Scientific Writing as Persuasion

July 28, 2010Jennie Ariail, Ph.D. and Tom G. Smith, Ph.D.

The Writing Center and

The Center for Academic Excellence

ariailjc@musc.edu; smithtg@musc.edu

Medical University of South Carolina

Charleston, SC

792-6390

Overview

Writing as Process• Routines• Reading and research plan• Feedback and input

Writing as Product• Scientific writing--IMRAD• Genre analysis• Literature review

Writing as Rewriting• Coherence, Abstraction Ladder, Transition• Writing with and in style• Revising, editing, and abstracts

Rhetorical Theory and Persuasion

Rhetoric—“all the available means of persuasion”

Canons of Rhetoric– Invention– Arrangement– Style – Memory– Delivery

Rhetorical Theory and Knowledge Production Participation as a “rhetor” in producing

knowledge and encouraging action Central questions: How is knowledge made

through communication? What constitutes knowledge? In what manner do I contribute to knowledge?

Rhetoric--word, phrase, clause, paragraph, composition, citation

Grammar--phoneme, syllable, word, phrase, phrase, clause Mechanics—punctuation, capitalization, format, structure of

citations

• all the available means of persuasionAudience Analysis

• the art of discovering all the means of persuasionHeuristics

Inner resourcesTopicsGenres

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Rhetoric

Writing as Process

Writing Routines—Invention, Arrangement– Time– Space– Journaling– Drafting and Outlining– Drawing and Clustering– Reading and delaying– Talking and taping

Burke’s Pentad

What was done? (act)Where or when was it done? (scene)Who did it? (agent)How was it done? (agency)Why was it done? (purpose)

Larson’s Problem Solving TechniquesWhat is the problem?Why is the problem indeed a problem?What goals must be served by whatever action or solution that is acted upon?Which goals have the highest priority?What procedures might attain the stated goals?What can I predict about the consequences of each possible action?Which course of action is best?How do the actions compare with each other as potential solutions to the problem?

Produced by MUSC's Writing Center - Under the direction of Professor Tom Waldrep

Writing as Process:

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writing as Process

Reading and Research Plans– Target journals– Reference Management – Note taking– Clustering/Drawing/Outlining– Database to Bibliography

Writing as Process

Outlining Principles– Hierarchy of ideas, abstract to concrete– What to include and why to include it– Facts and implications– Does the outline stand alone

Role in the writing process– Invention– Arrangement– Memory

Writing as Process

Feedback and Input– Drafting– Low stakes writing/Peer reviewing– Revising– High stakes writing/Authority reviewing– Knowledge acquisition

Writing as Product—Invention, Arrangement, Style

Scientific Writing– Contextualizing

Topic—the CARS Model Process/Method Results

– Accumulating, Building, and Filling– Impartiality: Disclosure

Disclosure, Impartiality, Referencing and Plagiarism

What is the most important reason scientists cite sources?

Why Cite?

To persuade– You are competent to conduct experiments– You are a peer of published authors, joining

their conversation– Your work has a logical location within a body

of literature

How citation can undermine persuasion

Summarize or paraphrase without contextualizing. Use a review article as citation for a single published

research finding important to your work…rather than citing a review based on its intended purpose (describing the shape of a field of knowledge).

Cite a web page…WHAT!? Cite a text book. Cite only one article when two articles were published

about the same time, with similar findings. Cite the first paper you find that makes your point (rather

than the first and most important paper).

Writing as Rewriting: Arrangement/Style

Reader Expectation Global to local—Abstraction Ladder

– Transition/Paragraphing– Coherence– Cohesive ties– Sentences– Topic– Final

Transition—Arrangement, Style, Delivery

•Transition implies that the writer is moving from one idea to the next or is changing topics. If a period is a stop sign, then transition is a flashing blinker, a signal to the reader that you are changing lanes, going in a different direction.

•Single words can signal a change. Often they are separated from the rest of the sentence with commas. Whole phrases and clauses also function as transitions.

•White space

•Bullets and/or headings; numbers, bold

Coherence: Old-to-New Information Theory of Coherence The definition of the word cohere

indicates a logical connection, a consistent “sticking together.” English-- subject-verb-object pattern

OLD information NEW information subject predicate

David came to the Writing Center for a consultation.

Here he read the guidelines for research at a major medical center.

This paper was presenting problems for David because he had to ensure that he adhered to the hierarchy of the organization.

Steve said….

Coherence Patterns—Style

Topic Changing: In this pattern, the key word in the Topic position repeats or refers back to a word or idea at the end of the previous sentence.

Topic StressOld1 New1

Old2 (=New1) New2

Old3 (=New2) New3

Old4 (=New3) New4

Coherence Patterns (cont.)

Topic Stringing:In this pattern, the key words or ideas (synonyms for them) in the Topic positions keep reappearing until that particular topic has been brought to a conclusion.

 Topic Stress

Old1 New1

Old1 New2

Old1 New3

Old1 New4

Style

Vary the length of sentences. Avoid a series of similar length sentences. Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not overuse pronouns like it and this, especially when their antecedents are unclear. Use “this” as an adjective only

Checklist

Describe arrangement Underline headings List transitional

phrases between paragraphs

Paragraphs--length– Coherence

Sentence--reader expectation– a. Topic (old)– b. Stress (new)– c. Subordination

Location of subject and verb

Analysis of Style and Delivery

Diction Sentence length Variety of sentence

patterns Shortest, simplest

words Sentence beginnings Active voice

Prepositional strings Parallel structure Editing

– a. commas– b. semicolons

Writing for Publication

Writing as Process—Engage in a routine of writing

Writing as Product—Samples and feedback; be a scientist toward your writing and writing tasks

Writing as Rewriting—Revision is not simply correction; it is re-seeing, articulating ideas in new ways