Overview of Academic Writing Techniques

Academic Writing Overview

• Academic writing is a process of writing analytically, breaking down ideas to present a clear understanding of a subject.
• It involves presenting ideas in a rational, organized, systematic, reasonable, and logical way.

Key Characteristics of Academic Writing

• Planned and focused: Answers the question and demonstrates understanding of the subject.
• Structured: Coherent, in a logical order, combining related points and material.
• Evidenced: Demonstrates subject area knowledge, supporting opinions and arguments with evidence and references accurately.
• Formal tone and style: Uses appropriate language, tenses, and is clear, concise, and balanced.

Types of Academic Writing

• Book reviews
• Essays
• Research reports
• Research proposals
• Scientific papers
• Academic journal articles
• Dissertations and Theses (for advanced degrees)
• Abstracts (short summaries of longer documents)

Types of Writing

• Expository: Explains, discusses, or informs the audience about a topic. It is often used in research-driven papers, comparison-contrast essays, reaction essays, and business writing.
• Narrative: Tells a story. Strong narrative essays paint a vivid image using writing techniques like characterization, descriptions, and plot development.
• Descriptive: Describes an experience, character, object, or state of mind. While offering freedom in approach, it still requires structuring ideas with rich sensory language.
• Argumentative: Establishes a point of view on a topic and defends it using logical arguments and relevant examples. The point of view is clearly stated in the thesis statement.

Purpose of Writing

• General: To inform, persuade, or entertain.
• Specific: Addresses a subject or question.

Audience

• The actual reader(s).
• In an academic setting: professor, classmates, or future professors assessing work.
• Critical to consider how to articulate ideas to reach the intended audience.

Style and Tone

• Academic papers need a formal, academic tone, free of clichés, slang, and offensive language.
• Avoid generalizations and use precise language when making an argument.

Writing Structure (Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion)

• Introduction: Gives an overview, narrows the focus, and prepares the reader. It includes main points to be discussed and explains why they are important, along with grabbing the reader's attention.
• Body Paragraphs: The heart of any essay, each paragraph contains a single main idea (stated by the topic sentence), supports the thesis statement, and presents the evidence logically.
• Conclusion: Restates the thesis sentence, summarizes the evidence, and provides a final assessment of the subject matter by connecting the main themes and ideas.

Supporting Evidence

• Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries provide support.
• Author provides evidence, not feelings or opinions.
• Properly formatted and cited.

Different Forms

• Quoting: Word-for-word from a source, requiring exact matches to the original document, acknowledging the source and author, and providing relevant support material. The quotes must also be placed thoughtfully in the work.
• Paraphrasing: Expressing someone else's ideas in your own words, still acknowledging the source, while simplifying information, focusing on supporting points, and providing supporting material.
• Summarizing: Simplifying a longer text into a concise form. Attributing the source and author, and including supporting material are still required.

Important Considerations

• Reader familiarity with the topic.
• Reader background knowledge of the topic and understanding of implications and references.
• The less the audience knows, the more detail is necessary.