N A G O YA U N I V E R S I T Y L I B R A R Y W O R K S H O P S 2 0 1 5

Academic Writing&Logical Thinking
教養教育院
May 20 ~ June 17, 2015

Instructor: Dr. Paul Lai

Nagoya University Library Workshops in 2015

Academic Writing andLogical Thinking Skills
After completing all the workshops,
you will be given a Certiﬁcate of Completion!

5June 17 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Final presentations by students(friends and classmates are welcome to join!)
4June 10 3:00pm - 4:30pm
How to make your writing convincing
321Reservation

June 3 3:00pm - 4:30pm
How to use logic practicallyMay 27 3:00pm - 4:30pm
How to make your writing clear

May 20 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Why is important to think logically for your writing
Instructor: Paul Lai, Ph.D
(Director, Mei-Writing Nagoya University)
At: Discovery Square (Central Library 2F)
Target: All students of Nagoya University
Contact: Nagoya University Central Library
Tel: 052-789-3679 E-mail: sanko@nul.nagoya-u.ac.jp

http://www.nul.nagoya-u.ac.jp/guide/literacy/guidance.html#writing

Nagoya University Central Library

Certificate of CompletionThis is to certify thathas successfully completed a series of workshops onAcademic Writing
andLogical Thinking Skills
Date June 24, 2015

Director, Nagoya University LibraryDirector, Mei-Writing
Nagoya University(Workshop instructor)

N A G O YA U N I V E R S I T Y L I B R A R Y W O R K S H O P S 2 0 1 5

Why it is important tothink logically foracademic writing
教養教育院
May 20, 2015

Instructor: Dr. Paul Lai

Writing is a process ofcommunicating thoughts
through the arrangement of texts

Words express thoughts“Dog”

Writing is a process ofcommunicating thoughts
through the arrangement of texts

All academic writers are required to know

The Writing Requirement
How words can be properly arranged
to express the thoughts.	 

The Thinking Requirement
How thoughts can be properly
arranged so that they can becommunicated to the readers in aclear & convincing manner.

The Thinking Requirement
The ultimate purpose of writing an
academic paper, especially a research
paper, is to communicate yourresearch idea, and convince thereaders (e.g. reviewers) to accept it.

The Thinking Requirement
The ultimate purpose of writing an
academic paper, especially a research
paper, is to communicate yourresearch idea, and convince thereaders (e.g. reviewers) to accept it.

What is “convincing”?
According to Oxford Dictionary of English,“convincing” means the following:
capable of causing someone to believe thatsomething is trueThus, to make X convincing is to have thecapability of causing someone to believethat X is true.

The condition for being convincing?

Consider the following examples

Peter lives in Nagoya.

Peter lives in Nagoya.

becausebecausePeter has a house inNagoya.

Peter does not live inTokyo.

Think about the truth conditions!!
Peter lives in Nagoya because he hasa house there.

LIVESINN A G O YA

HAS A HOUSEIN
N A G O YAPeter lives in Nagoya because helives in Sakae.

LIVESINN A G O YALIVESIN
SAKAE

Peter lives in Nagoya because helives in Sakae.

LIVESINN A G O YALIVESIN
SAKAE

Peter lives in Nagoya because helives in Sakae.

SAKAE
N A G O YAConsider another example:

Peter cannot come to school today
because his car broke down.

Peter cannot come to school todayN O D I R E C T R E L AT I O N ! ! !

his car broke downPeter cannot come to school today
HOW TO CONNECT THE TWO?

his car broke down

Peter’s car broke down+Peter needs to come to school by car+

No other car is available+

Peter’s car cannot be repaired+

Impossible to get a new car
Peter cannot come to school todayWriting is a process ofcommunicating thoughts
through the arrangement of texts

Research writing is a process ofcommunicating the original ideas
through the particular arrangement oftexts, namely logical argumentation!!

Main
Research Idea

Support(e.g. evidence)

Abstract

OthersIntroduction

By&Paul&W.&L.&Lai&&&Copyright&2015&Build&a&&
Thesis&Statement&Build&a&&
Logical&Argument&Compile&an&&
Abstract&

Elabora1on&into&a&Full&Paper&&3

Build&a&one3sentence&thesis&statement&with&a&non3compound&sentence&structure.&&3 Find&and&eliminate&the&linguis1c&&&
structural&ambigui1es.&

3

Build&an&inferen1al&rela1on&that&connects&the&thesis&statement&with&its&
suppor1ng&premise(s).&3 Find&and&eliminate&the&known&counterarguments.&

3

3

Integrate&the&thesis&statement&and&argument&into&a&succinct&logical&structure&(abstract)&by&specifying&the&following:&(i)&mo1va1on,&(ii)&main&task,&(iii)&method,&(iv)&results.&

Elaborate&each&of&the&abstract&components&into&a&full3blown&paper&sec1on&.&3 Modify&the&thesis&statement,&argument,&abstract&again&and&again.&Logical Thinking Skills
Clear & Convincing Paper

What is a Clear & Convincing paper?
A paper with a (clear) Thesis Statement
and a (convincing) Logical Argument
for the statement.

Exercises

Try to make the following reason convincing:Peter cannot submit the assignment today
because his computer broke down.

Try to provide ONE Convincing reason for thefollowing statement:Peter is a professional teacher.

Homework
Think about the following topic,
and write down a summary of your view.
(about 100 Words)

Education in Japan