University of Education Lahore Department of English Course Title: Programme: Course Code: Advanced Academic Reading and Writing BBA (Hons), BFA Semester 4 ENGL2116 Instructor Name: Adeela Qayyum Academic Writing “No thoughtful person will undertake a work of great importance without first making due preparation for its successful completion. If a house is to be built, a canal constructed, or scene painted, it requires preparation. The artist first forms his ideal, secures his materials and then portrays on the canvas the wonderful image by harmoniously mingling the various colors with lights and shades. Without preparation and a well conceived plan he could have accomplished nothing”. J.V. Coombs Academic Writing Examples of Academic Writing • Literary Analysis • Research Paper • Dissertation Elements of Academic Writing • Unity • Tone • Clear organization • Citation • Argument developed by evidence • Argument stated in thesis statement • Structure of argument Academic Writing Structure • Introduction • Main Body • Conclusion Academic Writing Structure • Analyzing the task • Readers logic • Research and mapping • Start writing engaging and drafting process Characteristics of Academic Writing • Precision • Complexity • Formality • Objectivity • Accuracy • Vocabulary choice • Explicitness • Hedging • Coherence • Relevance • Organization • Planning • Responsibility • Impersonality • Caution Academic Writing Precision • Language to avoid • Voice • Vague description • Avoiding first person singular Academic Writing Complexity • Explain simple • Challenged ideas • Sentence length • Nominalisation Formality • Clear tone • Legible writing • Element of intelligibility • Good writing skills Academic Writing Objectivity Accuracy • Explicit ideas • Critical sensibility • Evaluative • Document accuracy • Stylistic accuracy • Technical accuracy Academic Writing Vocabulary choice • Broader • Meaning and usage • Frequency Academic Writing Explicitness • however • because • similarly • in addition • for example Hedging • minimizing difference • writing style • acknowledging flaws Academic Writing Coherence • Flow of ideas • Difference • Understandings Relevance • Descriptive detail • Quality and quantity Academic Writing Organization • Flow • Genre • Text type Academic Writing Planning • Subject • Audience • Prior knowledge • Read exclusively • Drafting • reviewing Responsibility • Paraphrasing • Summarizing • Citation Academic Writing Impersonality • With the exception of reflective writing, write in 3rd person and do not use “I” and “you” Caution • writers are careful not to make claims that are too strong. Words like “may” and “might” are often used to make claims less strong. Writers are also very precise about the circumstances in which a claim is valid. Academic Writing NOs • No Idiomatic/Colloquial (slang) Kids / boss / gonna / stuff • No Phrasal verbs Go up / look up (limit use) • No Personal pronoun I, we, In my opinion (limit use) • No Contractions It’ll = it will / It’s = it is • No Questions So why did the project fail? • No Personal adverbs Surprisingly / fortunately • No number / bullet points • No vague language And so on.. / etc • No Repetition Constant repeating same words • No basic language Like – for example Thing – factor Lots of – significant amount Academic Writing YESs • Yes Academic Vocabulary See A.W.L • Yes Passive structures We analysed the data / The data was analysed • Yes Complex Grammar structures Nominalisation / noun structures An analysis of the data showed.. • Yes Referencing systems APA / Harvard • Yes Caution – tentative language Possibly / seems / appears / could / may / tends to / likely to / suggests • Yes Accurate vocabulary Difference between law / rule • Yes Precise facts / figures A few years ago / in 2014 Academic Writing Use synonyms for informal words • Another thing to think about is the chance of crime getting worse. • thing = area / aspect / feature/ point • think about = consider/ note /understand/ acknowledge • chance = possibility / probability /situation • getting = becoming Academic Writing Rewrite the sentence • thing = area / aspect / feature/ point • think about = consider/ note /understand/ acknowledge • chance = possibility / probability /situation • getting = becoming • Another aspect to consider is the possibility of crime becoming worse. Noun phrase/nominalisation structure • Another aspect to consider is the possibility if crime becoming worse. • Regrettably these days lots of people don’t have jobs. • Sometimes soon they will find a vaccine for Malaria. • A few years ago the price of property went down a lot. • Another aspect of consideration is the possibility of crime becoming worse. • Currently the rate of unemployment is at an unprecedented level. • It has been proposed that by 2017 a vaccine for Malaria will have possibly been discovered. • Since 2013, the price of property fell dramatically. Common mistakes to avoid • Wordiness • A vague or missing thesis statement • Informal language • Description without analysis • Not citing sources References • https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www .google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=4223&context=etd • https://www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/ldc/academicwriting/improveyouracade micwriting/characteristicsofacademicwriting/ • https://www.york.ac.uk/media/schools-and-colleges/sixth-formresources/features-of-academic-writing.pdf • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyTLosz6aHA&t=3s • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_VoWd_Ai0
