Santiago Mazzei
Teacher: Stella Maris Saubidet
Lengua y Expresión Escrita IV-ISFD 41
July, 2014
What is “Academic” Writing?
L. Lennie Irvin
INTRODUCTION: THE ACADEMIC WRITING TASK
Since the development of a written text is not easy
and being proficient at it is of great importance for communicating ideas, you
must take this lesson as something precious. The present section has the aim of
making things easier for you when having to successfully accomplish an academic
writing task and giving you a first idea of what this type of writing is about.
In academic writing, the comprehension of your
procedure and the right strategy lead to success. We therefore have to get rid
of some misinterpretations about certain aspects of the subject before dealing
with the most relevant issues.
MYTHS
ABOUT WRITING
The following wrong concepts drive writers to
unsuccessful results:
1. Writing is an
inflexible straight procedure. As a
matter of fact, we go all over again through the different stages of the
writing process as we proceed with a task.
2. One has to have
everything sorted out before writing. The
truth is that new ideas may come up as we perform the writing task. We can add,
remove or rephrase anything later.
3. A first draft has
to be definite and excelling. Again, successful
writing takes going all over through the process as many times as necessary.
4. One is determined
to write in a certain way and cannot become a better writer.
5. I cannot write if I
am not good at grammar. “Writing is about
achieving your desired effect upon an intended audience.” (Irvin, 2010, p.
5)
6. I have to stick
to/reject the five-paragraph essay. It is
beneficial to know it, but it is just a base model that you will leave behind as
you improve your way of writing.
7. I must avoid the
use of “I”. In semi-formal style, it is
not wrong to implement it.
Ø
The Academic Writing Situation
Since the most important
mistakes in academic writing are connected to an inadequate comprehension of
the general “writing situation” (Irvin, 210, p. 5), it is necessary to go over
the contrast between spoken and written productions.
In speaking, three dimensions
are dealt with, whereas in writing, only two. We therefore have to mentally
bring about the contextual circumstances.
It is of great importance that
you grow a “writer’s sense” (Irvin, 2010, p. 6) not beyond the writing
circumstances.
Looking
More Closely at the “Academic Writing” Situation
Academic writing has “its own
codes and conventions” (Irvin, 2010, p. 7). You have to know:
ü
Your audience,
ü
The context,
ü
Your message,
ü
Your purpose,
ü
The documents or genres used.
Lee Ann Carroll has evidenced
the type of writing you are likely to deal with in an academic context.
Since a good familiarity with
research skills, a clear understanding of complicated texts, an ability to
summarize and a developed critical sense are required in university apart from
the usual writing skills, Carroll claims that ‘writing assignments’ should be
defined as ‘literacy tasks’.
Writing in college has
evaluative purposes so you have to reflect your excellence and your capacities.
It is therefore useful to get into the aspects of a “literacy task”.
Ø
Knowledge of Research Skills
Knowing the right way of
finding information anywhere and understanding that Research is procedural
(constant focus on the different origins of your information is required) are a
must. It is also necessary to become aware of that the research of information
plays a determining role within the writing task, and thus a lot of effort has
to be invested in the process.
Ø
The Ability to Read Complex Texts
Critical thinking in the
reading process is a must: detecting nonobjectivity and presumptions, as well
as ”making inferences” -how we relate the different parts of (a) text/s.
…an inference is a belief (or
statement) about something unknown made on the basis of something known […]
based upon the known factors we discover from our reading […] our job becomes
to get our readers to make the same inferences we have made (Irvin, 2010, p.
8).
Ø
The Understanding of Key Disciplinary Concepts
Teachers are going to want to
see how you utilize and manipulate the concepts you have been asked for in your
writing assignments. They want you to show them what you have learnt. So
analyze carefully for what concepts they want you to implement into your work.
Ø
Strategies for Synthesizing, Analyzing, and Responding
Critically to New Information
Developing tactics for
extracting relevant information to later utilize it in your assignment is a
must. The acquisition of methods for the organization and identification of
relevant schemes in any new material is a necessity.
IN COLLEGE, EVERYTHING’S AN ARGUMENT: A GUIDE FOR
DECODING COLLEGE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
In academic writing you will
have the necessity of presenting a conjecture in which you make a statement
(called the “thesis”) and standing for it with effective arguments supported by
properly introduced corroborative elements. This can be confusing for new
learners, so it deserves a deeper analysis.
Ø
Academic Writing Is an Argument
A point of view that is
founded on proper evidence is called an “argument”. That point of view has to
receive your examiner’s approval. You have to be convincing by providing
grounds for belief. To be successful, a well-structured display of your
argument and solid elements that support it are needed.
Ø
Academic Writing Is an Analysis
One has to know what the
teacher’s expectations are. In some cases these remain tacit, and thus
difficult to detect. In the first place, summarize only if you are told to do
so. Secondly, your resulting work will depend directly on your previous
analysis of the subject matter.
Analyzing implies following:
1. Carry out an
investigation and remain open-minded towards the various possible answers that
you may find.
2. Detect the relevant
pieces of information.
3. Study these
isolated pieces of information and find out the way in which they are connected
to each other.
New notions will come up from
the isolation and inspection of the different items of information that conform
the subject of your essay. At the same time, your point of view of the way in
which these different pieces of information connect with each other conforms
your thesis statement, and the objective of your work is to place an argument
that defends that point of view validating it and making it a solid one.
Separate the different pieces of your investigation and take notes of the
particular features of each. As new schemes show up, you have to consistently
relate each element. Analysis is an extremely important element of the
“literacy task”.
Ø
Three Common Types of College Writing Assignments
There are three types of
college writing tasks:
Ø
The Closed Writing Assignment
Two opposing statements are
presented, and you have to decide (based on your research) which the most solid
is. The important part of your work is showing the way in which you arrived at
that conclusion.
A deeper inspection of the
main issue may lead you to ambiguous assumptions. Do not use a “simplistic
thesis” (Irvin, 2010, p. 12).
Ø
The Semi-Open Writing Assignment
“Discuss […] Explain […]
Compare […] Show how…” (Irvin, 2010, p. 12)
Avoid using statements that
are too obvious. Make relations between the sort of elements you are going to
use, their natural origin and role and what leads to them. You have to “dig […]
and see what you find” (Irvin, 2010, p. 12).
Do not summarize or merely
account for things in this type of essay. Bringing an argument up is also
required. Your professors will want to see how you get to your discernments
into schemes and connections related to the topic. Your work is required to
show what you arrived to from this research.
Ø
The Open Writing Assignment
“Analyze […] a character […]
Compare and contrast two themes…” (Irvin, 2010, p. 12)
You have to determine your
subject and your thesis statement. One has to comprehend the relevant pieces of
information, and from there choose the proper theme. The most important is to
determine your subject and reducing it to a malleable proportion.
Ø
Picking and Limiting a Writing Topic
Seek for what is of interest
to you, as well as what gives you reachable results. Present your subject as an
attractive interrogative. That interrogative will indicate you the best path to
follow and what the core aspect of your statement is, as that statement will
provide the result to that previous interrogative.
Reduce your subject to malleable
proportions as it will make things easier.
Ø
Three Characteristics of Academic Writing
Thais and Zawacky say that
there are three aspects:
1. Perseverance, an
open-mind, and method within the writer.
2. Logic first;
passions come in second place.
3. Answers arrived at
with the use of reason.
Everything mentioned in this
section is what your examiners want to perceive in your written assignments.
THE FORMAT OF THE ACADEMIC ESSAY
Specific characteristics are
attributed to the text. The format should not be arrived at with the use of
formulas; the process requires flexibility.
Ø
Characteristics of the Critical Essay
1. It “MAKES A POINT
and SUPPORTS IT.” (Irvin, 2010, p. 15)
2. The statement is
naturally expository. Such claim is a declaration that is more suitably placed
after the introductory paragraphs.
3. Structure: “a clear
introduction, body and conclusion.” (Irvin, 2010, p. 12)
4. Supporting sources:
The use of quotes indicating the sources of information is a must. No argument
has to lack supporting elements. A sufficient amount of supporting material is
needed, not only one piece of it.
5. Every source of
information has to be documented indicating its origin.
6. “Transition” (Irvin,
2010, p. 16) sentences should be related to the main statement since hey
indicate the theme of that part of your work.
7. MLA or APA style is
required.
8. No inconveniences
concerning grammar should be found in your essay.
CONCLUSION
The key is to comprehend one’s
actions and the way in which one proceeds when working in an academic writing
assignment. The base is to have the proper direction at the time of writing an
essay.
Works Cited
Carroll, Lee Ann. Rehearsing New Roles: How College
Writers. Carbondale : Southern Illinois UP, 2002. Print.
Irvin, L. Lennie. What Is “Academic” Writing? Library of
Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data,
2010. Print.
Thaiss, Chris and Terry
Zawacki. Engaged Writers & Dynamic
Disciplines:
Research on the Academic Writing Life. Portsmouth
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