Academic Writing and Communication

What is Academic Writing?

• Academic writing is not a social commentary, opinion, or "blog"
• It begins with a thesis, aiming to persuade readers of an idea or solution to a problem based on evidence, not personal opinion
• It presents an informed argument, requiring an understanding of what is known about the subject and expressing one's own thoughts on the topic

Types of Academic Papers

• Descriptive texts describe a phenomenon, person, or fact
• Persuasive texts may be an interpretation, argument, recommendation, or evaluation of the facts
• Analytical papers show the relationships between different phenomena
• Critical texts evaluate someone else's work

Descriptive Writing

• States facts and informs the audience
• Often used for school-level writing and theory-based projects
• Examples of instructions: report, summarize, identify, record, define

Analytical Writing

• Includes descriptive writing, but also re-organizes facts and information into categories, groups, parts, types, or relationships
• Examples of instructions: analyzing, comparing, contrasting, relating, and examining
• Tips: spend time planning, brainstorm, and use visual aids to organize ideas

Persuasive Writing

• Has all the features of analytical writing, plus the writer's own point of view
• Each claim needs to be supported by evidence, such as research findings or published sources
• Tips: read others' points of view, look for patterns in data, and discuss facts and ideas with others

Critical Writing

• Requires considering at least two points of view, including one's own
• Examples of instructions: critique, debate, disagreement, and evaluation
• Tips: summarize the work, have an opinion, and provide evidence for one's point of view

Examples of Academic Paper Genres

• Book reviews: a critical evaluation of a text, object, event, etc.
• Critique papers: critically read and analyze a text, research, or performance
• Essays: inform readers about the author's position with arguments and evidence
• Movie analysis: analyze audiovisual elements, characters, dialogues, plots, settings, symbolism, etc.
• Reports: created for a clear purpose, containing specific information and evidence
• Research papers: present one's own argument on a topic, supported by others' works

Literary Analysis

• An argumentative essay where the writer presents a claim and supports it
• Thesis statement must be debatable
• Carefully evaluates the language used in the literary piece
• Identifies explicit patterns or themes
• Presents a clear interpretation
• Organizes the paper systematically
• Documents sources properly

Political Analysis

• Requires rational skills and extensive knowledge of world history and international relations
• Focuses on the 'how' and 'why' of various political issues through informed, substantive arguments backed up by research
• Must consider the complexity of politics and human actions and interactions

Plagiarism

• Defined as copying word-for-word without proper citation and quotation marks
• Elements of citation: signal phrase, in-text citation, and bibliographic citation
• Ways to incorporate other writers' work without direct quotation: paraphrasing and summarizing### APA Citation Format
• APA style is commonly used in Social Sciences, but also in other disciplines.
• Paper requirements:
  • Typed
  • Double-spaced
  • 1" margins on all sides
  • Paper size: 8.5" x 11"
  • Font: Times New Roman or Arial, size 12 pt.

APA Citation Basics

• Author-date method of in-text citation
• Format: (Author's last name, year of publication)
• Example: (Jones, 1998)
• Use page numbers for direct quotes:
  • (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199-201)
• Use an en dash for page ranges.

Referencing: Basic Rules for Most Sources

• Hanging indentation: all lines after the first line of each entry should be indented 1/2 inch from the left margin.
• Authors' names should be inverted (last name first).
• Use initials for first and middle names.
• List up to 20 authors (new rule).
• Use an ampersand (&) before the last author's name.
• If more than 21 authors, use an ellipsis (...) after the 19th author and add the final author's name.

Academic Writing

• Academic writing is devoted to topics and questions of interest to the academic community.
• Types of academic writing:
  • Descriptive text
  • Analytical text
  • Persuasive text
  • Critical writing
• Examples of academic papers:
  • Book reviews
  • Critique papers
  • Essays
  • Movie analyses
  • Research papers
  • Reports