Academic Writing Flashcards
What is academic writing?
- Academic writing is what scholars do to communicate with other scholars in their fields of study, their disciplines.
What is the process of academic writing?
- Posing a question
- Problematizing a concept
- Evaluating an opinion
- Answering the question/s posed
What are the purposes of academic writing?
- To inform
- To argue a specific point
- To persuade
Who are the specific audience of academic writing?
- Teacher (for the most part)
- Peers (read and evaluate the work)
- Academic community (read the work)
Why do you think academic writing is thinking?
We cannot just write anything that comes to our mind.
* Abide by the set of rules and practices in writing.
* Write in a language that is appropriate and formal but not too pretentious.
* The sentences in academic writing are often longer and more intricate than the sentences in popular magazines (Lexical density).
What should be considered with the background of the audience?
- Use of jargons - if the readers belong to the same field/discipline to which the writer belongs
- Use layman’s terms - if the readers are outsiders
What should academic writing be backed up with?
strong and valid evidence
Give some differences of literary and academic text?
Reflective and personal Serious and impersonal
Symbolic and imaginative Formal and authoritative
Simple but may be figurative Uses specialized language of discipline
Flows freely and spontaneously
Follows a pattern of presenting ideas
To show /tell unfolding of details/events
To inform, to explain, to argue/assert
Varies, depending on complexity of text Discipline-specific
What is academic text?
- A kind of text that is expected to be semi-formal/ formal, impersonal and objective.
What is non-academic text?
- A text which is considered to be personal, emotional, impressionistic or subjective in nature
What are the elements that shape writing?
- Topic
- Purpose
- Author’s Role
- Audience
use of more complex words and expressions
Formality
simple; language of self-expression; language used in conversation
- Informal
follows accepted rules, forms and conventions of writing in particular discipline or community
- Formal
Choosing expanded modal forms instead of contracted forms, such as using cannot instead of can’t and do not instead of don’t.
- Expanded modal forms
Choosing one verb form over two-word verbs, such as damage instead of mess up.
- Two-word verbs
Choosing expanded terms over abbreviated equivalents, such as as soon as possible instead of ASAP
- Expanded terms
- Avoiding colloquial/ trite/ idiomatic expressions, such as kind of like, as a matter of fact.
read
impersonal and maintains a certain level of social distance
Objectivity
What are the things to avoid in objectivity?
Personal pronouns
Rhetorical Questions
Emotive language
use of signposts that allow readers to trace the relationships in the parts of the study.
Explicitness
What should be applied in explicitness?
Transitional Devices, this or these + summary word
academic writing requires care since knowledge is built from proven theories and concepts. Therefore, _____ is needed to avoid sweeping generalizations.
Caution/ Hedging
- tends, suggests, appear to be, think, believe, and indicate
Verbs indicating caution
- will, must, would, may, can, might and could
Modal verbs
- often, sometimes and usually
Verbs of frequency
