Academic Writing

1
 At the end of the discussion, the students

LEARNIN would be able to:

G • exhibit awareness on the nature of

academic paper
• understand principles of academic paper
OUTCOM • write a problem-solution essay on a relevant
socio-political-cultural topic

ES
What distinguishes academic writing from other forms of writing?
ACADEMIC WRITING
• Academic writing is distinguished principally by the audience for whom it is written.
• Whereas a piece of reflective writing, for example, is written for yourself or for a
personal development diary, academic writing, which is usually written for assessment
purposes or for publication, is written for an informed audience.
• As such, even if it is a formative piece of work, it represents an attempt to engage in the
academic discourse written about a specific topic.
• It therefore needs to display certain features that are the hallmarks of scholarly work.
 • Academic work is an excellent way to

ACADEMI develop strong research and writing skills.

• To build your reading comprehension,

C critical and creative thinking, research

and analytical skills. Having a specific,
"real" audience will help you engage

WRITING more directly with the reader and

adapt to the conventions of writing in
any given genre.

SKILLS
 PRINCIPLES OF
ACADEMIC WRITING

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 • Written language is relatively more complex than
spoken language (Biber, 1988; Biber, Johansson,
Leech, Conrad & Finegan, 1999; Chafe, 1982; Cook,
1997; Halliday,1989).
• Written texts are lexically dense compared to spoken
language - they have proportionately more lexical

Complexity words than grammatical words. Written texts are

shorter and have longer, more complex words and
phrases. They have more noun-based phrases, more
nominalisations, and more lexical variation.
• Written language is grammatically more complex than
spoken language. It has more subordinate clauses,
more "that/to" complement clauses, more long
sequences of prepositional phrases, more attributive
adjectives and more passives than spoken language.
 In general this means in an essay that you should
avoid:

• colloquial words and expressions; ""stuff", "a lot

of", "thing", "sort of",

• abbreviated forms: "can't", "doesn't",

Formality "shouldn't"

• two word verbs: "put off", "bring up"

• sub-headings, numbering and bullet-points in

formal essays - but use them in reports.

• asking questions.
 In academic writing, be precise when in using information,
dates or figures. Do not use "a lot of people" instead "50
million people".

For example:

Chemists had attempted to synthesize quinine for the

previous hundred years but all they had achieved was to
discover the extreme complexity of the problem.

Precision The volatile oily liquid beta-chloro-beta-ethyl sulphide was

first synthesized in 1854, and in 1887 it was reported to
produce blisters if it touched the skin. It was called mustard
gas and was used at Ypres in 19I7, when it caused many
thousands of casualties.

It is approximately eight inches in length and runs from the

urinary bladder, through the prostate gland, under the front
of the pelvis, and, passing through the corpus spongiosum, it
ends at the tip of the glans penis in an opening called the
urethral meatus .
 • This means that the main emphasis should be on
the information and the arguments.

Objectivity • This is related to the basic nature of academic

study and academic writing, in particular.
• Information should be based on lectures, reading,
discussion and research and it is important to make
this clear.
 • Academic writing is explicit in several ways. It is
explicit in its signposting of the organisation of
the ideas in the text (Biber, Johansson, Leech,
Explicitnes Conrad & Finegan, 1999, pp. 880-882). As a
writer of academic English, it is the writer’s
s responsibility to make it clear to the reader how
various parts of the text are related.
• These connections can be made explicit by the
use of different signalling words.
 • In academic writing be accurate in the use of
vocabulary. Do not confuse, for example,
Accuracy "phonetics" and "phonology" or "grammar" with
"syntax".
• Choose the correct word, for example, "meeting",
"assembly" , "gathering" or "conference".
• Or from: "money", "cash", "currency", "capital" or
"funds".
 • It is often believed that academic writing,
particularly scientific writing, is factual, simply to
convey facts and information.
• However it is now recognized that an important
Hedging feature of academic writing is the concept of
cautious language, often called "hedging" or
"vague language".
• In other words, it is necessary to make decisions
about your stance on a particular subject, or the
strength of the claims you are making.
• Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways
Responsibili • In academic writing the writer should be
responsible for demonstrating an understanding of
ty the source text.
• The writer must be responsible for, and must be
able to provide evidence and justification for, any
claims made.
 Academic writing is well organized. It flows easily
from one section to the next in a logical fashion. A
Organizatio good place to start is the genre of the text.
Students are asked to write many kinds of texts.
n Depending on your subject, these could be essays,
laboratory reports, case-studies, book reviews,
reflective diaries, posters, research proposals, and so
on and are normally referred to as genre families or
genres.
 Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts.
Depending on your subject, these could be essays, laboratory
reports, case-studies, book reviews, reflective diaries, posters,
research proposals, and so on and are normally referred to as
genres:

Examples of • Essays
• Reports
academic • Case Studies

writing
• Research proposals
• Book reviews
• Brief research reports
• Literature reviews
• Reflective writing
• Research dissertations & theses
 • Plagiarism is a type of cheating that involves the
use of another person's ideas, words, design,
AVOIDING art, music, etc., as one's own in whole or in part
without acknowledging the author or obtaining
PLAGIARIS his or her permission.
M • Plagiarism is not just restricted to written text,
but is applicable to other works such as ideas,
design, art, and music.
 AVOIDING
PLAGIARISM
OFFICIAL DEFINITION
•To plagiarize (verb):
• ▶ to use the words or ideas of another person as if they
were your own words or ideas
• ▶ to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as
one's own : use (another's production) without
crediting the source
• ▶ to commit literary theft : present as new and
original an idea or product derived from an existing source
PLAGIARISM IS
PRESENTING
SOMEONE
ELSE’S
WORK OR
IDEAS AS
YOUR OWN
WHAT DOES PLAGIARISM LOOK
LIKE?

▶ Copying ▶ Citing a source ▶ Failure to cite a

someone’s work improperly source

▶ Creation of
false sources
• ▶ Turning in another
person’s work as
your own
Why shouldn’t I
plagiarize?
•Plagiarism is fraud
• Stealing: work belongs to someone else
• Lying: presenting another’s work as your own

•What have you learned?

• Haven’t learned content
• No opportunity to practice and improve writing
 CONSEQUENCES/PUNISHMENT

▶ FAILURE!

▶ IT IS VERY EASY TO
TELL IF YOU HAVE
PLAGIARIZED!
SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS
PAPER
• A socio-political analysis paper can be defined as an
analysis of the economic, social, and political factors
that shape a particular country or situation and how
these factors impact the lives and thoughts of the
people. It is considered a powerful tool for
understanding how countries work and what might be
done to help them cope with their challenges in order
to reform and to set their priorities in a way that
make them more likely to succeed.
Guidelines in Writing a Socio-
Political Analysis Paper
• Crafting a strong socio-political analysis paper depends largely
on its structure and understanding of the role of each
component of the paper.
• A Clear Introduction. The paper should begin with introductory
paragraphs that introduce your readers to the problem or
question you are addressing; lay out the thesis statement; and
provide them a “roadmap” on how you will defend your thesis.
In the introduction, you may likewise present a general
background information or provide your own motivation for
writing.
• The Problem. The problem refers to the wider subject
or question you are trying to address with your paper.
You may situate your more specific argument within a
broader problem that states why your paper is
relevant economically, socially and politically.
• The Thesis. An argumentative thesis statement is not
synonymous to the topic of the paper, nor a
statement of fact, nor an observation about the text
so obvious or general that no one would dispute it.
Rather, it is an argument or a declaration of what you
will accomplish in the paper. Typically, a thesis takes
the form of one to two sentences placed towards the
end of the introductory paragraph.
• The Roadmap. The roadmap is a plan that follows the
thesis statement. It operates like a preview of the
paper’s main points which is presented in logical
order. Such a plan is highly encouraged on the
account that it not only lends clarity to the structure
of your argument, but also provides a check for the
logical coherence of the points you make.
• A Well-organized Body. The body of the paper follows
the introduction. It is in this part where you develop
your thesis and defend it with detailed evidence. The
structure of the body should follow the roadmap that
you have provided in the introduction. It must be
structured logically so that each point and paragraph
flows from the preceding one.
• In writing the body, you should take into consideration the main
defenses that you need to make in order to substantiate your
thesis and should think about what order makes the most
sense; how does each proposition relate to the next; and their
relationship to the main thesis. Frequently, the last section of
the body of the paper considers alternative explanations or
counter-arguments to yours which you present and then argue
against in further defense of your thesis. This is not always
necessary, but in a socio-political analysis paper, it is often a
good way to defend your thesis from others’ best counter-
arguments.
• A Strong Conclusion. The last component of the paper
is the conclusion. Here, you should restate the main
ideas; summarize the main concepts or key
arguments of the paper and reinforce it without
repeating or rewording the introduction or body of the
paper; draw a conclusion based on the information;
and include suggested courses of action and possible
solutions or recommendations.
• Reminders:
• Limit your Socio-Political Analysis Paper to 500-600 words (short bond
paper); references excluded; the first page serves as your title page.
• Use the font style Arial Narrow, font size 12, with 1.5 spacing and 1”
margin on all sides.
• Your paper will be scored using the Rubric for Assessment of
Academic Papers adapted from Whalen, S. “Rubric from
Contemporary Health Issues Research Paper”

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 Prepare a Socio-Political Analysis Paper, following
the aforecited structure. The topic is on “Online
Learning in Third World Countries”.

POST- Proofread your work to ensure that:

a. There are no glaring grammatical or
typographical errors that might affect your paper;

ACTIVI
b. Sufficient supporting details have been provided
for each paragraph.
c. All sources have been properly cited; follow the
APA format for Page 2 onwards;

TY d. The third person perspective is used, since you

are presenting statement of facts instead of a
personal belief or narrative; and
e. Your paper is not simply a summary of articles,
evidence and authoritative references.