Getting it Right: Starting to Write
These notes are taken from the workshop given by
Jane Thomas (Forestry Publications), Friday, February 13, 1998.
Introduction
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Think about the questions
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What are we talking about?
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Why should we care?
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What is the broad question?
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What has been done about it?
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What question did YOU look at?
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How did you look for the answer?
Methods
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Switch-screen writing
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Screen 1: Facts
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Screen 2: Flow of argument
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Decide what you need to tell us
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Order: List before starting (example)
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Keep order consistent within each category (example)
Results ("Results" answers specific questions from "Methods"; "Discussion"
talks about broad questions from "Introduction") (diagram)
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Look at hierarchy of Results
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Use some visual information (i.e., tables, figures)
Discussion
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Think about the Discussion
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What did you find?
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Did you answer your question?
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How does it relate to previous work?
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Do your results pose interesting questions?
References
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Be aware of appropriate format before writing
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Don't use reference numbers (if required) until the final draft
If you have any questions about this seminar, please
contact Jane Thomas.