The lectorial on the 31st saw us do two major activities, the major one being brainstorming ideas for project brief 3 (which I will discuss in another post).

Reading Academic Writing

Brian had a number of helpful tips for discerning the academic readings we were being given:

1. Download and print the article

This is something I already did throughout year 12, where I found actually having the piece of paper in my hand meant I could get a lot more out of what I was reading. This was particularly true in the form of Global Politics, where academic journals on the World Trade Organizations Doha rounds of 2008 were much easier to interpret when I was reading it on a printed sheet.

2. Write notes and highlight as you go

Highlighting is already something I’ve been doing throughout my readings for Media 1, however aside from small annotations I don’t generally write notes so this will be something helpful to do.

3. Don’t just read from the beginning. Read Key sections, look at the structure before beginning reading. Skimming is possible in Academic reading

This was a revelation, as I’ve found myself wasting so much time reading piles of text before I get to the actual “meat” of what I need, very glad I was told this.

4. Construct a brief summary of the main ideas of the text

This is definitely something I’ve always struggled with throughout my schooling and it has continued into university. personally I have never really seen the point of doing this and it has always seemed like a big waste of time that I don’t necessarily get anything out of. However, if Brian recommends it, then I think I will really need to push to start doing this.

5. An evaluation of the text

This is definitely a good idea, and I can see why it would give one a greater understanding (I only know Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) so well because I’ve strived to find so many problems with it. However it does always feel a bit hypocritical challenging the writings of a much higher educated academic writer.

6. Comment on its relevance for your purpose, eg. background research on an essay topic OR creative inspiritation

Whilst this does seem like it could be helpful, I have learnt from studying literature that you can pretty much link anything to anything. For example, I could say that staring at the empty white coffee cup on my desk right now gives me a good idea of the power of a white background and the importance it gives to any object in the foreground and therefore tells me something about how to create a powerful mise en scene.

7. Typically 5000 to 7000 words long

This “tip” from Brian makes me cry tears of pain rather than tears of revelation.

8. Introduction/Introductory paragraph

Brian explained that often the introductory paragraph of an academic reading will present the key argument and purpose of the text, and this is something that always should be read in order to prepare oneself for the basic structure and contention of the piece.

 

 

Overall, the presentation from Brian can best be summarized in these five steps:

5 Steps to Reading Academic Writing

1. Summarise

2. What are the arguments?

3. Discuss context/audience

4. How does this apply to a) the topic of the week & b) Another idea

5. Evaluate