Academic Writing as a Literary Genre: Exploring Styles and Narratives (Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences)

PrerequisitesNew

This workshop is aimed at breaking the stereotype of an academic essay as a purely scholastic and tedious endeavour, devoid of such assumingly ‘literary’, elements as plot, narrative, denouement, metaphor, hyperbole, sound and rhythm, etc. My own experience shows that most of the guidelines, principles, and attitudes generally associated with the popular literary genre of ‘creative non-fiction’, can be successfully applied to academic writing at its best. This centres on mastering the essential ‘Five Cs’: Clarity, Coherence, Continuity, Concision and Cadence.

This training is provided free of charge to postgraduate researchers, however, the cost of providing the course is £30 per participant.

PhD students in Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Participants are asked to bring a recent piece of academic writing.

Please note that late comers will not be admitted after 30 minutes

• Learn about the elements of literary style that would make an academic essay a better read (cadence, stylistic parallelisms, avoiding tautologies, clichés, repetitions, long and hard-to-articulate words of foreign origins, etc).
• Develop the skills of making an academic essay, no matter how esoteric its subject may be, a ‘gripping read’ by structuring it like a particular kind of a thriller – a ‘howdunnit’ as opposed to a ‘whudunnit’!
• Master the essential literary ‘Five Cs’ of an academic essay: Clarity, Coherence, Continuity, Concision, and Cadence.
• Come to grips with the idea that academic writing is a highly creative endeavour.

In person session comprising information-giving and activities

About the Trainer

Vitali is an award-winning author, journalist, and broadcaster with a global career that spans investigative journalism, creative writing, and public speaking. Born in Ukraine, he became the USSR’s first investigative journalist before defecting in 1990. Vitali has since published 16 books, and his work has been translated into multiple languages.

He has contributed to major publications such as The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and has received multiple awards for his columns. Vitali also has extensive teaching experience in creative writing and journalism, having led seminars at universities in the UK, Europe, and Australia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and the Royal Geographical Society, with a passion for mentoring and supporting emerging writers.

2 hours