Academic Writing

What is Academic Writing?

• Academic writing is one way in which you will demonstrate your knowledge.
• Research shows that effective writing skills are related to better grades and greater academic achievement.

Section A: Understanding the assignment.

• The first step in the beginning any assignment is to make sure you understand the assignment instructions.
• Your tutor has developed the assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade.
• As you re-read the assignment instructions, ask yourself, “How does the assignment fit into the course?” “Which course of unit objective(s) is the assignment linked to?” “What do I need focus on?”

Section B: Organising your ideas and drafting.

• Generating Ideas
• How you come up with idea for your writing assignment will vary from assignment to assignment and unit to unit. The main thing is to get down your ideas. This will help you:
• Work out what you need to find out and refer back to the question/topic
• Formulate questions that you will be able to answer through your reading
• Focus your reading
• Develop a rough idea of what the structure of your essay might be like
• A first draft does not have to be perfect, and you do not have to draft the sections of your paper in order.
• You may need to go back and re-read the assignment instructions or do further research. Drafting also includes properly citing in-text quotations from your research sources and preparing your reference pages.

Section C: Revising and proofreading.

• The process of revising involves evaluating your draft’s content and organisation and then rewriting your paper to be more clear and concise.
• You may need to return to earlier steps, such as planning and organising, to achieve this goal.
• Once you are satisfied with your revision, take the time to proofread your essay. Check your grammar and spelling.

Essay/Extended Writing Structure

• Introduction
• Question to be answered
• Discussion
• Analysis
• Evaluation

Key Terms

Analyse = Focus on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of an issue or topic. Do not simply describe.

Discuss = Present a point of view after considering both sides of an issue or question. Your opinion should be supported by arguments and evidence.

Evaluate = Consider both strengths and weaknesses and make a judgement.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

• Apostrophes
• Commas
• They’re/their/there
• Films need the date in (brackets) next to them, e.g Shrek (2001)