The Craft of Writing Effectively by Larry McEnerney

Yufen Chun 2021-01-01 3 min read {Lectures} [Research]

Prologue

Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more science than a heap of stones is a house.

—— J. H. Poincaré

Introduction

Video 1 is a seminar, conducted at the ChungAng University in South Korea by Kevin J. Heintz. He explained to graduate students how to convey effectively their research findings. It is entitled “How to Write an Effective Research Paper”.

Video 2 is a lecture given by Larry McEnerney of the University of Chicago. It is entitled “The Craft of Writing Effectively”.

Video 1

Contents of Video 1

Takeaway Starts at
Research Writing Overview 1:51
Research Paper Structure 5:50
Composing Research Paper Sections 11:05
Tips for Improving Quality of Writing 1:01:19

Video 2

Contents of Video 2

Lei Xun helpfully prepared a takeaway summary:

Takeaway Starts at
1. This course is not about writing rules 3:04
2. Stop thinking about rules and start thinking about readers 3:55
3. The problems that domain experts have in their writing 4:00
4. Domain experts use writing to help themselves with thinking; if they don’t do it this way, they can’t think to the level they need 4:51
5. The challenge: the way that experts do their writing (to help with their thinking) is different to the way that readers can understand 6:53
6. The consequences: 1. readers need to slow down and re-read many times 2. readers can’t understand or misunderstand 3. readers give up 8:10
7. Readers read things that are valuable to them 11:52
8. Writings need to be clear, organized, persuasive and VALUABLE 13:45
9. Valuable to the readers of a research area (not everybody in the world) 15:20
10. An example of comparing two writings 17:16
11. Writing is not about communicating your ideas, it is about changing readers’ ideas 21:24
12. Nothing will be accepted as knowledge or understanding until it has been challenged by people who have the competence to challenge; this determines the readers of our writing 23:24,
13. A piece of writing is important, not because it is new and original; It is because it has value to some readers 25:16
14. What does the world of knowledge look like 28:00
15. Every research communities have their own code to communicate VALUE 31:30
16. Why does it take 5-6 years to get a PhD? 50% of the time is used to know the readers in the field 34:30
17. Using these words to show that you are aware of the research communities: widely, accepted, and reported 35:24
18. Flow/transition words can help to make writing preservative and organized: and, but, because, unless, nonetheless, however, although, etc. 36:00
19. Do things under the code of the communities 42:00
20. Another example 44:25
21. The function of a piece of writing is to move a research area forward, not to be preserved for 500 years 46:54
22. Writing is not about to express what is in our head, it is about changing other people’s thoughts 48:50
23. The instability words that create tension/challenge: anomaly, inconsistent, but, however, although 54:00
24. Bad writing style: backgroud+thesis 55:07
and a better style: problem+solution 56:18
25. Learn the language code from the target publications 1:01:30
26. Literature review is used to enrich the problem 1:02:50
27. Problem vs background 1:06:47
28. Gap in the knowledge is dangerous 1:08:45
29. Identify the right readers (research communities) is important, but it could be difficult for interdisciplinary research 1:11:57

Epilogue

We are all apprentices of a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

—— Emest Hemingway