Writing Fundamentals: Part 10

Office of Graduate Studies Author

12/19/2016 Added

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Part 10 of a 10-part Research Writing Fundamentals workshop presented by Dr. Rick Lombardo

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[00:00:01.116]Use headings and subheadings,
[00:00:02.491]used as part of the roadmap for the reader.
[00:00:06.665]Signal to reader sections that are similar
[00:00:08.428]and those that are different from other sections.
[00:00:11.786]Help comprehensive and selective reading.
[00:00:14.078]When people sometimes read a journal article
[00:00:16.972]or a dissertation, they'll look immediately
[00:00:18.395]at the methods and results sections.
[00:00:21.566]And they'll see it in methods because you got a heading.
[00:00:24.659]This is a level one heading,
[00:00:25.881]this is a level two heading,
[00:00:26.720]this is a level three heading.
[00:00:28.368]This differs by discipline,
[00:00:30.078]but the point is when you start using
[00:00:33.043]different heading styles for subsections,
[00:00:36.289]et cetera, you use them consistently.
[00:00:40.720]How about tables, figures, and charts?
[00:00:42.985]You need to introduce.
[00:00:45.145]Look how easy this is to access.
[00:00:48.091]But with these things there's one
[00:00:49.147]other thing you need to do,
[00:00:51.300]is interpret the table, summarize the table for the reader.
[00:00:55.170]Again, this is making it easy on the reader.
[00:00:59.095]Instead of saying, here's my table, okay?
[00:01:04.471]This is a simple table,
[00:01:05.448]if you got a complex table, you need to summarize that.
[00:01:11.355]Yes?
[00:01:14.297]All right, we're going down to the bottom
[00:01:16.198]of the upside down pyramid.
[00:01:18.372]Sentence rhythm, this is critical.
[00:01:21.803]Avoid overly simple or overly complex sentences.
[00:01:26.789]There are some drawbacks with diesel engines.
[00:01:30.280]Diesel engines are much noisier than standard engines.
[00:01:33.721]They are difficult to start in cold weather.
[00:01:36.690]They tend to cause considerable vibration.
[00:01:39.711]They also give off an unpleasant odor.
[00:01:42.624]For these reason, many car manufacturers
[00:01:44.443]are limiting their diesel models to light trucks only.
[00:01:47.767]Did you hear the rhythm?
[00:01:49.337]In writing there's a rhythm.
[00:01:51.515]If you say it out loud, you can hear it.
[00:01:53.264]This one went, duh-nah, duh-nah, duh,
[00:01:55.517]duh-nah, duh-nah, duh,
[00:01:57.039]duh-nah, duh-nah, duh.
[00:01:58.975]That's an overly simple sentence.
[00:02:04.478]It gets boring to the reader.
[00:02:06.022]The reader's gonna go to the Caribbean.
[00:02:07.819]So here's a revision.
[00:02:10.188]Diesel engines have some drawbacks.
[00:02:13.436]Most obvious are their noisiness,
[00:02:14.932]cold-weather starting difficulties,
[00:02:17.671]vibrations, and unpleasant odor.
[00:02:19.614]Therefore, many manufacturers are limiting
[00:02:21.078]their diesel models to light trucks.
[00:02:23.606]Vary your sentence lengths.
[00:02:26.412]You notice how much more pleasant
[00:02:28.278]it is to read that than the first one?
[00:02:31.342]Let's take a look at an overly complex sentence.
[00:02:36.197]In a smoke-filled room, teary eyes and runny noses occur,
[00:02:39.804]and auditory discrimination
[00:02:40.679]and visual perception are altered,
[00:02:42.284]which is irritating but not associated
[00:02:43.928]with any serious disease,
[00:02:45.480]except for people with heart and lung diseases
[00:02:47.549]who are threatened with major problems from smoke.
[00:02:49.881](gasps deeply)
[00:02:53.389]Wow, that's back to the old myth,
[00:02:56.366]use big words to long sentences, right?
[00:03:00.589]Now, watch the revision.
[00:03:04.116]A smoke-filled room not only causes
[00:03:05.735]teary eyes and runny noses.
[00:03:08.886]The smoke also can alter auditory and visual perception.
[00:03:11.746]Although the smoke itself does not produce disease,
[00:03:15.181]it does pose a threat to people
[00:03:16.506]with heart and lung ailments.
[00:03:18.917]Obviously this is way out of accuracy now.
[00:03:23.477]We know that the lung does,
[00:03:26.986]exposure to smoke does hurt people who don't smoke.
[00:03:30.531]Anyway, get a sense for the rhythm
[00:03:32.570]of what it is you write.
[00:03:34.663]And vary the lengths of your sentences.
[00:03:36.676]Now, at the very least,
[00:03:39.837]I want you to remember these things.
[00:03:42.462]Think before you write.
[00:03:45.037]Outline, then check your outline for natural logic.
[00:03:50.105]Be critical of your own thinking.
[00:03:52.537]And don't be hard on yourself
[00:03:54.408]because logic doesn't come out naturally.
[00:03:57.851]You have to impose logic and you have to crystalize logic.
[00:04:02.675]Clear writing is clear thinking.
[00:04:06.070]Focus on readability.
[00:04:09.919]Revise, revise, revise.
[00:04:14.359]Thank you very much.

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Writing Fundamentals: Part 10

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