academic writing tips

academic writing tips

Effective Academic Writing Techniques

1. Understanding the Academic Writing Process

The outcome and the quality of the decision can now serve as a self-correcting and learnable skill. The decision can be evaluated against its consequences over time. This can be an empowering and positive exercise regardless of the outcome as it provides evidence of learning and improvement.

Clarity: What exactly is the problem? Are my ideas clear? Are there any unclear words? Precision: Can it be more specific? Can it be more exact? Depth: Have I dealt with the complexities of the question? Breadth: Do I need to look at this from another perspective? Consider the viewpoints of others? Relevance: How is this helping solve the problem? Is it related to the issue?

Activity: Think of one of the best and one of the worst decisions you have made in the past year. For each decision list the alternatives that you had, the problem or issue that was to be resolved, and the means by which you came to the decision. Now try to evaluate the decision-making process using the following questions:

1.1 Critical Thinking Critical thinking is an active and reflective process which involves solving problems and making decisions. Initially it is a skill or an ability, but for it to be of any use it must be turned into a thinking process or an activity. Critical thinkers are actively looking for a better way to do things. They are willing to explore, take risks and resist depending on the familiar and comfortable. Engagement in this process separates critical thinkers from those who are passive recipients of knowledge or who see thinking as mainly problem-solving with a single right answer.

The section “1. Understanding the Academic Writing Process” is based on the fact that academic writing is a complex process involving many components. Some of these tasks require the same skills as those used in other types of writing, such as an ability to generate ideas, organize them, and write in a fluent style. However, there are other requirements that are more specific to academic writing, and this section aims to help you understand these. Specifically, the aim is for you to be able to apply critical analysis and use evidence in a more focused and rigorous manner. This entails abilities to read and research effectively, and to be able to integrate and evaluate the resulting knowledge, and all of this must be done in a manner which is both analytical and original.

2. Developing a Strong Thesis Statement

The subject of this thesis is a theory about the demise of Atlantis. The theory is proposed as a result of the notion that the gravitational force did not contribute to the city’s demise. The evidence provided in the second half of the thesis is that the city was lost due to the misuse of technology, backed up with the explanation of the aforementioned theory about gravitational force, and ending with a very brief summary of the evidence provided. The topic here is whether the researcher’s theory is believable and thus whether or not the theory is warrant in further study on the part of the author. The thesis succeeds no matter what the definition of success. If the argument posed is to be a refutation of a claim to be studied and tested, then the thesis has stated that the opposite claim (that the given theory is false and thus not conceivable for the loss of Atlantis) is false and that the theory warrants further study. If the argument is an explanation of an issue, then this thesis has succeeded in providing an in-depth explanation of one side of the issue. And if the argument is to persuade the reader to the author’s point of view, then the thesis has done that as well, since the topic is basically asking whether or not the theory is worth to be believed.

Gravitational force did not contribute to the demise of the lost city of Atlantis. Rather, greed and the misuse of technology led to its fall.

The strongest thesis statements focus on one main idea.

Writing for Success

3. Structuring Your Paper for Clarity and Coherence

An essay featuring the chronological organization pattern tells readers what happens while a process analysis explains how to achieve something. This pattern works best when the topic is complex in nature. In the sample essay that follows, the writer gives a brief introduction that is free of a central idea. He then presents three methods for safeguarding his security. Progressing from concrete to abstract, he takes up the tool method, followed by the dog, and finally discussing persons. When narrowing a topic for a process analysis, the writer needs to consider again the chronological confines of the topic. Is the nature of the topic in question limited to the “how”? This is a crucial limiting factor… too broad of a topic will require pages of explanation, and too narrow of a topic will not warrant enough explanation. According to the University of Toronto Writing Center, the best topics are those in which the writer can explain the “how” for the topic and also inform the reader on something he did not know about the topic before. Having a difficult time trying to narrow a topic about saving security and paying a higher deductible, the writer emailed his UI instructor Mr. Pompelia who replied, “I think the most money people save is when they take on higher deductibles for their insurance. But… it is extremely unwise to take on a higher deductible without considering the potential financial burden it may cause in the event of a claim.”

4. Incorporating Reliable Research and Citations

Effective writing is based on solid, reliable research. This requires an understanding of reliable sources and the ability to sift through, analyze, and incorporate large amounts of information into an assessment. The point of this module is to assist students with their ability to engage with the available literature in a way that is informed and relevant to their topic at hand. Other academic modules will teach students how to find, evaluate, and assess the reliability of different types of information, such as the research methods module. And this is a vital skill to have, but for the purpose of this module, we will assume that the information you have found is reliable and valid. Knowing that the quality of your degree depends on your ability to demonstrate your skills at interpreting and analyzing the ever-increasing amounts of information available to you – this is a skill you definitely want to get right.

5. Polishing Your Writing: Editing and Proofreading Strategies

Proofreading can decide the resulting quality of an already effective revision. Proofreading while you do your line by line comparison may seem efficient. But you should do a separate proofreading run. Print your document double-spaced. Let the right-brain product of your labor take the left-brain role of scrutineer by reading aloud slowly and marking any imperfections. Often it is difficult to redirect the left-brain process of thought to the old brain tracks made by the draft – where most errors are likely to be. You will find you fill in words and ignore small errors when reading silently. Then use standard proofreading marks to correct the document for several more drafts.

Now return to your draft, and compare it line by line or better, clause by clause to your notes. If the draft’s wording does not improve upon or at least match that cause or sentence in conciseness, vividness, relevance, and so forth, rewrite it. Be sure and compare the grammar of the two; if they differ, the old draft’s grammar was probably better. Do the same for the organization of paragraphs and sentences to the same unit in the revision.

For an essay, set aside a clear introduction and conclusion. Then, for each section or paragraph, make a single outline sentence, helping yourself to ensure the entire work is relevant to that topic. Now see if you need to tweak the method of organization for best impact. Often, unlike for casual writing, it is very efficient to have a direct or even ‘inverted pyramid’ style, starting with your main point first; proceed to explaining that; then spend the rest of the paragraph elaborating on each part.

To polish your writing, you need to edit and proofread it carefully. Begin by taking a break after writing. It is more difficult to get a perspective on your own work if you start editing immediately after finishing. Let the work do its own work first.

Revision: A Step by Step Guide