Unit 1 English Academic Writing

Unit Topics:

Effective academic writing

Audience and tone

Coherence

Effective academic writing

ObjectivesIn this unit you will:	learn what academic writing is;
	share experiences in academic writing;
	study the rules of effective academic writing;
	learn different kinds of writing tasks.

Starting up

Ex. 1. Discuss the following questions with your colleagues to share experience in academic writing.

1. Are the rules for writing essays in your native language the same as or different from those for English writing?

2. What do you hope to learn about English academic writing in this course? (Think about the writing assignments you will have to do in your academic course work.)

3. What kinds of composition courses have you had up to now?

4. Is writing hard for you?

5. What would you like to improve in your writing skills?

Ex. 2. Which of the following written materials can be considered academic writing? Why?

Thesis	letter to a friend	invitation to a concert
article	essay	summary
resume	annotation	complaint letter
message	presentation	annotation
dissertation	fax	composition
statement of purpose	invitation to a lecture	memo
abstract	e-mail	annotated bibliography
cover letter	outline	report
competition entry	review	essay test

Ex. 3. Why should you get ahead in your academic writing? Choose the three most important tips from the list below. State your point of view.

1. To know English better;

2. to manage my daily schedule;

3. to learn how to write academic papers;

4. to know how to synthesize information from a variety of sources;

5. to get extra qualification;

6. to learn to think logically;

7. to get critical-thinking skills;

8. to get one more certificate in English;

9. to learn English grammar better;

10. to have a good time in a company of clever guys;

11. to get new acquaintances;

12. to know what academic writing is.

Introduction Academic writing

Writing is necessary for all students in higher education. It is a process. It starts from understanding your task. It then goes on to doing the research and reading. The next stage is planning and writing various drafts. This is followed by proof-reading and editing. All this should lead to the final text.

Academic writing is a social practice. A social practice is what people do together. This means that you always write with a readership in mind. You always write with a purpose: to explain, to persuade, etc. It also means that what is right and wrong, appropriate or inappropriate is defined by the users in the social community. In your case these are other students, lecturers or examiners. There is nothing natural about the organization and the way language is used in a scientific report, for example. It is as it is because that is the way it has developed through centuries of use by practitioners. For that reason it has to be learned. No-one speaks (or writes) academic English as a first language. It must be learned by observation, study and experiment.

Academic writing is clearly defined by having a clear audience; a clear purpose, either an exam question to answer or a research project to report on. It is also clearly structured.

Academic writing in English is linear: – it starts at the beginning and finishes at the end, with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digression or repetition. Whatever kind of writing you are producing, you, the writer, are responsible for making your line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow. Your written work should have the following sections: Preliminaries, Main text, End matter.

The preliminaries and end matter will depend on the kind of text you are writing. The main text will, however, generally contain an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. The introduction will usually consist of some background information, which will give the reason for the writing and explain, to some extent, how this will be done. This must be closely connected to the essay or research question. The main body will then contain some data – either experimental, from ideas or from reading – and some argument. This will then lead to the conclusion, which will refer back to the introduction and show that the purpose has been fulfilled. The actual form of the main body will depend on the type of writing.

(From http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm)

Ex. 4. Read the following essay. It explains the characteristics of effective academic writing. Then answer the Discussion Questions that follow.