In order to improve scientific writing skills in Indonesian, the UGM Psychology Doctoral Program held an Intensive Academic Writing Skills Course which will take place on Monday (1/3) and Tuesday (2/3) March 2021. The event is divided into four sessions, each of which focuses on the topics of “Scientific Writing is Fun”, “Diagnosis of Writing Ability”, “Writing Process” and “Examples of Simple Writing” were filled in by Drs. Heru Marwata, M.Hum. Through this event, Heru challenges each participant as well as guiding and correcting mistakes made by the participants. In addition, this event also provides a lot of knowledge in writing that can be continuously trained so that in the future it can be even better.
According to Heru, there are several important things that need to be considered when writing, namely conjunctions, spelling (EYD/PUEBI), diction (choice of words), sentences (effective), paragraphs and writing or essays. The hope is that when participants get to know the Indonesian sentence structure, they will be able to formulate correct and good sentences.
Furthermore, Heru also explained the linguistic aspects related to whether an idea was good or not and how well the idea was conveyed. There are also aspects of aesthetic that are supported by choosing the right diction, for example using a tone ending that sounds the same. The choice of diction can be done when the writer has many choices of diction and increasing the choice of diction can be done by reading. In addition, the choice of words/diction is very important because it contains the spirit of the sentence and the spirit of the sentence will affect the paragraph. The choice of the right words will also affect the effectiveness of the sentences we compose. “Sentences should be read out in one breath”, explained Heru.
On the second day, Heru explained the writing process and showed some examples of simple writing. According to Heru, scientific work is influenced by the writer’s mastery and understanding of the written material, the ability to structure ideas, how to formulate problems, and how to convey goals. Apart from that, Heru also gave tips to the participants regarding the writing process by suggesting an outline. “Using an essay framework will help the writer coordinate ideas before starting to write, make it easier to find relevant material, and can show the main part of the writing to the author,” said Heru.
Apart from the outline of the essay, the selection of topics and titles were also tips offered by Heru to the participants in the writing process. In choosing a topic, the writer is advised to choose a topic that is useful, feasible, interesting, mastered, easy to get written material, actual, not too broad/narrow, and representative. “Topics that are not interesting for writers will later become a burden and hinder the writing process,” said Heru.
At the end of the session, Heru said that writing is not an activity in the heart, but an action that must be tried and tried is a measure of one’s courage. “To process sentences requires experience of skills that are obtained through practice, practice, practice,” explained Heru.