Today’s goals: 1. Discuss the final project 2. Talk about the “academic” writing process in general 3. Work a bit on titles

Required paper structure

1. Title, name, email address, date 2. Left justify (only) 3. paragraphs 4. (Lastname, date).

5. Page #s 6. References: complete 7. Tables and figures: numbers and titles 8. Tables and figures: cite in text 9. Tables and figures: provide source 10. Plagiarism: Don’t do it!

 Why do we write?  Who is your audience?

 What do we like to read? •    Make your story… Interesting Clear (especially motivation and methods) NOT a mystery 3

 Organize  Imitate  Edit Rough draft due November 12 th Feedback on 11/26 Final version due December 6 th Don’t procrastinate!!!

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        Title Abstract (50 words maximum) Introduction (≈2pp) (several alternatives for middle of paper) Conclusions (≈2pp) References (10-15 is about right for this) Tables (not integrated with text) Figures (not integrated with text) 5

 How to become a better writer?

• • • • • Practice! Write, write, write.

Edit! Share!

Present your work to clarify ideas and storyline Think of your paper as a garden… 6

 Other strategies: • • • • • • • • • Use present tense, not past tense Use active voice, not passive voice One trick: avoid “to be” verbs Read and mimic good writing Follow accepted norms/patterns (Why?) Avoid “cuteness” (Why?) Write directly with confidence, but … Avoid arrogance Ensure the literature review is complete (Why?) 7

 Using and building on the ideas of others is OK, but you must document your sources  Using the exact language of others, is NOT OK, unless you place those words inside quotation marks.

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    Using the words or ideas of others without providing credit.

Not limited to using exact words Can include self-plagiarism Paraphrasing alone may not be enough 9

Shively, G. (2001) “Agricultural Change, Rural Labor Markets, and Forest Clearing: An Illustrative Case from the Philippines” Land Economics 77(2): 268-84.

OK: According to Shively (2001) “in most settings, incentives for clearing forest are determined, in part, by the relative returns to labor directed at cutting trees.” Better: Using empirical evidence from the Philippines, Shively (2001) argues that the incentives for forest clearing are determined by the relative returns to labor in forest and non-forest activities.

Why? 2 nd example relies on your synthesis of Shively’s work.

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 A report will be provided for your paper.

 It will contain: • an indication of the percentage “match” with existing documents (not the entire universe of documents, but those in the iThenticate database).

• A detailed list of the specific matches and sources 11

 Match report excludes bibliography and strings of 5 words or less.

 Matches of 5% are relatively common, and probably not reason for great concern.

 Matches of 10% or more may raise concern and may indicate lax habits in properly documenting the work of others.

 Review your report and make efforts to eliminate any problems.

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 What makes a good title?

• • • • • Informative As short as possible, but long enough to convey the contents of the paper Specific is better than general Free from errors in grammar Free from typographical errors Avoid using duplicate words. Try removing words…does the title suffer?

Why does a good title matter?

Communicates and “sends signal” that attracts readers 13

  Choose a partner Complete the worksheet 14

 What makes a good abstract?

•  Answers the following questions (assuming the paper is empirical): What is the research problem (or main question answered in the paper)?

    Why is it important (justification/motivation)?

How is it studied in the paper (data and methods)?

What do you find (results)?

Who should care and why (conclusions)?

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 What makes a good introduction?

• • • It should be: Well written (put extra effort here) Succinct (to the point) A simple summary of what the paper is about Expect to write your introduction at the start and then rewrite it at the end.

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 Usually answers the following questions :   What is the research question?

Why is it important?

   How is it studied in the paper?

What do you find?

Who should care and why?

• • Sound familiar?

Remember: the paper shouldn’t be a mystery!

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 • • • • Some main points: Leading with a question is GOOD Main point should come relatively EARLY Foreshadowing the results is a good idea Many writers include a final paragraph such as:

The remainder of the paper is organized as follows…

Such a paragraph is probably not needed in a short paper that is organized along traditional lines. It is simply a waste of space.

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 Synthesize the research question, methods and findings (don’t simply repeat the findings).

 Should be based ONLY on results from the paper. This is not the place for speculation or opinions that go beyond what you have discovered and reported in the results.

 Don’t introduce new topics or cite new sources.

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