ACADEMIC WRITING WORKSHOP Yeney Widya P DBA Ak

ACADEMIC WRITING WORKSHOP Yeney Widya P. , DBA. , Ak. , CA.

TODAY’S MATERIALS: 1. Academic Writing 2. Introduction to Research Writing 3. Theoretical Framework 4. Conclusion FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 2

Academic Writing FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 3

WHAT IS ACADEMIC WRITING? • It is the process of writing analytically, with the purpose of breaking down of ideas with the purpose of presenting information that depicts as a clear understanding of a certain subject. • It is the process of presenting ideas in a rational, organized, systematic, reasonable, and logical way. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 4

CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMIC WRITING 1. Consists of formal language. 2. Adopts an impersonal/objective style. 3. Includes specialist words/phrases appropriate to particular academic contexts. 4. Makes use of more complex language structures than spoken English (more subordinate clauses and passives). 5. Presents a linear structure of ideas (one theme – no digressions). 6. Needs coherence and clarity of expression. 7. Refers to other writer’s publication. 8. Often uses cautious or tentative language to report research and make claims. 9. Involves critical thinking. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 5

QUALITIES OF GOOD ACADEMIC WRITING • clear - it avoids unnecessary detail; • simple - it uses direct language, avoiding vague or complicated sentences. Technical terms and jargon are used only when they are necessary for accuracy; • impartial - it avoids making assumptions (Everyone knows that . . . ) and unproven statements (It can never be proved that. . . ). It presents how and where data were collected and supports its conclusions with evidence; • structured logically - ideas and processes are expressed in a logical order. The text is divided into sections with clear headings; • accurate - it avoids vague and ambiguous language such as about, approximately, almost; • objective - statements and ideas are supported by appropriate evidence that demonstrates how conclusions have been drawn as well as acknowledging the work of others. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 6

TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING • • Book reviews Essays Research report Research proposal Scientific paper Academic journal Dissertation or thesis FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 7

BEING CRITICAL IS NECESSARY IN ACADEMIC WRITING: WHY? • As an academic writer, you are expected to be critical of the sources that you use. • This essentially means questioning what you read and not necessarily agreeing with it, just because it has been published. • Can require you to identify problems with a writer's arguments/methods, or perhaps to refer to other people's criticisms. • Constructive criticism suggests ways in which a piece of research/writing could be improved. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 8

CLARITY OF EXPRESSION IN ACADEMIC WRITING • Good academic writing = clear English, correct spelling, grammar & punctuation. • Your writing style must not be colloquial. • The use of English or Bahasa Indonesia must be professional. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 9

WHAT IS COHERENCE? • Must be logical - make sense. • Put information down logically, so that the sentences connect together in a way that makes sense. • You should spend time rearranging the main points until they are in logical order. • Writing a paper is not only a matter of gathering and presenting information, it is an exercise in comprehension and critical analysis. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 10

RULES OF ACADEMIC WRITING • An academic text not a narrative-it is an argument. • Formal, logical, cautious & unemotional language. • No slang, jargon, personal anecdotes, colloquisms, exclamation marks & contractions (‘e. g. can’t’). • Clear, succinct writing. • Make your claims tentative rather than definite - it’s unlikely that you’ve reached the only possible conclusion! Words which signal tentativeness include: may; might; possibly; in some instances; often; in many cases FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 11

IMPORTANT NOTES TO ACADEMIC WRITING • Reference list is a must! • Use popular style to write reference list, for example APA or Harvard. • Do not use Wikipedia for an academic source, because this website can be altered by anyone and so any information found within its pages cannot be considered credible or academic. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 12

NON ACADEMIC WRITING (OTHER WRITING) • Written for mass public, to entertain or to persuade the readers. • Published quickly and can be written by anyone. • Informal language, casual and may contain slang. • The author may not be provided and will not have any credentials listed. • No reference list. • Intended for a lay audience, often without research or sources involved. • Examples: magazines, newspapers, novels, blog posts, fictions FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 13

Introduction to Research Writing FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 14

COMPONENTS OF A PAPER FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 15

Theoretical Framework FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 16

WHAT IS THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK? A theoretical framework represents your beliefs on how certain phenomena (or variables or concepts) are related to each other (a model) and an explanation on why you believe that these variables are associated to each other (a theory) It is the ‘blueprint’ or guide for a research, ‘borrowed’ by the researcher to build his/her own house and serves as the foundation upon which a research is constructed. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 17

WHAT IS THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK? All aspects of thesis or dissertation research should connect to theoretical framework The relevant theory or theories that underpin the knowledge base of the phenomenon to be researched. It normally serves as the focus for the research study and it is linked to the research problem under study. . FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 18

WHAT IS THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK? It guides a researcher’s choice of research design and data analysis plan. The theoretical framework guides and must resonates with every aspect of the research (Statement of the problem, Literature Review, Methodology, Presentation and Discussion of Findings) It convinces readers that the study is not based on the personal instincts of the researcher but rather on established theory gathered via credible studies. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 19

BASIC STEPS IN THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK • Understand the problem, purpose, significance, and research questions of a study. • Identify and label the variables correctly. • State the relationships among the variables: formulate hypotheses • Explain how or why you expect these relationships FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 20

WHAT IS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK? • It offers a logical structure of connected concepts that help provide a picture or visual display of how ideas in a study relate to one another. • It assists the researcher to specify and define the concepts within the problem of the study. • It can be graphical or in a narrative form showing the key variables or constructs to be studied and the presumed relationships between them. • It brings together related concepts to explain or predict a given event or give a detailed understanding of the research problem and its asserted solution FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 21

BASIC STEPS IN CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK • Mostly, diagrams are created to clearly define the constructs or variables of the research topic and their relationships are shown by the use of arrows. • Researchers are at liberty to adopt existing frameworks, but have to modify it to suit the nature of the context of their research as well as the nature of their research questions. • A good conceptual framework must also be expressed in writing for it to be understood clearly. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 22

THEORETICAL VS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK • Theoretical framework is curled from an existing theory or theories in the literature that has already been tested and validated by others and is considered as an acceptable theory in the scholarly literature. • Conceptual framework is the researcher’s understanding of how the research problem will be explored, the specific direction the research will have to take, and the relationship between the different variables in the study. • While a whole theory may serve as one’s theoretical framework, a conceptual framework is carefully put together in the form of a conceptual model and immediately applied to a particular study FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 23

EXAMPLE OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 24

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN QUALITATIVE STUDY • Qualitative research design may begin with structured, or perhaps less structured theoretical framework to keep the researcher from forcing preconceptions on the findings. • Qualitative research methods may or may not involve a theory that is explicitly determined a priori. In some instances, the pre-determination of a theoretical framework would be the antithesis of the very nature of the method itself. However, this does not mean that theoretical frameworks are abandoned in qualitative inquiry FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 25

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN QUALITATIVE STUDY • Qualitative research methods have theoretical underpinnings that guide the study with emphasis on the development of a theory during the data analysis phase. • The theoretical structure would be described after taking an inventory of available resources (data) prior to deciding on a blueprint from which to build. • Allowing theory to arise from qualitative methods may lead to a new conceptualization of a topic, or to the alignment of findings with an existing theory that can be compared and contrasted in the analysis. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 26

REFERENCES Adom, D. n. d. Theoretical framework and conceptual framework: Rudiments of a good research. Blake, J. n. d. Academic Writing Dewi, D. A. N. N. n. d. Academic Writing. Johnson, F. 2008. Essential Academic Writing & Information Skills. Grant, C. & Osanloo, A. 2014. Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your “house”. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 4(2), 12 -26. Academic vs Non-Academic Articles, from https: //www. midmich. edu/student-resources/lls/library/findarticles/academic-articles Sekaran, U. 2009. Research Methods for Business. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 27

THANK YOU 28