What Do We Mean By Academic Writing?

Bruce HargraveMilitary Education Group

Academic vs ‘normal’ writing• Are there some differences?• If so, how can we describe those

differences?• We will have a look at some examples and

try to establish some ‘rules’.

Read the examples and decide..• Is this academic writing?• Why? (Or, why not?).

Features of Academic Writing• It is a process• It is a social practice• It has an obvious audience and a clear

purpose• Academic writing is linear.

Features of Academic Writing• Complexity• Formality• Precision• Clarity and conciseness• Objectivity• Explicitness• Accuracy• Responsibility.

Rules of Academic Writing• Any evidence used to support an

argument must be based on reliable research.

• Objectivity is better than subjectivity.• Both sides of the argument must be

presented – for and against, pros vs cons.• Emotional language should only be used

with great care.• Critical analysis is vital.

Avoiding Errors• Use the toolset available to you

– Spell check everything before submission – Grammar check everything before submission – AND proof read everything before submission

• Proof reading tips – Get some temporal distance – Read out loud – Get someone else to read it to you.

Common Errors• Its and It’s

– It’s is short for ‘it is’ (or ‘it has’).– The cat had eaten its dinner (no apostrophe

required).– It’s time to put the cat out for the night.– It’s been raining for a week.

Common Errors e.g. and i.e.

– do not mean the same things.– i.e. is short for id est, the Latin for it is.– e.g. is short for exempli gratia, – and means for example.

The standard discount applies, i.e. 10%. Try using easy-to-read fonts, e.g.

Georgia and Verdana.

Marking Frustrations• If all I do as the marker of your work is ask questions, then you have not written your work correctly • Here are some common questions I shout out when marking:

– “How can you say that?” – “Who says?” – “Where did that come from?” – “What has this got to do with anything?”

The Academic Mindset• “Everything is open to Question”

– If you ask all of these questions as you write then by definition you will be forced into supporting your work – Bias will be removed – Your work will be appropriately supported – You will write far fewer definitive statements

Remember• Your opinion counts, tell me what you

think, but support or refute what you say with academic underpinning!

• It doesn’t matter if I don’t agree with you!