PCOM - Academic Writing

paraphrasing

Must be in proper required format and style putting another person's words into your own Simplifies original source information Must give attribution to original source and author Must provide supporting material

quoting

Must be in proper required format and style Must match source document word for word Must give attribution to original source and author Must provide supporting material Must have meaningful placement

summarizing

Simplifies and shortens original source main ideas Is in the authors own words Shortens the original work but retains original meaning Must give attribution to original source and author Must provide supporting material Must have meaningful placement

specific purpose

addresses assigned subject or question

planned and focused structured evidenced formal in tone and style

characteristics of academic writing

body

developmental paragraphs heart of the essay üContains only one main idea stated by the topic sentence of that paragraph üAnalyzes the evidence üDirectly supports the thesis statement* üParagraphs are arranged in logical progression üThe paragraphs should flow smoothly from one to the next and have internal fluidity while presenting supporting evidence to the paragraph's main point

audience

is the actual person(s) who will be reading your paper. academic setting: is generally your professor, your classmates and sometimes other professors who may be assessing your work at the end of the semester. critical to consider how you will articulate your ideas in order to reach the desired objective for that specific ?

introduction

opening paragraph üGives an overview or background on the topic in broad terms üThen narrows the scope of the topic to the presentation üPrepares the reader for what is to come in the following writing üProvides main points that will be discussed and why those are most important to the subject matter üGrabs the readers attention

argument and persuasion

presents reasoned approach with supporting data to convince with reader

conclusion

summary paragraph üClearly restates the thesis sentence but not in verbatim form ü Briefly summarizes the evidence presented in the writing üProvides a final judgement on the subject matter discussed by tying all themes and ideas together

description

to describe something

exposition

to explain or clarify something

general purpose

to inform, persuade or entertain

narration

to tell a story

EXPOSITORY NARRATIVE DESCRIPTIVE ARGUMENTATIVE

types of academic writing

formal in tone and style

uses appropriate language and tenses, and is clear, concise and balanced.

short statement

usually one sentence, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, etc., and is developed, supported, and explained in the text by means of examples and evidence

academic papers

written in formal academic tone, so they must be free of cliches and slang language. You must also ensure that your writing does not include language that may be considered offensive or sexist •Ex: "I think the author is wrong about this issue" vs. " I disagree with the author's perspective on this issue" •Ex: "She was acting crazy" vs. "Her behavior was unacceptable" •Avoid making generalizations about a given point, especially when you are providing strong evidence to defend your claim. Instead, use like "most", "may", "it seems"...etc •Ex: "Teenagers love Apple products" vs. "Most teenagers love Apple products" or "It seems that most teenagers are attracted to Apple products"

quotations, paraphrases, summaries

üAre required for each main point since the author cannot include personal feelings or opinions üAre clearly identified in proper required formatting form and style ü Provide evidence to support the argument of the writing ü Are used at strategic places in the writing to support statements made

uses of academic writing

• Book reviews •Essays •Research report •Research proposal •Scientific paper •Academic journal •Dissertation and Thesis •Abstract

narrative

• When you write a paper, you are "narrating" or telling a story. •A strong essay is one that paints a vivid image of the story using a variety of writing techniques (characterization, descriptions, plot...etc). • Like other types of essays, a paper must have a clear structure and must include an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion.

content

•Consider your readers' familiarity with the content of your writing. •Assess your readers' background knowledge of the topic and their ability to understand implications and references. •In general, the less your audience knows about your topic, the more details you must present to ensure clarity.

descriptive

•In an essay, you describe an experience, a character, an object, a state of mind...etc. •While this essay form comes with a level of freedom by allowing you to decide how to approach the task, you still need to effectively structure your ideas. •Use vivid structures that are rich in sensory language to help your readers not only understand what you are describing, but visualize it.

argumentative

•The primary objective of an essay is to establish a point of view in regards to a particular topic and defend that point of view using logical arguments and relevant examples. •Your point of view or perspective must be clearly stated in the thesis statement (generally in the introduction) that needs to be supported in the body of the essay using supporting evidence, counter-arguments and refutations.

expository

•The purpose is explain, discuss, or inform your audience about a given topic. •Therefore, approach offers an ideal structure for identifying features and characteristics in a given topic as in most research-driven papers, comparison-contrast essays, reaction essays, and business writing.

sentence structure

•While your goal is not to impress your audience, academic writing is certainly more involved and requires a higher level of sophistication compared to high school writing. •You are, therefore, expected to vary your sentence forms, using complex and compound sentence structures. •Transitions help you establish relationships between ideas and paragraphs and improve the overall quality of your writing. •The most common transitions are conjunctive adverbs such as "moreover, therefore, consequently...etc" and transitional phrases like " in addition, in contrast...etc)

planned and focused

•answers the question and demonstrates an understanding of the subject.

structured

•coherent, written in a logical order, and brings together related points and material.

evidenced

•demonstrates knowledge of the subject area, supports opinions and arguments with evidence, and is referenced accurately.

academic writing

•process of writing analytically — the breaking down of ideas with the purpose of presenting information that depicts a clear understanding of a certain subject. • the process of presenting ideas in a rational, organized, systematic, reasonable, and logical way