#Entry 7 Writing and Academic Writing

STEP #1: WRITING

STEP #2: ACADEMIC WRITING

What is Academic Writing?

Academic writing is clear, concise, focussed, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. Even though, it has a formal style it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Characteristics of academic writing:

Academic writing is:

• Planned and focused: answers the question and demonstrates an understanding of the subject.
• Structured: is 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.
• Formal in tone and style: uses appropriate language and tenses, and is clear, concise and balanced.

Structure your work:

>Create the overall structure.

>Some academic writing, such as lab or business reports, will have a fairly rigid structure, with headings and content for each section.
>Structured writing has a beginning, middle and an end, and uses focussed paragraphs to develop the argument.
>In other formats, writing usually follows the same overall structure: introduction, main body and conclusion.
>The introduction outlines the main direction the writing will take, and gives any necessary background information and context.
>In the main body each point is presented, explored and developed. These points must be set out in a logical order, to make it easier for the reader to follow and understand.
>The conclusion brings together the main points, and will highlight the key message or argument you want the reader to take away. It may also identify any gaps or weaknesses in the arguments or ideas presented, and recommend further research or investigation where appropriate.

Arrange your points in a logical order:

>When you start writing you should have a clear idea of what you want to say. Create a list of your main points and think about what the reader needs to know and in what order they will need to know it. To select the main points you want to include, ask yourself whether each point you have considered really contributes to answering the question. Is the point relevant to your overall argument?

>Select appropriate evidence that you will use to support each main point. Think carefully about which evidence to use, you must evaluate that information as not everything you find will be of high quality.

>Grouping your points may help you create a logical order. These groups will broadly fit into an overall pattern, such as for and against, thematic, chronological or by different schools of thought or approach.

>You can then put these groups into a sequence that the reader can follow and use to make sense of the topic or argument. It may be helpful to talk through your argument with someone.

>It may be helpful to arrange ideas initially in the form of a mind-map, which allows you to develop key points with supporting information branching off.

>MindView software (available on most university computers) allows you to create an essay structure where you can add in pictures, files and attachments – perfect for organising evidence to support your point.

Use signalling words when writing:

>Using signalling words will help the reader to understand the structure of your work and where you might be taking your argument.

Use signalling words to:

• add more information eg furthermore, moreover, additionally
• compare two similar points eg similarly, in comparison
• show contrasting viewpoints eg however, in contrast, yet
• show effect or conclusion eg therefore, consequently, as a result
• emphasise eg significantly, particularly
• reflect sequence eg first, second, finally.

Revise, edit and proofread your work:

>Most writing will require several drafts and revisions in order to improve the clarity and structure. It is rare that a writer will make the very best decisions in the first draft

How to incorporate evidence:

>Academic writing must be supported by evidence such as data, facts, quotations, arguments, statistics, research, and theories.

This evidence will:

• add substance to your own ideas
• allow the reader to see what has informed your thinking and how your ideas fit in with, and differ from, others' in your field
• demonstrate your understanding of the general concepts and theories on the topic
• show you have researched widely, and know about specialist/niche areas of interest.

>There are several methods that you can use to incorporate other people's work into your own written work. 

These are:

• paraphrasing
• summarising
• synthesising
• quoting

Demonstrate balance in your writing:

In academic writing, you can use language that we often refer to as hedges or boosters to show how confident you are about an argument or claim you are discussing:

Hedges

When writing, be careful of using words such as "definitely" or "proves". Ask yourself whether your statement is a fact or whether there may be some doubt either now or in the future.

Boosters

You might want to express a measure of certainty or conviction in your writing and this is when 'booster' language can help.

Write in structured paragraphs:

>Use paragraphs to build and structure your argument, and separate each of your points into a different paragraph.

>Make your point clear in the first or second sentence of the paragraph to help the reader to follow the line of reasoning.

>The rest of the paragraph should explain the point in greater detail, and provide relevant evidence and examples where necessary or useful. Your interpretation of this evidence will help to substantiate your thinking and can lend weight to your argument.

>At the end of the paragraph you should show how the point you have made is significant to the overall argument or link to the next paragraph.

Build your argument:

Make an argument

Your argument is how you express your viewpoint and answer the question you have been set, using evidence.

Your argument can help you plan the structure of your work and guide you to find the evidence you need to support it.

Make sure that your argument runs throughout your writing and that everything you include is relevant to it. Try to sum up your argument in a few words before you start writing and keep checking that it remains the focus as you research and write your work.

Structure your argument

Guide your reader through your argument in a logical way. Think about what questions your reader might have. If you can answer these questions through your argument, it will seem more convincing.

Present both sides of the debate, along with your thoughts, linking together the different elements.

You can then work towards a conclusion by weighing the evidence and showing how certain ideas are accepted and others are rejected. Your conclusion should make clear where you stand.

Develop your argument

Develop your argument by considering the evidence and drawing your own conclusion.

If you are considering a range of opinions, try to group them together under different headings.

Look at the strengths and weaknesses of the different sets of evidence and present these clearly and in a critical way. This will help to show you understand what you have read.

Take the evidence into account in developing your own argument and make clear what your viewpoint is. Perhaps your argument has strengths and weaknesses as well – it is fine to acknowledge these.

Include your own voice in your writing

Your voice will emerge through your discussion, interpretation, and evaluation of the sources.

STEP #3: PUTTING SOURCES TOGETHER

Metacognitive analysis #7

I consider this entry really interesting since writing is not an easy task for me. On the one hand, in this entry we can find information about writing strategies.The visual material provides clear facts that allows better understanding of the topic. The videos are really helpful to understand the stages of the writing process ( pre writing stage, during writing stage and  post writing stage) as well as they provide teachers some useful strategies to use in order to guide and  help learners during the writing process. 

On the other hand, this entry also introduces us to the concept of Academic Writing, it also  bestows us the necessary information to write an academic paper. I found it very useful in order to improve our skills regarding Academic Writing. Concluding, I believe that both sources complement one another since both provide effective information in order to succeed in writing.