Unit - 3 The Mechanics of Writing

Unit - 3 The Mechanics of Writing

Hello, I am Emisha Ravani, Writing this blog as a thinking activity for the paper of research methodology which is assigned by Megha Ma'am. Where we have to write the discussion which happened in the videos by experts.

Research may start for one of many reasons: someone sees a problem with a business practice, has the desire to innovate and create something new, seeks to understand some natural process, or seeks to know more about an issue in order to make things work better or mitigate a condition. All these and more are reasons to conduct research. Good research starts with selecting a researchable problem.

Once you have your research question solidified, start your literature review as soon as possible. One reason to search the related literature right away is to make sure that someone else has not already researched the same topic. Keep in mind that if someone has already done the study you would like to do, you can still check their conclusions to see if they have recommended an area of further research. Also, check the date of their study. If it was quite some time ago, replicating their study with a few new twists just might expose some interesting conclusions. There are several other reasons to conduct a thorough literature review:

- It will increase your confidence in your topic….

- It can provide you with new ideas and approaches….

- It can inform you about other researchers whom you may wish to contact….

- It can show you how others have handled methodological and design issues….

- It can reveal previously unknown sources of data….

- It can introduce you to new research tools and techniques tested by other researchers….

- It can reveal methods of dealing with problem situations….

- It can help you interpret and make sense of your findings.

Video 1 By Kalyan Chattopadhyay

Formal vocab and informal vocab

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays, research papers, and dissertation in academic style.

Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just asserted.

To avoid bias, it’s important to represent the work of other researchers and the results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining your methodology and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented consistently across different texts, so that studies can be objectively assessed and compared with other research.

Because of this, it’s important to strike the right tone with your language choices. Avoid informal language, including slang, contraction, clichés, and conversational phrases.

Kalyan sir starts his lecture with very good explanation of what is formal vocab and informal vocab with examples.  

Subjective, objective

The problem of using subjective term and objective term. How one can use both the term at the specific place and time.

Contradicts

The contradicts which can be used to put argument which are opposites.

perspective (Hardy’s nature study with new fresh idea of ecology concern)

In this point, the discussion is like when we do research we are responsible to give a new argument or the direction by our perspective.

• Examples of formal and informal texts

1. These findings are replicated.

2. the discussion in this paragraph will be confine to a general description of the problem.

Both are formal because passive and objective language is feature of academic writing.

• Couple of techniques for academic writing

1. Divide your texts into paragraphs. these paragraphs develop a particular aspect. Causley related. topical sentences. Supported sentences. Concluding sentences(summary). Findings.

2. Sudden(signalling) expressions. Therefore, usually, generally etc.

• Indicate the breakup or turn of the argument.

Introduction and conclusion should not be same. That should be in passive.

Using qustions – self asking questions.

Careful thought – analysis- comparison- decision making.

Writing critically

By this point, Sir made clear that academic writing and critical writing is so different to each other. Further He has given the definition and how these are differ that also.

‘Padding’

Argument, comparison, accepted, rejected, supported sentences.

Remove Irrelevant sort of details.

Critics argument – why their arguments are important to our research.

Academic writing and critical writing are different. Seminal thinkers of research area.

Established own voice

When we do research we are doing that to find new and fresh gap or idea so we can use scholars findings or arguments to support our findings or arguments but we must put or establish our own voice in our work.

You can not use all the read materials

Hit the main thing of your research

In our introduction we have to specify our main quota of research so the readers of our work can find easily and they do not find boring to read. 

Importance of defence

Emotive, (with emotions)

This how in this video Kalyan sir explained things very precise and also how people, scholars, critics and researcher can look at our work. What can be their problems that discussed very well. 

Video 2 By Atanu Bhattacharya

General overview of academic writing

Basic principles

1.What not to do

2.What can be done

3.Web tools

4.Case study

The scale in academic writing

Publication scale – recognize journal

Technical terms, huge number of jargons, wide theoretical work

Alan David Sokal

How the problematic research can be painful by example of breast cancer.

A few takeaways

1. Writing has material effects

2. Avoid massive jargonization

3. Research and publication ethics

4. Carefully choose the topic

• Writing it up: a few tips

Introduction last

Create as indexed literature review

Be sure of the triangulated methods

• Do not repeat the same arguments

• Use available digital tools

• Follow the literature

Suggested many helpful digital tools for references as well as language

• Zotero
• Mendeley
• MS Word
• Language help
• Grammarly
• OWL (Online Writing Lab)
• Reverso
• Excelsior Online writing lab

Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence.

There are many reasons to avoid plagiarism. You have come to university to learn to know and speak your own mind, not merely to reproduce the opinions of others - at least not without attribution. At first it may seem very difficult to develop your own views, and you will probably find yourself paraphrasing the writings of others as you attempt to understand and assimilate their arguments. However it is important that you learn to develop your own voice. You are not necessarily expected to become an original thinker, but you are expected to be an independent one - by learning to assess critically the work of others, weigh up differing arguments and draw your own conclusions. Students who plagiarise undermine the ethos of academic scholarship while avoiding an essential part of the learning process.

You should avoid plagiarism because you aspire to produce work of the highest quality. Once you have grasped the principles of source use and citation, you should find it relatively straightforward to steer clear of plagiarism. Moreover, you will reap the additional benefits of improvements to both the lucidity and quality of your writing. It is important to appreciate that mastery of the techniques of academic writing is not merely a practical skill, but one that lends both credibility and authority to your work, and demonstrates your commitment to the principle of intellectual honesty in scholarship.

• Types:

Verbatim of rephrasing without acknowledgement

Inappropriate collaboration

Other assistance without acknowledgement

Cheating (copying others’ work)

Duplication (submitting same work for different courses/ programs/ degrees)

Research fabrication and falsification

Using computer networks for false attribution

• In term of technology study for example,

Mapping the terrain of colonial sci tech

Tracing the responses to this terrain

Early narrative forms in Bengal

Contemporary manifestations

• Sum up:

Linguistics choices – the ‘pitching’ of the paper/dissertation/thesis

Discourse choices – how do we organize it, lines or argument etc.

Topic choices- availability / non-availability of material, synchronic/diachronic

Ethical choices- plagiarism etc.

Video 3 By Atanu Bhattacharya

1.Triangulation method

2.What are the advantages of the merging two chapters like first of introduction and literature review?

3. humanities and social sciences

4. questionnaire method and its limitations (unreliable)

5. thematic analysis

• Language writing in academic writing

Formulating propositions/ defining

Can, may, often etc.

Whatever we are going to state in our research is not final so we should be with these kind of propositions.

• Swales’s CARS Model

Definition PurposesJustificationLiterature reviewMethodArgumentConclusion

• Organizing ideas

Examples: Mindmup, mindly

• Paraphrasing

1. Avoiding repeating yourself

2. Avoid quoting someone else exactly

3. Change your vocabulary (and do not repeat)

4. Develop your own ‘voice’ in your writing

• Introduction

1. The rationale

2. The thesis statement (or the topic sentence)

3. Contextualizing material

4. A statement to gain the reader’s interest

5. A basic definition

• Noun phrases and nominalisations
• Stance
• Hedging Language
• Passivization
• General structures of an Argument

Thank you!