New videos added: argumentation

Posted on by Christian Decker

Rigour and flow of argumentation have a major impact on the quality of academic research. An essential component of argumentation is providing definitions. Definitions can be derived with the help of standard, advanced or professional approaches. Furthermore, the deduction of individual arguments is documented in paragraphs and chapters, which serve as the units of an academic paper. The logic of arguments has to be mirrored in the paragraph structure, which consists of three logical text elements: topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence. Transitioning between sentences as well as between paragraphs supports the flow of argumentation and provides cohesion within the text. During the development of an argumentation, the structuring of paragraphs and chapters shows an iterative character. Referencing that supports the argumentation can enhance the academic quality of the research output. Thus, arguments of other sources should be carefully combined instead of randomly compiled.

Link to e-learning videos: Overview of chapter 12

New videos added: academic language and writing style

Posted on by Christian Decker

The e-learning videos of chapter 11 provide a brief introduction to academic language and academic writing style. Academic writing can be differentiated from other forms of writing, for example literary writing. Furthermore, different academic disciplines favour different styles of writing, which have to be studied on an individual basis. Independent of specific academic styles, the principles of accuracy and clarity, that have been introduced in chapter 2, provide a general framework that prescribes to be specific, to omit the needless, to beware of adjectives, to avoid subjectivity, to apply factual tonality and to focus on clear phrasing. The elements of coherence, structure and cohesion, further support the logic of argumentation. Logical links between and within sentences as well as linking repetition are techniques to enhance the inter-subjective comprehensibility. The academic writer has inter alia to differentiate between British and American English and should use punctuation, special characters, symbols and figures in a way that supports the documentation of research projects.

Link to e-learning videos: Overview of chapter 11