Note: There are more recent videos in the “Craft of Research” and “Art of Learning” series, as well as at the “Writing Process Reengineering” course.
How to Write
Writing is not just a tool you use in school. It is a craft you learn there, and use the rest of your life. Knowing that you can express yourself in writing about your expertise, whether that be management or marketing or finance or organization, is an invaluable foundation for success. Your future employers will value good writing as much or more than your current teachers, so you will not regret the effort you make to become a confident writer. This lecture will show you a way to build that confidence, one paragraph at a time. Here is a cheat sheet:
And here’s a short paper that explains roughly the same ideas: “How to Write at University” (PDF). And here it is in Danish: “Bliv bedre til at skrive” (PDF)
How to Structure a Research Paper
In this lecture, I present the outline of a standard social science research paper, explaining the scholarly basis and rhetorical purpose of each section. You’ll be given some useful ways to think about your background, theory, methods, analysis, discussion sections, as well as how to write your introduction and conclusion.
How to Finish Your Project or Thesis
In this lecture, which builds on the previous two, I offer some advice about how to organize the last 4 weeks of a major writing project. The trick is to limit yourself to 30-40 hours per week and to divide up the tasks into some well-defined categories. Then work from the center of your strength for a few hours every day.
