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Becoming an Academic Writer
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Becoming an Academic Writer
50 Exercises for Paced, Productive, and Powerful Writing

Second Edition


296 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Winner of the 2018 Textbook & Academic Authors Association's Textbook Excellence Award

With its friendly, step-by-step format, Becoming an Academic Writer helps writers improve their writing by engaging in deep and deliberate practice—a type of practice adopted by expert performers in areas such as sports or music. Featuring 50 exercises, this practical, self-paced guide is flexibly organized so readers can either work their way through all of the exercises in order or focus on the specific areas where they need additional practice building their skills. The Second Edition is enhanced by a new appendix on literature review, new feature boxes, and new chapter summaries. 
 
Chapter One: Get Ready to Practice
The POWER Model

 
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

 
EXERCISE 11—Build Your Own Professional Dictionary/Glossary

 
 
Chapter Four: Polish the Grammar
Think About It...

 
EXERCISE 12—Learn From the Masters

 
EXERCISE 13—Identify Patterns of Problems

 
EXERCISE 14—Practice Grammar Rules

 
EXERCISE 15—Copy

 
 
Chapter Five: Get Feedback
Think About It...

 
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
Think About It...

 
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
Think About It...

 
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

 

Supplements

Student Study Site

Visit the open-access Student Study Site to find links to selected resources in Appendix B and templates for your writing!

"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."

Erin McTigue
Texas A&M University

"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.”

Tracy R. Nichols
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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.”

H. Elisabeth Ellington
Chadron State College

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


Patricia Goodson

Patricia Goodson is professor of health education in the Department of Health & Kinesiology at Texas A&M University (TAMU). She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics (from Universidade Estadual de Campinas) and a master’s in Philosophy of Education (from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas) in Brazil; a master’s 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... More About Author