The aim of this workshop was to demonstrate a range of skills helping students to tap into their own creativity in order to generate ideas and solve problems, and then apply the crafts of planning, structuring, research, and writing more effectively.
In the first part of the workshop – One Method of Planning & Structure: Turn into Questions – the aim was to turn a thesis statement/chapter/paper title into a single sentence question. A question on the other hand would be further broken up to 3-8 constituent questions and breaking each of these into 3-5 constituent questions.
The technique provided a framework to structure my research. Interestingly, we were given a practical exercise [putting a title into question – as above] and had to share our answers with our partners, which in my case was from a scientific discipline. The disparities of our questions were evident. My partners, being logical, conscience and vigorous contrasted to my more elaborate and complex take.
For me the most important part of this workshop lay in understanding the importance of questions [how questions help focus the research and support your arguments], methods of planning and structuring arguments, length, planning for time, and focusing the research.
Recording ideas before they fade and engaging with our creativity were discussed. Other methods included techniques of meditation as a subconscious way of tapping into research questions creatively.
Grammatical structures and punctuations were clarified as well as things to avoid and things to do. This was followed by exercises applying ways of producing vigorous and conscious draft using definite and specific nouns rather than passive and explicit nouns.