An Introduction to Academic Writing

AWUC

18 Aug 201507:39

Summary

TLDRThis video introduces academic English and writing. Academic English conveys research to persuade audiences of an effective argument supported by evidence. There are rules and conventions for different academic writing genres. Common traits include focused questions, logical reasoning and evidence, clarity, coherence between ideas, and following a writing process. Benefits of strong academic writing skills include making individual contributions to professional dialogues, participating in important conversations, becoming an effective researcher and thinker, and being an attractive job candidate.

Takeaways

😀 Academic English is the variety of English used to convey research through writing
📝 There are two main types: spoken and written academic English
📚 Academic writing has many genres like research papers and lab reports, each with its own rules
🧠 Academic writing emphasizes logical reasoning over emotions or perceptions
🗣 Academic writing must be clear for the reader to understand the argument
🔗 Academic writing must have coherence between ideas and paragraphs
📈Academic writing involves planning, researching, drafting, editing for an effective argument
✍️ Academic writing allows writers to contribute to dialogues in their fields
🧠 Mastering academic writing improves critical thinking and research skills
👔 Academic writing makes one more attractive to potential employers

Q & A

What are the two main varieties of academic English?
-The two main varieties of academic English are spoken academic English and written academic English.
What are some examples of academic writing besides graduate student theses and scholarly research articles?
-Other examples of academic writing include literature reviews, research papers, abstracts, and lab reports.
Why is it important to identify the rules and expectations for a particular genre of academic writing before starting to write?
-It's important because each type or genre of academic writing tends to have its own specific conventions and expectations. Understanding these ahead of time allows you to craft your writing appropriately.
What are three traits that most academic writing shares in common?
-Three common traits are: 1) focused, specific expectations and research questions, 2) an emphasis on logical reasoning over emotions/feelings, and 3) a requirement for clarity and coherence.
What are the basic steps involved in producing most academic writing?
-The basic steps are: 1) Analyze the writing task, 2) Plan your argument, 3) Conduct research to find evidence, 4) Write and revise multiple drafts, and 5) Seek feedback from others.
Why is academic writing important for making individual contributions?
-Academic writing allows writers to add their own perspectives and ideas to ongoing conversations and dialogues within their fields of study.
How can academic writing improve someone's professional qualifications?
-Mastering academic writing makes someone a better researcher, critical thinker, and communicator - all skills that make a job candidate more appealing.
What skills does effective academic writing require beyond writing itself?
-It also requires critical thinking to construct logical arguments, research skills to find factual evidence, and editing/proofreading abilities.
Why should you ask others for feedback when academic writing?
-Getting comments from peers/colleagues helps you evaluate how well your argument and information are structured to persuade your audience effectively.
What does the phrase "reader responsible language" mean?
-It means academic English depends heavily on what is explicitly written since readers will believe and depend on the actual written words rather than implied meanings.

Outlines

00:00

😄 What is academic English and academic writing

This paragraph defines academic English as the variety of English used to share and convey research. It states that academic writing is used to reach an academic audience and persuade them of an effective argument created to answer a research question. Two types of academic English are discussed - spoken and written.

05:00

📝 Characteristics and process of academic writing

This paragraph outlines general characteristics of academic writing - focused expectations, emphasis on logical reasoning over emotions, clarity, coherence, and following a process. It then describes the common process: analyzing the task, planning the argument, researching evidence, drafting, getting feedback, and editing.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡academic English

Academic English refers to the variety of English language used to convey research and share ideas in an academic context. According to the video, it involves using language to create persuasive arguments supported by critical analysis and evidence. Academic English has two main forms - spoken and written. The focus here is on written academic English which includes various genres like research papers, literature reviews etc.

💡academic writing

Academic writing refers to the written form of academic English. It involves using writing to convey research in an academic context. There are many different genres of academic writing like research papers, literature reviews, abstracts, lab reports etc. Each genre has its own conventions and rules that writers need to follow.

💡research

Research refers to the process of answering a research question by creating an argument supported by critical analysis and evidence. Academic English and writing are used to convey research ideas and findings to an academic audience.

💡argument

A key aspect of academic writing is creating an effective argument to answer a research question or make a claim. Arguments in academic writing need to be logical, supported by evidence, and aimed at persuading the reader.

💡critical thinking

Academic writing demonstrates critical thinking skills in how arguments are constructed, claims supported by evidence, and ideas analyzed logically. Mastering academic writing helps develop critical thinking abilities.

💡coherence

Coherence refers to the logical connections between ideas in a piece of academic writing. Writers can achieve coherence using transitions, paragraph unity, and logical progressions of ideas.

💡process

Though each writer develops their own process, academic writing generally follows a standard process involving steps like analyzing the task, planning the argument, researching, drafting, getting feedback, editing, and proofreading.

💡evidence

Evidence refers to the facts, data, analysis, and other sources writers cite to support the claims in their academic writing. Evidence is crucial for building convincing arguments.

💡purpose

Determining the purpose - usually framed as a research question - is an important first step in academic writing. The purpose guides analysis and determines evidence needed.

💡audience

Academic writing is aimed at a scholarly audience interested in the writer's field or research area. Understanding audience expectations guides how arguments and ideas are framed.

Highlights

Academic English is used to share research, which refers to answering a research question through critical analysis and evidence.

There are two varieties of academic English: spoken academic English and written academic English.

Academic writing includes literature reviews, research papers, abstracts and lab reports. Each type has its own rules and conventions.

Academic writing starts with focused, specific questions to answer through research.

Academic writing emphasizes logical reasoning and facts over emotions.

Academic writing must be clear, as English depends on the writer to comprehensively convey arguments.

Academic writing must have coherence between sentences and unified paragraphs.

Most academic writing follows a process of analyzing the task, planning arguments, researching, drafting, and revising.

Academic writing allows writers to contribute to field conversations and increases their voice.

Mastering academic writing makes one an effective researcher and critical thinker.

Academic writing is a marketable job skill that improves qualifications.

Academic writing involves skills beyond writing like critical thinking, argumentation, and research.

Spoken academic English conveys research verbally.

Graduate theses and scholarly articles are examples of academic writing.

Asking peers for feedback improves academic writing.