ACADEMIC WRITING

What is the need of Academic

Writing?
 students need to write essays and reports for exams and
coursework through out their academic career.
 Yet writing good academic English is one of the most
demanding tasks students face.
 In higher institutions of learning, it can be difficult for
students to explain what they know, especially on complex
subjects, if they are poor in academic writing.
 Writing and essays will allow students to explain what they
understand and know by using the correct phrases and styles
and make the information understood by others.
 Academic writing serves as a tool of communication
that conveys acquired knowledge in a specific field of
study.
 Writing academically will help students analyse,
convey understanding, think critically and focus on
technique and style.
 It helps to enhance the vocabulary required for
writing papers related to a specific area of study.
 It teaches new conventions of style, referencing and
format.
 A feature of Academic Writing is its clear and logical
organisation, which makes it ideal as a self-study and
reference guide for students needing to work
independently.
 What is Academic Writing?
 Academic writing is 'structured research' written by
'scholars' for other scholars.
 Academic writing addresses topic-based 'research
questions' of interest to anyone who is seeking factually-
based, objectively-presented information on a particular
topic.
 Academic writing is devoted to topics and questions that
are of interest to the academic community.
 Academic writing presents the reader with an informed
argument.
 The general purpose of academic writing is to present
information in order to display a clear understanding of a
particular subject.
 The style of academic writing is formal and uses the third
person perspective.
 The focus of the writing is on facts and issues rather than the
writer's opinion.
 The language uses precise words and does not include slang
words, jargon, or abbreviations.
Examples of formal and informal language are shown below:

Informal: The improvements canʼt be introduced due to funding restrictions.

Formal: Improvements cannot be introduced due to funding restrictions.

Informal: I think the man's a loser.

Formal: The man made bad choices which caused him to lose money and
fame.
 Types of Academic Writing

Descriptive

Analytic

Persuasive

Critical
 Descriptive
 Simplest, factual/informative
 Summary of an article, a report of the result of an
experiment
 Analytical
 Requires reorganizing facts and information into
categories, groups, compare, contrast, examine
 Persuasive
 Impressionistic, creative, arguing with a position
 Critical
 A sort of Synthesizing, different points of view
including one’s own, forming theory, interpretations,
assumptions or methodologies
Academic Writing Process:

PREPARE RESEARCH WRITE

 STEP 1: Prepare
• Analyse the task for key words – words that identify the
topic or issue.
• Try rephrasing the assignment question to ensure that you
fully understand it.
• It can be helpful to break down the assignment question
into a series of questions.
• Use the assessment criteria as a checklist: marks allocated
for each criterion gives an indication of how much time
should be spent on (and therefore how much to write on)
each part of the question, and ensures that no parts of the
question are left unanswered.
• Seek clarification if necessary – discuss the interpretation
with your classmates, and ask your lecturer/tutor if unsure.
• Knowing precisely what content is required will help you
make an informed choice on the material you need to read
about or research.
 STEP 2: Research
Reading broadly. To get an overall picture of the topic
in question, start with your lecture notes, subject
learning guide, introductory and general texts.
 Committing to a tentative position.
 Search for texts that detail the issues you have
identified as part of the overall picture by referring to
the reading list in your subject outline, the reference
lists in the introductory/general texts and relevant
journal articles, and the library catalogue and
databases.
Adopt a position with regards to the assignment
question; this will help to keep your writing focused
and coherent.
 STEP 3: Write
 Planning. Map out a plan – organise your argument and
evidence, and establish connections between your
points.
 Drafting and redrafting: In the process of drafting and
redrafting, you may find that you need to do more
researching or reading in a particular area in order to
strengthen an argument or evidence in your
assignment.
 Final editing: Check for the following:
 (a) structural aspects (introduction-body-conclusion) – logic and
coherence,
 (b) grammar aspects and punctuation
 (c) technical aspects – presentation, in-text referencing and
reference list, and spelling.
 What is Citation?
 A “citation” is the way you tell your readers that
certain material in your work came from another
source. It also gives your readers the information
necessary to find the location details of that source on
the reference or Works Cited page.
 A citation must include a set of parentheses. Without a
set of parenthesis, one does not have a proper in-text
citation and can risk being charged with plagiarism.
Here is what an in-text citation looks like:
A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training
programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to
understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004).
Why should you cite sources?
 To give credit to the source authors.
 To help your audience/reader find out more
about your research/arguments/ideas/topic.
 To strengthen your work be providing outside
support to your ideas.
 To keep you from failing a paper, a course or
being sued in the real world.
The things that require citation are:
 All direct quotations of someone else’s words.
 Any important ideas or controversial arguments made
by someone else (even if it were summarised or
paraphrased).
 Translations of words or phrase in foreign languages,
not commonly used in English language sources, that
the reader is not expected to know or understand.
 Occasional, sparing footnotes may be used to explain
technical points in further detail or to provide
additional information if this might help the readers.
Citation Styles:
 MLA
 The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an
organization responsible for developing MLA format, often
called MLA style.
 MLA format was developed as a means for researchers,
students, and scholars in the literature and language fields
to use a uniform way to format their papers and
assignments.
 This uniform, or consistent, method to developing an MLA
paper or assignment allows for easy reading. Today, MLA is
not only used in literature and language subject areas;
many others have adopted it as well.
 How to Cite in MLA 8 style?
 Structure of an MLA 8 citation for a book in print:
 Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of chapter or
section.” Title of the work, translated by or edited by First name
Last name, vol. number, City of Publication*, Publisher, Year the
book was published, page number(s).
Example : Olsen, Gregg, and Rebecca Morris. If I Can’t Have You: Susan Powell,
Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children. St. Martin’s True
Crime, 2015, pp. 18-22.

 The basic format according to MLA format (8th edition) for a

translated book is:
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Translated by First
Name Last Name.Publisher, Year.

Example:
Hammesfahr, Petra. The Sinner. Translated by John Brownjohn. Bitter
Lemon Press, 2007.
 Example of a citation for a website without an author In MLA 8:
 Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of the Article or Individual
Page.” Title of the website, Name of the publisher, Date of
publication, URL.
Example :
“Giant Panda.” Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Smithsonian
Institute, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas/pandafacts.
 The structure of a citation for a magazine article in print or on a website
in MLA 8 includes the following:

Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of magazine article.” Title of

magazine, First name Last name of any other contributors (if applicable),
Version (if applicable), Numbers (such as a volume and issue number),
Publication date, Page numbers or URL.
Example:
Wolinsky, Howard. “The Blue-Eyed Anomaly.” Ancestry, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan.-
Feb. 2009, pp. 58-69.
Examples when there are two authors:
 ● Pratchett, Terry, and Neil Gaiman.
 ● Mortenson, Greg, and David Oliver Relin.

 Examples when there are three or more

authors:
 ● White, Karen, et. al.
 ● Chan, Danny Elizabeth, et. al.
 Other Citation Styles:

APA
 APA Style is a writing style and format for academic documents
such as scholarly journal articles and books.
 It is commonly used for citing sources within the field of
behavioral and social sciences. It is described in the style guide of
the American Psychological Association (APA), which is titled the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
 The guidelines were developed to aid reading comprehension in
the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication,
and for "word choice that best reduces bias in language”.
 APA Style is widely used, either entirely or with modifications, by
hundreds of other scientific journals (including medical and other
public health journals), in many textbooks, and in academia (for
papers written in classes).
 Chicago Style:

 The Chicago Manual of Style (abbreviated in writing as CMOS or

CMS, or sometimes as Chicago) is a style guide for American
English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press.
 Its seventeen editions have prescribed writing and citation styles
widely used in publishing. It is "one of the most widely used and
respected style guides in the United States“.
 The guide specifically focuses on American English and deals
with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage,
as well as document preparation and formatting.
 It is available in print as a hardcover book, and by subscription as
a searchable website as The Chicago Manual of Style Online.
 The online version provides some free resources, primarily
aimed at teachers, students, and libraries.