Lecture 3 The writing process Writing is a craft and like any other craft it involves learning skills and how to apply them. We can all learn the basic skills! and be reasonably good writers Writing is a process an activity that moves in stages and takes time to complete 2. Stages of writing The following diagram shows the common stages involved in a writins g task Gathering Drafting Information Targetting Filtering Final Draft Brainstorming Revising
1 Lecture 3 The Writing Process 1. Writing is a craft and like any other craft it involves learning skills and how to apply them. We can all learn the basic skills! and be reasonably good writers. Writing is a process, an activity that moves in stages and takes time to complete. 2. Stages of Writing The following diagram shows the common stages involved in a writing task: Gathering Drafting Information Targetting Filtering Final Draft Brainstorming Revising
3. Targetting Purpose Take into account your audience and purpose of writing The writer must decide what the purpose for writing is going to be This technique will help the writer get started 3. 1 Purpose e. g the purpose of a particular scientific paper may be to introduce a novel chemical for detecting uranium This will call for the use of argumentation methods in the writing Any good argument is only as good as the evidence presented to support the position of the writer. In scientific papers, the evidences and facts to support the argument normally comes from actual experimentation 3.2 Audience The writer must decide on the person or group of people that would, or should, be persuaded Once the author determine the audience, his or her focus for persuasion changes
2 3. Targetting & Purpose Take into account your audience and purpose of writing! The writer must decide what the purpose for writing is going to be. This technique will help the writer get started 3.1 Purpose e.g. the purpose of a particular scientific paper may be to introduce a novel chemical for detecting uranium This will call for the use of argumentation methods in the writing. Any good argument is only as good as the evidence presented to support the position of the writer. In scientific papers, the evidences and facts to support the argument normally comes from actual experimentation 3.2 Audience The writer must decide on the person or group of people that would, or should , be persuaded. Once the author determine the audience, his or her focus for persuasion changes
Audience awareness often determines the direction and content of writing For a scientific paper, we are writing for an expert audience, peers in the same field e.g. a paper in ICP-MS Our purpose is to propose a new innovation in the sample introduction into the icp Since we are writing for experts we do not include common information on the components of the icp or ms and the function of each Rather we will concentrate on the nebulizer the common techniques of sample introduction the common failures etc However if we are writing a thesis, we have to give much more details. starting from structure and components of the icp. how each component works. before focussing on the nebulizer 4. Gathering Information or researching for Information Before writing a complete well structured first draft of a paper, authors should collect all the materials they will need Researching is the process ofusing primary and secondary sources ofinformation to find out about the topic. All sources are classified as Primary, Secondary Authors can derive their materials from a variety of sources
3 Audience awareness often determines the direction and content of writing For a scientific paper, we are writing for an expert audience, peers in the same field e.g. a paper in ICP-MS Our purpose is to propose a new innovation in the sample introduction into the ICP Since we are writing for experts we do not include common information on the components of the ICP or MS and the function of each Rather we will concentrate on the nebulizer, the common techniques of sample introduction, the common failures etc. .However if we are writing a thesis, we have to give much more details, starting from structure and components of the ICP, how each component works, before focussing on the nebulizer. 4. Gathering Information or Researching for Information Before writing a complete well structured first draft of a paper, authors should collect all the materials they will need. Researching is the process of using primary and secondary sources of information to find out about the topic. All sources are classified as Primary, Secondary Authors can derive their materials from a variety of sources:
Primary Sources: e.g. Photos taken at the laboratories, interviews, surveys, Journals, data experimental results( Primary sources are those created by direct o bservation authors were participants in or observers of the events For scientific papers, writers use mainly experimental results/data or observations which they conducted themselves However. secondary sources are often useful Secondary Sources: e.g. Abstracts, textbooks, government documents are written by people with indirect knowledge. They rely on primary sources Authors frequently use journals 4.1 Periodicals/Journals Numerous specialists journals are available. Reviews of our particular speciality will be a good entry point for our information gathering e.g. Reviews on Flameless Atomization Techniques
4 Primary Sources: e.g. Photos taken at the laboratories, interviews, surveys, Journals, data & experimental results ( Primary sources are those created by direct observation. authors were participants in or observers of the events For scientific papers, writers use mainly experimental results/data or observations which they conducted themselves. However, secondary sources are often useful: Secondary Sources: e.g. Abstracts, textbooks, government documents are written by people with indirect knowledge. They rely on primary sources. Authors frequently use journals: 4.1 Periodicals/Journals Numerous specialists journals are available. Reviews of our particular speciality will be a good entry point for our information gathering. e.g. Reviews on Flameless Atomization Techniques
4.2 Electronic Media-Internet www Web pages is entry point for access to a collection of pages Search engines e.g. Yahoo, GooGlE help search Besides the sources mentioned above, there are two useful ways to generate ideas for writing which may prove useful: One is brainstorming: 5. Brainstorming a creative process to generate as many ideas as possible without worrying about whether they are good or bad a related technique to generate ideas is clustering 5.1 Clustering clustering involves writing a topic in the centre of a piece of blank paper around which the writer writs down all the things about the topic that he or she think of, thus creating little "rays?"of thought that stem from the topic. Below is an illustration of how this might look like 6. Filtering At intervals we pause to examine and look at ideas generated and information gathered and discard irrelevant information and bad
5 4.2 Electronic Media-Internet: WWW Web pages is entry point for access to a collection of pages. Search engines e.g. Yahoo, GOOGLE help search Besides the sources mentioned above,there are two useful ways to generate ideas for writing which may prove useful: One is brainstorming: 5. Brainstorming A creative process to generate as many ideas as possible without worrying about whether they are good or bad A related technique to generate ideas is clustering 5.1 Clustering clustering involves writing a topic in the centre of a piece of blank paper around which the writer writs down all the things about the topic that he or she think of, thus creating little “rays” of thought that stem from the topic. Below is an illustration of how this might look like 6. Filtering At intervals we pause to examine and look at ideas generated and information gathered and discard irrelevant information and bad ideas