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Hi Ken, Hope you are well - can you let me know when you have a few minutes for a quick catch up call and what the best number is to contact you on - regards Greg On Thu, May 7, 2015 at 4:02 PM, Diaz-Kommonen Lily <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Thank you Ken for these valuable insights! > > BR. Lily > > /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > Professor Lily Diaz-Kommonen > Head of Research > Department of Media/ Media Lab Helsinki > Aalto University, School of Arts, > Design and Architecture > Miestentie 3, Otaniemi 05021, Espoo > /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > <http://sysrep.uiah.fi> > > Time can be wasted, or it can be treasured. > > On 7.5.2015, at 21.54, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]<mailto: > [log in to unmask]>> > wrote: > > Friends, > > This evening, I posted the new edition of Free Research Writing Resources, > Books to Buy, and Services to the “Research & Writing Skills” section of my > Academia page at URL: > > https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman > > This edition has several changes and improvements. Two “how to write” > books have joined Strunk & White’s _Elements of Style_. One is Helen > Sword’s _Stylish Academic Writing_. The other is Steven Pinker’s _The Sense > of Style. The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century_. > > After several debates on the PhD-Design list concerning Strunk & White, I > took several months to review “how to write” guides with researchers and > research students in design in mind. There are over 500 “how-to-write” > books and style guides on the market today. 100 or so are aimed at > researchers and research students. I’ve owned more than 80 at one time or > another, and I’d read (or skimmed) another 100 or so. Some offer value. > Most don’t. I disposed of all but six in my last move. I kept Strunk & > White. > > The Elements of Style remains a classic for the nuts and bolts of writing > good English prose. Nevertheless, a century after the first edition, there > are arguments about whether this book has outlived its usefulness. The > common objection is that Strunk & White is finicky and obsolete book, and > it fails to take its own advice. That’s Geoffrey Pullum’s view. I admire > Pullum, but this view is misleading. > > Pullum and others focus on three of five chapters with rules on writing. > While these chapters are generally useful, many points are open to debate. > These three chapters are I, III, and IV – “Elementary Rules of Usage,” “A > Few Matters of Form,” and “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused.” > > Two of the five chapters offer principles of composition and writing. > These two chapters are II and V – “Elementary Principles of Composition,” > and “An Approach to Style.” This is a classical guide to writing well. This > part of the guide focuses on what Steven Pinker labels “the classical > style,” and this explains why Pinker likes Strunk & White. > > Learning to write is like learning to play chess. One can describe the > principles and moves in a few pages. It takes an afternoon to master the > rules. Despite the simplicity of the rules, it takes years to master the > game. Deep mastery takes a lifetime. > > There are hundreds of books on how to write. Those who teach writing > should read them, along with those who do research on writing. Strunk & > White is a book for those who wish to understand the elements of style > before going deeper. > > A second important issue influences my choice of Strunk and White for > those who teach writing skills to research students. It is a short book: > concise, memorable, easy to read in two hours. This is a key advantage. > Helen Sword and Steven Pinker offer excellent books for people who want to > write well in the current academic world. Both are serious books. Reading > them takes more time and work than research students will generally invest. > > Mastering research skills and methods while developing their own research > projects places massive demands on design students who are moving into > research and writing for the first time. My experience is that Strunk & > White is a manageable guide. I have used it successfully for many years. > Most important, Strunk & White is a helpful guide that students will > actually use in the limited time they have. While I can recommend Sword and > Pinker, I do not believe students will read or use them. They _will_ use > Strunk & White. > > It is important to add that I am not a writing teacher. I’ve done this > work in the process of teaching several thousand undergraduates and > research students how to write about their own subjects and disciplines. > > The new edition of Research Writing Resources also has an expanded > selection of online resources and “learn to write” tools — including free > writing courses and web sites at several excellent universities. > > This is now available in the “Research & Writing Skills” section of my > Academia page at URL: > > https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman > > Best regards, > > Ken > > Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Chair Professor of Design Innovation > Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, > China ||| University Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation > | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia > > -- > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> > Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design > Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> > Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design > Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > -- Greg Trainor email : [log in to unmask] mobile : (+61) 0438 380 666 ----------------------------------------------------------------- PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design -----------------------------------------------------------------