Writers' Circle Sessions Suspended in Semester ONE

I have been assigned other teaching on a Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, this means that I am unable to run the Writers' Circle with MICT students during Semester 1. 
I'm really disappointed about this - hopefully we can pick things up in Semester 2 when many of you will start working, in earnest, on your research project. Wishing you all the best for your studies in Semester 1.

CANCELLED - the circle today 18 Feb 2020

Unfortunately, the MICT Writers’ Circle scheduled for today is CANCELLED. I’m not feeling well. Hopefully see you next time on 3 March. 

Apologies again for any inconvenience caused

2020 start-up: Let's get writing

Its the start of the academic year and most of us are motivated and ready to tackle the learning and writing challenges that will greet us as the year progresses. I'd like to welcome the 2019 MICT cohort back to all things academic and research writing. May you fulfill all your study, learning and writing goals this year.

There are some slight adjustments to the organisation of the Writers' Circle. I'm only able to facilitate the circle's every second week this semester, rather than the weekly sessions that ran last year. We also have to move our meeting day to a Tuesday. Time and venue are the same
4:30 - 6pm , Lens Lab, 2.24

DATES:
Tuesday 18 February 2020 
Tuesday 3 March 2020

May your residential block week next be productive and engaging. 

I look forward to chatting to you about the new writing tasks for 2020.

Wishing you well with your exams

Tips and Tricks session on academic writing at postgraduate level

On Wednesday 16 October the Writers' Circle went 'mainstream' in the Block Release period and Lynn facilitated a session with students as part of the Research Methodology subject. The session was entitled 'tips and tricks' and sought to introduce a few writing strategies that could help students enhance the clarity and sophistication of their academic writing. Unfortunately because of time constraints the few strategies we were able to discussion like, cohesion and cohensive devices, using reporting verbs and approaches to in-text referencing, were merely introduced, rather than practiced. In our next Writers' Circle (23 October) students will have more time to play around with implementing these strategies in their own writing. 

The slides are available here and additional resources will be uploaded to the blog on these topics. 

What's your topic?

For most research students, the question - "What is your topic" can easily be the most common question you are asked. Especially for students who have just embarked on their research journey, this can also be a question that evokes the most anxiety and confusion. In our session yesterday participants tried to unravel this confusion in a bid to become more confident and clear in expressing their research topic.

Guided by the suggestions offered in the Bloome et al book - Craft of Research participants undertook a few brainstorming tasks with the aim of identifying their research topic, and also to ensure that their topic wasn't too broad, un-researchable, would be of interest and significance to a wider readership. An important part of the session was sharing these brainstorming ideas with a partner and getting feedback on how to narrow the scope of the topic or align it more clearly to the ICT field.

A simply task to try to help identify and refine your topic is this three-step activity (see Bloome et al for more guidance). These skeleton sentences can help you start to think and articulate your topic focus and ensure it has significance to the wider ICT field.

STEP 1: Name your topic

I am trying to learn about /working on/ studying…

STEP 2: Add an indirect Question

(an indirect question indicates what you do not know or  do not understand about your topic)

I am trying to learn about /working on/ studying....(from step 1) because I want to find out ...who/what/when/where/whether/why/ how...

STEP 3: Answer the 'So WHAT?' question by motivating your question

(add a second indirect question that explains why you asked your first question in Step 2)

I am trying to learn about /working on/ studying...(from step 1) because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/ how...(from step 2)... in order to help my reader understand how, why, or whether...

Why you need a research proposal

WHY do masters students need to produce a research proposal? Aside from the obvious response 'for assessment purposes' in our session on Wednesday 25 Sept, we also discussed how the research proposal acts as an important indicator of whether or not your research project will be seen as worthwhile. SLIDES here

The research proposal marks a distinct break between what can be referred to as academic or scientific research and the many 'information' gathering research activities undertaken in our everyday lives. Our session also explore how this vital document is the primary means whereby post-graduate research students attempt to convince their lecturers that not only is their research project viable as a scientific endeavor, but that they (as students) are competent and ready to undertake the study. It therefore serves to demonstrate your understanding of your research topic and show that you have sufficient knowledge about research methodology to actually conduct the study.
So the proposal has to do some pretty heavy lifting!

I also shared a short demonstration on how I use Mendeley - hopefully the free reference manager and academic social network platform has gained a few new users in the process. It certainly is one way to avoid the 'reference list' headache so many research students have to deal with.


In the next couple of sessions, we will place focus on specific aspects and elements of the proposal document. The various writing activities you will be asked to completed during the sessions should also help you to move closer to a refined understanding and articulation of research project.