Competent writers are able to manage their writing tasks efficiently. Knowledge of the writing process and reflection on one's own writing will develop the necessary competence in academic writing.
The Basics of Writing
When we write, we enter into a dialog with ourselves. However, writers often use different rules than they would in a conversation with another person. Some writers are self-critical when dealing, others avoid talking to themselves, while still others struggle to feel natural. Only a few people find writing a blessing and love the challenge of forcing themselves to be thorough and logical.
Academic writing makes various demands. These relate to both the process itself and paper you're writing. The requirements themselves exist independently of the individual. Everyone has to deal with shaping the process of academic work and writing. Everyone has to meet the requirements text style (term paper, essay, thesis, etc.).
Some Theory to get you started: the Academic Writing Process
Academic writing involves several overlapping phases. The length of the phases varies based on the individual, however each phase (as seen below in the table) must end before the next phase ends. For example, the discovery phase can last until shortly before the end of the revision phase, but no longer.
Reading, writing and speaking are basic activities of academic text production that serve different purposes. Writing can be used to gain new insights. Texts written for the purpose of gaining new knowledge (such as a brainstorming map) will usually not be submitted with your final work. Each phase has its own characteristics. Each one makes specific demands on the writer. How writers react to these demands varies greatly from individual to individual. What is easy for one person is challenging or another. The fact is: different strokes for different folks. We support you in finding your own way!
The assumption is: If you understand where you are in the writing process, you can specifically choose the action that is necessary for working on the next subtask in the writing project. Therefore, when using this Wiki resource, first check where you stand in the process, then click on the relevant section to access the section stored there.
Each phase has its own characteristics and contains typical tasks. Which actions are appropriate for you in a situation depends on your previous knowledge and the type of writer you are.
Cascade Model for Academic Text Production
The cascade model (below) maps the process of academic and scientific text production by describing phases and tasks. The length of time for each phase will vary depending on what you are writing. For example, the publication phase for a student thesis is generally superfluous. Those who write a monograph as part of their doctorate go through a differently structured process than in the case of a cumulative doctorate. This is why you can download three variants as pdf files here (currently only available in German – we are working on a translation):
- The "Cascade Model of Scientific Text Production, Type: Article/Monograph" contains a summary of the characterisations of phases and actions (pdf Cascade model>Article DIN A4).
- The "Cascade model of scientific text production, type: academic writing" corresponds to the descriptions of the type "article/monograph" except for the publication phase.
- The "Cascade model of scientific text production, type: cumulative dissertation" visualises the processes that are run through in this type of text production (pdf Cascade model>cumulative dissertation DIN A4).
Institutional speech act domaine | |||||||||
Academic text production | |||||||||
Phases | |||||||||
Examination phase | |||||||||
Publication phase | |||||||||
Time | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->> | ||||||||
Actions | Knowledge generating actions | ||||||||
Reading texts by other authors | |||||||||
Epistemic-heuristic writing (writing that helps you learn and discover new ideas) | |||||||||
Data collecting and preparing | |||||||||
Data analysis | |||||||||
Product-oriented actions | |||||||||
Formulating one's own text | |||||||||
Reading texts by other authors | |||||||||
Reading one's own text | |||||||||
Interactions… | |||||||||
… with Supervisors | |||||||||
… with Peers | |||||||||
SOURCES
Knorr, Dagmar (2016): Modell „Phasen und Handlungen akademischer Textproduktion“. Eine Visualisierung zur Beschreibung von Textproduktionsprojekten. In: Ballweg, Sandra (Hrsg.): Schreibzentrumsarbeit: Theorie, Empirie, Praxis. Frankfurt/Main u. a.: Lang [Wissen – Kompetenz – Text; 11], 251–273
How to cite this page
Knorr, Dagmar (2020): The Writing Process. Wiki "Schreiben im Studium | Academic Writing". Leuphana University Lüneburg. <https://lehrwiki.leuphana.de/display/SWCRessourcen/The+Writing+Process>