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 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 • 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 • 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 • 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 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 • Academic writing as a storytelling? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hO7fM9EHU4 Discussion • Outline vs spontaneous writing https://society6.com/product/write-drunk-edit- sober46564_print Discussion • Outline vs spontaneous writing • Further thoughts on spontaneous writing • A Twitter thread with specific practical writing tips