PDP 2 – Writing academic English
The importance of good academic
writing on the FdIT
• Throughout your time on the Programme, you will build
databases, websites, programs, etc.
• You will also be required to write various documents,
including:
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Coursework/project documentation
User manuals
Essays
Examinations
• In order to achieve satisfactory marks for your modules,
the written element of your work as well as the technical
element has to be of a consistently high standard. Poor
written work undermines good work in other areas
The importance of good academic
writing on the FdIT
• Tutors on the Programme award marks for both technical
and written competence
• A typical module mark schema (e.g. Introduction to Web
Authoring using XHTML and CSS) awards approximately
60-70% for technical work and 30-40% for written
documentation of the technical work
• Failure to score well in the written elements will mean
that the highest grades are not attainable to you
• In year 2 and 3 of the FdIT, written work becomes more
important, as written examinations are introduced as an
assessment method
The importance of good academic
writing on the FdIT
• In the short term, you may scrape through your degree
with mediocre writing. But, in today’s competitive job
market, employers are looking for more than good
programmers. They are looking for people with a broad
range of hard and soft skills. For IT professionals, one of
the most important soft skills is the ability to
communicate effectively in a written medium
• All IT professionals are required to meticulously
document their work from analysis through to design,
implementation, testing and maintenance. This work is
invariably more time-consuming than actual hands-on
programming
How to improve your
academic writing
• This course will help you with the basics of academic
writing for IT/Computing
• But some of you will need to do more to improve your
writing to the required level. This may include those:
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Who have never previously written academic English
Whose first language is not English
Who have particular difficulties with writing (e.g. dyslexia)
Whose grammar and spelling is weak
Who have not done any writing for a significant period of time
How to improve your
academic writing
• This help is available from within Birkbeck College
– School workshops
Drop-in Sessions
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/facilities/support/contact
– Online resources
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/facilities/support/study-skills
http://www.uefap.com/index.htm
– Library (learning materials)
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/
• You should take full advantage of this help. For some, it may be the
difference between passing or not passing the degree.
How to improve your
academic writing
• You can also help yourself improve your writing by:
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Using the spell-checker in Word
Checking your work carefully before you submit it
Taking active steps to improve your grammar
Getting yourself a good book on academic skills/writing
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The Study Skills Handbook – Stella Cottrell
Writing Academic English – Alice Oshima & Ann Hogue
The Good Study Guide – Andy Northedge
Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students – Stephen
Bailey
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing tends to be more formal than
personal writing. It should:
– avoid colloquial words and expressions (e.g. ages, chill)
– avoid contracted forms of verbs (e.g. I’m, didn’t, couldn’t)
– avoid unnecessary personalisation (e.g. I’m happy now . . . I’m
not a great fan of . . . )
– be straight to the point (e.g. I’m happy now because the
programme works and I can chill. Or, The program is now
functional)
Example text
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing is more concise than personal
writing. It should where possible:
– back up claims with explanations (e.g. The shopping cart was
built using Java rather than VBScript, as Java is able to provide a
more robust security model than VBScript for this type of
application)
– back up explanations with examples (e.g. Johannes (2006)
shows VBScript’s inherent security weaknesses in both
authentication and payment scenarios in ecommerce)
• When introducing examples, use terms like: for example, for
instance, such as . . .
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing needs to be more precise than
personal writing. It should:
– use appropriate vocabulary (e.g. Look at. Or test?)
– have no spelling mistakes (e.g. programme. Or program?)
– have no grammar mistakes (e.g. I builds the programme using
Java)
– be correctly punctuated
– not include unsubstantiated claims (e.g. But Java is the best
language for building ecommerce!)
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing is more complex than personal
writing. It should:
– attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary (e.g. The program
works. Or, The program is functional?)
– attempt to use more sophisticated grammar (e.g. I built. Or, The
application was built?)
– use linking words and expressions to give cohesiveness (e.g. The
shopping cart was built using Java rather than VBScript, as Java
is able to provide a more robust security model that VBScript for
this type of application)
– Use terms like, Firstly, secondly, next, However, In addition, As
a result, etc. to provide structure
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing needs to be well-structured. It
should:
– have clear, logical paragraphs (Paragraphs are units of writing
that are about one topic only. When you change the topic in
your writing, you should begin a new paragraph)
– be divided into clear sections and sub-sections (Sections in
academic writing are used to group related paragraphs to give
logical structure to a document)
Example text
What is academic writing?
• Where possible academic writing should be supported
by active reading and include citations and references
of that reading
– Johannes (2006) shows VBScript’s inherent security weaknesses
in both authentication and payment scenarios in ecommerce)
– Johannes, P. 2006. Building secure e-commerce sites that work.
Wrox. London.
• Find out more about referencing at:
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/about/learn/citing
What is academic writing?
• Academic writing should be your own work.
• You can include other people’s words, but these should
be in the form of quotations or paraphrase
• Copying from other students, from books, or from the
Web is plagiarism
• Plagiarism is classed as a form of cheating
• The penalties for plagiarism are detailed at:
– http://www.bbk.ac.uk/reg/regs/plagiarism_pdf
• Be warned, the staff on the FdIT are experts at
detecting plagiarism
Further reading
http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/intro.htm
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/studyskills/writtenassignments/page_17.htm
PDP 2 – Activities
• Now do: PDP 2 – writing academic English