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Academic Writing UCT Writing Centre 2014
2. At UCT everybody writes, right? But not everybody writes right. 3. What is academic writing? Scholarly style of expression -Formal tone no slang -Usually uses third person (not I) -Focused argument and presentation of information no waffle -Precise word choice Writing that talks to the intellect, rather than appealing to emotions 4. Academic writing is not better or more correct than other styles of writing but it is what is required in the university space -Terms, rules and values to learn -Need to develop the skills and be able to jump through the hoops -Takes practice 5. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Tone Harry struggles to write his PHI5000 thesis. 6. 5 components of academic writing Argument Structure Evidence Coherence Clarity 7. So what makes good academic writing? 1. More than a topic... You need an approach to the topic. Are you trying to: - answer a specific question? - argue for something? - compare something theories, data? ...etc you could be doing more than one. Make sure you understand what you are trying to do. 8. 2. Clear structure and direction Work out what you want to do in your essay / chapter and explain this to your reader up front. Introduction is key Overview / background to the issue Specific topic / question Your argument (thesis statement) Roadmap: what you will be doing to answer your question / develop your argument. 9. 3. Provide credible evidence for your claims What counts as evidence in academia? Research reported in academic journals / books / theses Government data and statistics, e.g. census data Independently produced data, e.g. Large-scale surveys, United Nations data NOT: individual opinions (e.g. blogs), common sense, personal experience 10. and engage respectfully but intelligently with your sources Respectfully: Acknowledge through correct citation. Avoid straw man approach. Be polite about opposing views. Be aware that you dont have the final answer. Use hedging where appropriate. Intelligently: Critically weigh up others arguments / evidence. Think independently. Develop your own voice. 11. South Africa has very high levels of violent crime compared to other countries. South Africans are a sport-loving nation. Getting adolescents involved in sports after school helps to keep them away from drugs. How do you know this? What sort of evidence would be relevant here? 12. 4. Tell a coherent story Work out your overall structure: What are your key ideas / pieces of information? How are they connected to each other? How should you move from one to the next one, so that you tell a logical story? 13. This paper is all over the place! Where is the author taking me? 14. Yikes! This is moving too fast! Waaaaaaaaaahhhh! 15. Think of stepping stones Talk your reader through your ideas, one step at a time. Deal with important ideas in detail. Dont expect the reader to know what you know. 16. 5. Be clear Make your work easy to read, not a slog Express complex ideas as simply as possible 17. Introduction Body (paragraphs) Conclusion 18. One idea per paragraph Paragraph structure: topic sentence, elaboration, evidence / examples or (my personal favourite) PEE: Point, Evidence, Explain Links between paragraphs Cohesive writing hangs together by showing the connections / relationships between ideas. Mechanics of academic writing: the paragraph
