Academic Writing Harvard Michael Jayawardana (BSc Business [UoL], PgD.CPS [Colombo], PMP, MBA [Leicester], PLD [INSEAD])
Outline Description Slide Number AW Fundamentals 03 - 08 Referencing 09 - 12 Plagiarism 13 - 14 Harvard Referencing System 15 - 46 Writing Assignments 47 - 67 Conclusion 68 - 72 2 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Introduction - - Used in universities for assignments - Written for a specific audience – scholars in your field of study - Has an argument – presents different views for better understanding of the subject - It is an analysis – engages in an inquiry, open to multiple suggestions - Has a clear structure and uses formal language 3 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Characteristics - - Uses Correct Grammar and Appropriate Punctuation - Uses Cautious language - Avoids Subjective and emotive language - Is Precise and concise - Uses Linking Words and phrases – Continuity always - Uses correct Referencing - Has Clear and Plain language - Has Formal writing style and makes good use of Summarization - Has an Objective, Structure and wastes no words 4 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Don’t write like an Amateur - Reducing Bias by Topic Spelling - Gender - Preferred Spelling - Sexual Orientation - Hyphenation - Racial and Ethnic Identity - Capitalization - Disabilities - Words Beginning a Sentence - Age Major Words in Titles and Headings - Historical and Interpretive Inaccuracies - Proper Nouns and Trade Names - Grammar and Usage - Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters - Verbs - Titles of Tests - Agreement of Subject and Verb - Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment - Pronouns - Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects - Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers | Use of Adverbs Italics - Relative Pronouns and Subordinate Conjunctions Use of Italics - Parallel Construction Abbreviations Style - Use of Abbreviations - Punctuation - Explanation of Abbreviations - Spacing after Punctuation Marks - Abbreviations Accepted as Words - Period - Abbreviations Used Often in Journals Saradiel – Died 1864 Bangladesh Hack – US $ 951 Mil Try - Comma | Semicolon - Latin Abbreviations - Colon | Dash - Scientific Abbreviations Kill him, Not Let Him Go Federal Reserve Bank NY - Quotation Marks - Other Abbreviations - Double or Single Quotation Marks - Plurals of Abbreviations Kill him Not, Let Him Go $ 20 Mil to Shalika ‘ Fundation ’ - Brackets | Slash - Abbreviations Beginning a Sentence 5 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Fontgate - 2016 Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif 6 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Cautious Language - Not Cautious ... shows that drinking a bottle of arrack daily, causes liver damage Cautious ... research would appear to show that drinking a bottle of arrack … evidence suggests that crystal meth may have an effect on - Concise Language - Not Concise Owing to the fact that provocative adverts can contribute towards Concise Because provocative adverts can contribute towards accidents 7 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
AW Fundamentals - Precise Language - Not Precise The 3D film ticket was expensive. A cupful of toddy was added to the cocktail. Precise The 3D film ticket was expensive at LKR 700. 10ml of toddy was added to the cocktail. - Subjective V Objective Language - Subjective The residue from the experiment was a beautiful blue colour. His contribution to the field of physics is important because. Objective The residue from the experiment was blue in colour. He made a significant contribution to the field of physics because. 8
AW Fundamentals - Writing Style - - Don’t use texting language: etc. e.x. %. i.e., - Always spell out words in academic writing: For Example - Do not use: Can’t, Won’t, Isn’t, Shouldn’t - Use: Cannot, Would not, Is not, Should not - Do not use first party language: I, Me, Mine, We, Us, Ours … . - Use third party language: This report will / The author will … . - Use second party language as linking words: He, Them, They - Use short words / Don’t use long sentences - Use British English 9 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Referencing - Importance - - All claims made in academic writing should be backed up with references – Academic Integrity is a Must! - All your sources, including tables, charts and photos, must be acknowledged through references - In-text citation (within sentences) and end-text citation (reference list) should be provided - You should not pass off work of others as your own - Failing to reference appropriately could result in your assessors thinking you are guilty of Plagiarism – the act of using somebody else’s work or ideas as your own - Plagiarism is a punishable act, whether deliberate or not 10 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Referencing - Needed for - - Thoughts, ideas, definitions or theories - Research and other studies - Statistics - Information from the Internet, including images and media - Designs or works of art - Facts that are not common knowledge - Common Knowledge – Does not need referencing - Confidential Information – Get permission 11 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Referencing - Common Knowledge - Broadly speaking, common knowledge refers to information that the average, educated reader would accept as reliable without having to look it up. This includes: − Information that most people know , such as that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or that Barack Obama was the first American of mixed race to be elected president. − Information shared by a cultural or national group , such as the names of famous heroes or events in the nation’s history that are remembered and celebrated. − Knowledge shared by members of a certain field , such as the fact that the necessary condition for diffraction of radiation of wavelength from a crystalline solid is given by Bragg’s law. − However, what may be common knowledge in one culture, nation, academic discipline or peer group may not be common knowledge in another. 12 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Referencing - Origins of the Harvard System - - The system traces back to the eminent zoologist Edward Laurens Mark (1847- 1946) - Professor of anatomy and director of Harvard's zoological laboratory until his retirement in 1921. - In 1881 Mark published a landmark paper on the embryogenesis of the common garden slug, Limax campestris. - On page 194 of that work appears a parenthetic author-year citation accompanied by an explanatory footnote (figure); these are the first evidences of the system. - Mark's system, though original in its application to scientific papers, may have been adapted from the cataloguing system used then (and now) in the Library of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. - That library, founded in 1861 by Louis Agassiz, files its catalogue items by author – year - title. - The origin of the phrase "Harvard system“ remains unexplained. - According to an editorial note in the British Medical Journal - in 1945, the expression was “not introduced by Harvard University” . 13 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Plagiarism - Traits - - Copying information sources without acknowledgement (websites, books, magazines, journals, papers) - Writing about someone else’s ideas as if they were your own - Writing about someone else’s ideas without giving a reference - Using someone else’s words exactly without indicating that it is a direct quote and including the reference - Using more or less the same words of another writer even if you acknowledge their work - Copying another student’s work or vice versa or yourself - Submitting work written for you by another person - Downloading chunks of text from the net and pasting them 14 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Plagiarism - Avoid? - - Get into the habit of noting full references so you know where the ideas came from - Don’t forget to make a note of the URL and date accessed for any web based sources - An alternative way of referring to an author's ideas and is called Paraphrasing - Paraphrasing - - Essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form by you - Is a legitimate way to borrow from a source - A more detailed restatement than a summary - focuses concisely on a single main idea 15
Harvard Referencing System - Why? - - To show that you understand the topic and can demonstrate your own thoughts - To demonstrate that you are widely read - To enable the reader to locate the sources of your ideas - By providing a reference you are recognizing the original author’s ideas and acknowledging his/her work - Full details of all sources are included in a reference list at the end of the assignment. This list should be in alphabetical order by author - This system does not use footnotes or endnotes 16 Academic Writing – Michael Jayawardana
Recommend
More recommend
