A Guide to Writing - Reflective, Academic and Business Writing
Reflection - Writing a Learning Journal
"A journal is a friend that is always there and is always a comfort. In bad moments I write, and usually end up feeling better" Jennifer Moon (1999: 14-5)
One of the most significant differences between in classroom and online (blended) study is that you, the student, will not be taking lecture notes - you thus need to find an effective way to structure your notes. Instead of lecture notes we see an increasing emphasis on the use of the reflective journal. The purpose of reflective journals is clear - to help you to both retain, and more critically, make sense of what you've been learning by writing about it, thinking about it, reflecting on it ("what does it MEAN?") and being able to revisit and synthesize your learning. After all, you will not be able to have perfect recall of your learning.
Knowles in particular emphasizes that adult learners need a reference point, a way to connect what they know, what they do and how they make sense with the materials to which they are now being introduced. (Knowles is widely recognized as the person who developed our understanding of andragogy - ie adult learning; as distinct from pedagogy - child learning)
An overview and useful insight to Learning Journals:
http://www.audiencedialogue.net/journal.html
To view a handy presentation on how to manage a learning journal
http://www.slideshare.net/ldubradford/writing-effective-learning-journals
A great piece - this will help you get the sentiment and purpose of the key rationale for reflective journal keeping
Smith, Mark (1999, 2006), 'Keeping a learning journal', the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/research/keeping_a_journal.htm
Learning journals and the on-campus student
Keeping a learning journals is not a practice confined to distance education. The following note is a good guide adapted for on campus students:
http://www.slideshare.net/ldubradford/writing-effective-learning-journals
References
Knowles, M. (1984a). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing
Knowles, M. (1984b). Andragogy in Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Moon, Jennifer (1999) Learning Journals. A handbook for academics, students and professional development, London: Kogan Page
Why do we care about writing style?
Writing clearly, correctly and unambiguously is important.
It is important to be able to present a strong case for your recommendations or in support of your argument.
It is important that the reader has the correct sense of your views, opinions and interpretations from your writing.
It is also important that you write well in order to get a good grade!
"If I had to highlight just one factor in my students papers and reports that has the single most significant impact on their grade I would always say clarity of expression and structure in their written work." Dr Simon Croom, SCMI Executive Director
"Poorly thought through ideas are always betrayed by poorly constructed papers or reports. I don't have time to work through fluffy words, poor sentences and bad layout. If a report is badly written I am unlikely to give it much time" VP Supply Chain, USA
"Too many students feel they need to express difficult ideas or detailled analysis through the use of technical language and complex sentences. This is simply not true"
"I know of no good writer (not even Nobel prize winning scientists with whom I have worked) who can simply write a well written document the first thing out of his or her brain " Dr Shelly Valdez, SCMI
As a humorous aside - here's a great example of the power of clear writing, punctuation and expression:
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
(from 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The zero tolerance approach to punctuation' 2003 Profile Books, London, p9 by Lynne Truss)
So, as we can easily see here, it is easy to completely change the meaning of the same words through judicious use of punctuation. Whilst we do not expect you to immerse yourself intesively into 'rules' of English grammar and punctuation, you will find it useful over the course of your program to aim to develop and improve your skills in written expression.
Is academic writing different?
To many students returning to study after a long spell away from formal education, there is a fear that writing in an 'academic style' follows arcane or mysterious rules. Well, there is some truth in that! For example, many disciplines have a particular way in which their subject matter is approached and expressed. For example, the styles we would see adopted by students of law, philosophy, marketing, english literature or engineering would be significantly different from each other. It is helpful to see examples from other students of types of papers and one of the objectives on this site is that overtime we will offer up some examples of different styles of writing.
What is Plagiarism?
In short, plagiarism is cheating - it is when you use someone elses' work or input and pass it off as your own.
The attached paper is a great overview of the views and policy we adopt here at SCMI.
Some helpful sites relating to the issue are shown here:
Useful hints about writing for academic assessment
Writing of any form, but particularly for academic assessment, follows a process containing at least the following distinct phases:
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I. Introduction: Introduce topic with a general statement, preview the subtopics that will be covered, transition* to first subtopic.
II. Body:
Subtopic A – paragraph(s) with at least 2-3 supporting details for the subtopic
Transition
Subtopic B - paragraph(s) with at least 2-3 supporting details for the subtopic
Transition
Subtopic C - paragraph(s) with at least 2-3 supporting details for the subtopic
Transition
III. Conclusion: Summarize the topic, subtopics (using different words) and, when appropriate, call the reader to some action (e.g. for more information, see…”)
* Transitions tell the reader where you have been and where you are going in the paper. These can be quite simple e.g., “while XX is important, one must also keep in mind…”
Executive Summaries
In writing for business it is frequently advisable to have an executive summary as the very first section. A great guide to what constitutes
such a summary:
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4bi1.html
Two very important elements of the writing process also include
Revising: review your work for clarity and consistency of the 'message' - does it really convey what you want to say clearly and succinctly?
Proofreading: Focus on the mechanics of your writing (spelling, grammar, format, etc.) to make sure there are no errors or glaring mistakes as these detract from the impact of your work.
"I often tell students to give any paper they are going to submit to a friend whose work they trust and have that friend read it and give feedback. Sometimes it is a question of having another set of eyes look at it. I also explain that professionals would never submit something for publication that hasn’t been looked at in this way. Sometimes it is a question of them editing their own work too." Dr Shelly Valdez, SCMI
"I am finding more often than not that students write a paper by putting down something on paper, doing a spell check and grammar check on the computer and then submitting it. They don’t read it over themselves even once. I also explain that EVERYTHING needs to be edited – I don’t even send out emails without first editing them!" Dr Shelly Valdez, SCMI
Useful Links
In this section of the site we provide you with access to some very useful and easy to follow guidance on how to maximize and enhance your writing skills.
There are some really good guidesand reference sites on the Web and below is just a small selection of the ones we find particularly useful.
Purdue University free writing lab help
University of Kansas writing guide - a particularly comprehensive site.
Guide to Grammar and Style - by Prof Jack Lynch at Rutgers
Reference guide to common issues with grammar - A useful quick look up for many of common questions you may have about correct English usage.
Dictionary.com - online dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopaedia.