Summary: What is "Academic" Writing?

What is “Academic” Writing?

Acha, Nicolas

Teacher: stella Maris Saubidet Oyamburu

Language & Written Expression VI

July 13, 2014

L. Lennie Irvin

Introduction: The Academic Writing Task

Writing in college is something different to what you have been doing in school. This composition class will be focused on what “Academic” writing is like and hopefully will give you the tools you need to face the challenges you will encounter in your career.

Once you are given your first academic writing task in college, you have to know that your success depends mainly on how you understand and approach to the writing task. Indeed, the mental representation of the task makes a huge difference. Some students arrive at college with strange ideas about what they will be asked to do and others with no idea at all, but some misconceptions are general to most students and must be clarified.

Myths about Writing

These are some of the things people believe about writing and that lead to problems in their attempts to write.

Myth #1: Writing is a Formula

Writing is not a linear process. On the contrary, it is a recursive process in which we are constantly moving from one step to the other.

Myth #2: You can’t start writing until you know the end

Ideas come up as you write, you have to start writing and you will find your way.

Myth #3: Perfect First Drafts

There is no such thing as a perfect first draft. Start writing something, think about it, revise it and correct it; maybe then you can have a respectable first draft

Myth #4: some got it, I don’t­ - the genius fallacy

Of course, some geniuses had it. But the rest of us mere mortals can become good writers after some effort and study.

Myth #5: Good grammar is good writing

Good writing implies causing a particular effect upon the audience. Concentrate on the content of your work and you will have time to correct the grammar

Myth #6: The five paragraph essay

The most classic format for compositions with an introduction, three supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. Although it is a very useful format for writing an essay, it is not the only one.

Myth #7: Never use “I”

In fact, most of the times you will be asked to give your opinion and make an analysis. It is ok to use “I” in the semi-formal style of your writings.

The Academic Writing Situation   

The most common problem in novice writers is the lack of sense of the writing situation in general. The challenge for the writer is to create a context for the reader. In a speaking situation, we can use different strategies to make ourselves clear. Separated in place and time from the audience, the writer must use punctuation and word choice to convey meaning.

Looking More Closely at the Academic Writing Situation

As any other specialized writing situation, writing in college has its own codes and conventions that you have to be aware of. These are some of the aspects you have to consider.

• Audience
• Context
• Message
• Purpose
• Genres

This is like what you have been doing for years at secondary school, but there are some differences in college. Lee Ann Carrol got to this description after a study of student writing in college:

What are usually called “writing assignments” in college might more accurately be called “literacy tasks” because they require knowledge of research skills, ability to read complex texts, understanding of key disciplinary concepts, and strategies for synthesizing, analyzing and responding critically to new information, usually within a limited time frame

Every writing assignment is an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and show your proficiency in the skills of thinking, interpreting and presenting. Let’s analyze the elements of the college writing “literacy task”.

Ø  Knowledge of Research Skills

One of the most important steps of your writing is carrying the necessary research. You will have to find for in depth information from different sources and keep track of them.

Ø  The ability to Read Complex Texts

Reading complex texts implies thinking critically on what you are reading. You have to be able to distinguish facts from opinions as well as biases and assumptions. Making inferences based on known information and get your readers to make the same inferences that you have made.

Ø  The Understanding of Key Disciplinary Concepts

You have to demonstrate that you know what you are talking about by applying and using the key concepts correctly in your writings.

Ø  Strategies for Synthesizing, Analyzing and Responding Critically to New Information

For every writing assignment you will be asked to deal with unfamiliar information that you have to grasp and use later in your writings.

In College, Everything’s an Argument: A Guide for Decoding College Writing Assignments

Based on a particular topic or reading, you will be asked to write an “essay” in which you will have to present an argument and support your claim with appropriate evidence.

v  Academic Writing is an Argument

Presenting an argument in college writing means to state your point of view in a persuasive way so that you win your audience’s agreement of your position.

v  Academic Writing Is an Analysis

When you are asked to write an analysis what is really expected of you is to break the subject into small parts and show how they relate to each other. The interpretation you make of this relationship will be the claim that you have to support with strong evidence.

Three Common Types of College Writing Assignments

There are different kinds of assignments based on the level of the teacher’s direction that you might receive in college. These are:

The Close Writing Assignment

•                Is Creon a character to admire or condemn?
•           Was the south justified in seceding from the union?

These kinds of assignments are already making two counter claims so your task is to decide which one is right and find the evidence to support it.

The Semi-open Writing Assignment

• ·         Discuss the role of law in Antigone
• ·         Explain the relationship between character and fate in Hamlet

It asks you to analyze a particular topic or subject, arrive at some interesting insights and present your findings in the form of a claim.
 

The Open Writing Assignment

• ·         Analyze the role of a character in Dante’s The Inferno
• ·         What does it mean to be an “American” in the 21^st century?

These tasks give you the freedom to choose your writing subject and your thesis statement. It may seem easier to write without restrictions, but you must have a good understanding of the subject matter before selecting an interesting and manageable topic for your writing.

Ø  Picking and Limiting a Writing Topic

One of the most difficult challenges in writing is to select an interesting and appropriate topic to develop. You should look for gaps and confusing items in the readings until you find a question that can be stated and then answered. Try to limit your topic to a manageable size that can be properly supported.

Three Characteristics of Academic Writing

There are certain characteristics that all teachers expect to find in your writings. Chriss Thaiss and Terry Zawaki conducted a research and found three dominant characteristics:

1-   Clear evidence that you have been persistent, open-minded, and disciplined in study.

2-   The dominance of reason over emotions or sensual perceptions.

3-   An imagined reader who is coolly rational, reading for information, and intending to formulate a reasoned response.

The Format of the Academic Essay

There are specific characteristics that your pieces of writing should have according to the assignment, but in general, the characteristics of the “Critical Essay” will serve you as a reference.

Characteristics of the Critical Essay

• ·  It makes a point and supports it with enough evidence to be convincing.
• ·         What it claims should be a debatable interpretation.
• ·         It consists of an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
• ·         Transitions between the different main points should be clear to the reader.
• ·         It should be carefully edited to avoid grammatical mistakes.

Conclusion

You must be very conscious of the kind of tasks you are doing because your success depends on your understanding and approach to the writing assignments.

Works cited

Carroll, Lee Ann. Rehearsing New Roles: How College Students Develop as         Writers. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2002. Print.

Thaiss, Chris and Terry Zawacki. Engaged Writers & Dynamic Disciplines: Research on the Academic Writing Life. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. Print.