This is a presentation from an ANLTC Workshop on Academic Writing, hosted by the Library at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. Participants have already participated in an introductory workshop.

1. Helen Fallon, Deputy Librarian, National
University of Ireland Maynooth
Helen.b.fallon@nuim.ie

2.  Grammar
 Style
 Editing
 Proofreading

3. Voice – active versus passive
 Verbs
 Adverbs
 Adjectives
 Tense
 Adjectives


4. 
Active Voice
◦ Subject + verb + object or just subject + verb
◦ The Library introduced self-service borrowing
at the start of the academic year

5. 
Object + verb + subject or object + verb e.g.
mistakes were made
◦ Self-service borrowing was introduced by the
Library at the start of the academic year

Passive verb is a form of the verb ―to be‖ and
the past participle of the main verb. The
main verb must be a transitive verb (take an
object)

6. 
To turn the passive voice to the active voice:
Ask: ―Who does what to whom?‖
◦ Increased seat occupancy was observed in the
months leading up to the examinations
◦ We observed increased seat occupancy
◦ A recommendation was made by the Library
Committee that a survey be carried out
◦ The Library committee recommended that a survey
be carried out

7. 


Write with Verbs
Use Strong Verbs
Use verbs rather than their noun equivalent
◦ The author makes the suggestion that...
◦ The author suggests that...

Don‘t bury the main verb
◦ Keep the subject and main verb (predicate) close
together at the start of the sentence.

Use ―to be‖ verbs purposefully and sparingly –
is are was were be been am

8. 
Minimise use of There are/There is
◦ There are many ways in which we can arrange the
collections
◦ We can arrange the collections in many ways
◦ There are many librarians who like to write
◦ Many librarians like to write
◦ The data confirm that there is a link between library
usage and exam results
◦ The data confirm a link between library usage and
exam results

9. The following verbs are frequently
used, particularly in abstracts:
addresses, asks, argues, concludes, covers, critiq
ues, demonstrates, describes, discusses, elucidat
es, examines, evaluates, expands, explains, expl
ores, identifies, maps, outlines, presents, propos
es, promotes, reports, reveals, reviews, shows, su
ggests, summarises.

10. Adverb – describes or modifies a verb
 expresses manner or quality

◦ Very
◦ Easily
◦ Terribly
◦ Slowly
◦ Quickly

11. 

Describes or modifies a noun
long/new/old/difficult/late/terrible
Compound adjective
When you join two or more words to describe an
object e.g. An up-to-date collection

12. 
Tense Contributes to tone
― Forceful writing results from writing
concisely, actively and positively. The present
tense is usually more active and therefore
more forceful than the past tense.‖
(Henson, p. 48)

13. The American Psychological Association ( APA)
suggest:
using past tense to describe results and action
or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite
time in the past;the present tense to discuss
implications of results, to present conclusions
and to express a past action or condition that
did not occur at a specific, definite time or to
describe an action beginning in the past and
continuing to the present.

14. Use punctuation to vary sentence
structure and support meaning
 Punctuation marks contribute to
continuity (flow) by showing
relationships between ideas
 Punctuation should mirror speech


15. Semicolon
 Colon
 Comma
 Apostrophe
 Dash
 Hyphen
 Quotations marks
 Parentheses


16. The semicolon connects two
independent clauses
It was the best of times; it was the
worst of times
She knew a lot about the Library; she
had worked there for twenty years
The book on academic writing is very
useful; it is full of interesting ideas

17. 
The semicolon is also used to separate
items in lists that have internal
punctuation
◦ The number of books issued has reduced
dramatically: in 2008 25,000 books were
borrowed; in 2009, 19,000; by 2010, when the
new library was built, only 15,000 items were
issued

18. Use a colon after an independent clause to
introduce a quote, a list, an explanation or
conclusion
Quote
Formal quotations are introduced by a colon
and enclosed in quotation marks
The Library policy states: ―Journals may not
be borrowed by undergraduates.‖

19. List
The committee now includes the following
people:
librarian
undergraduate student
postgraduate student
mature student
Part-time student

20. 
Use for items in a list, except the penultimate
one
◦ She ordered three books, a journal, a thesis and an
article

Where you have inserted a clause to provide
extra information
◦ She liked the Library, where she had worked for
some time, but left to take up a post in a different
town

Introductory phrases
◦ However, borrowing increased during the period

21. 
Use for a missing letter in a word
◦ The Library isn‘t open today
◦ Where‘s the journal kept?

Use to denote possessive
◦ The student‘s books
◦ The Library‘s stock (one library)
◦ The Libraries‘ stock (means the stock of more than
one Library)
You don‘t need to add the possessive ―s‖
when the name ends in ―s‖ – unless it is common usage: Mary
Jones‘ book/St. James‘s hospital

22. 
Use for time phrases when the time modifies
a noun
◦ The Library will open in one day‘s time
◦ Six months‘ ban on borrowing

Don‘t use apostrophe for possessive
pronouns or for plurals of words or for dates
◦ The book isn‘t hers; the departments stock, 1970s

23. ―A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a
comma, less formal than a colon, and more
relaxed than parentheses. Use a dash only
when a more common mark of punctuation
seems inadequate.‖—Strunk and White



to add emphasis
to insert a definition or description almost
anywhere in the sentence
to announce a long explanation or summary

24. 

Use to connect compound words
It‘s a little-know fact that the book dated from the earlyEighteenth Century
Use for figures written out and when you use figures
as adjectives
◦ Twenty-four; a three-year old book; a 20-minute
presentation
◦

Use for titles
◦ Vice-President

Use for prefixes
pre-Christian, post-natal

25. 
Generally double quotation marks for direct
speech and single ones for speech within
speech.
◦ He said: ―I meant to say ‗The Library will close in
one hour‘.‖

Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks
if the whole sentence is a quotation
 He said: ―The Library was closed when I arrived.‖

Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks
if the punctuation refers only to the words
quoted
 ―I was forced to steal the book,‖ he said

26. 
Use parentheses to insert an afterthought or
explanation (a word, phrase or sentence) into
a passage that is grammatically complete
without it. If you remove the material within
the parentheses, the main point of the
sentence should not change.
◦ She travelled to Nigeria in 1964 (having completed
a science degree in UCC) and remained there for
over thirty years.

27. 


shows a relationship between a noun (or
pronoun) and other words in a sentence –
to/on/over/up/through/among/between/
with/for/in/over/besides
Omit needless prepositions
―that‖ and ―on‖ are often superfluous
◦
◦
◦
◦
The meeting happened on Monday
The meeting happened Monday
They agreed that it was true
They agreed it was true

28. 





Affect and effect
Affect = Verb; effect = noun
Will the financial cuts affect service?
What was the effect of the financial cuts on
service?
Practice (noun) practise (verb)
Precede (go before), proceed (continue)
Stationary (adjective – still), Stationery (noun)
Dependent (adjective) She is dependent...,
dependant (noun)

29. 







Writing as storytelling
Beginning, middle and end (not necessarily in
that order)
What makes a story interesting?
A story has a theme
A story has movement
A story has a flow
Something happens/changes
Perhaps try to write your piece from start to
finish before beginning editing

30. 




There are different ways to structure articles
Study the structure of articles in your target
journal
Model articles on other articles that work well
(template)
Different structures can achieve the same
results ways
Be aware of your audience

31. Sentences
 Paragraphs
 Headings and subheadings
 Transitions


32. There needs to be a unity of thought
in a sentence. This may be achieved
with one main clause; generally there
is only one subsidiary clause
 Place the subject towards the
beginning of the sentence


33. 



New paragraph signals a move from one clear
idea to another or change of direction
Should relate logically to the previous
paragraph and relate to the overall theme of
the text
The first sentence or two usually present the
topic or theme and the following sentences
expand on this
Short paragraphs, surrounded by white
space, can be very effective in keeping
attention and creating a visually attractive
manuscript

34. 





Act as signposts
Break up text
Make the structure clearer
Allow the reader see at a glance the main
themes of the paper
Help organise ideas
Help readers anticipate key points and track
the development of the article

35. 


Create connections between the different
parts of the paper
Can make a manuscript visually more
attractive
Endings of sections that hark back to what
has gone before or opening sections that
indicate what is to come act as unofficial
signposts

36. 
Transitional words
◦ help maintain flow of thought
time links (then, next, after, while, since)
◦ cause-effect links (therefore, consequently, as a
result)
◦ addition links (in
addition, moreover, furthermore, similarly)
◦ contrast links
(but, conversely, nevertheless, however, although)
◦ Provide signposts for readers

37. 
Use positive rather than negative
constructions
◦ The nursing team did not believe the drug was
harmful
◦ The nursing team believed the drug was safe
◦ Not important/Unimportant
◦ Did not remember/Forgot

Use concise language
◦ A majority of/most
◦ Due to the fact that/because
◦ Gave rise to/caused

38. 






All writing is rewriting
Draft and redraft
Number, date and save drafts
Refer back to your abstract
Ask a critical colleague to read
Revise title, abstract & article
Check references against journal guidelines

39. 
All writing is rewriting
Draft and redraft
Number, date and save drafts
Read aloud
Wordiness

Delete unnecessary adjectives




◦ Cut unnecessary words and phrases; delete
repetitive words
◦ Helpful tips, terrible tragedy

Delete unnecessary adverbs
◦ very, really, quite, basically, generally

40. 
Verbs
◦ Underline the main verb in each sentence. Watch for: (1)
lacklustre verbs (2) passive verbs (3) buried verbs

Does each paragraph contain one main
theme?
◦ It can be helpful to write down the main topic of the
paragraph in the margin or at the top of the paragraph
◦ If the paragraph contains more than one main idea, divide
it

41. 
Prepositions
◦ Omit unnecessary prepositions – that, on

Delete unnecessary adjectives
◦ Helpful tips, terrible tragedy

Delete unnecessary adverbs
◦ very, really, quite, basically, generally

Does your writing have movement,
coherence, clarity?

42. 




This requires concentration; proofread when
you are alert
Try to allow some time between writing the
piece and proofreading it
If possible have a colleague proofread it first
Take breaks
Consider using ―track changes‖ function in
Word

43. 



If correcting manually make changes in the
body of the text and on the margin
Use a red pen to make your corrections stand
out
Mark each page that has to be changed
After proofreading and making changes save
version with a new date

44. 




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


Read aloud slowly
Read each word
Watch out for widows and orphans
Check hierarchy of headings
Check paired items such as brackets and
speech marks
Check type font is consistent
Check grammar and use of English
Check punctuation is consistent
Check abbreviations

45. 




When finished put aside for a period then
reread
Spell check
Date and File preprint
Let go
If you have already sent a query e-mail to the
editor refer to that in your submission

46. Kenneth T. Henson, Writing for Publication:
Road to Academic
Advancement, 2005, Boston: Pearson
Strunk and White‘s Elements of Style
http://www.bartleby.com/141/