Successful writing

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Narrative-based writing for coherent technical documents

Narrative-based writing is a technique that was developed to address the lack of support for document coherence. The technique depends on the production of a story-like executive summary of the document called a DN (Document Narrative). This is then analysed using a discourse theory called Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) which helps further to correct any lapses in coherence in the DN before proceeding to use it to write the document. Previous papers have described the technique briefly, alongside discussions of the ongoing software development to incorporate narrative support in writing tools. It has now become apparent that the technique itself needs to be explained in greater detail. This is the purpose of this paper. Here, narrative-based writing and the reasoning behind it is described. This is followed by a description of a user experiment conducted in May 2006 to evaluate narrative-based writing and discover areas in which it could be improved. The positive feedback from the volunteers has motivated us to continue to refine and simplify the technique

Risk factors affecting the ability for earned value management to accurately assess the performance of infrastructure projects in Australia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a set of risk-related factors influencing the earned value management (EVM) concept as an assessment technique in evaluating the progress of modern sustainable infrastructure construction projects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach has been adopted for identifying risk-related factors influencing EVM concept from a literature review and through interviewing industry personnel, followed by an inductive process to form sets of key factors and their measuring items. Findings – EVM is a common method for assessing project performance. A weakness of this approach is that EVM assessment in its current form does not measure the impact of a number of project performance factors that result from the complexity of modern infrastructure construction projects, and thus does not accurately assess their impact in this performance. This paper discusses and explains a range of potential risk factors to evaluating project performance such as sustainability, stakeholder requirements, communication, procurement strategy, weather, experience of staff, site condition, design issues, financial risk, subcontractor, government requirements and material. In addition, their measuring items were identified. Practical implications – This research assists projects managers to improve the evaluation process of infrastructure construction performance by incorporating a range of factors likely to impact on that performance and which are not included in current EVM calculations. Originality/value – This research addresses the need to include in the EVM calculation a range of risk factors affecting the performance of infrastructure projects in Australia and therefore makes this calculation a more reliable tool for assessing project performance

Bibliography for Back to School Day

A bibliography created to accompany a back-to-school display at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University. The books cover a variety of topics related to college success and student mental health

Approaching literature review for academic purposes: the literature review checklist

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students' abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students' necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool7

Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students’ abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students’ necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool

RESEARCH METHODS OF ISLAMIC PREACHING SCIENCES IN THESIS & DISSERTATION WRITING WITH A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH

Written theses and dissertations must be unique scientific studies that are either completed or have not been previously investigated. The main criteria for theses and dissertations should be the determination of the title, grand theory, and research idea as well as originality, to ensure that the scientific work produced is not just testing a theory or previous research findings. However, it can contribute fresh ideas and novel research to the study of Islamic preaching. Writing theses and dissertations can also give students research expertise that they can use later on in their studies of Islamic preaching. Students will gain real new experiences through the process of discovery, study, and in-depth scientific thinking about the science of islamic preaching by studying and examining the most recent research areas. Islamic studies lecturers direct the orientation to expertise and classes in the schools overseen by this compartment in accordance with their preferences. It is preferable if Islamic studies lecturers initially have the flexibility to select their compartment. The function of developing expertise or a specific subject requires lecturers who have specialized in that area to maintain a commitment to that function or subject. Tesis dan Disertasi yang ditulis harus merupakan kajian original keilmuan yang ada atau belum pernah diteliti oleh peneliti sebelumnya. Penetuan judul, grand teori dan konsep penelitian serta orisinalitas tesis dan disertasi harus menjadi syarat utama, sehingga karya ilmiah yang dihasilkan tidak hanya sekedar menguji suatu teori atau temuan penelitian sebelumnya. Namun dapat memberikan teori dan kontribusi baru di bidang ilmu dakwah. Penulisan tesis dan disertasi juga dapat memberikan pengalaman meneliti bagi mahasiswa untuk melakukan penelitian berikutnya, ketika mereka telah terjun di medan dakwah. Dengan mengkaji dan mengeksplorasi bidang-bidang penelitian terkini, mahasiswa akan mendapatkan pengalaman baru secara nyata melalui proses penemuan, pengkajian, penelaahan dan pemikiran ilmiah yang mendalam tentang ilmu dakwah. Para dosen Islamic studies sesuai preferensinya memandu orientasi amaliyah Islam tersebut pada keahlian dan matakuliah-matakuliah di fakultas-fakultas yang bernaung di bawah kompartemen tersebut. Sebaiknya para dosen Islami studies memiliki kebebasan awal untuk memilih kompartemennya. Dosen telah masuk ke suatu bidang keahlian ilmu perlu ada komitmen berkelanjutan atas fungsi pengembangan keahlian atau matakuliah tertentu