“Don’t wait for it to be perfect! Get it right, fit for purpose! Because there‘s no perfect!”, says Dr. David Reay.
Students throughout their academic career and beyond indulge in academic writing whether they like it or not. More than often, students prefer not to indulge themselves in such laborious tasks.
IMT-D was honored to have the esteemed presence of Dr. David Reay, the Managing Director of Gibson Consulting based in Knowledge Village. He delivered a most interesting session, highlighting why proficiency in academic writing is essential not only in everyday life but also in business and the workplace. The audience for the workshop was not limited to the students and faculty of IMTD, but to a diverse crowd of academics and researchers who were very well aware of the benefits to be gained from the knowledge that Dr. Reay had in abundance to share. His vast experience in academia before entering the world of business world he as a research fellow and faculty member at universities in the UK and the USA has profoundly influenced him to deliver these words of advice for the betterment of the students, and their efforts. His vast experience in publishing his own research and major research projects in USA and the UK makes this session with him all the more invaluable.
He stated that what any organization seeks foremost in a suitable candidate for employment is the ability to devise solutions. Not just any solution, but those based on sound research and strong arguments. Devising feasible solutions is more than vital for writing proposals, reports, and recommendations; implementing change, and for strategic mapping. Dr. Reay says that in order to develop this particular higher order skill, one has to put in a lot of rigour.
A lot of people, he affirmed, are not able to express their research while keeping in mind the bare essentials and requisites. What they or any other person needs is a tool to help them. One such tool is the Ethos 6 Steps. The first step is to PREPARE core arguments for the report on the basis of the known outcomes. Then GATHER all available resources, and SELECT relevant and accurate facts.
The secret to differentiating relevant data from the irrelevant is to perfect the art of skim -reading. “Read the first paragraph, the conclusion, and the first line of all other paragraphs. By the time you reach the second page you’ll know if it’s right or wrong”, he declared. The next step would be PRESENT one’s point of view SUPPORTed by relevant arguments. Last but not the least is to FINALIZE and edit the entire document. These six steps are the core steps in preparing any kind of academic writing, making connections between facts and matching information to make valid arguments.
He advised the audience to adhere to the specifications, and the writing style required by the party to whom the academic writing is to be submitted. However if the recipient doesn't mention any, he recommended that one should use APA style manual for he believes it to be more user friendly and straightforward in comparison to the MLA style manual. Dr. Reay at the end of his interactive discourse was showered with questions. The audience’s sharp intellect and enthusiasm demonstrated the rising learning curve of IMT-D’s students. The IMT-D students have once again proven themselves pioneers of self improvement and agents of change to driving themselves to get things done right and even possibly perfect!!
