2. Advice on Academic Writing
General advice
Planning and organizing
Reading and
researching
Using sources
Specific types of
writings
Style and editing
English as a Second
Language
Further Reasources
3. General Advice
An accomplished academic essay shoul have:
An argument
-It should answer a question or a few related questions
-It should try to prove something, a single “thesis” or a short set of
closely related points.
Your first effort should be formulated as exactly as possible the
question(s) you will seek to answer in your essay. Next, develop
by thinking, reading and jotting a provisional thesis or hypothesis.
Organization should be designed to present your argument clearly
and persuasively
4. Planning and Organizing an Essay
Think of the organization of your essay before the
writing stage not the writing or revising stage. When
you begin planning, ask the following questions:
What type of essay am I going to be writing? Does it
belong to a specific genre?. Knowing the patterns of
reasoning associated with a genre can help you to
structure your essay.
5. Planning and organizing an Essay
Thesis StatementsThesis Statements
When you are asked to write an
essay that creates an argument,
your reader will probably expect
a clear statement of your
position. Typically, this summary
statement comes in the first
paragraph of the essay, though
there is no rigid rule about this
position.
Introductions and
Conclusions
Introductions and conclusions play
a special role in the academic
essay, and they frequently
demand much of your attention
as a writer. A good introductions
should identify your topic,
provide essential context, and
indicate your particular focus in
the essay. It also needs to
engage your reader's interest. A
strong conclusion will rovide a
sense of closure to the essay
while again placing your
concepts in a somewhat wider
context.
6. Planning and Organizing an Essay
Paragraphs
A paragraph is a series of related sentences developing a central idea,
called the topic. Paragraphs add one idea at a time to your broader
argument.
The most effective way to achieve paragraph unity is to express the
central idea of the paragraph in a topic sentence. In academic writing,
the topic sentence nearly always works best at the beginning of a
paragraph so that the reader knows what to expect. Topic sentences are
similar to mini thesis statements. Like thesis statements, a topic
sentence has a specific main point. Whereas the thesis statement is the
main point of the essay, the topic sentence is the main point in the
paragraph.
Note: Not all paragraphs need a topic sentence. In particular, opening and
closing paragraphs, which serve different functions from body
paragraphs, generally don't have topic sentences.
7. Reading and Researching
In order to write your own analysis of a subject, you will need to do careful
critical reading of sources and to use them critically to make your own
argument.
What is Critical Reading?What is Critical Reading?
It is to make the judgements about how a text is argued. The key is this:
Don't read looking only or primarily for information
Do read lloking for ways of thinking about the subject matter
How to read looking for ways of thinkingHow to read looking for ways of thinking
Determine the central claims or purpose of the text.
Begin to make some judgements about the context.
Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs.
Examine the evidence.
Critical reading may involve evaluation.
8. Skimming and Scanning
One of the most effective methods for beginning
the kind of thoughtful reading necessary for
academic work is to get a general overview of
the text before beginning to read it in detail.
Skimming a text can help you to get a sense of
its overall logical progression. Scanning is
basically skimming with a more tightly focused
purpose: skimming to locate a particular fact or
figure, or to see whether this text mentions a
subject you are researching.
9. Using quotations
How much should I quote?
Considering quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the
following conditions holds:
The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or
memorable
You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting
the support of an authority of your topic.
The passage is worthy of further analysis.
You wish to argue with someone else's position in considerably
detail.
10. Using Quotations
Why is it important to identify my sources?
Letting your reader know exactly which authorities you rely on is an advantage:
it shows that yoy have done your research and tt you are well acquainted
with the literature on your topic.
How do I introduce a short quotation?
When you introduce a quotation with a full sentence, you should always place a
colon at the end of the introductory sentence. When you introduce a
quotation with an incomplete sentence, you usually place a cooma after the
introductory phrase. However, it has become grammatically acceptable to
use a colon rather than a comma.
11. Specific Types of Writing
Writing an Annotated Bibliography
It provides an account of the research that has been done on a given topic.
Like any bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of
research sources
Selecting the sources:
Consider these questions to help you find appropriate limits for your research:
What problem am I investigating? What question(s) am I trying to pursue?
What kind of material am I looking for? (academic books and journal
articles? government reports or policy statements? articles from the popular
press? primary historical sources? Etc.)
Am I finding essential studies on my topic? (Read footnotes in useful articles
carefully to see what sources they use and why. Keep an eye out for studies
that are referred to by several of your sources.)
12. Some language for talking about texts
and arguments:
Account for,clarify, describe, exemplify, indicate, question,
analyze, compare, depict, exhibit, investigate,
recognize, argue, conclude, determine, explain, judge,
reflect, assess, criticize, distinguish, frame, justify,refer
to, assert, defend, evaluate, identify, narrate, report,
assume, define, emphasize, illustrate, persuade, review,
claim, demonstrate, examine, imply, propose,
suggest.
13. Style and Editing
1- First check whether you have fulfilled the intention of the
assignment.
Thinking of the assignment sheet asked for.
Write the appropiate genre the document called for
Use concepts and methods of reasoning discussed in the course
Provide adequate evidence for your argument or interpretation
2- Then look at overall organization
Does your introduction make clear where the rest of the paper is headed?
Is each section in the right place to fulfil your purpose?
Have you drawn connections between the sections?
Would a person reading your conclusion know what question you had asked
and how you had arrived at your answer?
14. Style and Editing
3-Now polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters such as
word choice, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Read passages aloud to see if you have achieved the emphasis you want.
Be sure to use spell check
Don’t depend on a thesaurus. Use plain clear words instead.
Don’t depend on a grammar checker. If you know that you overuse slang or
the passive voice, you may find some of the “hits” useful, but be sure to
make your own choice of replacement phrases
15. English as a Second Language
What are articles?
Articles are special modifiers that appear before nouns or noun phrases.
Like other adjectives, they help clarify the meaning of the noun in your
sentence. There are only two articles in the English language: the and a
(and its variant an, used before a word that starts with a vowel sound).
Where exactly do articles go?
Articles belong in front of all other modifiers preceding a noun
There are other special modifiers called determiners or markers that may
appear in front of a noun phrase.
16. English as a Second Language
A useful set of rules for using articles
Countable nouns: a noun is countable if you can have more than one
instance of it. The word exam is countable because you can have, say, four
exams scheduled at the end of the year. The word concentration, however,
is uncountable, because it would not make sense to speak of having four
concentrations, even though you will need a lot of concentration to study for
all four exams. Many words have both countable and uncountable
meanings, depending on the sentence.
Definite Nouns: a noun is definite when it is clear to your reader which
specific instance or instances of an entity you are referring to; otherwise it is
indefinite. Often the first use of a noun is indefinite and subsequent uses are
definite.
17. English as a Second Language
Using articles in front of proper nouns
Most proper nouns, are governed by simple rules. For example, do not
place an article in front of the names of people.
Most countries, like Canada do not take articles. Here are two noteworthy
exceptions: the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Rivers, mountain ranges, seas, and oceans should be preceded by the
article the: the Amazon River, the Rocky Mountains, the Ural Sea, the Pacific
Ocean
Lakes, on the other hand, don’t usually take an article: Lake Louise, Lake
Ontario.
18. Special Uses of Articles
Media and communications: use a noun PLUS definite article to refer to
systems of communication and the mass media, in contrast to the actual
machine of communications.
Means of transportation: use the definite article to refer to the whole
transport system, rather than to an individual vehicle.
Forms of entertainment: to refer to a form of entertainment in general,
use the definite article. To refer to a particular event, use the indefinite
article.
Place/object of activity nouns: certain nouns refer to either a
place/object or to an activity. When they refer to an activity, do not use the
definite article.
Directions: nouns indicating direction do not take the definite article.
Periods of time: names of decades, centuries and historic periods take
the definite article, as they are a form of unique reference.
19. Successful methods of composing
Start writing early.
Don't write an essay from beginning to end. Write what seems
readiest to be written.
Keep the essay's overall purpose and organization in mind
Revise extensively
Revise sentences with special attention to transitions (Cheking to be
sure that a reader will be able to follow the sentences of ideas within
sentences, from sentence to sentence, and from paragraph to
paragraph). Two other important considerations in revising sentences
are diction and economy.
Proofread the final copy.
20. Bibliography
Prof. C.A. Silber, Department of English. “Some General Advice on Academic Writing
Essay”. Canada. Universy of Toronto.
Website:https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca
Deborah Knott. “Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing”. Canada. University of
Toronto.
Website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/critical-reading/
Deborah Knott. “Writing an Annotated Bibliography”. Canada. University of Toronto.
Website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/annotated-bibliography/
Jerry Plotnick. “Organizing an Essay”. Canada. University of Toronto
Website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/organizing/
Jerry Plotnick. “Using Quotations”. Canada. University of Toronto.
Website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/quotations/
