Entry # 7 The Writing Process - Academic Writing

University of Leeds on Academic Writing 
(last visited July 12th, 2020)

A series of 5 videos (last viewed on July 12th, 2020)starting with

As stated in previous entries of this blog, watching videos for learning purposes is a valuable tool if smartly used. Naturally, the source (in this case, the videos) must be carefully selected by an academical authority who has previously verified its appropriateness. 

It is said that an image is worth a thousand words, and if we assemble the right images with the right words, the effect is boosted. Furthermore -and reality in the current context of pandemic can confirm this rotundly- an educational video can be watched at any time, it usually lasts a few minutes, it is reachable from any point of the globe, from different devices, can be watched more than once if needed, can be paused, etc. Once again, it is of key importance to make the right choice when selecting the material. 

As per the mindmap, it allows the hierarchical organization of  critical concepts, but it does not present detailed information whatsoever; it is not the purpose of a mindmap to provide a bountiful amount of knowledge. However, it is a great resource to collect information and establish connections, which demands involving cognitive functions. In addition, producing a mindmap is creatively engaging, for you can select shapes, colors, fonts, different styles of arrows/connectors, add images, links and more (although this might turn into a drawback if you are too into design and spend endless hours designing, and forget about the main purpose of the graphic).

Given that a mindmap is not suitable for long and detailed explanations (because it is not its nature, as previously stated) I took down some notes of what I considered to be more salient from the University of Leeds website on Academic Writing. The purpose of these notes is to scaffold my study before the final exam, and to establish a deeper interaction with the written text. If I was to just read and understand, and that was all, then I would have to trust in my memory, which keeps proving to be an unreliable friend (that is what notes are for!)

The contents dealt with in this entry are not only necessary but fundamental in our formation as secondary school teachers and as academic individuals who will probably write papers at some point. It also guides us when we, as readers,  go through academic texts and make sense of things that otherwise would remain in the shadows. So, these contents also cast light on the academic texts that we are dealing with now, in our last year of Teaching Training College. 

The importance of taking notes while we are reading, and how to do it right.

Information on note taking - University of Leeds

Overall structure: Introduction, main body and conclusion

The introduction outlines the main direction the writing will take, and gives any necessary background information and context.

In the main body each point is presented, explored and developed. These points must be set out in a logical order, to make it easier for the reader to follow and understand.

The conclusion brings together the main points, and will highlight the key message or argument you want the reader to take away. It may also identify any gaps or weaknesses in the arguments or ideas presented, and recommend further research or investigation where appropriate.

Write in structured paragraphs

Use paragraphs to build and structure your argument, and separate each of your points into a different paragraph.

Make your point clear in the first or second sentence of the paragraph to help the reader to follow the line of reasoning.

The rest of the paragraph should explain the point in greater detail, and provide relevant evidence and examples where necessary or useful. Your interpretation of this evidence will help to substantiate your thinking and can lend weight to your argument.

At the end of the paragraph you should show how the point you have made is significant to the overall argument or link to the next paragraph.

Demonstrate balance in your writing

In your academic work, you should not present something as a fact that might not be. In academic writing, you can use language that we often refer to as hedges or boosters to show how confident you are about an argument or claim you are discussing.

Hedges

When writing, be careful of using words such as "definitely" or "proves". Ask yourself whether your statement is a fact or whether there may be some doubt either now or in the future.

Some useful hedging words and phrases to use in your work are:

·         “This suggests...”

·         “It is possible that...”

·         “A possible explanation...”

·         “Usually...”

·         “Sometimes...”

·         “Somewhat...”

Boosters

You might want to express a measure of certainty or conviction in your writing and this is when 'booster' language can help.

Some useful booster words and phrases to use in your work are:

·         “Clearly” (only use if you are certain it is clear)

·         “There is a strong correlation...”

·         “Results indicate...”

Argument

The most important voice to get across in your writing is your own; it is how you can show the reader (usually your tutor) what you are thinking, what your views are and how you have engaged critically with the topic being discussed. You can do this by building an effective and persuasive argument for your reader.

Your argument is how you express your viewpoint and answer the question you have been set, using evidence.

Make sure that your argument runs throughout your writing and that everything you include is relevant to it. Try to sum up your argument in a few words before you start writing and keep checking that it remains the focus as you research and write your work.

MORE ON ARGUMENTS...

Extracted from BBC ACADEMIC WRITING ARGUMENT  (last visited July 16th, 2020)

A language of argument glossary

Claim
The claim is the point you are making.

This is not a fact. Other people might have a different opinion. Therefore you need to support this claim with evidence.

Justification
What about justification? It is the logical thinking that explains why the evidence supports the claim. It’s sometimes called the warrant. In many cases, the justification is not actually written down as part of the argument, as it an obvious assumption or widely held belief.

Counter-arguments
Arguments can also include counter-arguments.

This is where you anticipate potential rejections of your argument.

Evidence
The evidence is the data or information you use to support your claim.

The pieces of evidence may be drawn from many different sources. When including the work of others, you need to reference it.

Limitations
In certain kinds of academic papers, it’s important to include what we call limitations. If you are reporting and analysing the results of a survey, for example, you need to talk about the weakest areas of your study. This could be related to the methodology or sample size.

Finally,we must not forget that  it  is  crucial   to revise   and   edit    as thoroughly   as  possible

Entry # 6

Systemic Functional Linguistics is a theoretical approach to Language that considers it as a SOCIAL SEMIOTIC SYSTEM. 

 

THE LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS, AS WELL AS THE SITUATIONAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS, ARE OF REMARKABLE IMPORTANCE WITHIN THIS THEORY. 

 

SFL defines three metafunctions of Language. They are: The ideational, the interpersonal and the textual metafunctions. 

From this perspective, systems of genres are realised in configurations of register variables that are realised in patterns of choices in language (and other semiotic systems)

What follows is a synthesis that I found in the Internet (I copy the link below) which seemed to me a very clear and concise explanation of some central points in the theory of SFL. I thought it would be good to add it to my study notes.

Retrieved from https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/bawarshi_reiff/chapter3.pdf on August 9th) 

Genre and Systemic Functional Linguistics Systemic Functional approaches to genre have contributed richly to how genre is understood and applied in textual analysis and language teaching over the last twenty-five years. Influenced in large part by the work of Michael Halliday (Halliday; Halliday and Hasan) at the University of Sydney.

Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) operates from the premise that language structure is integrally related to social function and context. Language is organized the way it is within a culture because such an organization serves a social purpose within that culture. “Functional” thus refers to the work that language does within particular contexts. “Systemic” refers to the structure or organization of language so that it can be used to get things done within those contexts. “Systemic” then refers to the 30 Genre “systems of choices” available to language users for the realization of meaning (Christie, “Genre Theory” 759; emphasis added). 

The concept of “realization” is especially important within SFL, for it describes the dynamic way that language realizes social purposes and contexts as specific linguistic interactions, at the same time as social purposes and contexts realize language as specific social actions and meanings. A great deal of the work in SFL can be traced to Halliday’s Language as Social Semiotic, in which Halliday describes how “the network of meanings” that constitute any culture, what he calls the “social semiotic” is to a large extent encoded in and maintained by its discourse-semantic system, which represents a culture’s “meaning potential” (100, 13). This is why, as Halliday argues, language is a form of socialization, playing a role in how individuals become socialized and perform meaningful actions within what he calls “contexts of situation.” Halliday explains that contexts of situation are not isolated and unique, but often reoccur as “situation types,” a set of typified semiotic and semantic relations that make up “a scenario... of persons and actions and events from which the things which are said derive their meaning” (28-30). Examples of situation types include “players instructing novice in a game,” “mother reading bedtime story to a child,” “customers ordering goods over the phone” (29). Because contexts of situation reoccur as situation types, those who participate in these situation types develop typified ways of linguistically interacting within them. As these situation types become conventionalized over time, they begin to “specify the semantic configurations that the speaker will typically fashion” 

Moving on to another specialist that has developed interesting ideas in the field of language and linguistics, we find Prof. Beverly Derewianca, who based her "Teaching Learning Cycle" graphic on the interaction between teachers and students, and how that interaction can be well guided through strong scaffolding in order to contribute building up students' knowledge and abilities. Derewianca proposes that the teacher first identifies the language demands of the task, upon which an  explanation of the particular genre is explicitely provided. The aim is to attain a deep learning of the content, together with the learning of the language of the content area. The teacher constantly assesses students' progress and responds to identified needs. 

 Derewianca - University of Wollongong, Australia. 

 

  You are invited to watch the following videos   

          and test your knowledge on SFL!               

Visible Thinking is a broad and flexible framework for enriching classroom learning in the content areas and fostering students' intellectual development at the same time.

On the following board, I have  posted some central issues regarding SFL in the classroom. 

(LinoIt does not allow embedding for some reason, so I have attached a link and a screenshot below)

  

SFL in EFL classroom

This comparison chart displays some old/new concepts 

retrieved from the video

Once again, I have become a happy busy bee, working on a new slides presentation. In times when creativity runs rampant in the open fields of lavish of spare time, it has been a real pleasure to devote myself to one of the things that I enjoy the most. Had it not been for the mandatory isolation, my words would be others, but this is what we got.

We are locked down but our creativity is not. Our will to prove ourselves that society is still out there -even though it might not manifest itself in a very tangible way- makes us think more, write more, create more, in whichever possible way we may find. And this task happens to fit that demand to perfection. Thus, I have poured doses of creativity in each slide, for my amusement and hopelly yours too. I have included colors, textures, famous backgrounds such as Van Gogh's Starry Night, animated figures that appear, roll, vanish. All in all, such a jazzy layout conveys the particular conditions that this (kinky!) year 2020 brought along. 

As a matter of fact,these are my winter holidays, I have (as I already stated) lots of free time,and during this period of isolation I hardly leave my house, I hardly  engage in a face to face conversation with people other than my family, and my creative streak is striving hard to find a reason to stay alive. Then, I hereby apologise if the looks of my slideshow are too 'over the top' and the stridency is too harsh: my motive has been explained. 

Contrastingly, the LinoIt board and the Google Form have made me feel the turbulences of the Undisclosed. Figuring them out  has represented a challenge of big proportions, it took me several frustrating attempts until I began to see the light.  Nevertheless, I consider that all the efforts were worth it,  specially in the case of the form. Most certainly I  will use it in the future; I see it as a wonderful tool to, for example, assess students remotely.

On the subject of SFL and genre-based model, I am glad to continue getting acquainted with theories of language that account for the ways in which language is structured and used,and especially,   that consider it a social activity with particular power relations. The conception of genre as a socially constructed event is and idea that I find enlightening and significant. 

Apart from that, and narrowing the focus to the classroom life, I understand that working on academic writing is not only necessary, but fundamental for reading comprehension and general academic success. In order to improve students' writing skills as well as their oral performance in meaningful discussions, it is critical for them to master specialized language. Thus, students are benefited from a finer comprehension of the message that is being delivered (by a teacher, a lecturer or a book), and/or from structuring their own  messages (either oral or written) properly and in consonance with the context. As Derewianca explains through her "teaching and learning cycle", assessing and scaffolding students' progress in the Vygotskian way (through interaction with more proficient others in the context of shared experience)brings them closer to academical success. 

  

Finally (and, would this be a meta-meta-linguistic digression?), I would like to share a  curious discovery that has made my interlanguage tremble.In English, there is competence and there is competency. When I spotted 'competencies' in the text by Knapp and Watkins which the slideshow has been constructed upon, I literally ran to the online dictionary: "there is a spelling mistake, it should read competences!" But no, I could not afford to self-indulge for too long because I found that competency means "possession of sufficient knowledge or skill", according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Pretty much the same as competence, although differently spelled. I like it when things of this sort knock me down to size. After all, and like David Bowie used to sing, "We are absolute beginners, with eyes completely open".