语言教学 | 普渡大学写作教学系列Teacher&Tutor Resource36-Graduate Writing(1)

提示：点击上方"英语写作教学与研究"免费关注哦

征稿：二语写作

Graduate Writing

1、Graduate Writing Topics

(1) Editing and Proofreading

After drafting and revising to make sure that we’ve communicated our ideas clearly and effectively, we can take time to make sure that our writing reflects that hard work that we’ve put into it. At the editing and proofreading stages of the writing process, we check our work to make sure that it’s consistent, clear, and error-free. This resource covers a few basic strategies for editing and proofreading our work.

Analyzing Sentence Structure

Writing can sound repetitive, and even unclear, if we do not vary our sentence structure enough. Typically, you should try to avoid series of very short or very long sentences; instead, try to make your sentences vary in length.

Exercise for Revision

Taking your paper, or a peer’s, highlight or underline every other sentence. After doing this for a paragraph, section, or page (whatever you have time for), look at the paper to get a visual sense of sentence length. If many of the sentences appear to be around the same length, try to shorten some or combine others to help vary the length.

Reading Aloud

Reading a piece of writing out loud is an excellent way to check for repetition, find typos, and get a general sense of the flow of your paper. Though reading out loud might feel uncomfortable, it is a strategy that can help you see your paper in a new light, thus helping you to improve it considerably.

Reading Aloud Exercise

Taking your paper, or a peer’s, read out loud a paragraph, section, or page (whatever you have time for). When you find typos, errors, or parts that might need to be revised for other reasons, simply make a mark on the page (do not stop to correct it). After you have finished a segment of the paper, go back and make changes to the paper (or call the author’s attention to the possible errors that you noted).

Another variation of this exercise is to read the paper backwards. You can read it backwards word by word or sentence by sentence to be able to focus on spelling issues and typos.

Keeping a Checklist

If you know that you tend to have specific issues with your writing, keeping an editing or proofreading checklist is a good way to ensure that you’ve addressed all these issues before submitting your work for class or publication. A sample checklist might look like this:

• Verb tense

• Comma consistency

• Capitalization

Checklist Exercise

As you read through your paper, or a peer’s, look specifically for the issues on the checklist. If commas are known to be a problem, look specifically at all the commas in the paper, checking the usage of each. Or, if you are looking for capitalization issues, ask yourself as you go through each word or sentence: “Is everything that is capitalized in this sentence supposed to be capitalized? Are any words missing capitalization?” Continue like this for each issue individually.

(2) Organization and Structure

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, I. (2006). Writing the successful thesis and dissertation: Entering the conversation. Prentice Hall Press.

Davis, M., Davis, K. J., & Dunagan, M. (2012). Scientific papers and presentations. Academic press.

 《二语写作》正在征稿，欢迎国内外专家、学者和广大外语教师及研究者扫码入群赐稿！（详情见最后一条推送）

精彩回顾