Using Images in Scholarly Writing

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Из курса от партнера Duke University

English Composition I

351 оценки

Duke University

English Composition I

351 оценки

You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field. Students will learn how to read carefully, write effective arguments, understand the writing process, engage with others' ideas, cite accurately, and craft powerful prose. Course Learning Objectives • Summarize, analyze, question, and evaluate written and visual texts • Argue and support a position • Recognize audience and disciplinary expectations • Identify and use the stages of the writing process • Identify characteristics of effective prose • Apply proper citation practices • Discuss applying your writing knowledge to other writing occasions

Из урока

Project 1: Visual Analysis

This week, the central topic is visual images in academic writing. The goal is to practice interpreting and writing about images convincingly. Plus, Dr. Comer will help you think about what area of inquiry you would like to focus on in this course and what it means to write a draft. Finally, you will write your visual analysis and learn how to give meaningful feedback.

Selecting Your Area of Expertise4:44

What is a Draft?2:40

Reading Visual Images7:10

Using Images in Scholarly Writing4:45

Effective Claims4:00

Познакомьтесь с преподавателями

Dr. Denise Comer
Assistant Professor of the Practice; Director of First-Year Writing
Thompson Writing Program

As we're thinking about using images in scholarly writing, we need to think

not only about how we're reading and understanding the images,

but also how we're actually using them, and how scholars, other scholars are using them.

So today we're going to talk about how to use images in scholarly writing.

When you integrate visuals with words, you'll want to think about the choices

that you'll make and the choices that others have made,

about things like the following: the purpose.

Is the image just kind of decorative, or to engage the reader more,

or does it have kind of a central purpose that enhances or forwards or complicates, right;

sometimes it can work against an argument, too.

So, what is the purpose of the image within a particular text?

You also want to make choices as a writer, or notice the choices others have made as a reader,

with how much description is in the text about the image.

So, does the image just kind of stand alone?

Or, does the author describe what the image has in it?

Explication is slightly different because what I mean by explication is:

Is the author using the image in a service,

or for some kind of purpose, in his or her argument?

So, is it advancing, or is the author making an argument with that image?

And then finally, matters of document design:

just literally where in your article, or in an article or text,

do you see the image? Is it on the left side, the right side?

Is it central? Does it overlap with words?

Where in the text does the image occur?

As an example, I thought we would look at Colvin's placement of one of his images

in the article that we are reading.

There's another image underneath this, as you recall, but anyways,

this first image is sort of near the top of his argument, and, to my recollection,

I don't think Colvin actually describes this image or refers to it directly in the text.

He might, and if he does—please correct me if I'm wrong, but anyways—there is a caption there,

it's early. Presumably, I guess if you were a very busy reader—and people

reading Fortune might be busy readers—you could probably get the gist of

Colvin's argument by only looking at this image and then the subsequent image too.

So for him, I think it's an alternative way of reaching out to a variety of

readers to make sure that his argument is getting heard.

This is the caption, and I wanted to just take you through some of the ways that

this image is working in the service of Colvin's argument.

So here we have Tiger Woods as a child, which is showing that he

never stopped trying to improve—even as a three year old—

that he was working very hard, that it wasn't just that he had this natural talent,

that he didn't need to cultivate, but he spent time doing it.

Presumably, he could have been playing, it looks like that's a soccer goal there.

He could have been playing soccer instead, but he was choosing to work

on his golf. It looks like he's choosing to work on

the golf even though he's not at a very posh golf course, right?

This isn't like golf camp that he went to,

but this looks like, any space he could find to practice golf,

he's practicing golf. And then of course, he's got this very

concentrated expression on his face. He's doing follow through;

he cares where the ball is going; he's focusing on it;

he's thinking about it; he's already working on his form.

So, these are all in support of the idea that, to become a great golfer,

Tiger Woods had to practice for many hours. Now, some readers might look at this image

and think well, that's true, but it also could be read in a slightly

different way, right? Against the grain of what Colvin is using it for,

and that's how images really in all arguments are.

You can read it in different ways. But anyways, you could also say to yourself,

“Well, but, I know some three year olds, and they don't spend their

time practicing golf, so why is he practicing golf,” right?

“Is it because he has some natural kind of interest or curiosity about it,

that maybe other people don't have, and does that suggest some kind of natural talent?

Or is it because he had family members, or teachers, or coaches who were saying

to him, go out and practice for half an hour before you do something else?”

So we don't know what the circumstances are,

and you could read against the grain.

But anyways, I think Colvin is trying to use this as a way of forwarding his argument.

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