our academic writing sample

our academic writing sample

Effective Strategies for Academic Writing

1. Introduction to Academic Writing

What is academic writing? Writing is an important skill that cuts across disciplines. Different writing tasks are assigned in different university courses. Today, writing is embedded in everyday life and thus is vital in this – our social worlds, institutions, bodies, computers, and artifacts that serve as a partial framework for structuring one’s specific someone who writes something worth reading.

Academic writing is frequently defined as expository: the clear expression of ideas and concepts for a particular purpose or audience. The notations upon which this article are based, however, arise from a university setting and represent a fusion of two very different sulci in academic writing: popular and scholastic.

As noted above, academic writing takes a variety of forms, i.e., it can be expository, persuasive, analytical, critical, and referential, often involving research, argumentation, and developed composition. In addition to these different forms, a unique style of language has developed that somewhat pokes its way into consciousness. For example, there are written conventions which apply to expository writing. Such norms, however, are internalized slowly and when compared to other writing types, are particularly complex to apply to written arguments and references.

Writing is a skill that all students should be seen to develop. In educational settings, attaining good writing competency is an important means of entrance into and ultimate success in most full-time programs. At university, most of the requirements for judging a student’s level of presentational competence are realized through written tasks. However, because persistence, thought, reflective processes, and gradual improvement are such essential features of skill development, a student’s persistent superior performance in each of the written tasks is rare.

In part, the development of writing skills is related to exposure to these genres throughout university education and faculty demonstrating not only skills, but also enthusiasm. In fact, a professor who is enthusiastic about his or her science usually writes in the field that he or she is teaching. Other students can sense this too. But at times, the demonstration of these skills can be taken one step further through the use of writing assignments that are constructed across more than one question. This joint responsibility between teacher and student has the potential to promote learning not found in other educational models.

Along with the teacher, students contribute to the content and process of their own learning. Through cooperative learning, more experienced students can share their writing knowledge, socially negotiate formal academic writing requirements, and arrange workshops to review all writing assignments. Having multiple perspectives on writing and more competent writing resources to work from can help to acquire a greater affinity for the writing process. In some classes, additional credit can be received by submitting the revised paper for publication, if specific guidelines are met. Fourteen additional suggestions for helping students organize and write more effectively are then provided.

2. Key Components of Academic Writing

Academic writing is essentially the writing you have to do for your university courses. Your instructors may have different names for academic writing assignments (essay, paper, research paper, term paper, argumentative paper/essay, analysis paper/essay, informative essay, position paper), but all of these assignments have the same goal and principles.

The goal of academic writing is to assist in the acquisition of knowledge and the enhancement of writing skills needed for the effective communication of that knowledge. The reason why these papers are assigned is twofold. First, they help students understand their discipline and specialty in a direct and personally relevant way. Second, academic papers, by their very nature, help students learn more than just the content of their subjects. The act of writing motivates and helps the writer see connections in a clear, concise, and orderly manner.

Writing Style: They Help Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills

Academic writing will, in essence, provide you with reality checks. When readers connect with a paper authored by a student, they will become invested in the development of the topic. They themselves will evaluate the topic from the student-writer’s position. They will feel puzzled and tense, and they will want to assist in the process of resolution. They will look to the writer for the portrayal of pertinent data; they may wish to explore the writer’s understanding of a topic from a variety of angles. In short, developing an academic writing style will be beneficial to you beyond your college years. However, allow yourself college life, and use our time-saving recommendations.

3. Strategies for Developing a Strong Thesis Statement

Having a strong thesis statement is fundamental for any good paper. A thesis statement articulates your argument and provides readers with a succinct resolution of the issue as well as guidance about how to approach the argument. Your thesis is an argument, not just an observation or a restatement of the prompt or question. It should specifically address the assigned topic, portray your personal stance, and make a claim that others might dispute. Additionally, a strong thesis statement conveys precision in thought and language. To avoid vague words like “good,” use concrete and specific words in the thesis. A strong thesis statement is also simple and fresh; avoid using a complex sentence to force an issue.

Before you begin writing your thesis statement, it is important to first read the assignment and be sure to understand the main theme of the text. If it is a summary, then your thesis should summarize, not challenge, the main ideas of the text. Then, pick a topic and brainstorm your thoughts. After getting initial ideas, determine your position by considering the essay’s purpose and audience and your personal point of view. To refine your topic and create a working thesis, use the “just because” test. Then, work the thesis into a more developed and unique sentence. After creating your thesis, determine which type of clause type is most effective for developing your argument. Five common clause types include fact, definition, value, cause and effect, and policy. Finally, guideline questions can help pinpoint your position by forcing a topic into an argumentative shape to get you thinking more deeply about the topic. After completing these steps, it is important to reevaluate the thesis statement and request input from others.

4. Incorporating Evidence and Citations Effectively

The most important thing to remember when you begin to put your paper together is that academic writing always requires certain information in your writing, and readers expect this—every time. Your body paragraphs all contain:

Topic sentences and significant language in the first or second sentence that relate to your thesis. These are often recognizable because they contain language that can reflect the paragraph topic. In MLA papers, it is important to stop a paragraph’s repetition of the author, followed by a paraphrase or a summary containing the author’s main points, leading to your point. The paraphrase or summary should contain significant language as well—always consider the language, and always consider the significance of the author’s arguments when paraphrasing (put the paraphrase in your own words, always, but still reflect the author’s thought). Always link from the paraphrase to discuss the significance of the work being paraphrased and to lead into the reason you’re paraphrasing (to show a mistake, to show an author’s point, and so forth).

The last part of every body paragraph should contain your ideas. Build the analysis into every discussion for your paper. Always make sure you absolutely nail the discussion component. The formula should frame your learning as you articulate your thinking/opinions about the paper topic you selected from the list of options when you begin thinking about your paper. Your paper should not just restate reference materials. Your thinking is more important in your paper than the references! Choose your paper carefully!

5. Structuring and Organizing Academic Papers

Effective academic writing requires good organization and structure of the text as much as it demands clear and relatively simple language. Writers need to think through the text carefully, while also considering the best vocabulary or terminology to use. Having both scientific and methodological logic to your writing is vital. Reports must make sense at both word level and paragraph level. But they also need a wider structure. What follows here is general advice, but it should be considered an attempt to generalize the art rather than a set of hard and fast rules. Great writers frequently negotiate about where best to begin a given passage or section or chapter, re-evaluating their own choices and deciding what is best only when they have seen alternative approaches clearly.

The placement of the reader-friendly sections in this book relates to the process of writing – the early chapters of Part One deal with early aspects of the process such as how to begin and planning. The later chapters deal with revising and later versions of the text. The ordering of academic work needs to reflect a wide range of other things. First – and perhaps most importantly – reports must be organized so that the information they contain can be delivered and absorbed as efficiently as possible. Second, reports must be organized so that the arguments they contain are addressed most effectively as possible to the likely reader and stipulated scenarios (if any). Third, reports must be organized and presented in a way that is transparent, equitable, and defensible if responses are required.