ACADEMIC ENGLISH:

WRITING STRATEGIES

Dr Vandana Rajoriya
Assistant Professor,
Department of English and Other
European Languages,
Dr. H. S. Gour Vishwavidyalaya, (A Central
University) Sagar, MP
Objectives
 to arrive at an understanding of
the conventions of academic
writing in English
 to help you to put together your
own “toolbox” of academic writing
skills, as well as to give you a
chance to reflect on your
development as a writer.
 to encourage reflection on
discipline specific conventions;
although we’ll deal with generic
skills, you will be able to apply
these generic skills to meet the
particular needs of your own
discipline.
"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into
small jobs." Henry Ford

• Introduction: Why Academic

English Writing?
• Breaking the ice
• Structuring the text and
Conveying the argument
• Break
Discussion • Editing and Proof reading
Pointers: • Break
• Summarising and Paraphrasing
• Break
• Avoid Plagiarism, Publication
Ethics
• Recapitulation
• Questions
“A teacher affects eternity; he/ she can never

tell where his/ her influence stops”

“Empowered teachers lead

enlightened classrooms”.

Enlightened, emancipated and empowered

teachers lead communities and nations in their
march towards better and higher quality of life
 BREAKING THE ICE
 Would You Rather…
 Would you rather be a genius and know everything or be amazing at any
activity you tried?
 Would you rather be the richest person in the world or be immortal?
Moving
 Would you rather experience the world beginning or ending?
out  Would you rather have more money or more time?
of the  Would you rather live by “Hakuna Matata” or “YOLO”?
 Would you rather know the world’s secrets or live ignorantly forever?
box
 Would you rather do something you love and make just enough money to
get by or do something you hate but make billions of dollars?
 Would you rather give a boring online lecture while your students sleep or
share a video with them and will yourself sleep
ACADEMIC ENGLISH:
WRITING….
1. Structuring the Text

 Beginning: Introduction
(Context, Background, Theoretical
Perspective or layout)

 Middle: Main Body

(Discussion/ analysis/ development of
ideas)

 End: Conclusion

Image credit: Solent online learning.

https://learn.solent.ac.uk/mod/book/view.ph
p?id=116226&chapterid=15155
The structure of the academic text
 Structure is the framework that holds all the different parts of the
academic text together

Source: Writing guide. https://writingguide.se/writing/the-structure-of-the-academic-text/

Types of academic writing…
Types of academic writings:
1. Descriptive
i. provide facts or information
ii. Key terms: 'identify', 'report', 'record', 'summarise' and
'define'.

2. Analytical
i. Academic writing is mostly analytical in nature.
ii. It requires you to re-organise the facts and information you
describe into categories, groups, parts, types or
relationships.
iii. Key terms: 'analyse', 'compare', 'contrast', 'relate', and
'examine'.
Types of academic writing…
Types of academic writings:
3. Persuasive
i. Our own point of view is added to the information while re-
organizing it.
ii. Claims are supplemented by evidence.
iii. Point of view may include the following:
argument, recommendation, interpretation of findings or
evaluation of the work of others
iv. Key terms: 'argue', 'evaluate', 'discuss', and 'take a stand'.
Academic writing…

Types of academic writings:

4. Critical
i. Critical writing is common for research writing.
ii. Critical writings include the point of view of others also.
iii. Critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal
article, or a literature review
iv. Critical writings may also identify the strengths and weaknesses
of existing research
v. Key terms: 'critique', 'debate', 'disagree' and 'evaluate'
Conveying the argument…

Academic Argument:

1. The Latin word “arguer,” means “to make clear.”

2. Academic argument is the evidence-based defense of a

complex issue.

3. It involves proposing a claim and offering a rational reason

using relevant evidence

4. Uses either balanced or persuasive approach.

Conveying the argument…
Academic Argument:
To evaluate or present arguments in a structured manner, the
following questions can be considered:

i. Identifying the claim or point of view

ii. Reasons for supporting that claim

iii. Whether this belief of the claim is built on reliable evidence

iv. Ensuring a coherent connection between the reasons for

supporting the claim

v. Preparing a convincing and persuasive defense for counter-

arguments
Break!
 Food for thought…
 Can creative writing be of any use to the world of science?

Source: Everywriter
Source: twinkl https://www.twinkl.co.in/teaching-
https://www.everywritersresource.com/writing-
wiki/science-creative-writing-topics prompt-name-that-virus/
EDITING AND PROOFREADING IN
ACADEMIC WRITNG ……..
Essential part of the writing process. Impart effectiveness of style and
clarity to your ideas.

The Checklist:
1. What I have written fits the assignment, both in terms of
content and format.

2. My thesis is written in one clear sentence.

3. I have provided adequate background information for the

topic of my paper.

4. Each of my portions link back to my thesis in the same way.

EDITING AND PROOFREADING IN
ACADEMIC WRITNG ……..
Essential part of the writing process. Impart effectiveness of style and
clarity to your ideas.

The Checklist cont.…

5. Within each portion, I introduce, state, support, and
discuss.

6. I use a variety of reliable, academic resources to support

my ideas.

7. I paraphrase my resources more often than I quote them

directly.
EDITING AND PROOFREADING IN
ACADEMIC WRITNG ……..
Essential part of the writing process. Impart effectiveness of style and
clarity to your ideas.

The Checklist cont.…

8. I have used the style guide - American Psychological

Association (APA)/ Chicago-style/Modern Language
Association (MLA) consistently and correctly (both in terms
of in-text citations and the references).

9. My conclusion briefly summarizes the information in my

paper and implies that there is still more to talk about.

10. I use a straightforward, professional tone in my paper.

EDITING AND PROOFREADING IN
ACADEMIC WRITNG ……..
Spelling and Grammar
1. Examine the sentence structure, grammar, and spelling.
i. Read your paper aloud. If you find yourself gasping to
finish a sentence, that sentence is probably too long.
Break it up into several shorter sentences.
ii. Use strong verbs in your sentences that propel the
reader forward.
iii. Use the active voice as often as possible in your
sentences.
iv. Eliminate redundant adverbs and adjectives.
Consider Peer editing or Hiring an editor if required.
Break!
 A Question…

Do Indians lack in research aptitude?

Why do we lack in research culture?
SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...

Summarising and paraphrasing are strategies which make our

writing more effective by making us less dependent on mere
quotes and allow us to contextualise our own writing while citing
sources.
SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...
Points to remember:
 improve reading
comprehension.

 filter main ideas from details.

 follow arguments.

 identify key points.

 understand theme.

 differentiate fact from opinion.

Source:
 analyze texts. https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@anneke/teaching-
kids-how-to-paraphrase
SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...
Steps to summarising:

1. Select a passage that supports an idea in your paper.

2. Read the passage carefully to fully understand it.

3. Take notes about the main idea and supporting points you
think you should include in your summary.

4. Include keywords and terms used by the author and think,

too, about how the source ideas are relevant to the
argument(s) that you are presenting in your paper.
SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...
Steps to summarizing cont…

5. Using only your notes, explain the original author’s main

ideas to someone else. Then explain how those ideas
support or conflict with your own argument.

6. Reread the original source. Is there important information

that you have forgotten or misremembered? Is your
summary very similar to the original source?

7. Add in-text citation and check the required formatting

style.
Let’s Summarise..
Source
The Northern Lights
There are times when the night sky glows with bands of colour.
The bands may begin as clouds shape and then spread into a
great arc across the entire sky. They may fall in folds like a
curtain drawn across the heavens. The lights usually grow
brighter, then suddenly dim.
During this time the sky glows with pale yellow, pink, green,
violet, blue, and red. These lights are called the Aurora Borealis.
Some people call them the Northern Lights. Scientists have
been watching them for hundreds of years. They are not quite
sure what causes them. In ancient times, people were afraid of
the Lights. They imagined that they saw fiery dragons in the sky.
Some even concluded that the heavens were on fire.
 Let’s Summarise..
Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are a unique phenomenon that
occurs at North Pole. The night sky becomes filled with colorful lights
playing in shapes of clouds, arcs, or curtains. They have been attracting
scientists and people for hundreds of years.
SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...
Steps to Paraphrasing

1. Read the passage again and again till you have

understood it.

2. Underline the main points.

3. Try to find synonyms for the difficult words. Change the

words and not meaning.

4. Break up long sentences into two smaller ones.

5. Simplify the structure of the sentences.

SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...
Steps to Paraphrasing
6. Change the order in which the ideas are
The 4
• R’s
presented.
• Did you Understand
7. Change the Voice. Read
the Passage?

8. Use quotation marks to identify the • Did you restate the

important points in
terms and phrases you have borrowed Restate your own voice?

exactly from the original. • Did you include all

the points?
Recheck
9. Cite original ideas that are not your own.
10. Proof read your paraphrase for the fear • Did you correct the
misinformation?
Repair
of plagiarism.
Let’s Paraphrase..

"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the

bleak December, And each separate dying
ember wrought its ghost upon the floor,"

Poe, The Raven

Let’s Paraphrase..

"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the

bleak December, And each separate dying
ember wrought its ghost upon the floor,"
Poe, The Raven
"It's a cold December night, and the trees outside my
window are barren. The moon casts shadows of the bare
tree branches onto my bedroom floor, and the shadows
resemble ghosts."
 Let’s Paraphrase..
“Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly
stopped for me.”
Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I

could not travel both..."
Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken”
 Let’s Paraphrase..
“Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me.”
Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"
“I realize that death is a natural part of life, and I can't delay or stop its
inevitability. Fortunately, death is a polite, respectable force that doesn't treat
me unfairly.”

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not

travel both..." Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken”

"I had a hard time choosing between two paths in the colorful autumn forest.
I wish I could have taken both routes to see where they'd take me."
 SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING...

BASIS FOR
SUMMARY PARAPHRASE
COMPARISON
Meaning Summary refers to the concise Paraphrase refers to the translation of
statement containing the key points the passage using understandable
of the passage. words, so as to make it more lucid.

Focuses on Central Idea Simplification and Clarification

Length compared to Shorter Almost similar length
the original text
Objective To compile the essence of someone To break down the author's work in a
else's work and avoid unnecessary crystal clear manner if the words used
details. by him/her are not important or the
words are too complex.

When used When you want to give a quick When you want to use your own voice
overview of the idea or concept to present the material in a fresh
given in the passage. manner and you want to integrate the
author's ideas as well.

Does not include Unnecessary details, examples and Same wordings as used in the original
reader's own interpretation source.
Break!
 Food for thought…

Military talk
Do you appreciate it ?
WAIT A MOMENT & THINK IT OVER….

Why do we think we deserve Smart, Self Motivated, Hard

Working Students who do not really need to be taught?

ENTHUSIASTIC
SELF- MOTIVATED
SINCERE
BE COURTEOUS
OBJECTIVE &
WILLING TO WORK
 CLASS ROOM
MANAGEMENT
R E S T

RECOGNIZE
TIME

ELIMINATE SPEND
Avoiding Plagiarism……..

Complete
Plagiarism.
Accidental Source-based
Plagiarism. Plagiarism.

Mosaic Direct
Plagiarism. Types of Plagiarism.

Plagiarism

Inaccurate Self or Auto

Authorship. Plagiarism.
Paraphrasing
plagiarism.
PUBLICATION ETHICS: …

Redundant Publications

Duplicate Publications

Overlapping Publications

Salami Slicing
Questions……..

Introduction:Why Academic English Writing?

Structuring the text and Conveying the

argument

Editing and Proof reading

Summarising and Paraphrasing

Avoid Plagiarism, Publication Ethics

THANK YOU