Writing Session
CLACS, Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Introduction
The aim of this post is to introduce you to some useful methods you can use to write an effective introduction and to structure your arguments. In the accompanying ‘live’ session there will be time to try these out and discuss what works for you. You will also have the chance to ask questions, learn from your peers and hear about other types of writing support that will help you to stay motivated and carve out time to focus.
Writing an Effective Introduction: the CARS Method
There are different ways you can approach writing an introduction, the first method we want to introduce is the CARS Model. This model is about Creating a Research Space that your work will occupy and for this reason, there are three important moves or stages.
Step 1: Establish your Research Territory. Let the reader know where your research is focused, taking an approach that starts out from the bigger picture so that when you focus on on your area/contribution the reader has context and understanding of where it fits into the wider topic area (or debate).
Step 2: Establish a Niche. Point the reader to a problem which has not been addressed, an area where research is lacking or inadequate or a discrepancy that needs to be analysed. There are other ways of establishing a niche but the idea or objective is to find a gap in the research which has so far contributed to your topic area.
Step 3: Occupy the Niche. Address the problem, offer the required analysis, or present adequate and clear research to address the areas you identified as inadequate in Step 2. Here, you are showing the reader that your research can fill the gap you identified.
With these three steps you have successfully introduced your area of research to the reader, you have pointed them to a problem or gap, and you have occupied that gap to contribute to solving the problem. You have thereby, successfully created (and occupied) a research space for you work.
This is a useful thing to do in the introduction as, the reader knows WHAT you are working on, WHY it is important, and HOW you will address the problem or gap you have identified.
For further tips on Writing an Introduction you can check out the link to ‘Writing Your Introduction’ in the section below.
Structuring your argument
Following a consistent structure can help build your argument coherently across individual chapters and your entire thesis. As you can see from the image below, each part of a piece of writing plays an important role in developing your argument. This structure works for a dissertation or thesis as a whole, as well as for individual chapters.
The blogposts below outline what to include and how to structure each of the three main parts of your dissertation and/or chapters. You will also find examples of introductions, main body paragraphs and conclusions in each post.
Take some time to read these now; you may find it useful to look back on these when writing the different sections of your thesis or dissertation.
Activity — Stop and Reflect
The ‘Writing the Main Body’ blogpost gives many examples of how to engage with individual pieces of evidence. Think about how you will embed this type of critical engagement into your own note-making and writing habits.
Activity — Stop and Reflect
The Writing the Main Body blogpost also gives a typical paragraph structure that can help balance descriptive and critical elements in your writing. Look back at your most recent piece of writing, do your paragraphs include all four sentence types?
Build Your Argument: The Toulmin Method
The Toulmin Method is an approach to constructing convincing arguments, it breaks strong and effective arguments down into six main parts.
- Thesis statement: What is the author’s position or claim?
- Evidence: what evidence is there to support that position or claim?
- Analysis: how does the author link to evidence to support their position or claim?
- Follow-up: what additional reasoning has the author given to support their analysis?
- Counter-claims: what counter-claims and arguments are there that disagree with the author’s position or claim?
- Rebuttal: what evidence or claims does the author use to negate any counter-claims?
Activity — Building up your argument
- Answer each of the six questions above with as much detail and information as you can.
- Continue to add detail and information about each question as you research your topic and work on your dissertation.
You may not have all the answers to these questions yet, but it is important that you start to think about these.
Creating flow
When you are writing or editing a piece of academic work it is important to consider your reader. You want to take your reader on a journey, clearly signposting the movement between one section in your assignment and the next. This is how writers create a sense of “flow” in their writing. If you signpost effectively the journey will be easy for the reader — they will understand clearly what is happening at each stage in your argument and how you have arrived at your opinion.
If your writing is not clearly signposted, linking each point to the next, then your reader could get lost or lose track of your argument. Signposting what you are doing at each point in your writing helps you to stay in communication with your reader, it demonstrates how you have built your argument, with each section acting as a “brick” in your overall structure. The more effort a reader needs to put into understanding where your writing is going, the less able they are to concentrate on and appreciate your core argument. If the reader in this scenario is the academic marking your work they may find themselves struggling to identify where you have met points in the assignment criteria.
Choosing the right words and Phrases: The Academic Phrasebank
www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk
The Academic Phrasebank is a database containing lots of example phrases written in academic style. You can use these short phrases in your academic writing without needing to cite the resource in your bibliography. The Phrasebank is broken down into different sections, see in particular, the section on ‘signalling transition’ for ideas on how to move between different points/sections/topics. You can also use example phrases from this section to demonstrate how your argument is developing.
Structure and flow within your writing
You need to give close consideration to the overall flow, or direction of travel, within your writing. Your aim is to provide a straight and clear line of argument which runs throughout from the introduction to the conclusion. Ideas and/ or evidence should be introduced in a logical manner, which connect strongly with your central themes and ideas. This will allow you to build your argument incrementally, and gradually convince your reader of the value of your position.
There are some general rules methods you can use to improve your writing fluency. These are discussed below. However, a key writing objective, and principle, should be to keep your focus firmly on the following simple consideration.
“Why am I writing about this?”
It can be very easy to lose your overall focus when you begin analysing and discussing complex articles, datasets or concepts. This may lead to comments about a lack of clarity, or focus, when you receive feedback on what you have written.
Keeping your focus on “why” you are discussing something can help to avoid this. It will also ensure that you consistently connect your writing back to your central ideas and themes. This will help to ensure that your writing maintains a consistent structure and flow. You can use words, sentences and paragraphs to help you maintain this flow throughout your essay.
Words, sentences and paragraphs: Thinking about how we use language when we are writing can be an effective way to improve. Your words, sentences and paragraphs should all form building blocks which help in the construction of your overall ideas and themes.
Words (less can be more!)
There can be a temptation in academic writing to over-elaborate when you are writing. We may feel that this helps our language to sound more scholarly, or authoritative. However, it can have the effect of making our language overly clunky and confusing. Simple, concise expression is a good thing to aim for.
Consider using the shortest form of a word possible — think “use” instead of “utilise”! Also, try to limit the number of times you use phrases which don’t actually add anything meaningful to what you are saying. Terms like “However”, or “as such”, are good examples of these. They can be useful occasionally to signal a transition, or change in direction, but should be used sparingly. This will help your writing to be more concise.
Technical terms (such as ophiophagus hannah rather than King Cobra if you are writing about snakes) are often preferred. They can often be the most concise way of saying something. Look for guidance on this within your course handbook, or try reading some relevant journal articles within your field. This should help to give you a good idea of what is expected.
Above all the language you use should be natural and consistent. Searching for “clever” words or expressions in a thesaurus may be tempting, but can actually inhibit the natural flow and expression of your writing.
Sentences
Your sentences should be short and clear. It is generally better to express one thought clearly and succinctly if possible. You should also try to make it obvious what is important by placing the subject of your sentence at the beginning. This will help add clarity to your writing.
Example sentence:
It was only following extensive criticism in the media that the government finally acknowledged that the algorithm was flawed and unfair to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In the sentence above it is very unclear who is the main subject or focus. This can be improved by splitting it up into two sentences. This makes the writing clearer and easier to understand. It also makes it clear that “the government” is the primary focus of our writing.
The Government finally acknowledged that the algorithm was flawed, and unfair to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This came in response to extensive criticism from the media.
Another effective strategy can be to change the length of your sentences. Sometimes they can be short, and sometimes long but they always be to the point.
Other Useful Writing Strategies
There are many other useful writing strategies that can help with different stages of the writing process. Below you can find out about strategies that other PGRs have found useful.
Getting started and dealing with writer’s block
Wellbeing in writing
Further Support
My Research Essentials has a range of workshops and online resources that you may find useful.
The Library and the My Learning Essentials Team are also here for you, so get in touch with us using any of the following methods.
Email us uml.teachingandlearning@manchester.ac.uk
Attend on online Library drop-in session, book via this page.
You can also attend our online Referencing support drop-in by booking on here.
Use the ‘Ask a question’ tab at the right side of the page on any Subject Guide.
Use Library Chat by going to the Library Website or MyManchester (log in required).
