Overview
The aim of conducting a piece of research is to use it and share it with others. Crucial in this sharing is your ability to communicate coherently, concisely, and clearly to others what you have done and found. This Skill is designed to help you develop a deeper understanding of the stages involved in the process of writing up your research. You will discover that to communicate effectively, you should be aware of who you’re writing for, what they expect in terms of content, and what they need in terms of storyline and structure. This is covered in the section on Preparing to Write, which starts by summarizing the main stages in the writing process and then goes on, in the next Topic, to help you appreciate the importance of producing a piece of writing that satisfies your readers’ expectations and needs. The third and fourth Topics are designed to equip you with an understanding of the main conventions in academic writing, such as style and structure. Finally, the last Topic in that section explains the close link between reading, writing, and presenting, to encourage you to read as much as possible and to seize any opportunity to present your project.
Part of an academic reader’s expectation is reassurance from you, as an author, that you have conducted your study following the ethical principles examined in the Doing Ethical Research Skill of this Module. So here in this Skill’s section on Ethical and Legal Aspects of Writing, you will discover how academic authors provide this reassurance—for example, through correct referencing to avoid plagiarism, covered in the first two Topics, and proficient quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing of sources, explored in another topic. The final aspect of ethical writing focused on relates to the way you report your results with a minimum of bias and maximum objectivity, considered in the last Topic.
Equipped with this firm understanding of the importance of conveying research integrity, you will then focus on the section on writing up your research, not just on how you convey this in specific sections, but also on how you write those sections coherently, concisely, and clearly. At this point, guidance in the Skill transitions from focusing on readers’ expectations to focusing on their needs. So, for example, one Topic offers advice about using visuals effectively to help the reader follow the story you are telling, while another Topic helps you understand how you convey your conclusions.
You will find more detailed guidance on satisfying the readers’ needs in the last section of this Skill, which offers useful writing techniques to convey your research story coherently, concisely, and clearly. So, in the first Topic, you will go into the detail of how to write a coherent paragraph in English academic style, while the next one focuses on the role of the abstract in conveying your story, and the final one covers the role of the title.
After working through this Skill, you can expect to be equipped with key strategies for putting together a coherent research story that follows the usual academic protocols and standards. Importantly, through the scenarios and activities offered throughout, you will build confidence in your ability to write up a research project and communicate its integrity effectively to others.
There’s a glossary of terms and concepts available for this entire Module in the Beginning Your Research Skill.
Not sure where to start?Assess your skills level for writing about and disseminating your research
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