Tag Archives: argument

Key word – claim

Posted on March 11, 2024 by pat thomson

Claim is a difficult word. Dictionaries offer Meaning One – claims are assertions that something is true, that something is a fact, but there is no proof or evidence. We just have to take the claim at face value and as … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, claim, claims, evidence, interpretation, keywords | Tagged argument, claims, evidence, interpretation, keywords, Pat Thomson, trustworthiness | 1 Comment

a thesis is not just a display

Posted on February 20, 2024 by pat thomson

It’s tempting to think that the PhD thesis is the place you get to display every single thing you’ve read. To peacock-like spread out a significant dazzle of texts. Look how much I’ve done. See how well I can summarise … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, essay, knowledge mobilisation, knowledge production, Literatures | Tagged argument, essay, knowledge display, knowledge transformation, Pat Thomson | 1 Comment

the IMRaD structure is rarely enough

Posted on January 22, 2024 by pat thomson

Imagine you’ve gone out to café and you ask for a salad. What arrives is a chopping board, a knife, a bowl, a lettuce, a tomato, a carrot, a bundle of random herbs, a mystery fruit and sundry bottles and jars. … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, IMRAD, narrative, reader, story | Tagged academic writing, argument, paper, Pat Thomson, red thread, story, thesis | Leave a comment

Writing a journal article – 8 steps to So What and Now What

Posted on October 23, 2023 by pat thomson

This post is a generalisation. Be warned. But the general stuff in this post does hold for most things you’ll write for most journals. Just not all. The message in this post is simply this – journals generally do not … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, journal, journal article, now what, so what | Tagged academic writing, argument, Pat Thomson, So What Now What | 5 Comments

five focusing questions to kick off some writing

Posted on February 20, 2023 by pat thomson

So you’re about to write a paper. Or a chapter. You’ve gathered together all of the stuff you think you need – analysed data, a short list of references to cite, some early jottings. Now you begin to think about … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning writing, contribution, pomodoro, the point, Tiny Text | Tagged academic writing, argument, contribution, Pat Thomson, pomodoro, reader, Tiny Text, writing strategy | 1 Comment

why journal articles are rejected #2

Posted on April 18, 2022 by pat thomson

Here’s the thing. Journal Editors say that one of the major reasons that papers are rejected is when the writer is not clear about their point, and their argument. Accepted journal articles have a point to make. They work with … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, journal article, rejection, the point | Tagged argument, journal article, Pat Thomson, rejection, structured abstract, the point | Leave a comment

understanding academic writing – starting the PhD

Posted on October 18, 2021 by pat thomson

Writing is a crucial aspect of doctoral work – indeed all the scholarly work you will undertake from now on. Writing is integral to scholarship. Whether you are in or out of higher education, if you are researching, you are … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, essay, starting the PhD, writing regularly | Tagged academic writing, argument, discipline, essay, Pat Thomson, writing regularly, writing repertoire | 2 Comments

make your case stronger – argue against yourself

Posted on June 28, 2021 by pat thomson

Argument is crucial to academic writing. It’s argue argue argue all the way. Once we have identified a problem or puzzle that we think is worth researching, we then make a case for research, creating the warrant for our work. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument | Tagged academic writing, argument, negatives, Pat Thomson, revision strategies | 2 Comments

the thesis discussion – making the move work

Posted on May 17, 2021 by pat thomson

This post comes back again at the discussion “chapter”. It seems you can never say too much about this tricky bit of the thesis. A caveat before I start. This post is written from a social science perspective and offers … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, discussion, thesis | Tagged argument, Pat Thomson, results and discussion, thesis, writing the discussion | 1 Comment

writing a journal article – identifying “the two paper problem”

Posted on April 12, 2021 by pat thomson

If you’re writing a journal article, you need write it so that you make one big point. Right? One unavoidable, spelled out, take home message. There may be nuancing of the point, of course. But there’s basically just the one. … Continue reading →