语言教学 | 普渡大学写作教学系列Teacher&Tutor Resource1-Teaching Resources(1)

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1. Writing Workshops for Graduate Students

（1）Organization and Structure

About This Handout

There is no single organizational pattern that works well for all writing across all disciplines; rather, organization depends on what you’re writing, who you’re writing it for, and where your writing will be read. In order to communicate your ideas, you’ll need to use a logical and consistent organizational structure in all of your writing. We can think about organization at the global level (your entire paper or project) as well as at the local level (a chapter, section, or paragraph). At all times, the goal of revising for organization and structure is to consciously design your writing projects to make them easy for readers to understand. A good goal is to make your writing accessible and comprehensible to someone who just reads sections of your writing rather than the entire piece. This handout provides strategies for revising your writing to help meet this goal.

Outlining & Reverse Outlining

One of the most effective ways to get your ideas organized is to write an outline. While a traditional outline with Roman numerals or capital and lowercase letters can be an effective tool, outlines do not always need to be this formal. When you outline, you can use any style that works for you, from one-word ideas to shorter phrases or sentences. You might also consider the medium you outline in—using notecards or a digital medium can allow you to easily revise and rearrange your ideas.

A traditional outline comes as the pre-writing or drafting stage of the writing process. As you make your outline, think about all of the concepts, topics, and ideas you will need to include in order to accomplish your goal for the piece of writing. Write down each of these, and then consider what information readers will need to know in order for each point to make sense. Try to arrange your ideas in a way that logically progresses, building from one key idea or point to the next.

Questions for Writing Outlines

1) What are the main points I am trying to make in this piece of writing?

2) What background information will my readers need to understand each point? What will novice readers vs. experienced readers need to know?

3) In what order do I want to present my ideas? Most important to least important, or least important to most important? Chronologically? Most complex to least complex? Another order?

Reverse outlining comes at the drafting or revision stage of the writing process. After you have a complete draft of your project (or a section of your project), work alone or with a partner to read your project with the goal of understanding the main points you have made and the relationship of these points to one another.

Questions for Writing Reverse Outlines

1) What topics are covered in this piece of writing?

2) In what order are the ideas presented? Is this order logical for both novice and experienced readers?

3) Is adequate background information provided for each point, making it easy to understand how one idea leads to the next?

3) What other points might the author include to further develop the writing project?

Signposting

Signposting is the practice of using language specifically designed to help orient readers of your text. Signposting includes the use of transitional words and phrasing, and they may be explicit or more subtle. For example, an explicit signpost might say:

This section will cover Topic A­­ and Topic B­­­­­.

A more subtle signpost might look like this:

It's important to consider the impact of Topic A­­ and Topic B­­­­­ .

The style of signpost you use will depend on the genre of your paper, the discipline in which you are writing, and your or your readers’ personal preferences. Regardless of the style of signpost you select, it’s important to include signposts regularly. They occur most frequently at the beginnings and endings of sections of your paper. It is often helpful to include signposts at mid-points in your project in order to remind readers of where you are in your argument.

Questions for Revision

1) Does the author include a phrase, sentence, or short group of sentences that explains the purpose and contents of the paper?

2) Does each section of the paper provide a brief summary of what was covered earlier in the paper?

3) Does each section of the paper explain what will be covered in that section?

4) Does the author use transitional words and phrases to guide readers through ideas (e.g. however, in addition, similarly, nevertheless, another, while, because, first, second, next, then etc.)?

WORKS CONSULTED

Clark, Irene L. Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering the Conversation.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2006. Web.

Davis, Martha, Kaaron J. Davis, and Marion M. Dunagan. Scientific Papers and Presentations.

1996. London: Elsevier, 2012. Web.

（2）Introductions

About This Handout

Although each discipline has its own conventions for what articles, research reports, dissertations, and other types of scholarly writing should look like, academic writing shares some general characteristics across each field. One area of similarity is the introduction section. This handout provides strategies for revising introductions.

CARS (Creating a Research Space)

John Swales’ CARS model for introductions is based on his study of articles across a range of disciplines. He identified the following moves as common among most articles:

MOVE 1: ESTABLISHING A TERRITORY

Step 1 Claiming importance and/or

Step 2 Making topic generalizations and/or

Step 3 Reviewing items of previous research

MOVE 2: ESTABLISHING A NICHE

Step 1a Counter-claiming or

Step 1b Indicating a gap or

Step 1c Question-raising or

Step 1d Continuing a tradition

MOVE 3: OCCUPYING THE NICHE

Step 1a Outlining purposes or

Step 1b Announcing present research

Step 2 Announcing principle findings

Step 3 Indicating article structure

Writers can use these moves as a guide for revising their own writing, or for helping others.

Questions for Revision

Does the introduction to the piece of writing you are working with…

1) Establish the importance of the paper’s topic within the discipline?

2) Mention commonly accepted ideas about the topic?

3) Discuss previous research related to the topic?

4) Challenge existing beliefs about the topic?

5) Demonstrate a gap in current research on this topic?

6) Ask questions about current knowledge in the field?

7) Name an area of research that needs to be extended?

8) Explain the purpose of the paper?

9) Name the focus of the research?

10) List the primary findings of the research?

11) Outline the sections of the paper?

Topic Outline

A topic outline is a fast and easy way to analyze whether an introduction is effectively organized. According to Pyrczak and Bruce, a topic outline can help show the flow of an introduction to ensure it moves from a general introduction of the problem or gap to a specific discussion of the current research (33). The topic outline can be combined with the CARS model to improve your introduction or to offer advice to a peer.

Topic Outline Exercise

1) With your own paper, or a peer’s, read through the introduction section.

2) As you read, write down the main points in the introduction in outline form, using short phrases or sentences to describe what you see happening. The outline need not be complex.

3) After creating your outline, read through it to see if each of the moves in the CARS model is covered. Pay particular attention to whether the paper’s author:

a) Mentions how the paper fits into previous research,

b) Lists the paper’s main findings, and

c) Outlines the structure of the paper.

WORKS CITED

Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing, 2000. Print.

Swales, John. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. 1990. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

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