PREPARING FOR AN ACADEMIC WRITING
AN INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING
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Students, professors, and researchers in every discipline use academic writing to convey ideas, make arguments, and engage in scholarly conversation. Academic writing is characterized by evidence-based arguments, precise word choice, logical organization, and an impersonal tone. Though sometimes thought of as long-winded or inaccessible, strong academic writing is quite the opposite: It informs, analyzes, and persuades in a straight forward manner and enables the reader to engage critically in a scholarly dialogue.
Examples of Academic Writing
Academic writing is, of course, any formal written work produced in an academic setting. While academic writing comes in many forms, the following are some of the most common.
Literary analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an argument about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or motif.
Research paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources include data, primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer-reviewed scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this external information with your own ideas.
Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the conclusion of a Ph.D. program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the doctoral candidate’s research.
Academic papers may be done as a part of a class, in a program of study, or for publication in an academic journal or scholarly book of articles around a theme, by different authors.
Characteristics of Academic Writing
Most academic disciplines employ their own stylistic conventions. However, all academic writing shares certain characteristics.
Clear and limited focus. The focus of an academic paper—the argument or research question—is established early by the thesis statement. Every paragraph and sentence of the paper connects back to that primary focus. While the paper may include background or contextual information, all content serves the purpose of supporting the thesis statement.
Logical structure. All academic writing follows a logical, straightforward structure. In its simplest form, academic writing includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information, lays out the scope and direction of the essay, and states the thesis. The body paragraphs support the thesis statement, with each body paragraph elaborating on one supporting point. The conclusion refers back to the thesis, summarizes the main points, and highlights the implications of the paper’s findings. Each sentence and paragraph logically connects to the next in order to present a clear argument.
Evidence-based arguments. Academic writing requires well-informed arguments. Statements must be supported by evidence, whether from scholarly sources (as in a research paper), results of a study or experiment, or quotations from a primary text (as in a literary analysis essay). The use of evidence gives credibility to an argument.
Impersonal tone. The goal of academic writing is to convey a logical argument from an objective standpoint. Academic writing avoids emotional, inflammatory, or otherwise biased language. Whether you personally agree or disagree with an idea, it must be presented accurately and objectively in your paper.
APA FORMAT
APA FORMAT
The American Psychological Association, or APA, is the organization that created the language used and understood by academics around the world. APA style is the expected standard in higher education and research papers to ensure sources are cited properly. Despite its universality, the many nuances of academia can make it a difficult language to master. It’s the purpose of higher education to develop new ideas; knowing how to use APA lets us take part in that ongoing, worldwide conversation. APA governs two things: best practices for both formatting a page and using sources.
APA Style provides clarity to papers on often complex topics. It makes papers easier to read and understand. When sources are cited the same way each time and the paper is written in a uniform format, it gives it better flow and helps keep the focus on the content of the paper.
THE WRITING LAB AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY ON LINE:
TUTORIAL BY WATCHING VIDEOS:
1. APA FORMAT – WORD 2016-HOW TO SET UP A PAPER IN APA STYLE IN MICROSOFT OFFICE ON WINDOW 10
2. HOW TO FORMAT A WORD DOC FOR WRITING AN APA STYLE COLLEGE STUDENT
3. APA EXAMPLE PAPER
4. APA FORMAT IN WORD – IN 4 MINUTES
5. APA STYLE REFERENCE PAGE
7. THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
8. TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING
TUTORIAL 1: FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING
TUTORIAL 2: FORMAL WRITING
TUTORIAL 3: IMPERSONAL WRITING
TUTORIAL 4: USING EVIDENCE I YOUR WRITING 1
TUTORIAL 5: USING EVIDENCE IN YOUR WRITING 2
TUTORIAL 6: REFERENCING
HOW TO QUICKLY UPLOAD REFERENCES INTO MICROSOFT WORD
"ULUL ALBAB: USING WISDOM, CREATING SOLUTION"
Regards from me:
Sanisah Hanim Jiman
Sanisah Hanim Jiman
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