Becoming an Academic Writer

"The integration of the practical experience, research base, and theory provides all the elements necessary for an academic writing course. As addressed throughout the text, academic writing is challenging and often frustrating. Pat Goodson’s informal yet informed voice throughout provides needed encouragement for the frustrated academic writer."

"The number one strength of the book is Goodson’s voice and the clarity with which she writes. My students appreciated her straightforward approach and could relate to the book.”

PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS EDITION



“This book makes the reader want to write! I found myself reaching for my calendar and penciling in writing sessions for the rest of my week after reading the first chapter. The techniques and exercises are effective and easy to implement; they fit with any writing project, in any stage of the writing process.”

Patricia Goodson is professor of health education in the Department of Health & Kinesiology at Texas A&M University (TAMU). She obtained a bachelors degree in Linguistics (from Universidade Estadual de Campinas) and a masters in Philosophy of Education (from Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de Campinas) in Brazil; a masters in General Theological Studies (from Covenant Theological Seminary) and a PhD in Health Education (from the University of Texas at Austin) in the United States. At TAMU, she has taught mostly graduate-level courses such as Health Behavior Theory, Health Research Methods, Health Program Evaluation, Health Education Ethics, and Advanced Health Behavior Theory. In 2007, while acting as associate dean for Graduate Program Development, she created and implemented a college-wide writing support service for graduate students, based on the POWER model described in this book. Currently, as director of the College of Education and Human Developments Writing Initiative (POWER Services), she offers Basic and Advanced Writing Studios for graduate students in the college, on a regular basis, and occasionally teaches writing workshops for faculty at Texas A&M and other universities. Dr. Goodson has won several department-, college-, and university- level awards for her teaching and research. In 2012 she was awarded the title of Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M Universityone of the highest teaching awards at that university. Also in 2012, she became the universitys sole nominee for the Piper Professor Award, a state-level recognition for teaching. While she considers mentoring graduate students the most fulfilling part of her career, a couple of research interests vie for her attention. Her research focuses on topics such as sexual health of adults and adolescents, the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and public health genomics. She has published extensively in high-impact journals, has reviewed for several prestigious publications, and has served as book review editor for The Journal of Sex Research. One of her intellectual passions is theory, and her other book presents a critique of health educations current use of theory in both research and practice.

Chapter One: Get Ready to Practice The POWER Model Talent Development and Elite Performance: The Psychology Literature Talent Development and Elite Performance: The Neuroscience Literature Practicing Academic Writing Part I: Practice Becoming a Productive Academic Writer Chapter Two: Establish and Maintain the "Write" Habit Think About It ... Seeing Yourself as a Writer EXERCISE 1-Schedule Your Writing Sessions EXERCISE 2-Increase Your Writing Time in No Time EXERCISE 3-Write Quickly, Edit Slowly EXERCISE 4-Organize Messy Drafts EXERCISE 5-Keep and Share a Writing Log EXERCISE 6-Read About Writing EXERCISE 7-Document Your Writing Projects EXERCISE 8-Write to Learn (Anything, Including How to Write) Chapter Three: Practice Building Academic Vocabulary Think About It... EXERCISE 9-Increase Your Vocabulary One Word at a Time EXERCISE 10-Use New Academic Words Chapter Four: Polish the Grammar EXERCISE 12-Learn From the Masters EXERCISE 13-Identify Patterns of Problems EXERCISE 14-Practice Grammar Rules EXERCISE 15-Copy Chapter Five: Get Feedback EXERCISE 16-Get Feedback on Early Drafts EXERCISE 17-Get Feedback on Middle Drafts EXERCISE 18-Get Feedback on Final Drafts EXERCISE 19-Get Feedback Regularly EXERCISE 20-Schedule Reading Appointments Chapter Six: Edit and Proofread EXERCISE 21-Tighten the Paragraphs EXERCISE 22-Make It Flow: Organize EXERCISE 23-Clear Out the Clutter EXERCISE 24-Use a Thesaurus and a Reverse Dictionary EXERCISE 25-Pay Attention to Word Placement EXERCISE 26-Cut It in Half EXERCISE 27-Read Aloud EXERCISE 28-Copyedit: Proofread Line by Line Part II: Practice Writing Sections of Journal Articles, Research Reports, and Grant Chapter Seven: Exercises for Writing Introductions, Purpose Statements, or Specific Aims Sections EXERCISE 29-Map EXERCISE 30-Dump EXERCISE 31-Craft the Purpose Statement EXERCISE 32-Develop the Rationale EXERCISE 33-Present the Literature Review EXERCISE 34-Lay Out the Theoretical Framework EXERCISE 35-Check It Chapter Eight: Exercises for Writing the Methods Section Think About It... EXERCISE 36-Practice Describing EXERCISE 37-Describe the Research Design EXERCISE 38-Describe the Sample EXERCISE 39-Describe the Measures EXERCISE 40-Describe Data Collection and Data Management Procedures EXERCISE 41-Describe the Data Analysis Chapter Nine: Exercises for Writing the Results/Findings Section Think About It... EXERCISE 42-Picture the Findings EXERCISE 43-Describe the Most Important Findings EXERCISE 44-Summarize the Least Important Findings Chapter Ten: Exercises for Writing the Discussion or Conclusion Section Think About It... EXERCISE 45-Question the Results/Findings EXERCISE 46-Connect the Dots: Other Research EXERCISE 47-Connect the Dots: Relevant Theory EXERCISE 48-Guide Your Reader Into the Future EXERCISE 49-Confess Limitations Chapter Eleven: Exercise for Writing Abstracts Think About It... EXERCISE 50-Write an Abstract in 20 Minutes