Academic Writing Style
Academic writing is a style of writing: just as if you write a short story or a newspaper article, there are rules to follow. Following the rules makes you a more credible, convincing writer. It can also help you get better marks becau your information is clearly prented. Specific
Academic writing is concerned with facts rather than vague assumptions. Consider the two statements:
1.At university students are expected to
write academically.
2.At James Cook University, students are
expected to write academically by usingscanf
formal language, clear structure and
referencing.
The first is vague; the cond is more specific and meaningful.
Evidence and Emotion
iceberg
Academic writing is bad on a critical judgement of complex ideas and information, rather than an appeal to emotions. Your writing should be bad on things which can be en or measured, rather than on personal beliefs. However, some asssments will require you to express your opinion or ideas bad on your experiences. The exceptions will be made clear in your Subject Outline. Language
Academic language is clear and conci. You should u formal language, references and supporting evidence to defend your argument rather than try to convince your reader using emotive language or judgemental words such as terrible, appalling, fantastic, or incredible. The tone of the words you choo should be formal rather than conversational in style. In other words, the words yo
u choo should feel polite and cordial rather than chatty and pushy. Note how the words polite and cordial are formal and the words chatty and pushy are informal, and each suits the style they are describing. Avoid colloquial language: figures of speech, idioms, and clichés.
Clarity
Just becau it sounds pretentious does not mean it is academic. Can you understand the following ntence on the first go?
The rearch referred to herein showed a multiplicity of factors that contributed to the multiple fin dings which indicated…
If your reader has to read each ntence veral times they will be confud and probably give up. All your effort rearching and writing will be wasted. It is better to be clear and straightforward to get your point across than trying to show off.
Writing for Your Reader
Writing for university is like giving a tour. A good tour guide:
∙Maps out the journey in a logical order
重工业
∙Stays on track
∙Rearches & highlights the main points
∙Adopts a confident & appropriate tone
∙Maintains audience interest
∙Gives a polished prentation
For an assignment, the direction and scope of your tour (assignment), is t out in your Subject Outline and in the Grading Criteria.
1
2
Example of Academic Writing
bundled
A method of lf-medication in wild animals is the technique of consuming poisonous plants to treat parasites. For instance, rearch in Africa has found that chimpanzees in their natural habitat sometimes ingest the poisonous Veronia plant. This particular plant produces terpenes, which are toxic. In the correct dosage, the terpenes in Veronia kill intestinal worms while leaving the host animal unharmed. Rearchers found that chimpanzees eat only the pith (the soft, spongy centre tissue) of the Veronia plant – where the concentration of terpenes is optimal for the poisoning of parasites – and do not suffer any ill effects. The scientists have not discovered whether this lf-medicating behaviour is learned or instinctive, but their rearch suggests that chimpanzees may understand the concept of dosage, as Veronia often proves fatal to other wild animals that ingest the whole plant. This rearch shows that chimpanzees and other animals have the capacity to treat parasites with plants from their natural surroundings; other rearch shows that when plants themlves provide the problem, wild animals employ yet another form of lf-medication.
justcarMorgan, S. (2012). Effective Writing: CU1010 Textbook . Cairns, Australia: James Cook University.
Notice how the academic writing:
∙ refers to rearch not opinion
∙ makes statements as clearly as possible without lots of extra words
∙ each ntence builds on to the one before with examples, more information or discussion ∙ us all words in full such as do not rather than don’t
∙
us both large and small words becau they are the right words, not to show off
This example of academic writing is from a first-year student essay. It is also worth noting that this is an unusual piece of writing for university becau it does not have references to indicate where the material came from: you can find more information on using other people’s information in the Summarising, Quoting and Avoiding Plagiarism workshop and through the JCU Library Guides.
A clear topic
An example… More detail
Your Turn
Have a look at the numbered ntences below. Each has something that makes it unsuitable for academic writing. Can you tell what the problems are?
Once you have identified the parts that are not suitable, rewrite them following the characteristics of academic writing.
1.Computers, laptops and mobiles are a number one need for every individual today.
2.It is without a doubt clear and conci that computers have revolutionid this day and age,clip
and allow us to confabulate globally.aah怎么读
3.Everyone loves the WWW, to SMS and play on their PS3!!
4.Computers are beyond amazing and have a massive impact on our lives, and we would
unquestionably be lost without them.
Be a Good Tour Guide
The following ntences are part of a written assignment on “the need for clarity and logic in academic writing”. Number the ntences in the best order possible and put a cross next to any ntences that should be left out.
The reader can more easily understand the information if it is prented in a clear and
logical manner.
Clarity and logic in academic writing helps both the reader and the writer.
The writer is also benefited as it forces the writer to better analy the connections
between their pieces of information and quence it accordingly.
It is for the reasons that clarity and logic is considered a necessity in tertiary
institutions.
Writing clearly is also a skill that the writer will carry with them for their lifetime.
Reading effectively is also an important skill at university.
3
Walking the line…
Sometimes it helps to think of academic writing as one end of a long line – a continuum – of language that goes from informal to formal. Take a look:
Informal Formal
1.That was soooo boring!
2. That workshop was so boring!
同传翻译培训
3
4. Students have reported that the workshop on academic writing did not meet
their learning needs.
5. According to a recent student survey, the academic writing workshops
at JCU have failed to meet intended learning outcomes.
Did you notice how the language became more specific and factual as it became more formal?
Try ‘walking the line’ in the following example:
Informal Formal
1. That was sooo great!
2. That workshop was so awesome.
3.top什么意思
ui是什么4.
.
5.
4
