Week 1 Intro to Academic Writing (4) PDF

WRITING AND RESEARCH SKILLS ABLLK 0034 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING Done to fulfill academic requirements by institutions of higher learning. Writing assignments in acadamic contexts are ocnsidered as academic writing The audience: lecturers, markers, conferences readers and fellow acad...

WRITING AND RESEARCH SKILLS ABLLK 0034 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING Done to fulfill academic requirements by institutions of higher learning. Writing assignments in acadamic contexts are ocnsidered as academic writing The audience: lecturers, markers, conferences readers and fellow academic colleagues. To sharpen their research and writing skills, while employing evaluating, organizing as well as analyzing skills.  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACADEMIC WRITING AND OTHER PERSONAL CONTEXTS Academic writing is formal writing; the writer adheres to specific punctuation and grammar rules. the writer must adhere to the structure and the format of the assignments. Essay encompasses elements: INTRODUCTION BODY conclusion Report has four components: INTRODUCTION DISCUSSION conclusion RECOMMENDATION ACADEMIC WRITING Citations of published writers in disciplines to support the writer’s claim and to show the author’s depth of understanding Requires students to employ the university’s preferred referencing systems/conventions. Writers need to explore the topic in depth by reading the literature reviews of the chosen topic and studying the principles theories and concepts To focus on the information they want to disseminate. The writer is expected to offer alternative explanations.  ETHIC OF ACADEMIC WRITING ABLLK 0034 ETHIC OF ACADEMIC WRITING Academic research and professional writing are powerful vehicles for communicating your thoughts and ideas in your field of study and global workplace. University writing assignments allow you to practice academic and professional writing. In a way that supports ethical and honourable writing choices that communicate your ideas and learning Classes and programs are designed to guide you step-by-step through the development of your written communication skills. For example: assignments provide the parameters for each writing situation, so following the instructions is important in getting started and completing each piece of university writing 5 CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMIC WRITING Consideration of Audience - In university, writing for an audience of peers and academic and professional community members. Your audience determines how broadlyor narrowly your describe topic. Critical Thinking - University writing involves critical thinking as you analyze and evaluate research and readings to form new ideas. Original Contributions - University writing seeks to contribute an original idea to a larger, conversation. Within this conversation, you can analyze, evaluate, argue, create consensus, and solve problems. Universityu writing creates opportunities for learning, discovery, innovation and making change  Scholarly Research - University writing consults and cites scholarly research to create a non-fiction, research-based discussion Format Style- University writing uses a professional, polite tone and standard English for word choice, grammar and punctuation. Writing with integrity in the context of academic research and professional writing means being honest with your reader and yourself. Know when and how to use APA or a required documentation style for your class or course of study and be sure to accurately implement it.  PLAGIARISM AND WAYS TO AVOID IT ABLLK 0034 PLAGIARISM AND WAYS TO AVOID IT Plagiarism is passing off a writer’s ideas as your own or taking credit for another writer’s ideas. This occurs when texts are copied without paraphrasing, citing or giving credit to the original writer. Four forms of plagiarism: MOSAIC/PATCH ACCIDENTAL DIRECT PLAGIARISM SELF-PLAGIARISM PLAGIARISM PLAGIARISM DIRECT PLAGIARISM Refers to knowingly lifting a writer’s text word for word and failing to cite the writer. Students who are caught stealing another person’s ideas risk being expelled from the university, or the least is, their whole work will be marked as zero SELF-PLAGIARISM Refers to using past work and submitting it as a current work without prior permission of your lecturers. Resubmitting the assignment that you had submitted for your counselling class to your English class, for example, without permission of your lecturers is considered self-plagiarism MOSAIC/PATCH PLAGIARISM Refers to retaining the structure of an original text and merely changing some words and phrases as you paraphrase without citing the original writer or source ACCIDENTAL PLAGIARISM Refers to citing the original writer or source wrongly or completely forgetting to cite them, and unintentionally using exact words of the original writer or text.  GUIDELINES FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM, SELF-PLAGIARISM, AND QUESTIONS WRITING PRACTICES Guideline 1: An ethical writer ALWAYS acknowledges the contributions of others and the source of his/her ideas. Guideline 2: Any verbatim text taken from another author must be enclosed in quotation marks. Guideline 3: We must always acknowledge every source that we use in our writing; whether we paraphrase it, summarize it, or enclose it in quotations. Guideline 4: When we summarize, we condense, in our own words, a substantial amount of material into a short paragraph or perhaps even into a sentence. Guideline 5: Whether we are paraphrasing or summarizing we must always identify the source of our information. Guideline 6: When paraphrasing and/or summarizing others’ work we must reproduce the exact meaning of the other author’s ideas or facts using our words and sentence structure. Guideline 7: To make substantial modifications to the original text that result in a proper paraphrase, the author must have a thorough understanding of the ideas and terminology being used. Guideline 8: A responsible writer has an ethical responsibility to readers, and to the author/s from whom s/he is borrowing, to respect others’ ideas and words, to credit those from whom we borrow, and whenever possible, to use one’s own words when paraphrasing. Guideline 9: When in doubt as to whether a concept or fact is common knowledge, provide a citation. Guideline 16: Authors should follow a simple rule: Strive to obtain the actual published paper. When the published paper cannot be obtained, cite the specific version of the material being used, whether it is a conference presentation, abstract, or unpublished manuscript. Guideline 17: Generally, when describing others’ work, do not rely on a secondary summary of that work. It is a deceptive practice, reflects poor scholarly standards, and can lead to a flawed description of the work described. Always consult the primary literature. Guideline 18: If an author must rely on a secondary source (e.g., textbook) to describe the contents of a primary source (e.g., an empirical journal article), s/he should consult writing manuals used in her discipline to follow the proper convention to do so. Above all, always indicate the actual source of the information being reported. Guideline 19: When borrowing heavily from a source, authors should always craft their writing in a way that makes clear to readers, which ideas are their own and which are derived from the source being consulted. DO’S AND DON’TS IN ACADEMIC WRITING ASPECTS OF ACADEMIC WRITING  parents age and peers believes FACTOR (political, religious, etc) AFFECTS YOUR experiences WRITING location gender educations Context Context refers to the environment in which a text is created and responded to. When analysing or creating a feature article we might consider the following: Authorial Context - the author's background, style and other work Situational Context - the date, place and style of publication Broader Societal Context - this might include historical, social, cultural or political context that have shaped the text Purpose Purpose refers to the reason for which a text is created. A text might be constructed to achieve one or more of the following purposes: Persuade Advise Entertain Inform Comment Analyze Reflect Audience Audience refers to the group of readers or viewers that the creator of a text is addressing. Often this group has shared characteristics. When identifying a target audience consider the following: Gender Age group Ethnicity Location Relationship status Income level Occupation Hobbies or interests ACADEMIC TONE Tone refers to the writer's voice in a written work. It is what the reader or hearer might perceive as the writer's attitude, bias, or personality. The tone depends on the student’s discipline. Students are advised to read the text books and required readings to gauge the appropriate tone and style of the academic discipline. Academic writing should be concise, objective and formal. You should speak as an objective social scientist. This means that everything you say must be unbiased, scholarly, and supported by evidence. ✔ Avoid making broad generalizations ("always," "never"). ✔ Avoid using over-sweeping adjectives ("outstanding," "obvious"). ✔ Avoid using adverbs ("really," "clearly"). ✔ Avoid qualifiers ("a little," "definitely"). ✔ Avoid emotional language ("It is heartbreaking that so many are starving"). ✔ Avoid inflammatory language ("Smith's study was terrible, sickening, sad"). Formal vs. Informal Writing Take your writing from casual to captivating!  Informal vs. Formal Writing Styles Informal Formal language that is more relaxed, casual language that is professional, and conversational, often used among serious and appropriate for friends or in informal settings academic or formal situations  Informal writing often contains... Contractions Abbreviations Slang Emojis shortened forms shortened forms casual words picture of two words of words or or expressions representations separated by an phrases like LOL like "lit" that express apostrophe are often used 🌊 emotions, like for example, to save time 🌴🥥🌺 "what's" is a contraction of what and is  What about formal writing? A more polished and professional style. Here are some strategies for formal writing: 1 Practice good grammar and punctuation 2 Avoid contractions and slang 3 Enhance your vocabulary  Let's go back to our informal statements... How would you convert these to more formal statements? A When I got my students to think science was wicked cool, their test scores went through the roof! When I asked for their spin on their improvement, they just said the test felt like a piece of cake to them after I had implemented the new curriculum changes. Let's share our answers: Instead of... This is more formal: When I got my students to think When I was able to engage my science was wicked cool, their students and get them test scores went through the interested in science, their test roof! When I asked for their scores improved significantly. I spin on their improvement, they asked a few students why they just said the test felt like a thought the scores had piece of cake to them after I improved, and they admitted had implemented the new that the test seemed much curriculum changes. easier because of the new curriculum  Academic essays TYPES OF Require understanding of the course, depth of research on the chosen topic, analytical selection and comments of materials ACADEMIC being used in the essays, and good writing skills in conveying the ideas to the audience. Essay topic are either chosen by students WRITING or given to them Reports It identifies and examines issues, events or findings in organisations or studies. Dissertations It is an extended research study. It is divided into chapters that examine an independent research in depth with clear literature review, methodology, analysis, findings and conclusions of the research. TYPES OF Article critique ACADEMIC It is an essay that examines the writer’s ideas critically and consists of both positive and negative points. WRITING Book reviews Summarises the content of a book. It is a critical evaluation of the quality and the contribution of a book. Research articles Includes scientific articles, peer-reviewed articles, scholarly research articles and articles that are published in journals specialising in a specific topic