ACADEMI

C
WRITING
CEEAMS
Conference
Osijek, 13 February
2017
Dorottya Nagy
 What is Praxis?
The term praxis, as used in a contextual missiology, is not
a synonym of practice, but refers to this totality of action
and reflection, which are seen as having a dialectical
(mutually dependent) relationship to each other. This use
of the term praxis is derived from the philosophy of
Aristotle (and later Karl Marx), as this was developed
(among others) by the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. The
Marxian influence on this terminology should not,
however, make us dismiss the contextual approach as a
Communist plot. The notion of the inseparable relationship
between thinking (or believing) and acting is deeply
rooted in the prophetic biblical tradition, as can be seen in
verses like Isaiah 58:1-12; Jeremiah 22:16; Amos 5:21-24;
Matthew 7:21-23; James 2:14-17 and many others.
UNISA Tutorial Letter, 2011: 4.
What is theology?
The place and role of academic
writing (AW) within
theology/missiology
Theology = Praxis
Why to write?
For whom are we
writing?
What to write?
How to write?
When to write?
Where to write?
The following presentation is based on and
its text mainly taken over from Peter Redman
and Wendy Maples, Good Essay Writing: A
Social Science Guide (London: Sage, 2011).
 Seven stages of writing
1. Reading, understanding, FORMULATING the QUESTION
2. Identifying the relevant material
3. Making the plan (e.g. essay plan, research proposal)
4. Writing from the very begining- write a first complete
draft asap
5. Reviewing and rewriting
6. Double checking the administrative requirements
(references, size of the font, page numbers, student
number, title page, when id it DUE
7. Writing the final version

(Redman & Maples 2011:24)

Realistic time management

From: http://www.writing.ku.edu/~writing/current/success.shtml
 Writing the final version

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Always Keep in front of you the working title and the research question!
 Reading, Note-taking and
Litertaure Searches
Read purposeful
Skim reading (at a glance, quick, filter)
Looking for key words
Close reading
Entering in a dialogue with the text- ACTIVE READING
Analytically and critically
What are the questions you ask here?

Always Keep in front of you the working title and the research question!
 Taking notes

Produce personal notes: not simply

copying texts but use your own words
In printed texts
Index cards
Computer software (Evernote, Zotero,
Endnote, etc.)
 Literature search
Academic material
Priamary sources: created and relayed by
the original researcher
Secondary sources: reported second hand
 Critical Thinking
Validity (it presents what it promises to present)
Reliability (the research could be repeated)
Comprehensiveness (the domain of the
theory/theories)
Coherence
Clarity of key claims and concepts
Logic of the chain of reasoning
Plausability and accurancy of the hidden
assumptions behind the claims of reasoning
Goldblatt 2000: 51

Dialogue with the text!

Structure of basic academic texts

Source: http://www.studywell.library.qut.edu.au/pdf_files/WRITING_WritingStructureOverview.pdf
 Introduction
What is your text about and give an order of your
arguments
5-10 per cent of the total lenghth
More than one way of writing it
FULL introduction: identify the subject, provide a
map of your arguments, major discourses around
and behind the research question, define key terms,
establish a position or look ahead to the conclusion
BASIC introduction: : identify the subject, major
discourses, your key-arguments and themes

When do you write your introduction?

 Main Body
Structure your argument
Strong and coherent
Use evidence to support your argument
Selct/filter your evidence
Work with theories BUT
note that different theories are useful in different contexts
Dont create a super-theory bx mixing elements of different
ones
Try to take on the conceptual world-view of a particular
theoretical standpoint (identify the CIRCLE)
Be self-reflexive
Add weight to your argument
Communicate your argument
 Communicating your argument
Think of your readers
Rubin method (1983) of paragraph
Topic
Series of statements that explain what the
author thinks is special or relevant about the
topic, put together, these form the paragraph s
Main idea
Give your text direction- guide your reader
Make your text flow
 Conclusions
Provide a final condensed version of your core
argument, by summerizing the key-debates
raised by your research question, or provide
an overview of the current knowledge on a
given topic.
No new material
Aprox. 10 per cent of the whole text
 Referencing
What is a refernece?
Acknowledgement of other peoples work
You have drawn upon
Been inspired by
Wish to argue against
Someone else
You are familiar with a body of work
 Why do we need them?
Assert authority
Allow readers to check
Remind
Are part of academic convention
Avoid plagiarism
What should be referenced?
What should be referenced?
 Common errors
Failure to answer the question
Easy tow rite good answers to the wrong question
Failure to write using your own words
Poor use of scientffic (theological/missiological
skills)
Poor structure
Poor grammar, punctuation, spelling
Failure to observe the word limit
Common error

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