How to write an academic paper • Tips, tricks, & tools • Dr. Anna Michalík Kvíčalová • Dr. Martin Lang Academic paper • Purpose? • Peer-review & Readers • Clear, accurate, concise Qualitative research Introduction • Start with an intriguing example ➔ Explain it broader relevance for the paper’s main argument • Or start broad • Summarize the main argument and indicate the paper’s structure • Identify you primary sources (documents, interviews, media) State of Art [use a more specific title] • Include the most relevant areas (including theory) • Explicitly explain how your research contributes to the existing literature and what is its specific contribution Main body of article • Proceed from general (i.e., context) to specific Conclusion • Sum up the main findings • Discussion, interpretation, conclusions Quantitative research • Introduction • Methods • Results • and • Discussion • Start broad, hook the reader • Why is my research interesting? • “Collective rituals are a puzzling aspect of human behavior... • Summarize what has been done • HOWEVER! • Critical need • Only a few studies have controlled for confounding factors such.... • Suggest your innovation to improve previous research • Hypothesis must follow from theory!! • Based on the above, memory for agents (i.e. humans and animals) should be stronger Your experience with writing process? The writing process When to write? Regularly! carve out some defensible time! Tips: • Do not wait until inspiration hits • Do not wait too long to start! • Writing is like workout – doing it more makes it easier • Try to see if your ideas are ripening, or if you are stuck, feel the difference • Don’t edit while writing “My first drafts tend to be dreadful, but my published work is much better. In between, I do surgery on my prose.” The writing process • Determine the purpose of your paper. • Determine the audience you are writing for. • Develop the thesis of your paper. • Then: • Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper. • Organize: Group related ideas together. • Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete. • Label: Create main and sub headings. Tips • active vs passive voice • don’t be afraid of the active voice, FWIW you did the research! • unclear pronoun references • English is an analytic language with simple declension “This explains...” • articles “a”, “the” • if plural, you do not need to use • if singular, use “a” as an substitute of “one” and “the” when you talk about something specific as “the one” Tips • One main idea per paragraph • organize relevant quotes (ideally already paraphrased), your own ideas under these paragraphs • To be as effective as possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A Topic Sentence, and Adequate Development Tips • Write more beautifilly/clearly. Have fun! • Advice on writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__NNkW dvodA… • Verbs are better than nouns: There is a difference between x and y. x differs from y. • Adverbs are better than adjectives He is a clear writer. He writes clearly. Tips • Search for the right expression on Google, avoid „Czenglish”. • Tool: double quotation marks “enter the exact phrase” • In media res – start writing from the main argument • Read in English! Both academic and non-academic genres • Check journal style, read guidelines for authors Tips • Read draft aloud! Before regarding a piece of writing as finished, test it by ear. • Before submitting the final draft • Proofreading, language editing by a professional!! Tips Tips • Version history – and how to utilize parts that did not make the final cut Avoid • Straw-man argument • Person 1 asserts proposition X. • Person 2 argues against a superficially similar proposition Y, falsely, as if an argument against Y were an argument against X. • Red herring arguments • “The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families.” • Non-sequiturs • Long sentences and paragraphs • Very, really, to be Tools • https://www.thesaurus.com/ • https://www.deepl.com/en/translator#cs/en/ • https://ludwig.guru/ • https://app.grammarly.com/ • or just plain old Google! • https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_wri ting/academic_writing/index.html Discussion • Outline vs spontaneous writing • Further thoughts on spontaneous writing • A Twitter thread with specific practical writing tips