The Vice-Chancellor inaugurated the Social of Social Sciences Academic Writing Workshops on September 23, 2024, at the Conference Hall of the School. These workshops are sponsored by the Institution of Eminence, project. The event was attended by faculty, staff, research scholars and students from the school and other units of the University. There will be a series of 12 workshops over the next three months, where resource persons will work with students on their written submissions. Around 80 participants are expected to benefit from these workshops.

The inaugural lecture for the Academic Writing Workshop, a pioneering initiative by the School of Social Sciences and Institute of Eminence, was delivered by the versatile Dr Amita Kinni Singh. Her interdisciplinary journey, spanning computer sciences, management, and art history, provided a unique and inspiring backdrop for the lecture “The Art and Architecture of Academic Writing”. Dr Singh’s emphasis on the artistry of refined writing, akin to an art form, resonated with the audience. She delved into the fundamental elements of academic writing, using the analogy of architecture, a concept that transcends disciplines. The speaker’s focus on the three pillars of argument, logic, and style vividly illustrated the art of formulating academic writing.

The speaker cleaved the idea of an argument from its negative implications by conceptualising a research argument as one’s “cut into the academic world”. Argument in an academic sense does not necessarily presuppose another that is to be confronted and systematically dismantled; instead, it refers to the demarcation of a problem in an academician’s realm of interest, which is to be accompanied by a solution. The speaker highlighted the importance of identifying the motivation and knowledge levels of the target audience when formulating an argument alongside cognisance of possible objections to make a watertight argument. The second pillar of logic brought in the structural aspects of writing. This included utilising a ‘point-first’ logic concerning paragraphs, use of keywords and signposting, interspersion of one’s logic throughout the text by nesting it in pre-existing literature, and a lucid flow to the argument that contributes to a united whole, among other things. Such assertions in one’s writing would enhance the reader’s comprehension and acceptance, enticing further readership of one’s work. The third pillar of style served as an element to enhance the elegance of the prose, tying in with the analogy of writing as an art, outlining six principles of styles, namely: audience, action, character, voice, clarity and information, each underlining previous points as well as bringing focus to the grammatical aspects that can enhance the eloquence of an academic ‘craft’.

Dr. Singh also emphasised the aspect of reading alongside writing. According to her, ‘good readers’ are not passive recipients of the text but those who raise questions and identify research gaps. This is, in turn, supplemented by the ‘art of writing’, which refers to the creative and strategic process of composing a text. The ‘art of writing’ involves crucial advice such as being a voracious reader, writing extensively to hone one’s skills alongside an approach towards texts with a critical lens, and being aware of the same when writing a text ourselves. The session followed with a round of questions from the audience on various aspects of writing and reading academic prose.

Professors K. Suneetha Rani, Sneha Bannerjee, Nanda Kishor Kannuri, Asima Jena, M. Vijaya Ramdas and K. K. Kailash spoke on the occasion. The Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Prof Jyotirmaya Sharma, chaired the session. The Vice-chancellor appreciated the initiative and said there must be more targeted activities like this to address student needs.

Soon after the inaugural, the first cluster, including the Department of Political Science, Women’s Studies, Education and Education Technologies, Centre for Human Rights and Centre for Ambedkar Studies, conducted its two-day workshop session for September. The cluster workshop was attended by 17 PhD research scholars, assisted by resource persons from esteemed academic institutions, including NLSIU Bangalore, Pondicherry University and the University of Kerala. The two-day intensive workshop undertook lectures in writing exercises and dealt with the writing samples submitted by the participants to engage in a constructive discussion towards refining academic writing among PhD scholars.

Report by: Ann Elza Varughese and Rajat Pratap Singh, MA Political Science