Academic Writing Workshop

by

Dr Ehsan Munaaim FRICS FCIOB FCIArb

 Caveats
• Academic writing is a skill i.e. must be
developed over time and requires practice
• This workshop gives a flavor of what academic
writing is all about
• You will develop your own style (eg. pet
phrases)
• Read and write
• Practice makes perfect!
 What will we cover?
• What are the resources required?
• How to find the resources?
• What to do with these resources?
• How to include these resources in your
assignments/dissertations?
• Academic writing in general
 Sources
• You need to be resourceful
• Good library skills (online and physical)
• Materials to be collected
✓ Books (authoritative)
✓ Journals (reputable: academic and trade)
✓ Industry reports
✓ Conference proceedings
✓ Case law
✓ Statutes
 Primary and Secondary Sources
• What is a primary source?
A primary source is a document or physical
object which was written or created during the
time under study. These sources were present
during an experience or time period and offer an
inside view of a particular event.
• Examples of Primary Sources?
 Primary and Secondary Sources
• What is a secondary source?
A secondary source interprets and analyzes
primary sources.

• Examples of secondary sources?

 Sources
• Why do we need to refer to authoritative
sources?
• Reputable journals on construction
management
✓International Journal of Project Management
✓Construction Management and Economics
✓Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management (ASCE)
 Sources
• Can we refer materials from the internet for
example, Wikipedia?
 Sources
• How to collect these materials?
✓ Physically
✓ Online

• Online legal databases

✓ Westlaw UK (Construction Law Journal)
✓ Westlaw Gulf

• Google scholar
• E-Books
• Vision
 What to do with these resources?
• Read them
• Highlight the relevant parts that you want to
include in the text
• Use them to support your arguments
How to include these resources in your
assignments/dissertations?

• Direct quotations (court judgments, provisions

of statutes etc)
• Paraphrasing (books and journal articles)
75 words
• Have a go and paraphrase the previous
statement in your own academic words
without losing the meaning. Don’t
forget to cite using the Harvard system
• How many words?
 Paraphrased version
• In a lump sum contract the scope risk is
transferred to the contractor, which may
be problematic in refurbishment work
given its uncertainties, requiring the use
of collaborative procurement methods
such as cost plus or management
contracting (Fellows et al., 1985) (37
words)
General rule
 General rule
PPP is adopted when there is a requirement to
enter into long term contractual agreement
between public and private partners or sectors,
especially targeted towards financing, designing,
implementing and operating facilities or services
in the state (Shastry, 2014).
 Harvard System
• One author - (Surname of the author, year of
publication) eg. “John Uff, Construction Law,
2010”, we refer it as (Uff, 2010)
• Two authors (Surnames of the authors, year of
publication) eg. “John Uff and Phillip Capper,
Construction Law, 2010”, we refer it as (Uff &
Capper, 2010)
• More than two authors eg. “John Uff and Phillip
Capper, Construction Law, 2010”, we refer it as
(Uff et al., 2010)
Academic Writing in General
Academic Writing Formula

H - FORCE
Academic Writing Formula

F=?
 Academic Writing Formula

F = FORMALITY
 Academic writing is formal
• Avoid don’t, can’t, couldn’t and etc
• Personal language? Eg. I and we
• Compare between these two:

The construction industry is not considered as a

vital sector in certain economies.
VS
The construction industry isn’t considered as a vital
sector in certain economies.
Academic Writing Formula

O=?
 Academic Writing Formula

O = OBJECTIVITY
 You must be objective
• Not biased in your writing
• Compare and contrast viewpoints of authors
• Make up your mind which view/s are more
preferable and why
Academic Writing Formula

R=?
 Academic Writing Formula

R = RESPONSIBILITY
 You must be responsible
• If it is not your idea cite!
• Acknowledge the contribution of authors
• Paraphrase instead of direct quotations
Academic Writing Formula

C=?
Academic Writing Formula

C = COMPLEXITY
 Academic writing is complex
• Complex in terms of comparing and contrasting ideas and expert
use of linking words such as “however”, “similarly”, “although”,
“nevertheless” and etc
• Academic writing is complex not complicated!
• Compare these two:

Despite the advent of COVID-19 in the construction industry it is

surprising that disputes concerning the same have been minimal in
practice.
VS
COVID-19 with all the ramifications that it may have on the
construction industry following the outbreak in Wuhan, China, rather
than increasing disputes the situation is to the contrary much to the
surprise of various construction professionals who predicted
otherwise.
Academic Writing Formula

E = ENJOY?
 Academic Writing Formula

E = EXPLICITNESS?
 Your writing must be clear!
• Easy to follow
• Front start to finish
• Use clear and unambiguous language
• Use plain language
• No need to show off your vocabulary skill!
Academic Writing Formula

H=?
Academic Writing Formula

H = HEDGING
 You must hedge your words
• Do not overclaim?
• Compare these two:

The purpose of this essay is to shed some light on the issue

with a view to finding potential solutions to the problem.
VS
This essay identifies the solutions to the problem which will
be applicable and valid in both theoretical and practical terms.

• Use may, could, potentially, might and etc to soften/hedge

your language
 Academic Writing Formula
H - Hedging
F - Formality
O - Objectivity
R - Responsibility
C - Complexity
E - Explicitness
 What is a paragraph?
• A paragraph is a collection of related
sentences dealing with a single topic. Learning
to write good paragraphs will help you as a
writer stay on track during your drafting and
revision stages. Good paragraphing also
greatly assists your readers in following a
piece of writing. You can have fantastic ideas,
but if those ideas aren't presented in an
organized fashion, you will lose your readers
(and fail to achieve your goals in writing).
 What is a paragraph?
The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph
!!!!
Ingredients of a good paragraph
• A Topic Sentence
• Adequate Development
• Unity
• Coherence
 Paragraphing (Length Consistency)
• Paragraphs are units of thought with one idea developed
adequately. Listed here are some rules of thumb to use when
paragraphing. As your writing improves, you'll be able to break
these "rules" to meet your own needs. Until then, these
suggestions can be helpful:
a) Put only one main idea per paragraph.
b) Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph.
c) Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since
paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs
for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers.
d) If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they
are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or
whether you can add details to support each point and thus make
each into a more fully developed paragraph.
• You can check on whether your paragraphs are balanced by looking
at your paper.
 Conciseness
• The goal of concise writing is to use the most
effective words. Concise writing does not always
have the fewest words, but it always uses the
strongest ones. Writers often fill sentences with
weak or unnecessary words that can be deleted
or replaced. Words and phrases should be
deliberately chosen for the work they are doing.
Like bad employees, words that don't accomplish
enough should be fired. When only the most
effective words remain, writing will be far more
concise and readable.
 Conciseness
• Replace several vague words with more
powerful and specific words.

• e.g. Wordy: Our website has made

available many of the things you can use for
making a decision on the best dentist. (20
words)
• Concise: Our website presents criteria for
determining the best dentist. (9 words)
 Conciseness
• Interrogate every word in a sentence
Check every word to make sure that it is providing
something important and unique to a sentence. If
words are dead weight, they can be deleted or
replaced.
• Wordy: The teacher demonstrated some of the
various ways and methods for cutting words from
my essay that I had written for class. (22 words)
• Concise: The teacher demonstrated methods for
cutting words from my essay. (10 words)
 Conciseness
• Combine Sentences
Some information does not require a full sentence
and can easily be inserted into another sentence
without losing any of its value. To get more
strategies for sentence combining, see the handout
on Sentence Variety.
• Wordy: Ludwig's castles are an astounding
marriage of beauty and madness. By his death,
he had commissioned three castles. (18 words)
• Concise: Ludwig's three castles are an astounding
marriage of beauty and madness. (11 words)
 For Short, Choppy Sentences
• Methods for adding sentence variety and
complexity to writing that may sound
repetitive or boring.
• Link sentences using linking words
• after, although, as, as if, because, before, even
if, even though, if, if only, rather than, since,
that, though, unless, until, when, where,
whereas, wherever, whether, which, while
 For Short, Choppy Sentences
• Example: The US has been highly dependent
on foreign oil for many years. Alternate
sources of energy are only now being sought.
• Revision: Although the US has been highly
dependent on foreign oil for many years,
alternate sources are only now being sought.
 For Repeated Subjects or Topics
• Handling the same topic for several sentences can lead
to repetitive sentences. When that happens, consider
using these parts of speech to fix the problem.
Relative pronouns
• Embed one sentence inside the other using a clause
starting with one of the relative pronouns listed below.
• which, who, whoever, whom, that, whose
• Example: Indiana used to be mainly an agricultural
state. It has recently attracted more industry.
• Revision: Indiana, which used to be mainly an
agricultural state, has recently attracted more industry.
 Active Versus Passive Voice
• Active voice is used for most non-scientific
writing. Using active voice for the majority of
your sentences makes your meaning clear for
readers, and keeps the sentences from
becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in
scientific writing, too much use of passive
voice can cloud the meaning of your
sentences.
Active Versus Passive Voice
 Eliminating Words
• Eliminate words that explain the obvious or
provide excessive detail
• Wordy: Imagine a mental picture of someone
engaged in the intellectual activity of trying to
learn what the rules are for how to play the
game of chess. (27 words)
• Concise: Imagine someone trying to learn the
rules of chess. (9 words)
 Eliminating Words
• Eliminate unnecessary filler
• Wordy: For all intents and purposes, American
industrial productivity generally depends on
certain factors that are really more
psychological in kind than of any given
technological aspect. (26 words)
• Concise: American industrial productivity
depends more on psychological than on
technological factors. (11 words)
 Eliminating Words
Here's a list of some words and phrases that can often be pruned away
to make sentences clearer:

• kind of
• sort of
• type of
• really
• basically
• for all intents and purposes
• definitely
• actually
• generally
• individual
• specific
• particular
 Eliminating Words
Omit Redundant Pairs
Many pairs of words imply each other. Finish implies complete, so the
phrase completely finish is redundant in most cases.
• past memories
• various differences
• each individual
• basic fundamentals
• true facts
• important essentials
• future plans
• terrible tragedy
• end result
• final outcome
• free gift
• past history
• unexpected surprise
• sudden crisis
 Changing Phrases
Change phrases into single-words and
adjectives
• Wordy: The employee with ambition... (4
words)
• Concise: The ambitious employee... (3 words)
• Wordy: The department showing the best
performance... (6 words)
• Concise: The best-performing department... (4
words)
 Changing Phrases
Change unnecessary that, who, and which
clauses into phrases
• Wordy: The report, which was released
recently... (6 words)
• Concise: The recently released report... (4
words)
• Wordy: The system that is most efficient and
accurate... (8 words)
• Concise: The most efficient and accurate
system... (6 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• Revise these sentences to

state their meaning in fewer
words. Avoid passive voice,
needless repetition, and wordy
phrases and clauses
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• He dropped out of school on

account of the fact that it was
necessary for him to help
support his family. (21 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• He dropped out of school to

support his family. (9 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• The subjects that are

considered most important by
students are those that have
been shown to be useful to
them after graduation. (21
words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• Students think that the most

important subjects are those
that will be useful after
graduation. (15 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• Trouble is caused when people

disobey rules that have been
established for the safety of
all. (16 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• Disobeying safety regulations

causes trouble. (15 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• Some people believe in capital

punishment, while other
people are against it; there are
many opinions on this subject.
(19 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• There are people who are for

and against capital
punishment. (10 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• There are people who are for

and against capital
punishment. (10 words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• It is very unusual to find

someone who has never told a
deliberate lie on purpose. (16
words)
 Eliminating Wordiness Exercise

• People lie. (2 words)

 General advice
• Be consistent (font, formatting, paragrapgh and etc)
• Unnecessary capitalization
• Be professional
• Remember this is not industry reporting but academic
writing
• Don’t be sloppy
• Assume knowledge on the part of the reader
• Proofread and check your grammar, spelling, punctuation
• Read word by word (print out and read and mark)
• Expert use of headings can improve cohesiveness and flow