academic writing courses

academic writing courses

The Importance of Academic Writing Courses

1. Understanding the Basics of Academic Writing

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we categorize or rate it.

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing to occur. Causal claims are based on an implied if/then statement.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Choosing a focusing lens, def.

Academic writing is better done through paragraph or file construction, as to keep pairing to a minimal in which the word is stated as an action not a transition. In a general sense, it is set up in the form where there is a central idea that is supported by claims and evidence in the form of examples, facts, statistics, and testimonies. Usually, the claim or central idea is within the first 1-4 sentences of an opening paragraph, which is then followed by the evidence and a strengthened conclusion. This is then repeated for each topic but it is often the case with less pressing topics where the evidence might not directly follow the claim but will support several claims. Often at tertiary institutions, academic writing is usually about expressing what has been learned in a way that is research-based and the knowledge/regurgitation is displayed through the standard essay/paragraph form of an introduction, body, and conclusion. This is also really typical in the use of students’ argumentative writing skills. While knowing this, academic writing can now be looked at and analyzed in a micro sense through sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.

2. Developing Effective Research and Analytical Skills

In the most successful instance of the teaching of writing skills at the EDPA, the teacher acted as a coach, guiding the student through a series of writing tasks, providing constant feedback, and getting the student to rewrite based on the suggestions. This was done in a one-to-one situation and is something that requires a lot of time. But even in classroom situations, students need to be able to identify specific tasks to improve specific aspects of their writing. This, then, is the key to developing effective writing: the breaking down of writing tasks, constant feedback, rewriting, and practice.

An essential component often overlooked in the teaching of writing skills is the understanding of writing as a process. Too often, the emphasis in teaching writing is on the finished product; the teacher highlights what is good or correct but overlooks aspects that are not as effective. The student takes on board the comments and ends up making the changes on a surface level, not fully understanding the suggestions and not developing the skills to self-critique and improve. The learning-by-doing method is imperative, and writing needs to be broken down into tasks. The student needs to practice these tasks in controlled exercises, with the teacher providing effective feedback. This was stressed in the findings on teaching writing at the EDPA. Too many students, and indeed teachers, are unsure of what makes good writing. When asked what makes an effective writing style, they are unable to answer the question. It is expected that the ability to write well is magically acquired and not something that is taught and learned.

In exploring the research and analytical skills developed in academic writing courses, the study initially examined analytical thinking as a practiced skill in the academic writing process, focusing on the crafting and development of an argument. It follows this with an investigation into the use of critical reading skills to discriminate between effective and less effective writing to guide and develop students’ writing style. The findings presented in this article come from an MSc Economic Development and Policy Analysis (EDPA) course aimed at improving the academic writing of students.

3. Mastering the Art of Structuring and Organizing Academic Papers

Once one has amassed an appreciable store of knowledge about a subject, one is likely to find opportunities to share one’s discoveries with others. Writing academic papers is often one such opportunity. The act of writing papers not only serves as an exercise in communication, but also as a testament to the author’s understanding of the subject. Progressing beyond the lower levels of education, the expectation is that an individual can compile a coherent and consistent presentation of what he understands. Unfortunately, the transition between the spoken words of understanding to the written presentation of understanding is a huge step for some. Thankfully, this is not an unrecognized problem. Many institutions offer courses and workshops involving instruction in academic writing. The benefits of these courses are not always obvious; yet one who has a concern for the quality of his writing or the clarity of his mind is certain to profit from the undertaking. This essay will be directed towards an issue of concern regarding the effectiveness of these courses. As it shall turn out, a rather critical task in academic writing is how to best organize and present the information in a paper. This issue will be addressed with respect to student papers and the expected options in paper quality. Now to understand what is meant by organization and presentation, it is only necessary to compare a paper that has been written well with a paper that has been written poorly. The differences can be quite pronounced, though in both cases it is possible that the student is knowledgeable about his subject. A well-written paper is a comprehensive whole, with each part lending itself to the understanding of the whole. Such a paper guides its reader smoothly along the path of logic. Definitions or explanations are provided at the point where they are needed. Every statement is supported at some length by the writer’s own understanding. This is in contrast to a poor paper, which often seems a conglomeration of disconnected sentences. Such a paper lacks unity and may be difficult to comprehend, even if the reader has the knowledge that the writer intended to impart. What is confusing to the writer is likely to be confusing to the reader. It is the former case that is a product of good organization, and it is the lack of organization that typifies students’ papers.

4. Enhancing Critical Thinking and Argumentation Abilities

A student’s typical response to an assignment is to take a position on the issue and then try to ‘defend’ this position with little thought to the other possibilities. This produces essays that are often too subjective with little evidence of reasoned argument. In order to avoid this and produce writing that is of higher quality, a student needs to be regularly practicing his/her critical thinking and argumentation skills. This is exactly what is required in a course of academic writing.

An essential element in working on your argument is the process of thinking critically. This can be defined as the ability to take an issue and look at what is said in a structured and disciplined way. Critical thinkers look at all sides of an issue, and they remain open to the idea that their own argument could be refuted in light of further evidence. This process is the foundation of the development of a good argument and is something that is often lacking in essays by students.

Academic writing often requires the generation of an argument through an extended piece of writing. The argument forms the key to the success of the whole work. The course which requires this kind of writing is comprehensive and logical development of a thesis, and the course typically takes the student from the process of understanding an assignment to the development of a final draft. In these courses, the understanding of the construction of a logical argument is crucial.

5. Polishing Writing Style and Grammar Proficiency

Consistent interest in course material and ample feedback create high retention rates. Most students will tell you that the thing they most enjoy is also the thing they feel they learn the most from. When the topic of discussion is something that a student has a vested interest in, the student is much more likely to continue to learn about the topic on their own time. This increased level of interest helps solidify the knowledge into the students’ long-term memory. On the other end of the spectrum, if a student becomes confused or does not understand why they received a certain grade on a paper, they can easily consult the instructor during office hours or through email. It is important to solicit feedback from the instructor if you do not understand why you received a certain grade on an assignment so that the mistake can be corrected in the future. Historically, students have learned the most about writing from one-on-one interactions with an instructor rather than with group instruction. A survey conducted at the University of Texas found that about 33% of the information learned in classes with over 30 students is actually retained, compared to 55% retention for material learned in small groups, and 70% retention when one-on-one instruction was given. This data seems to suggest that class size is an important factor when considering the effectiveness of a course. When taken together, these points conclude that it is easier for a student to understand and retain knowledge learned in lower division courses because courses are less likely to be taught by a graduate student and have lower student-to-instructor ratios. This is certainly not to say the more experienced TAs are less effective instructors, but they have considerably less experience with the topics and teaching the topics, and they may be more effective in higher division courses after they have further developed their expertise.