Never cite an idea just because you want it to be true. Academic writing: Should I cite the original source? Important: In academic writing you are responsible for the writing you produce. If the research behind it is weak, either acknowledge this as a gap or leave the idea out completely. But lets assume there is good research behind the idea. Its impossible!, I will never be able to do it, 7000 words you must be mad! are typically how students react when first confronted with the challenge of writing an academic article. For those PhD students for whom English is not their first language, writing a thesis can be a daunting task and a source of some anxiety too. How to avoid plagiarism in academic writing . The course addresses different aspects of the writing process, such as becoming aware of disciplinary requirements, improving text coherence, writing effective sentences, using punctuation effectively, using varied vocabulary and improving the overall style of writing. Imagine you cite the more recent article, paraphrasing what they say and changing the idea very slightly. This might be OK, but if they misinterpreted or misrepresented the original idea, then theres a problem as everyone else is building on a cracked foundation. Although students lack the experience in reporting research and are not always being trained in academic writing, there are ways to be successful. This is not what the examiner is looking for. Focus on the best, most most relevant sources and exclude the rest! In most cases, you should look for the original source. Los Angeles: Sage. The syllabus was confirmed by the Council for PhD Studies on 2017-06-09. Katherine Firth has worked with many of these students and as well as offering reasons why they should feel reassured, also provides a short list of simple pointers to help improve their skills. I often found, when trying to track down original sources, that they were conference proceedings (many of which were not available online) or super-obscure journals. Academic Writing for PhD Students: Writing the effective research article, 6 higher education credits Forskarniv/Third cycle These articles will be analyzed and discussed during the course with regard to recurring characteristics for scientific communication in their respective sub-fields, in order to 1 spring 2020. How to write a compelling literature review. As always when citing sources, though, you need to decide whether the idea is relevant and important to your work and worth the effort. In this case you could cite both, acknowledging where the idea came from and then following the logic of the later paper. Academic Writing for PhD Students: Writing the effective research article 6 hgskolepong. In the worst cases, a secondary source becomes much more popular than the original and everybody cites them when talking about a particular idea. Or, of course, the original source might not be very good work (just because its published doesnt mean its good). The syllabus is valid from the autumn semester 2017. Clark, T. & Wright, M. (2007). SPRING 2020: Tuesday 4.2.2020 12:15-15:45, Wednesday 5.2.2020 12:15-15:45 Adrienn Kroly adrienn.karoly@jyu.fi Most post-graduate students cringe at the thought of having to distil a whole years research work into a single journal article of 20 A4-pages. You don't have to do it all alone! Academic Writing at the Graduate Level: Improving the Curriculum through Faculty Collaboration Abstract This article describes a collaborative self-study undertaken to identify the source of academic writing difficulties among graduate students and find ways to address them. Go at your own pace and get advice and support when you need it. Journal of Management Studies, 44(4), 612-621. In this blog, we review academic writing tools and software that students, academics, researchers and PhD students can benefit from. See also. coaching, courses & quick tips for PhD students. Another problem you might find is that when you look for the original source it isnt available. The course materials are not included in the course fee. As Jones later explained (ref), this theory was based upon Of course, tracing original sources is extra work. The Advanced Academic Writing course is designed for PhD students who write their dissertation in English. 1. For example; In 1986 Smith proposed a radical new theory to explain X (ref). One of the most common problems I see in PhD students writing is the random inclusion of ideas and references to show the reader how much theyve read. Copyright 2010-2020, James Hayton PhDTraining. Writing a PhD dissertation can be a daunting challenge for many students. The motivation behind this blog is to provide readers with a snapshot of popular tools in each category. This happens all the time in the academic literature. This is not what the examiner is looking for. If you are using research or ideas based on work by others (books, journals, websites) you must reference everything fully and in the correct way for your assignment (check your instructions for this). As Boice (1990), Johnson and Mullen (2007) as well as some other scholars acknowledged, the training for scholarly writing is not linear. We have categorised the tools into four broad areas: writing tools, referencing tools, research tools and grammar checking tools. All rights reserved. Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. 10 steps to PhD failure Top tips on making postgraduate study even tougher (which students could also use to avoid pitfalls if they prefer). Confirmation. Your final PhD year: moving towards submission. If it isnt published in a proper journal, then its probably better to just not include that point. One of the most common problems I see in PhD students writing is the random inclusion of ideas and references to show the reader how much theyve read. This course is only open to PhD students who are in the process of writing a PhD thesis or academic article. GRAMMAR FOR ACADEMIC WRITING iii Unit 5 THE PAST: Reporting 49 Past versus Present 50 Past versus Present Perfect 51 Past versus Past Perfect 54 Reported speech 56 Extended Writing Task (Task 5.11 or 5.12) 59 Study Notes on Unit 60 Unit 6 BEING CONCISE: Using nouns and adverbs 64 Academic Writing for PhD Students: Writing the effective research article 6 credits . It is the most important work that determines a student's academic success at the end of the course. Academic, familial, social, personal, and financial as- XENA1000 Academic Writing Modules: The Compilation Section of an Article-Based Dissertation, 2 ECTS. How not to write a PhD thesis If you want failure, this is your road map to getting there. Now the original nuance of the idea might be lost and its harder to find the original source and check where the idea came from. How to avoid plagiarism in academic writing, How to write a compelling literature review, How to write about methods and methodology in your PhD thesis, The most important PhD time-management habit, A simple trick to help you stay focused on your PhD work. Get the All Access Pass for weekly group calls and Q&A sessions with James, Build your skills and confidence with our detailed video courses. So you should check the original source and find out where the idea came from, especially if this idea is an essential component of your work. Forskarniv/Third cycle . Now imagine your work gets published and in a few years somebody else reads your work and they pick up on this idea, paraphrasing you and changing it slightly. The more you write, the harder it gets Signposting in academic writing: How not to do it! Participants must be able to produce examples of their own written work, as this will be a part of the material used in the course. This article offers advice to PhD students on how to improve their academic writing skills . The PhD experience: this far, and no further Five students on how doctoral study changed them and their futures. Therefore, it is vital to know how to write a PhD thesis in order to succeed in your academic career. The best way to improve any skill is to practice, and then practice more. Gump, S. E. (2004). Reviewing journal rankings and revisiting peer reviews: Editorial perspectives. Now it might be that the source youre reading now describes the idea much more clearly than the original. Grammar for Academic Writing provides a selective overview of the key areas of English grammar that you need to master, in order to express yourself correctly and appropriately in academic writing. Focus on the best, most most relevant sources and exclude the rest! Ten faculty members in a college of Applied Linguist Natalie Reid will give the course Academic Writing for Nordic PhD students .