How to write academic writings
- 2. Some General Advice on Academic Essay-Writing An essay: should have an ARGUMENT. Should answer a question or a few related questions. Should try to prove something-develop a single thesis by reasoning and evidence including examples confirming citations from any particular text or resources your argument involves.
- 3. Steps that should be included in an essay: Formulate the question(s) you will seek to answer in your essay. Develop a provisional thesis or hypothesis. An organization should be designed to present your argument clearly and persuasively. Succesful methods of composing an essay are various but some practices of good writers are almost invariable.
- 4. Methods of composing an essay in some practices of good writers They start writing early because they use writing not simply to transcribe what they have already dicovered. They try to write whta seems readiest to be written. They keep the essay´s overall purpose and organization in mind. They revise estensively with special attention to transitions. Two or other important considerations in revising sentences are diction and economy. Lastly they proofread the final copy.
- 5. To meet expectations of University writing you will learn rules that may have helped you to plan and write your essays by providing a ready-made structure you could fit your ideas into.
- 6. There are some important differences between high school rules and university expectations: High School Rules Essays consist of three main points. Essays have a five- paragraph structure: an introduction, your three main points and a conclusion. University expectations There is no predetermined number of points that your essay must include. Essays have as many paragraphs as needed. You only need a structure that serves your ideas and your argument.
- 7. Paragraphs… …are as long or as short as needed to meet the five-paragraph requirement and the page limit. … must begin with a topic sentence that explicitly echoes the thesis statement. …are usually between one third and two thirds of a page and vary in length according to the needs of the paragraph. …will be clearer and more coherent if they begin with a topic sentence that sums up the main point of the paragraph.
- 8. High School University expectations …paragraphs generally end with a conclusion that reiterates the point contained in the topic sentence. …alternatively may end with a transitional sentence that anticipates the next paragraph. …paragraphs should end whenever you have provided enough evidence and analysis to support the point in your topic sentence and you should provide a transition when it helps the reader follow your train of thoughts. Your paragraph will be more coherent if you place the transition at the start of the next paragraph.
- 9. Thesis Statement High School Essays must include a thesis statement. • The opening paragraph must end in a thesis statement. • The thesis statement must be supported by three main points and it must be one sentence in length. University Not every essay needs a thesis statement. • The opening paragraph often ends in a thesis statement but a thesis may occur elsewhere. • The thesis statement does not have to be supported by any specific number of points and it can be two or three sentences long or longer if the argument is complex.
- 10. Introduction and Conclusion High School The introduction should begin with a broad and general statement and eventually be narrowed down. The conclusion should provide a summary of the main points of the paper. University The introduction should raise the essay topic or question as soon as possible in specific and concrete terms. The conclusion should do more than merely summarize what you have already done in the paper.
- 11. Argument High School You may add narration and description to remind the reader of events or particulars. Can be based on personal experience or opinion and it should no acknowledge opposing viewpoints because they will weaken your argument. University You may incorporate narrative or plot elements into your argument as long as you analyze them in sufficient depth. Argumentative essays shoul be supported by evidence from your sources. An essay that addresses counter arguments becomes stronger and more persuasive by acknowkledging the complexity of the material.
- 12. Presentations High School Students may receive credits for visual effects. University Professors are concerned with your ideas and your writing and expect you to submit your essays in a plain format with no fancy fonts, colours, title pages and blinders.
- 13. The warnings about plagiarism The purpose of any paper is to show your own thinking, not create a patchwork of borrowed ideas. It is very important to demonstrate that you know what is going on in your field of study: That’s especially important for Internet sources, so mentioning what others have said doesn’t lessen the credit you get for your own thinking—in fact, it adds to your credibility. You need to keep mentioning authors and pages and dates to show how your ideas are related to those of the experts.
- 14. Quotations, paraphrases, or summaries If you use the author’s exact words, enclose them in quotation marks, or indent passages of more than four lines. If you use your own words to paraphrase or summarize the idea you want to discuss, try to emphasize the points relevant to your argument. But be sure to name sources even when you are not using the exact original words. Mentioning the author’s name indicates where the borrowing starts and stops.
- 15. Specific facts used as evidence for your argument or interpretation If the facts you mention are “common knowledge” you may not need to give a reference. But when you rely on facts that might be disputed within your discipline establish that they are trustworthy by showing that you got them from an authoritative source. Finally you may take into account distinctive or authoritative ideas , the way you introduce a reference can indicate your attitude and lead into your own argument if you agree or not with them.
- 16. Standard Documentation Formats Different disciplines use their own systems to set out information about sources, such as: The MLA citation format which uses parenthetical in-text citations of author and page, with all sources itemized in the Works Cited. APA System: Parenthetical Author- Date References (social sciences) This system uses only initials for authors’ given names, no quotation marks or angle brackets, minimal capitalization for titles of books and articles, and italics for volume numbers as well as journal titles.
- 17. To paraphrase means to restate someone else’s ideas in your own language at roughly the same level of detail. To summarize means to reduce the most essential points of someone else’s work into a shorter form. Along with quotation, paraphrase and summary provide the main tools for integrating your sources into your papers. When choosing which to use, consider first your discipline and the type of writing in which you are engaged. Paraphrase and summary are indispensable in argumentative papers because they allow you to include other people’s ideas without cluttering up your paragraphs with quotations. These techniques help you take greater control of your essay. Paraphrase and Summary
- 18. Some tips to revise your paper: Read passages aloud to see if you have achieved the emphasis you want. Look for places to use short sentences to draw attention to key ideas, questions, or argumentative statements. If you can’t read a sentence all the way through with expression, try cutting it into two or more. Be sure to use spell check. It will help you catch most typos and many wrongly spelled words. But don’t let it replace anything automatically, or you’ll end up with nonsense words. You will still have to read through your piece and use a print dictionary or writer’s handbook to look up words that you suspect are not right.
- 19. Don’t depend on a thesaurus. It will supply you with lists of words in the same general category as the one you have tried-but most of them won’t make sense. Use plain clear words instead. Use a print dictionary and look up synonyms given as part of definitions. Always look at the samples of usage too. Don’t depend on a grammar checker. The best ones still miss many errors, and they give a lot of bad advice. If you know that you overuse slang or the passive voice, you may find some of the “hits” useful, but be sure to make your own choice of replacement phrases. A few of the explanations may be useful. But nothing can substitute for your own judgement.
- 20. More tips… A Note on Appearance: Looks do count. Give your instructor the pleasure of handling a handsome document-or at least of not getting annoyed or inconvenienced. These are the basic expectations for any type of assignment Include a cover page giving the title of your paper, the name of the course, your name, the date, and the instructor’s name. Don’t bother with coloured paper, fancy print, or decorations. Number your pages in the top right-hand corner. Omit the number for the first page of your paper (since it will be headed by the title), starting in with 2 on the second page.
- 21. Double-space your text, including indented quotations, footnotes, and reference lists. Leave margins of one inch (2.5 cm) on all sides of the page. Use a standard font in twelve-point size. For easier reading, don’t right-justify your lines. Put the reference list or bibliography on a separate page at the end. (See the handout on Standard Documentation Format: choose your format, then use the examples as guides.) Staple your pages; don’t use a bulky binding or cover.
- 22. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO- Writing courses, Advice on Academic Writing http://writing.utoronto.ca/html (nd) BIBLIOGRAPHY