1 / 11

Academic Writing

Academic Writing. The Mechanics. Sentences. Must have a subject and a verb and maybe an object Who, what the subject is doing, to what Pay attention to the tense Keep the main subject and verb close together Create complex compound sentences Use connecting words And punctuation

alagan
Télécharger la présentation

Academic Writing

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Academic Writing The Mechanics

  2. Sentences • Must have a subject and a verb • and maybe an object • Who, what the subject is doing, to what • Pay attention to the tense • Keep the main subject and verb close together • Create complex compound sentences • Use connecting words • And punctuation • Check for clarity • Do you have a long preamble at the start? • Makes it difficult for the reader to get the point • Are the subject and verb close enough together? • Makes it difficult for the reader to get the point

  3. How to write a sentence • Start with the subject • What the sentence is about • E.g. Software Development Projects • Perhaps add a short introductory phrase • Keep subject and verb close • E.g • Software development projects frequently fail due to a lack of understanding of requirements by the project team. • OR • However, it is widely recognised that software development projects frequently fail due to a lack of understanding of requirements by the project team

  4. Problems • Sentence Fragments • Incomplete, cannot stand alone • E.g. • Emphasising the fact that software development is difficult. • Corrected • The consistent level of software project failure as reported in the Standish Chaos reports emphasises the fact that software development is difficult.

  5. Punctuation - Comma • Separate items in a list • Software development consists of the phases analysis, design, implementation, testing and maintenance. • To mark a phrase at the start or end of a sentence • However, … • To mark a phrase in the middle of sentence • The number of software development projects considered to be failures, as identified in the Standish Chaos reports, has remained largely consistent for the last five years. • First part, non-essential part, second part • To join main clauses • The waterfall model is still widely quoted as a model of software development, but it is recognised as being unrealistic. • To introduce a quote • As Boehm states, “ • Beware of the ‘comma splice’ • Joining two sentences with a comma

  6. Incorrect? • Business analytics has been identified as one of the top ten technologies in the last few years, typically it is in the top five. • This proves that sequential software development processes do not reflect the reality, detailed surveys of project teams will support this.

  7. Punctuation – Colon • Use after a statement to introduce explanation, clarity, illustration or reinforcement of that statement • Initial Statement : Second Statement • Can be used to introduce a quote

  8. Punctuation – Semi-Colon • Join two sentences closely related in meaning • To replace words like ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘but’… • To replace words like ‘however’, ‘moreover’, ‘further’ in the middle of sentences • To separate items in a list if commas are already used • Key researchers in the field of software development are Barry Boehm, creator of the Spiral model; the main developer of the RAD methodology, James Martin; and Kent Beck, creator of the XP methodology.

  9. Punctuation – Apostrophe • Indicate possession • Comes directly after the affected owner • David’s… • The student’s … • The students’… • It’s = ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ • Its – belongs to it • Generally do not use contractions • Can’t, don’t, won’t etc

  10. Paragraph • A collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. • Use to decompose your narrative • Break it into chunks • Present ideas coherently • Each paragraph • Should have a clear central point • Focus on one topic • Contain only relevant information • If you feel your paragraph addresses more than one topic • Introduce another paragraph

  11. Useful Resources • Grammar Basics • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/ • Establishing Arguments • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/ • Writing Concisely • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/01/ • Sound Alike Words • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/660/01/ • Useful Phrases • http://www.englishforresearch.com/phrasebooks/examples.htm

More Related