Writing is a unique way of using language. It is an effective, interpersonal way of communication presented through signs and symbols. George Orwell said that ˝ Good writing is like a windowpane˝. Due to the actuality that most students are asses based on the academic writing papers they produce and that is the case for both college and university, there is no need to emphasise the importance if this kind of writing.
English language departments played great role in teaching writing, and in developing a general idea of what is to be considered as good writing. Whilst this make sense, because who is more competent to pass the knowledge required for good-quality writing but the ones who specialized and dedicated their careers to the language itself. But there are those who do not agree entirely with this approach, and are of the opinion that there is more to academic writing that to the creative or some other types of writing. MacDonald (1987) argues that academic writing and other discipline-specific writings, which are a subcategory of academic writing, bear many distinguishing characteristic and therefore should be thought and evaluated carefully with taking these specifics into account.
So, what are the important characteristics of Academic Writing? Despite that scholarly writing recognises a number of genres and types of academic writing, there are some conventional guidelines common for them all, which should be followed regardless of the genre of the paper or the class it is written for.
Firstly, anyone who has ever done any academic writing paper or anyone who is going to do it must bear in mind that it is different from creative writing or personal writing, as these are in most cases types of informal writing. Academic w...
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...entually it comes to light, but it is always better sooner than later. That is why I am of the opinion it should be thought as a class of its own, at the freshman year on college or at the final year at high school.
Works Cited
COTTRELL STELA, (2002) The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills). Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 146
L. LENNIE IRVIN.(2010 ) Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing,
Volume 1, a peer-reviewed open textbook series for the writing classroom, and is published through Parlor Press.
R. M. RITTER. (2002) The Oxford Guide to Style. The Oxford University Press
SUSAN PECK MACDONALD. (Mar., 1987) Problem Definition in Academic Writing. College English. Published by: National Council of Teachers of English. Vol. 49, No. 3 (Mar., 1987), pp. 315-331
George Orwell quote at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/writing_2.html#oJKqm6ExDVKqM6je.99
In this article written by David Bartholomae, the author discusses problems basic writers make and about how they must use the discourse (communication style) of the academic community they are writing to, to be an effective writer. Bartholomae believes that “Inventing the University," is being able to assemble and mimic the universities language(5). Which means, if a student wants to be an efficient writer, he or she must be able to speak the language of his or her audience. Bartholomae writes that a common mistake of basic writers is that they don’t use an authoritative voice, and tend to switch into a more passive voice. This could be due to the fact that students have difficulty establishing their mindset or attitude for an audience
In Downs and Wardle’s article, they argue and identify the flaws in teaching writing in college. Demonstrating the misconceptions that academic writing is universal, but rather specialized in each case. Citing studies and opinions from esteemed professionals, Downs & Wardle state their points and illuminate the problem in today’s many colleges.
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
My English 1310 course was taught by Professor Daniel Stuart. He taught us the concept of academic writing and why it is important. Academic writing is the process of down ideas, using a formal tone, deductive reasoning and third person. Writing done to carry out the requirements of a college or university on a research based level. It requires a starting point or introduction, followed by a thesis on the preferred topic, then comes proving and disproving of the evidence based arguments. Learning academic writing is important because it is a way to communicate our thoughts clearly and originality. It helps us think and see what evidence we can come up to contribute to that thinking. This course approached this idea of academic writing by
The Stases and Other Rhetorical Concepts from Introduction to Academic Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.
‘Helping students meet the challenges of academic writing’ by Fernsten and Reda is an interesting study how reflective writing practices can be useful for marginalized students, who are struggling with “negative writer self-identity. The possible causes according to Fernsten & Reda are, “issues such as race, class and gender that are marginalized factors for many basic writers”, in addition to the expectations of the dominant academic culture. However, even though Fernsten & Reda illuminated the ‘potential conflicts’ within the academic world, they have failed to provide conclusive evidence that supports their argument regarding their solution. Their reliance on dated research that provides a one sided historical perspective, may no longer accurately reflect current socio/economic issues. In addition, education has been evolving to an inclusive curriculum approach, as immigrated children enter the school system in record numbers. “Persons obtaining legal permanent status in the U.S from the year 2000-2010 are roughly eleven million” (Homeland Security,pg.10/2010). Fernsten & Reda’s confidence of their own limited teaching practices without legitimate comparables from an empirical study leads to their underlying assumptions about the true effectiveness of reflective writing strategies and the causes they believe are associated to a student’s socio/economic background.
...Academic Writing. Ed. Gerald Graff. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 179-189. Print.
It would be foolish to claim that I have never overanalysed and disregarded conveying ideas and theories properly, in the interest of impressing my reader. Nevertheless, this aspiration indicates there is more to academic writing than simply passing information.
There are many differences between articles written for scholars and articles written for popular audiences. According to Anne Johns, the author of “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice,” there are ten conventions or moves that exist only in academic prose and when violated, author is seen as an outsider of the discourse community. John Swales (“Create a Research Space” (CARS) Model Research Introductions) and Ken Hyland also talk about writing and the similarities between all academic writing in “Create a Research Space” (CARS) Model Research Instructions and “Disciplinary Courses”. Based on research by Swales, Hyland, and Johns on academic writing, and research by Jeanne Fahnestock, Charles Sullivan and Cameron M. Smith on accommodating academic articles, this essay will point out the differences between scholarly and popular writing by comparing the academic articles by Jamie Shinhee Lee “Linguistic hybridization in K-Pop: discourse of self-assertion and resistance”, the article by Sue Jin Lee “The Korean Wave: The Seoul of Asian” and the popular article by Lara Farrar for CNN ‘Korean Wave’ of pop culture sweeps across Asia.
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
Recently, I have been writing quite a few essays and papers throughout my college experience. This entails, but not limited to, English, History, and Economics. My style of writing and methods have generally remained the same throughout the process. In this assignment, I will be discussing how I prepare to start a paper, what my thoughts are through the process, and my strengths and weaknesses of what my final drafts look like.
Academic writing is a very discouraging topic that most young writers do not even want to begin to think about or imagine doing. Throughout college everyone will be asked to write multiple academic essays regardless of their major. We have read two sources in class that have helped clear up some common myths and also helped make academic writing not seem so foreign. The two sources we read were “What is Academic Writing?” and the first chapter of the book “From Inquiry to Academic Writing”. Many young students seeking a college degree are fearful about the amount of work needed to be done in order to survive their college courses. Academic writing is a challenging topic that many young people struggle to get a grasp on. Once the skill of
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
This is where the writer provides ideas and arguments with corresponding analysis, interpretation and evaluation. It also requires proficiency in grammar usage which means a writer should be mindful of the rules and conventions in writing to avoid erroneous sentence structure. Consistency is one of the skills needed in academic writing by making essays free from personal feelings and biases. A clear sense of argument is very important in academic writing because in writing the thoughts of writer would be vividly expressed. One has to give ideas and perception on a certain thing in the surroundings such as real object, picture, text, artifacts, phenomena and