Writing for Research

Outline

This module aims to:

examine the role of writing in the research process.

help students with the techniques of writing for research, and

promote their confidence as writers.

analyse critically the structure and quality of a variety of

research texts and related resources.

We will ask:

1. Why is writing up research often so hard and so stressful?

2. How important is writing in the research process? (In other words,

surely the most important thing by far is to have some good
research to write about in the first place. If the research is good
then how much does writing matter? Surely no amount of good
writing will make up for poor quality research...)

3. How can you write:

(a) Articles about your research for a non-specialist audience?

(b) Papers which are most likely to be accepted by journals and
to be read with interest by your peers?
(c) Your Phd thesis?
(d) Successful grant applications?

We will examine these different types of writing:

For readers who are not specialists in your field

Newspaper articles
Press releases

For specialists:

Abstracts
Journal articles
Funding proposals
Book reviews

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From time to time we will also take a look at good writing in
general, and how you can write clear and elegant English.

1. Why is writing up research often so hard and so stressful?

Reasons for the pain

(a) All writing is painful early school experiences. Writing as the

gateway to education, success and culture.

(b) Writing is often taught strictly, with punishments for failure.

(c) Writing is public, and involves other people. It exposes us to

scrutiny.

(d) Writing is often very private and personal, a way to express our
deepest feelings.

(e) There is a widespread view that some people are writers, and it
comes easily to them because they are gifted, while other people
have to struggle to express themselves.

(f) Writing research is high-risk because all research is high-risk.

(g) Many researchers think that writing for their discipline involves
special rules and conventions that you have to obey to be taken
seriously.

(h) Some published research makes novice researchers feel

inadequate because it is slick and austere, giving no impression of
the struggle that lay behind it.

Good things about writing research

(a) Writing about an area where you are an expert can be easier
than areas where you are confused.

(b) You can enjoy the feeling that only a few people in the world
know as much about this subject as you do.

(c) Writing can remind you that your ideas do matter.

(d) Writing gives you control over your ideas and understanding. It
makes us powerful.

(e) Seeing your words in print is a fabulous feeling.

(f) More

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Stephen Jay Gould on writing and research
Q. What does writing do for you?

A. It's the best way to organize thoughts and to try and put things in
as perfect and as elegant a way you can. A lot of scientists hate
writing. Most scientists love being in the lab and doing the work and
when the work is done, they are finished. Writing is a chore. It's
something they have to do to get the work out. They do it with
resentment. But conceptually to them, it is not part of the creative
process.

I don't look at it that way at all. When I get the results, I can't wait
to write them up. That's the synthesis. It's the exploration of the
consequences and the meaning.

From A Conversation With Stephen Jay Gould, December 1999.

http://stretch.gc.cuny.edu/projects/Gould1.pdf

2. How important is writing in the research process?

(a) Broader issue: how closely connected are writing and (intelligent)
thinking?

(b) My answer: I think best when Im writing.

(c) Moral: ALWAYS have a writing project on the go. NEVER wait to
start writing.

Writers fare best when they begin before feeling fully ready.
Motivation comes most reliably in the wake of regular involvement.
(Boice 1994: 236, cited in Murray 2002: 150).

Activity
Jane is a junior researcher. Here are her best excuses for not getting
stuck into writing:

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1. Ive never written anything like this before and dont
know where to start.

2. Im not very good at writing.

3. I dont know how to type.

4. I promised to help my friend mend the car.

5. I write best in a quiet, secluded place, but its so

hard to find one.

6. I havent collected all the data yet.

Add to this list two more plausible excuses. Then suggest ways in
which Jane can overcome these problems and make a start. (Based
on Luck 1999: 123)

How important is writing in the research process? (Continued)

(d) Writing is part of a broader process communicating about your
research.

You need a COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Every researcher should have a plan for informing the right people
about their work as effectively as possible. You need to decide:

Who might be interested in your research?

How can you stimulate and increase their interest?
How much time, energy and money should you put into
disseminating your work?
How will you know that your strategy is working?
How will you review and update your strategy?

The ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) has a mass of

good advice about this on its web site at:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/commstoolkit/intro.asp

Much of their advice is aimed at (a) social scientists and (b) research
groups rather than individuals. Here we shall focus on how to
promote yourself as an individual researcher, adapting some of the
ESRCs ideas.

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Creating a communication strategy step by step

1. Check perceptions
2. State your objectives
3. Set out your principles
4. Develop your key messages
5. Identify and prioritise your audiences
6. Choose channels of communication
7. Plan activities
8. Evaluate success

1. Check perceptions

Do an accurate and honest assessment of current perceptions of your

research among potential target audiences. Who already knows about
your work? Who doesnt know about it but should? Who are your
strongest supporters? Who are your competitors? Who are your
enemies? Who are your potential allies?

2. State your objectives

First, set out the objectives of your research. Do a publicity pitch for
the research be concise, clear, engaging and user friendly.

Second, set out the objectives of communicating about your research.

Ask yourself:

Why are you telling people about your research?

What are you hoping to achieve?
What do you want people to do as a result of receiving your
communications?
How will you know if it has made any difference?

Heres an example of a set of communication objectives:

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 To build awareness of your research among a wide but defined
group of audiences and user groups.
To encourage a defined group of stakeholders to be committed to
the research aims.
To influence specific policies or policymakers.
To encourage other researchers or partner bodies to join you and
collaborate with you.

3. Set out your principles

Some of the principles may be simple and self-evident. For example, it

is likely that you would want your communications to be honest,
succinct, credible with academic peers, and cost-effective. Some of
the principles are less obvious. Think about what you are prepared to
do, and not do, as part of your communication strategy. Some
researchers who appear on TV and radio say things like:

Never talk in public unless you know the facts of the matter
Try not to talk unless you have something new to say
Never say anything that would not pass muster with academic
colleagues.

For these and other principles, see the ESRCs booklet Heroes of
dissemination at:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/PublicationsList/4books/herofra
meset.html

4. Develop your key messages

Any communication strategy needs to have succinct messages and

clear branding. This is sometimes anathema to researchers who feel
their work is often not appropriate to be packaged in such a way. Its
a good strategy, though, with non-specialists and colleagues alike.
It may be difficult to develop key messages at the beginning of a
complex research project. But it is a useful discipline to consider
whether there are high level messages that can be used while it is
underway, or any specific messages for any particular parts of the
research.
When developing key messages, you should avoid bland statements,
overly complex statements, and having too many messages. Think in
advance about stories, case studies and packages of information that
will bring your project to life for key audiences.

For example, the Institute for Social and Economic Research

published a report called The Impact of Atypical Employment

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 on Individual Wellbeing. The press release had the more
compelling title What Kind of Work is Bad for Your Health?. The
first line of the release summed up the research finding:
Temporary jobs and part-time employment do not have
adverse consequences for peoples health. The researchers
also coined the phrase mini-job to describe jobs of under 15
hours a week, one of the key aspects of the study.

5. Identify and prioritise your audiences

Rank them according to how important and influential they are in

relation to your communication objectives (step 2 above).

Here are some categories to prompt you:

(a) The public

(b) Media
(c) Business
(d) Voluntary sector
(e) Potential and current
employers
(f) Other researchers (Be
specific: list the different
research communities
relevant to your work).
(g) Peer reviewers / examiners
(h) University of Brighton
(i) Directors of research centres
and programmes
(j) Parliament / Government
(k) Research Councils
(l) Other research funders
(m) Learned societies
(n) International
(o) Suppliers
(p) Students
(q) Schools

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6. Choose channels of communication

Examples: a newsletter, a large conference, a series of small

conferences, email lists, networking lunch, workshops, email alerts,
press release, personal website, promotional literature, regional
seminars, journal articles.

Do you have your own web page? You need to disseminate research
information for others!

7. Plan activities

Estimate time
Estimate budget
Include criteria for success

Before you produce any specific piece of publicity material, define its
purpose. As with other parts of your communication strategy, the
question should be: why are we doing this?

Heres a template to help you plan:

Activity Budget Deadline/timefra Success

/resources me criteria
Identity/genera
l PR

Subtotal
Internal
communication

Subtotal
Media relations

Subtotal
Public affairs

Subtotal
Publicity
materials
 Subtotal
Events

Subtotal
Website/electr
onic
communication

Subtotal

Total

8. Evaluate success

Do some Before and after investigation to track awareness of your

research among important audiences.
Look for evidence that your research findings have been translated
into policy or practice.
Evaluate participation in and feedback from events.
Track media coverage including volume and nature of coverage.
Monitor website usage.
3. Writing for non-specialist audiences

Research is about solving problems finding answers to puzzling

questions. Your writing must make clear:
(a) What is the problem?

(b) Why is it important?

(c) What is your solution?

(d) Why is it a good solution?

Activity

Think of someone in your family who you like to talk to, who knows
you well but has no knowledge about your research. It would be even
better if they never went to university themselves. Well call him
Uncle Norman. Start a letter like this:

Dear Uncle Norman, I thought you would like to hear

about my research. Ive been working on my research
project for a while, and its getting really
interesting.

Tell Uncle Norman what your project is all about. Imagine him
picking up your letter in the morning and settling down with a cup of
tea and some biscuits to read it. Start with the title of your project;
give him a few lines of background; find a way to make it relevant and
interesting. Use language that he can understand. Finish by saying
where you are currently and what you plan to do next.

Writing for a newspaper

1. Start with the central, most newsworthy information.

2. State it completely, but in general terms, in the first paragraph.

3. Give the same information in more detail in the second and third
paragraphs.

4. Give the same information in full detail in the remaining

paragraphs.

5. Include quotes by named people.

6. Design a headline which encapsulates the information in the first

paragraph.
Example

HASTINGS: NEW JOBS WITHOUT NEW ROADS

Research shows bypasses not needed for regeneration

Research published today by Friends of the Earth shows that the proposed
Hastings bypasses[1] are not needed for the regeneration of the town.

The report 'New jobs without new roads: sustainable regeneration for
Hastings' [2] concludes that a sustainable regeneration strategy for the
town could create up to 2,570 jobs for local people for significantly less
than the 130 million cost of the bypass. The projections are based on
regeneration success stories from around Europe. This contrasts with the
report of the Government's consultants, which concluded that the bypasses
would create jobs in nearby Bexhill, but would result in a loss of 300 jobs in
Hastings [3].

The sustainable regeneration strategy could include:

investment in training local unemployed people
developing community businesses
promoting Hastings as a quality tourist location
emphasising the high quality environment around the town
refurbishing empty homes
improving support for local businesses providing locally produced food;
increasing recycling provision to provide more jobs

Brenda Pollack, Friends of the Earth's Regional Campaigns Co-ordinator,

said:
This report shows a positive way forward for Hastings, making the best of its
many assets and giving the town a green future. That has to be better than
wasting tens of millions of pounds on a destructive bypass that won't solve
traffic problems.

The final decision on the bypasses rests with new Transport Secretary
Stephen Byers. A decision is expected before the start of the Parliamentary
recess which will probably be in late July. If Mr Byers decides to approve the
building of the bypasses, he faces the prospect of a legal challenge to the
decision [4].

Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's Transport Campaigner, said:

The last prop supporting the case for the Hastings bypasses has been
kicked away. We knew they wouldn't solve the town's traffic problems. We
knew they would be environmentally destructive. And now we know they
aren't needed to bring new jobs. Stephen Byers should decide now to reject
the bypasses so that the sustainable regeneration of Hastings can begin as
soon as possible.
Activity

Turn your letter to Uncle Norman into a newspaper article.

4. Writing for specialists

4.1 Abstracts

It is important to grasp the difference between DESCRIPTIVE and

INFORMATIVE Abstracts and Summaries

The following section is adapted from C. Turk & J. Kirkman, Effective

Writing. London, Spon, 1989.

Purposes of an abstract

1. Extend the title: helps readers decide if the paper contains the
information that they need.
2. Gives a short version for people who do not have time to read
the whole paper.
3. Helps readers to navigate round the full paper.
4. Helps readers remember the paper.

As you read the following two abstracts, think which you find more
helpful. Since you are reading only abstracts of the paper, which is all
the reader-in-a-hurry would read, you are in the same position to
judge the abstracts effectiveness:

1 Phosphate production planning

Summary:
This report describes the production problems, raw
material supply difficulties, and changes in the sales
pattern which require a reappraisal of the production
and packaging plan for phosphates.
We have examined the likely dispatch pattern and
propose a production and packaging plan to meet this
situation. The aim is to keep the maximum availability
for as many products as possible for as long as
possible.
Varied estimates are made for the forward dispatch
pattern, and ideal review intervals are calculated.
 2 Reducing process water usage

Summary:
We are installing a re-circulation unit and cooler for
the water used on the injector inter-condensers. This
system will reduce the injector usage by 30% and so
offset the need for expansion of the Process Water
Facilities.
The system will circulate and cool 9500 litres/hour.
Probeck Engineering Lid., of Leicester, have been
chosen to supply and install the major items of
equipment, which consist of a forced-blast condenser,
pumps, filters, and associated instrumentation.

The capital cost is 84 500, which is only 56% of the

cost of the alternative expansion of Process Water
Facilities.

Notice that the first summary describes what is in the report, but does
not give any details. If readers want information about the new
production plan, they have to read the report. The second summary,
by contrast, does not simply describe what will be in the report: it
gives a selection of information. It is useful to distinguish between
these two kinds by calling the first a descriptive and the second an
informative summary.

The descriptive summary starts This report describes... but the

informative one starts We are installing a re-circulation unit....
Which of these two types is more useful to the reader? Both do the
first job of a summary, which is extending the title. They both describe
the specific areas of work to be found in the report. The descriptive
summary explicitly says, this is what is in the report. Although the
informative summary never uses the words the report describes it
extends the title because the reader knows that the information it
gives is typical of what is in the report. We are clear that if we did read
the whole report, we would be told more about the new re-circulation
unit. As extended titles, both summaries are effective.

Which summary is more helpful to readers who have no time to read

the whole paper? The descriptive summary leaves readers guessing;
they are told there are production problems, but not how bad they
are, or even of what kind. Readers of the informative summary, in
contrast, are not left guessing; they are told what will be installed, by
whom and at what cost. The descriptive summary is coy; readers
curiosity is aroused; but only by reading the whole report can they get
any facts. The informative summary is complete in itself; it does not
point outside itself, promise what it does not deliver or arouse
questions and expectations in the readers mind. Readers who have
not got time to read the whole report are given hard facts by an
informative summary; readers of the descriptive summary are given
fewer facts. So the informative summary does the second job of a
summary much better.

The third use of the summary is to help the reader navigate round the
paper, and the fourth is to help them remember what was in the
paper. Both the descriptive and the informative summary do these jobs
to some extent, but again the informative summary has the
advantage. It is specific while the descriptive summary only promises.
Descriptive summaries have an element of the mystery tour about
them, and are not much help in reminding readers of the detailed
contents. They tell them that there was something about a new
production plan. But what were the main priorities of that plan? If
they cannot remember, they have to read the whole paper again.

Why dont people always write informative summaries? One reason is

that writers are often subconsciously protective about their results;
they do not want to give them away too easily. They think that readers
should go through the fire and brimstone of reading the whole report
before arriving at the prize. It is perhaps natural to feel that hard work
for the writer must be made hard work for readers. More charitably,
the writer probably wants the readers to share his or her adventures,
to go through the process of discovery at his or her side. So the
readers must stumble, sweat and struggle, until they too can feel the
joy when the answer becomes clear. But the readers want information,
not excitement. The writer is offering a product results. The
consumer of these results wants them as conveniently accessible as
possible.

People also write descriptive summaries because they are afraid of

misinterpretation. Writers think that if their results are expressed in
brief form, without all the qualifications, doubts and warnings which
the full text contains, the reader will seize on half-truths and misuse
them. This can happen; but there are better ways of guarding against
misunderstanding than simply withholding information. Information in
a summary can be expressed in a way which makes its limitations
clear. Thus, if a summary said, the tensile strength of the new fibre is
3.6 kg mm-2, but the report said that this was a maximum and only
under specific conditions, then the summary would seriously mislead
the reader. The summary should say: the new fibre has a maximum
tensile strength of about 3.6 km mm-2 in favourable circumstances....
Anyone designing with the new fibre knows that it will be essential to
read the whole paper and take into account all the circumstances
before using the material.

Information in summaries will often be prefixed with approximately,

about, typically, a maximum of.... But in a descriptive summary ,
the sentence the tensile strength of carbon steel is described. .. would
give no idea whether this strength was comparable to that of steel or
cotton. Readers will ask, in what range is the strength, and what sort
of materials does it compare with? They do not know whether it is high
or low. The report may say: the new fibre wont hang a flea. .. or it
may say: the new fibre is used to string up battleships for keel
inspection. A descriptive summary gives no clue. Fear of
misunderstanding may be a motive for writing descriptive summaries,
but it is a false fear. Some information, properly expressed as typical
or average, is better than no information, and precise figures are best
of all.

A third reason why people avoid writing informative summaries is that

they assume they must be longer. They expect information to take up
more space and more words than general description. Surprisingly,
this is not always true. Here are two different summaries of the same
paper, both the same length. As you read them, think which is more
useful to a reader who is never going to read to the whole paper.

Reactor Vessel Jackets

Summary:

The report describes an apparatus built to measure the

resistance to the flow of heat through various thermal-
insulating reactor-vessel jackets, under conditions
simulating those obtaining in practice. The effects of a
variety of thick, and thin-film materials were studied,
and the decrease in thermal resistivity of foam due to
ageing was quantified. The relative resistance of
thicker foamed polymers and glass fibre blankets is
shown and the cause of the enhanced resistivity of
glass- fibre combinations is suggested. Observations
confirm a significant improvement in thermal resistance
by placing thin-layer materials on top of polystyrene.

An alternative informative summary

Thermal-insulating reactor-vessel jackets were tested on

an experimental 50 litre vessel, kept at 500 K
internally, and atmospheric temperature externally.
Foamed polymers and glass-fibre in layers of 5 cm gave
resistivities of about 2.7. Thin films of aluminium foil
and PVC gave resistivities of about 1.3. With foam,
ageing reduced resistivity by about 7% per year. Thicker
glass-fibre blankets, up to 15 cm, were about 17% better
than the same thicknesses of foamed polymers. We think
this is because the multiple irregular surfaces within
the glass-fibre blanket trap more air. A thin layer of
aluminium foil on the outside surface increases the
resistivity of polystyrene by up to 30%.
The informative summary is more useful. But why is it no longer, since
it contains more information? The answer is that many of the words in
the descriptive summary are redundant. Either they say what we
assume anyway, or words are used to avoid saying things, to cover up
instead of simply leaving unsaid. Words are also wasted in passive,
roundabout constructions. By contrast, the informative summary is
written in a lean, active style. Let us give examples of these points:

The descriptive summary uses phrases like:

The report describes. ..

The effects. ..were studied. ..
...the causes. ..are suggested.

But the informative summary does not use any of these words. It goes
right ahead and does the describing. The descriptive summary has:

The decrease in thermal resistivity of foam due to

ageing was quantified.

While the informative summary has:

Ageing of foam reduces thermal resistivity by about 7% a

year.
It is shorter to give a figure than to say that a figure is in the report.
17% is shorter than was quantified. Similarly a significant
improvement takes up as much space as increases by up to 30%. The
descriptive summary has:

...the cause of the enhanced resistivity of glass-

fibre combinations is suggested.

whereas the informative summary has:

We think this is because the multiple irregular

surfaces within the glass fibre blanket trap more
air.

Few more words are needed to give the cause than to promise to give it
later. By using active, rather than passive sentence structures, the
informative summary reduces redundant words.
Here are two ways of summarizing what has been said in this section.
As you read them, think which you find the most helpful:

Summary D
This chapter describes the nature and function of
summaries. The ways a reader uses summaries are discussed
at some length. The differences between abstract, precis,
and summary are described. A distinction is made between
descriptive and informative summaries, and the advantages
and disadvantages compared. The use of numbers in
informative summaries is considered, together with
relevant examples.
Differences in organization between a summary and a report
are suggested, and the reasons discussed. General rules
for the organization of a summary are offered. Whether all
reports need a summary is discussed, and the positioning
of the summary investigated, as well as the order in which
it should be written. The appropriate style for a summary
is discussed with examples, and comments made on telegram
style.

Summary I
Summaries have four uses. They are as an extended title; a
time-saving short paper; a way of focusing attention on
the main information; and an aid to remembering the paper.
An abstract is usually only an extended title, while a
precis is an exercise in shortening, not reorganizing.
Descriptive summaries do not help the reader who wants the
facts; informative summaries contain facts, and should
have some numbers in them.
The organization of a summary differs from that of the
paper it summarizes, because its aim and readership are
different. Most of a summary should be conclusions and
recommendations. Most reports need a summary , and it
should be placed first in the report, although written
last. Summaries should avoid observer-centred style, and
use short, active sentences. Telegram style is less
helpful than a normal style.

The first summary is descriptive, the second informative.

Informative summaries are always more helpful to the reader .
Activity

Comment on these three abstracts. Are they descriptive or

informative? How successful are they?

Humble servants of the discipline? Self-mention in research

articles
Ken Hyland

Abstract
In this paper, I examine the view that research writing is a
modest, self-effacing task which involves authors eradicating
themselves from their texts to gain acceptance for their
work. Conflicting advice in textbooks and style guides, and
the apparently diverse conventions of different disciplines,
mean that the extent to which writers can explicitly intrude
into their discourse is highly problematic for students,
teachers, and experienced writers alike. However, the choices
which express writer presence are also closely associated
with authorial identity and authority and these not only
affect the ideational meaning that writers convey, but also
influence the impression they make on their readers. Self-
mention is therefore a powerful rhetorical strategy for
emphasising a writer's contribution. Here I focus on the use
of self-citation and exclusive first person pronouns in a
corpus of 240 research articles in eight disciplines. Through
an analysis of these texts and interviews with expert
informants I seek to reveal something of how self-mention is
used and perceived as a way of understanding more about
writing in the disciplines and about the kinds of options
available to students.

EST: evading scientific text

Jeremy Ward

Abstract
Engineering students in Thailand are charged with the duty of
facilitating technology transfer from the west. But they seem
to have great difficulty in performing one of the central
tasks in that duty, that of reading textbooks written in
English. This study examines some chemical engineering
students' attitudes to text and other parts of English
language textbooks. A questionnaire was administered to a
group of undergraduates, the results of which seem to reveal
one way in which students get around the problem of textbook
reading.
Capturing phraseology in an online dictionary for advanced
users of English as a second language: a response to user
needs
Janice McAlpine & Johanne Myles

Abstract
Students reading in a second language often have
difficulties finding the right meaning for unfamiliar
words or phrases in their dictionaries. Culture- and
domain-specific words, inflected forms and discourse
markers can all pose special problems. Writing fluently
in a second language requires knowledge of the
conventional contexts and collocations surrounding a
word. While this information may be presented implicitly
in dictionaries geared to advanced ESL learners, many
students do not have the dictionary savvy to extract it.
In response to these difficulties, the authors propose a
new type of dictionary electronic in form, presenting
typical phraseology rather than words in isolation.
Online, without the constraints of space and linear
organization, the dictionary can treat the multi-word
lexical units and common collocational patterns that
cohere around a node word and illustrate them fully with
sentence examples. The most innovative aspect of this
dictionary is its search system. Words and expressions in
the headword list are hyperlinked to topic words and
basic English synonyms so that, by using nested computer
searches, the advanced ESL writer can home in on
phraseology appropriate to a target context.

4.2 Papers which are likely to be accepted by journals and to be

read with interest by your peers

What makes a research paper a pleasure to read?

(a) The research problem is evident as quickly as possible.

(b) The research problem is important and interesting.

(c) The main conclusions are easy to find.

(d) The writing style is clear and elegant

(e) The paper is as short as possible.

 Interlude: Writing undergraduate essays

An essay should have three parts:

1. Beginning: setting the issue up.

2. Middle: pushing the issue along.
3. End: seeing where we arrive.

This structure will work for virtually any essay set on any subject at
University.

Every paragraph should have three parts:

1. Locate itself.
2. Advance.
3. Arrive somewhere new.

J. Peck & M. Coyle. 1999. The Students Guide to Writing. London:

Macmillan.

Activity

How successful is an article as a scientific paper? What makes it

important?

4.3 Funding proposals

Preparing to write a proposal

Know the scope of the call: submission criteria, resource available, project size,
eligibility
Know the procedure for the call: timescales, format of submission, advice
booklets and phone numbers, internal support available and authorisation process
If in doubt ask!
Identify a research question that fits within the scope of the call (and that you
want to pursue)
Identify an approach to the question that is
novel
likely to succeed (or at least advance understanding)
feasible with you as proposer
sound
 Identify outcomes and criteria for success

Writing a proposal content

State the problem that is being addressed

State the approach to be taken
State the expected outcomes and criteria for success
Indicate the significance of the expected outcomes
Discuss the background and relevant related work
Justify the novelty and promise of the chosen approach
Provide evidence of suitability of the researcher(s)
Describe the resources required and workplan
Relate the project to submission criteria where relevant

Writing a proposal language and style

Good content is necessary but not sufficient! You also need:
A clear executive summary to both grab attention and give a concise overview of
what is proposed
A clear line of argumentation through the whole document, re-inforced between
major sections
A readable style to keep the reader engaged and convinced right to the end
An appropriate air of (academic) authority and confidence you are making a
proposal to your peers about a topic you are an expert in
Clarity, clarity, clarity!!!
4.4 Book reviews

Your reader wants to know:

What is in the book?

How much is in the book? Does the subject matter deserve a
whole book, or would an article or two have been sufficient?
What are the aims of the book? Does the book succeed in
achieving them?
What is new or distinctive in the book?
How does the book relate to other publications in this area?
Is it any good?
Are there important errors in it?
Do they need to read it?

You want to show them:

That you are well-informed about the subject

That you can write well
That you can say interesting things

You have a responsibility to the author of the book:

Writing a book is a huge amount of work.

The author has probably invested some of their blood and sweat in
the book.
First, find something to praise. Is there one thing that you
particularly liked?
Recognise the work, and also the risks that the author has taken.
Dont criticise the book without good reason. Summarise it fairly.
Adopt a friendly tone.
Remember how you would feel if someone attacked your book
unreasonably.
If you have criticisms to make, make them clearly and robustly.

Writing a book review for publication is very different from writing a

literature review as part of an article or a dissertation. A published
book review can be a work of art in its own right, and in some
fields, an important contribution to research. A literature review, in
contrast, has to give a context for your research, and focus only on
the parts of publications that are relevant to your own work. In a
literature review, you have to make previous work fit into the
narrative that you are writing about your own research.

Activity

Look at the four book reviews in the pack:

 Two by Salkie aimed at non-specialists (Talking proper and New
media language).
One by Tomlinson which is semi-specialised (aimed at academics
and professionals) (The consumer society)
One by Salkie aimed at specialists (Modality)

To what extent do these reviews meet the objectives set out above?

Bibliography

Boice, R. 1994. How writers journey to comfort and fluency: a

psychological adventure. London, Praeger.
Luck, M. 1999. Your student research project. Aldershot, Gower.
Murray, R. 2002. How to write a thesis. Buckingham, Open
University Press.
Swales, J. & C. Feak. 1994. Academic writing for graduate students:
essential tasks and skills. Ann Arbor, MI.: University of
Michigan Press.

Other useful resources

Turk, C. & J. Kirkman. 1989. Effective Writing. 2nd edn. London, E

& FN Spon.
Gowers, E. 1986. The complete plain words. Harmondsworth,
Penguin. (Revised edition, edited by S. Greenbaum & J.
Whitcut).
Strunk, W. & E. White. 1999. The elements of style. (4th edition).
London, Macmillan. (3rd edn available on the web at:
http://www.bartleby.com/141/).

Gazdar, G. Advanced Technical Communication.

http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/gazdar/teach/atc
An online course mainly intended for graduate students.
Articles about scientific writing.
http://trc.ucdavis.edu/bajaffee/NEM150/Course
%20Content/selections%20writing.htm
An excellent selection.
SUMMARY

General advice

1. Always think about the reader: what questions do they have?

Make it easy for them to find the answers.

2. Make your structure clear:

Use a good structure for that kind of writing

Use headings
Make explicit links between different parts
Summarise regularly

3. Use clear and elegant English

Good practice
Read other professional papers/ literature reviews get a feel for what makes a
good one
Plan the paper make an outline of the structure section headings, subheadings
Make the material flow (a journey, a story)
Make the introduction match the conclusions
Write the abstract last

Write in the 3rdperson (not the 1st)

The agent paradigm was adopted in the design and implementation strategy.
Rather than:
I adopted the agent paradigm in the design and implementation strategy.

Make sure that

The information is current
Not necessarily most recent
The references are linked to the debate
Together they support the argument
No one reference is used too much
Destroys the perception of wide research
The review is legible, accessible and enjoyable
to read it flows well
To finish very important
Proof reading (self and by others)
Ensure that all intended points are covered
Ensure that the paper flows well
Ensure that any illustrations are relevant,
appropriate in number and correct (and legal!)
Identify & correct any inconsistencies
Identify and correct any typos/ spelling/ grammar problems

Diana Andone (2006)