(book review)
(Titel) “How to organize your thought and write articles”
(Author) Shigehiko Toyama: Professor Emeritus, Ochanomizu University
published by Chikuma Shobo 2007, originally in1986
The promotional title of this book states that it is still “No. 1 seller at the the bookstores of University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.”
This book is, so to speak, a “Hints for Writing Research Papers and articles.
（Reading and Writing)
Reading, or studying, and writing papers and essays are two very different tasks. This is painfully obvious to anyone who has actually written something. This is true not only for university students, but also for university researchers and professors.
In general, reading and writing seem to be highly correlated. However, the act of studying and reading does not necessarily coincide with writing something new. They are two very different things. Many people do not make that distinction. We usually think that if we read a hundred books, we will be able to write at least one in no time.
However, this is not the case. A paper or book must have something new and original. Reading is just one of the clues to writing that original thing. That is where this author comes in.
(CONTENT)
He calls studying a glider flight. In other words, a glider can only fly if someone pulls it.
He says that school is a training ground for glider flight. In contrast, the ability needed to write a paper is the ability to fly an airplane. The ability to fly is also something that is not taught in school. So, he says, the better the student, the more confused he is about the difference.
In his book, he offers the following tips for writing
- In the case of literary research, write down what you admire, what makes you uncomfortable, what you don’t understand, etc., and let it ferment over time.
- Have two or three themes at a time.
3.There are ways to encompass various theories.
4.Combining disparate ideas
5.Individualistic catalyst
6.Analogies
7.Derailing and attacking from the periphery
In addition, there are many other tips for writing papers, such as how to scrap, how to take cards and notes, how to sleep, the benefits of forgetting, discarding knowledge, talking to others, and so on. And finally, he tells us that we need to write anyway.
(My impressions)
In general, there are two main ways to write an article or essay. One is to write from experience, and the other is to write from books. This book is on the latter case, and is intended as writing tips for students, scholars, and researchers who read and write from books.
Most of Mr. O’s books, for example, are the former and most of Mr. I’s books are the latter. The difference between the two is significant: Mr. O’s books contain very few references or books to refer to. He writes his books from his own experiences and his own thinking.
On the contrary, Mr I’s book, to put it mildly, contains a quoted book every three lines. It is clear that he has studied the subject immensely. However, his arguments are buried in the quotations and are not very clear.
To use Mr. Toyama (authoer)’s analogy, we can see that Mr. O’s book is an airplane with a powerful engine, while Mr. I’s book is written by a brilliant person, but it is almost like a glider.
In any case, this book by Mr. Toyama is unique in that it is rich in hints derived from his act of reading and thinking.
