INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING

WHAT IS ACADEMIC WRITING?

1) ....a skill that is required in many contexts throughout life. However, academic writing
does many of the things that personal writing does not: it has its own set of rules and
practices.
These rules and practices may be oranised around a !ormal order or structure in
"hich to present ideas# in addition to ensurin that ideas are supported by author
citations in the literature$
In contrast to personal "ritin conte%ts# academic "ritin is di!!erent because it deals
"ith the underlyin theories and causes o&ernin processes and practices in
e&eryday li!e# as "ell as e%plorin alternati&e e%planations !or these e&ents$
Academic "ritin !ollo"s a particular 'tone( and adheres to traditional con&entions o!
punctuation# rammar# and spellin$
(aken from http:!!owll.massey.ac.n"!academic#writing!what#is#academic#writing.php, $%!$!1&)
$) 'equires:
precise use o! !ormal lanuae
impersonal style
clearly constructed sentences
care "ith abbre&iations and acronyms
loical and systematic de&elopment o! ideas$
(aken from http:!!www.monash.edu.au!lls!llonline!writing!general!academic!(.xml, $%!$!1&)
() ...academic papers distinguish )etween what is )no"n a)out a topic (via the review
of existing sources on the topic) with what new ideas may emerge, or )e thouht or
*uestioned a)out the topic, via the explication of the research question using the
author*s logically#developed, factually#)ased *argumentation*.
(aken from http:!!www1+.uta.fi!,-.!,/0!'1.1-'2H!acadwrit.html, $%!$!1&)
4) POSITIONING
In academic "ritin# it is o!ten necessary to ma)e it clear to your reader "hat opinion
you hold or "hat your position is "ith reard to a certain issue$ This is o!ten called your
+&oice+ or your +position+ or your +claim+$ It may be based on other people,s research -e#
.mith / 0ones1# but the conclusion you ha&e come to is your o"n$
As a student# it is not enouh to simply describe a situation or recall the !acts# you need
to ta)e a stance or position yoursel! in relation to the situation or the !acts$ This is particularly
important in assessment "hen you ha&e to ans"er a *uestion$ O! course# you need to )no"
and reproduce the in!ormation# but you also need to use the in!ormation to i&e an ans"er to
the *uestion# to i&e 2OUR ans"er to the *uestion$
(aken from http:!!www.uefap.com!writing!function!stance.htm, $%!$!1&)
HEDGING (aken from http:!!www.uefap.com!writing!feature!hedge.htm, $%!$!1&)
/t is often )elieved that academic writing, particularly scientific writing, is factual,
simply to convey facts and information. However it is now recognised that an
important feature of academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often
called 3hedging3 or 3vague language3. /n other words, it is necessary to make
decisions a)out your stance on a particular su)4ect, or the strength of the claims you
are making. 5ifferent su)4ects prefer to do this in different ways.
Language use in !eging"
MissIvonMJenam/2014
INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING
1. Int#oucto#$
%e#&s"
e.g. seem# tend# loo) li)e# appear to be# thin)# belie&e# doubt# be sure#
indicate# suest
$. Ce#tain le'ical
%e#&s
e.g. belie&e# assume# suest
(. Ce#tain (oal
%e#&s"
e.g. "ill# must# "ould# may# miht# could
&. A%e#&s o)
)#e*uenc$
e.g. o!ten# sometimes# usually
&. Moal a%e#&s e.g. certainly# de!initely# clearly# probably# possibly# perhaps#
concei&ably#
+. Moal a+ecti%es e.g. certain# de!inite# clear# probable# possible
6. Moal nouns e.g. assumption# possibility# probability
7. T!at clauses e.g. It could be the case that $
e.g. It miht be suested that $
e.g. There is e&ery hope that $
%. To,clause -
a+ecti%e
e.g. It may be possible to obtain $
e.g. It is important to de&elop $
e.g. It is use!ul to study $
SIGNPOSTING (aken from http:!!www.ncl.ac.uk!students!wdc!learning!language!signposting.htm, $%!$!1&)
In academic writing, the author is responsible for making the text as clear as possible for the
reader. We have seen elsewhere that this requires the writing to be explicit; in other words, to
anticipate and address the readers questions. An active reader will want to know what the
authors aims are and how the will be achieved; what the authors position is about ke
issues; how the argument is constructed; how ideas relate to each other. !ood writers use
signposting language to signal to the reader where these answers can be found.
It is useful to divide signposting language into two broad categories"
(a+o# sign.osts that signal key aspects of the work, such as purpose,
structure, author8s stance, main points, direction of the argument,
conclusions.
lin/ing 0o#s an .!#ases that show connections )etween sentences and
paragraphs.
Examples of major signposts:
he aim of this study is to 9.
he purpose of this thesis is to9.
his essay argues that 9.
he main questions addressed in this paper are 9.
his essay critically examines9.
he a)ove discussion raises some interesting questions.
his paper )egins )y 9. /t will then go on to 9. ,inally, 9.
his chapter reviews the literature 9.
MissIvonMJenam/2014
INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING
/n conclusion, 9.
Examples of linking words and phrases:
Listing"
first(ly), 9 ! second(ly), 9 ! finally, 9 !
Inicating aition o# si(ila#it$"
also, 9 ! )esides, 9 ! in addition, 9 ! furthermore, 9 ! as well ! similarly, 9
Inicating cont#ast"
however, 9 ! nevertheless, 9 ! on the other hand, 9 !
Gi%ing a #eason"
for this reason, 9 ! )ecause 9 ! )ecause of 9! due to 9
Inicating #esult o# conse*uence"
therefore, 9 ! thus, 9 ! as a result, 9 ! consequently, 9
Re)o#(ulating an iea"
in other words, 9 ! to put it simply, 9 ! that is ...
E'e(.li)$ing"
for example, 9 ! for instance, 9 ! to exemplify, 9
LIN1ING WORDS AND PHRASES
...can )e used to develop coherence within a paragraph, that is linking one idea ! argument
to another.
SE23ENCE"
#irst $ firstl, second $
secondl, third $
thirdl etc
%ext, last, finall
In addition, moreover
#urther $ furthermore
Another
Also
In conclusion
&o summarise
RES3LT"
'o
As a result
As a
consequence
(of)
&herefore
&hus
*onsequentl
+ence
,ue to
EMPHASIS"
-ndoubtedl
Indeed
.bviousl
!enerall
Admittedl
In fact
/articularl $ in particular
0speciall
*learl
Importantl
REASON"
#or
1ecause
'ince
As
1ecause of
ADDITION"
And
In addition $
additionall $ an
additional
#urthermore
Also
&oo
As well as
E4AMPLE"
#or example
#or instance
&hat is (ie)
'uch as
Including
%amel
CONTRAST"
+owever
%evertheless
%onetheless
'till
Although $ even though
&hough
1ut
2et
,espite $ in spite of
In contrast (to) $ in
comparison
While
Whereas
COMPARISON"
'imilarl
3ikewise
Also
3ike
4ust as
4ust like
'imilar to
'ame as
*ompare
compare(d) to $ with
%ot onl...but also
MissIvonMJenam/2014
INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING
.n the other hand
.n the contrar
(aken from https:!!www.dlswe).rmit.edu.au!lsu!content!&:writingskills!writing:tuts!linking:;;!linking(.html , $%!$!1&)
5isit t!ese 0e&sites )o# (o#e use)ul %oca&ula#$ )o# $ou# acae(ic 0#iting"
http:!!www.phrase)ank.manchester.ac.uk!introductions.htm (Academic 3hraseban)
Uni&ersity o! Manchester$1
https:!!www.)rookes.ac.uk!services!upgrade!pdf!-<2=hrases>ni<estmin?+11?@.pdf
-Academic Writin Centre4 Use!ul 3hrases !or Academic Writin Uni&ersity o! Westminster1
http:!!www.lui"otavio)arros.com!$?1(!?&!academic#writing#useful#expressions.html -56
Use!ul .entences !or Academic Writin1
he /nternet has a vast variety of information you can look upA Be autonomous in your
learning and explore more on your ownA Cet yourself a good 1nglish 5ictionary (like Dxford
and ;ongman. 5on8t forget the li)rary too and your friends E share you knowledge with each
otherA -ll the )estA
MissIvonMJenam/2014