Further Follow up on an Introduction to Academic Writing at Masters Level
Here's a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points
1. I will remember to remain passive in my writing style to display an evaluative and critical approach to my arguments in essays.
I continue to make a conscious effort to remain passive in my writing style as previously discussed. Therefore, I'm now moving my attention to remaining active and engaging in my critical thinking as I move into writing my dissertation. As this is the first extended piece of writing I have done at 15,000 words and more than just a critical literature review or practical lab write up, I'm also paying careful attention to the structure of such work. Utilising chapters and case studies to break the work down into manageable sections. I'm also looking to further my understanding by joining workshops on 'reading and note-making at Masters level' and lectures on dissertation writing for Masters.
2. I will include more precise, articulate language and avoid vague, broad vocabulary such as 'interesting' and 'good' to maintain an accurate and concise academic style.
By making the conscious effort to avoid broad wide sweeping statements and vocabulary I hope this will continue to encourage a deeper, critical understanding and appraisal in my work. This has also helped me to open up new and original lines of enquiry which I can pursue as I ask more questions of the data and understand the interrelations which will shape the direction of my dissertation on Vaccines.
3. I will try to critically re-read and revise work if necessary and include a wider perspective or purpose for the work in my conclusions.
By managing my time effectively, I hope to be able to complete initial drafts of sections of my dissertation and take the time to critically re-read and revise where necessary. I also have further written module assessments due in the next couple of months, so maintaining this work effort in parallel will be a priority of mine. The use of wider concluding perspectives, as previously discussed, has also been of benefit to my understanding and learning as relating the context of my work to real world, wider implications, highlights and solidifies the importance of such work in my mind.
Hi again,
I’m glad that you are continuing to work on this and that you’ve seen improvements. I think that the Reading and Note-Making workshop would indeed be helpful for you. You might also consider looking at the online resources on the Warwick Academic Writing programme webpages. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/scs/skills/awp
In particular you might find that the text revision checklist which you can download there can help you with point 3.
31 May 2012, 12:32
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