the academic writing skills

 the academic writing skills

The Importance of Academic Writing Skills

1. Introduction

I must know the ways to go about any of the writing and planning process. It’s never good to jump right into a task without having some sort of idea of what to do and how to do it. There are even times when I can be overambitious and just jump right in. Shrum states a good point: “people who jump to a plan without developing their thinking through possible ideas will generate a plan that still reflects its underdeveloped inspiration” (2002, p. 250), which may sometimes result in my writing not making sense or even getting off topic and having to do rewrites and revisions. Pre-writing is essential at the beginning phase of the writing process. It is the time when I use various methods to help me think and brainstorm the writing assignment to a point where I can understand what I will write about. These methods may include using keywords, creating lists, voice recording, and even drawing diagrams. During this step, I must make sure that I fully understand the assignment and what will be required to get it done.

Academic writing is an important skill to be learned and developed. This skill will set forth and influence the way you will write your academic paper. The way you write, format, and present the paper is important too. In the paper, it will also portray my understanding of the various ways to get to the end of a written assignment. By knowing and understanding these various factors, it will make it easier for me to understand and attain what is required to execute a good written assignment.

2. Developing a Strong Foundation in Academic Writing

With the understanding that good writing is a recognized benefit in one’s chosen profession, it is essential to acquire a strong foundation for writing when planning on entering an academic career. Every field of study is based on the understanding of an assortment of concepts, it is necessary to be able to communicate these ideas in a clear and effective manner. A student may possess a sound understanding of material, but if they are unable to articulate their ideas through writing, their performance in a school environment will suffer. As a result, they may be overlooked for opportunities in their desired field simply because effective writing is a basic qualification for many jobs that students have today. By developing a strong foundation in academic writing, students build an invaluable set of skills that can be used for years to come. This is a skill that transfers from high school to undergraduate school and into whatever career that student will choose. With emphasis on the importance of writing, it is a skill that will not be forgotten. Through it all, every transition in schooling will be much easier for the writer. Teachers would find the writing student more useful and grades will start to increase. But the most important outcome of a strong foundation in academic writing is that one can formulate an effective piece of written communication that is a direct reflection of their ideas of learning. In a field of study, writing will always be the primary method of communication and an effective one can take a student very far in this day and age.

3. Mastering the Key Elements of Academic Writing

There are five key elements of academic writing that are evidence-based, thoughtful analysis, clear and concise writing, sound argument, and a workable framework of that analysis. If you are able to master these five elements, then you will have no problem in writing a well-written academic paper. When writing, you need to give a clear and accurate analysis of what you are writing about. When you are offering opinions based on evidence you have found, this is a good way of incorporating some evidence-based analysis. To be absolutely certain the analysis you are offering is evidence-based, go back to some of the sources and double-check that you are interpreting what they are saying in an accurate manner. By doing this, you will be able to say with confidence that your analysis is based on evidence. Having a clear and accurate analysis is important because this affects the way that the reader will interpret your findings. If the analysis is unclear, the reader will not know what it is you are trying to say. So it is important to be as clear as possible. The next point about good academic writing is to have a clear and concise analysis, underpinned with an evidence base. As mentioned before, one of the key selling points of an academic paper is that it is clear and concise. By subsequently following this set of writing rules, you will enable your reader to understand your findings. When you are writing down your evidence-based findings, use linking statements to incorporate an explanation of the previous idea with the next one. By doing this, it will guide the reader through your analysis.

4. Enhancing Research and Citation Skills

You can greatly improve your research and writing skills in a short amount of time by taking advantage of the Web of Science and Nature Journal databases at the CSUN library. These databases give you free access to thousands of academic and scholarly articles on a wide variety of subjects. Utilize interlibrary loan to gain access to books and journals that are not available at the CSUN library. Another useful tool is Google Scholar. This search engine provides a simple way to search broadly for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research. Many of the search results can be accessed for free from the comfort of your own living room. Keep in mind that some articles and journals will not be available for free or through the CSUN library. This is why it is important to keep using Interlibrary Loan services to obtain these articles. By learning how to use these research tools, you will be better prepared to conduct research throughout your academic and professional careers.

5. Polishing Your Academic Writing Style

When using the passive voice, it will always be some form of the verb “to be” + a past particle of a transitive verb. To change a sentence from passive voice to active voice, you simply need to reverse the order of the past particle and the form of “to be” and change the verb to its active form. Here is an example: “The fire code is often ignored” => “People often ignore the fire code”. Again, remember that it is critical to be very clear on who is taking the action. Watch out for the verb “to be” in any form and scrutinize whether the subject of the sentence is actually doing the action.

Nevertheless, you have done some very helpful work in scrutinizing the use of the passive voice in some cases of uncertainty and confusion in corrective policy. However, you still use the passive voice too often since active voice is more direct and precise. You will maximize the persuasiveness of your paper if you can make sure to turn the passive voice sentences into active voice sentences, particularly in the policy suggestions section of your paper. This will clarify who is responsible for each action and make your paper more forceful. Keep in mind, however, that it is not necessary to change every sentence from passive voice and that sometimes it is impossible to turn a passive voice sentence into an active one.