writing will not be shown toanyone else.10Planning (Sharples) Plans should be flexible Through the writing process a deeperunderstanding of topic is gained – thus,planning is increasingly out of step aswriting develops:– “The act of writing brings into being ideasand intentions that the writer never had atthe start of the task or that could not beexpressed in any detail.”.Plans Free writing Notes/sketches Idea lists– Ideas on post-it notes Mind map Skeleton paper withsub-headings Outline Draft text Adapted fromSharples, 199911 What techniques do you use todevelop ideas in your writingand/or signpost an argument?12Developing/sustainingargument ‘proving’ the thesis statement orcontrolling argument Signposting argument (Giving thereader cues; anticipating/referringback) Using words which signal transition ordevelopment – “However”,“Nevertheless”, “Thus”, “Therefore”,“Despite” Illustrating theoretical positions withconcrete examples Generalising from a particular set offindings if possible Using subheadings Using/responding to counterargumentsand examples Anticipate next paragraph at end ofprevious oneSignposting and makingtransitions Links between paragraphs – pick up pointfrom the end of a paragraph at the start of nextone. Conjunctions to express different kinds ofmeaning relations– Temporal: when, while, after, before, then– Causative: because, if, although, so that,therefore– Adversative: however, alternatively, although,nevertheless, while– Additive: and, or, similarly, incidentally Signposting through pronouns – this, these,those, that, they, it, them Adverbs: Firstly, secondly, etc Illustrative: For example, in illustration, that isto say,13Signalling conclusionsCitationExamples of Citing• The hip bone is confirmed to be connected tothe thigh bone (Funny Bones, 1989).• The cytoskeletal network acts like the strongbars within a scaffolding (Alberts et al., 1998)• Slavic-Smith (2006) postulated threeclassifications for nucleoli in neurons• It was shown in 2006 by Take That, that asuccessful comeback tour was possible [1].14Bibliographies Alberts, Bray, Johnson, Lewis,Raff, Roberts & Walter. EssentialCell Biology, 1st Edition, Garland,1998 Dickson, B (2002) MolecularMechanisms of Axon Guidance.Science 298 1959-1964 [1] www.bbc.co.uk/newsWriting tips Write a sentence for each paragraph you wantto write – you can then move them about easilyto form thread of argument Index tag the main points you want to use inyour references, so they can be found easilywhile writing Write the introduction last Write the conclusion first Read what you have written aloud to see if itsounds right Find best environment for you – when andwhere do you work best Take a break before trying to do your final check Use a writing checklist15Making time for writing Write throughout the course Do free writing as frequently aspossible Snack and binge writing (RowenaMurray) Writing groups Don’t wait until you feel ‘ready’ towrite…Writing for learning Read regularly in the field. Find writerswhose work you admire and study whatand how they do things. View writing as part of a process ratherthan a product Find models of good writing in yourdiscipline – analyse it; ask what worksand what doesn’t; consider writingstyle; vocabulary; techniques –metaphor; explanation; signposting Reflect on your own writing practices Keep a notebook or learning journal Explore free writing16To sum up…1. Asked ‘what type of writer areyou’? What are your writingpractices?2. What are your approaches toreading? How might you linkreading and writing?3. Free writing as a means ofgenerating ideas4. Thought about structure of theessay at the paragraph level andthe overall level5. Tried to relate these ideas backto the outline.ReferenceAcademic Writing SkillsPresentation – UCLhttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/studyskills…/Academic_Writing_Skills_11.pptx