Academic Text and Language

Question 1

academic writing

Answer 1

is a particular style of expressions used in formal essays and other assessments to come up with an academic form of writing. It requires formal language, a logical structure and is supported by evidences to define the intellectual boundaries of their specific areas of expertise.
-a foundational life skill
- writers to be creators—not just consumers—of knowledge
- “reveal new truths”
- fundamentally analytical
- making a claim

Question 2

3 pillars of academic writing

Answer 2

Writing is Thinking: continuous; active; not what you do with the thought but is “thinking”

Writing is a Process: interpretation,
presentation of argument are in phases

We Write Best in Conversation with Others:
involve inputs in developing, testing and
strengthening

Question 3

purpose of academic writing

Answer 3

the purpose of academic writing is “to search
for truth”; and to “make an original contribution” to a field of knowledge or to a scholarly conversation.

1. telling readers about the existence of something they don’t already know about
2. giving readers a new interpretation of something that everyone already knows about.

Question 4

academic writing

Answer 4

-Focus on the process not the product
-Has a more sophisticated structure not a five-paragraph essay
-revision as editing the language errors in a paper to thinking about it as improving an idea and then writing a new paper for that new idea.
-There will be a shift from writing about literature to writing about everything.

Question 5

academic integrity

Answer 5

• is securing an honest representation of the
  process and the product.
  -it is governed by ethical and technical aspects
• ethical aspect - your writing is your writing, not
  written by others worst you did not steal it or plagiarized it
• technical aspect - be responsible when using
  sources: properly cite sources when working with other people’s ideas and accurately represent data.
• ignorance is no excuse

Question 6

writing across curriulum

Answer 6

an academic writer must have awareness of
the features of academic writing that apply universally and of those that change depending upon the discipline in play.
- which among the 7 elements need to change; which is universally used

Question 7

7 elements in academic writing

Answer 7

—evidence, analysis, question/problem, method,
structure, argument, and implications

Question 8

7 elements of academic writing

evidence

Answer 8

Academic writing begins with evidence.

-word comes from the Latin video, “to see”: evidence is
perceptible, able to be seen.

Question 9

3 kinds of evidence

Answer 9

• textual, historical, citational

Question 10

7 elements of academic writing

analysis

Answer 10

Evidence always needs analysis.

humanities attempt to explain the world primarily through the use of language, and the sciences attempt to explain the world primarily through the use of numbers.

• quantitative and qualitative

Question 11

7 elements of academic writing

question/problem

Answer 11

All academic writing responds to a specific problem or question.

Question 12

7 elements of academic writing

method

Answer 12

all academic writing employs a deliberate method that is drawn from a distinct discipline or combination of disciplines.

Question 13

7 elements of academic writing

argument

Answer 13

All academic writing also has an argument—a series of demonstrated claims that add up to a central idea—though not necessarily a thesis statement.

Question 14

7 elements of academic writing

structure

Answer 14

structure depends upon the discipline in play: different disciplines use different structures.

Question 15

7 elements of academic writing

implications

Answer 15

All academic writing has implications, or extractable knowledge that matters beyond the specifics of the argument.

Question 16

text

Answer 16

The thing being interpreted—the object, event, topic, or phenomenon being discussed, even if it’s not a book.

Question 17

author

Answer 17

The person interpreting the text.

Question 18

Question/Problem

Answer 18

Why the text needs interpretation.

Question 19

method

Answer 19

How the text is being interpreted.

Question 20

thesis/argument

Answer 20

The central interpretation of the text.

Question 21

stakes/implications

Answer 21

Why the argument matters.

Question 22

terminology

Answer 22

Key concepts in the argument.

Question 23

scholarly evidence

Answer 23

Scholars cited to help deliver an argument.
- critical, historical, and theoretical

Question 24

critical scholarship

Answer 24

A scholar who has interpreted the same text as the author, often marshaled to support analysis or argument, or used as a counter that the author responds to.

Question 25

historical scholarship

Answer 25

A scholar who has interpreted the historical evidence relevant to a text, usually cited to help contextualize evidence accurately.

Question 26

theoretical scholarship

Answer 26

A scholar whose ideas (often abstract or
philosophical) help an author deliver an argument, even though that scholar
doesn’t directly discuss the text or context in question.

Question 26

assertion

Answer 26

A point in the body of an essay that has not yet been substantiated with evidence. All the assertions should logically
produce the argument.

Question 27

citation

Answer 27

References to the sources of evidence.

Question 28

analysis

Answer 28

The interpretation of evidence, whether it’s textual, historical, or scholarly.

Question 29

counter/response

Answer 29

Alternate evidence, analysis, or argument (real or imagined) that an author must account for to be fully persuasive.

Question 30

kinds of academic writing

Answer 30

The Single-Source Paper

The Multi-Source Paper

The Research Paper

Question 31

the research paper

Answer 31

A special kind of essay—whether single-source or multi-source—that cites, discusses, and advances previous scholarship on a given topic. In other
words, an original contribution to an on-going field of academic inquiry.

Question 32

the single source paper

Answer 32

An analysis of a single text (or idea, event, object, etc.) that identifies and discusses some interesting or problematic aspect
of that text (or idea, event, object, etc.).

Question 33

single source - the close reading

Answer 33

An interpretation that shows how a text was made and/or how it works.

Question 34

single source - the theorization

Answer 34

The presentation of an abstract statement through the discussion of a particular example.

Question 35

single source - the archival essay

Answer 35

presentation of new historical material not widely available.

Question 36

single source - the empirical report

Answer 36

presentation of new historical material not widely available.

Question 37

single source - the book review

Answer 37

A summary and discussion of someone else’s book.

Question 38

The Multi-Source Paper

Answer 38

An essay that brings two or more texts (or events, ideas, objects, etc.) into conversation on the basis of some common ground.

Question 39

The Multi-Source Paper - The Historicist Essay

Answer 39

A consideration of a text in light of historical circumstances relevant to the way it came into existence.

Question 40

The Multi-Source Paper - The Comparative Essay

Answer 40

A consideration of similar texts, ideas, events that come from different contexts.

Question 41

The Multi-Source Paper - The Lens Essay

Answer 41

The use of one text or idea (usually philosophical or theoretical in
nature) to unpack and explain a particular example or set of data.

Question 42

The Multi-Source Paper - The Test-a-Theory Essay

Answer 42

The use of an example or data set to evaluate (and potentially improve or disprove) a general philosophical or theoretical idea.

Question 43

The Multi-Source Paper - The Presentist Essay:

Answer 43

The use of a historical text or idea to unpack and discuss a recent text or idea.

Question 44

The Multi-Source Paper - The Meta-Analysis

Answer 44

A collection and synthesis of several studies on a related topic in an
effort to draw some more stable or general conclusions.

Question 45

The Multi-Source Paper - The Review Essay:

Answer 45

A discussion and critique of several recent studies on a related topic designed to ascertain the state of a field.

Question 46

kinds of academic writing according to type of writing

Answer 46

—Descriptive
—Analytical
—Persuasive
—Critical

Question 47

descriptive writing

Answer 47

the simplest of the four as its purpose is to provide facts and information. You can
find this in a summary of an article or a report of the results of an experiment. This can easily be figured out in instructions such as identify, report, record, define or summarize.

Question 48

analytical writing

Answer 48

Most academic writing is also analytical, but don’t be confused with the first type since analytical includes descriptive writing when you re-organize the facts and information you describe in categories, groups, parts, types and relationships. This type is said to be used for instructions such as analyze, compare, contrast,
relate and examine.

Question 49

persuasive writing

Answer 49

Persuasive has all the features of analytical writing with an addition of your own point of view, but always remember that each claim you make needs to be supported by evidence. Clue for a persuasive writing lies in instructions such as argue, evaluate, discuss and take a position.

Question 50

critical writing

Answer 50

which is very common for research and scholarly writing. It has all the features of persuasive writing with the addition of two
points of view including your own. The kind of instructions for this type are critique, debate, disagree and evaluate.