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• Academic writing


  A process that starts with posing a question, problematizing a concept, evaluating an opinion, and ends in answering the question, clarifying the problem and/or arguing for a stand
• Academic text


  • Written by professionals in a given field
  • Well-edited and often take years to publish
  • Uses formal language
  • Contains words and terms specific to the field (jargons)
• Examples of academic text


  • School books and textbooks
  • Journal articles
  • Research proposals and papers
  • Some newspapers and magazine articles
  • Thesis and dissertations
• Non-academic text


  • Written for the mass public
  • Published quickly and can be written by anyone
  • Often doesn't involve research or sources
  • Uses informal and more conventional language
  • May contain slang
• Examples of non-academic texts

  • Blog posts, fiction books, letters, personal journals
• Formality


  • Use of appropriate language in an academic and professional setting
  • Avoid colloquial words and expression
  • Avoid contraction and abbreviation
  • Avoid two-word verbs
  • Avoid asking questions
  • Avoid subheadings, numbering and bullet points
• Accuracy


  • Refers to the correctness of information/data included and vocabulary used
• Precision


  • Effective academic writing assumes the abundant use of specific dates and figures. Vague word combinations like "a lot of people" or "someone said" aren't considered good academic writing expressions.
• Complexity


  • Use of more lexical words rather than grammatical words
  • Shorter in length but uses longer and more complex words and phrases
• Objectivity


  • Writing must be impersonal and maintain a certain level of social distance
• Explicitness


  • Ideas should be clear and comprehensible
  • Use of "signposts" that allow readers to trace the relationships in the parts of a study
  • When two ideas seem the same, express each one clearly
  • Use phrases like "in addition" and "for example"
• Caution


  • When a hypothesis needs to be tested
  • Drawing conclusions or predictions from your findings that may generalize certain matters or may not be conclusive
  • Referencing others' work to build on your own paper
• Summarizing


  The process of condensing a longer piece of text or a complex idea into a concise and coherent summary
• Basic rules for summarizing


  • Erase things that don't matter
  • Only write down important points
  • Erase things that repeat
  • Trade general terms for specific names
  • Use your own words to write the summary
• Techniques for summarizing academic text

  • Outlining
  • Somebody Wanted But So Then
  • SAAC Method
  • 5 W's, 1 H
  • First Then Finally
  • Give Me the Gist
• Thesis statement


  The controlling idea that will develop in the paper, usually found in the abstract or executive summary, can be one, two or three sentences
• How to locate thesis statement

  • Topic - Subject matter or the main idea of your paper
  • Argument/Claim - Stance or position you are taking, central point you are trying to make
  • Evidence - The support of your argument/claim
• FIRST THEN FINALLY


  1. First - What happened first?

  2. Then - What key details took place during the event/action?

  3. Finally - What were the results of the event/action?
• GIVE ME THE GIST


  This type of technique is like giving a friend the gist of a story. In other words, they want a summary - not a retelling of every detail.
• Thesis Statement


  It is the controlling idea that will develop in the paper. Found usually in abstract or executive summary. Can be one sentence, if necessary, it can also be two or three sentences.
• How to locate Thesis Statement?

  1. Elements: Topic, Argument/Claim, Evidence

  2. Characteristics: It is not an announcement, It is not a statement of facts
• Explicit


  Describes something as being expressed directly without anything being implied
• Implicit


  Describes something that has been implied—meaning it has been suggested or hinted at but not actually directly stated or expressed.
• Concession


  Opposing viewpoint opinion/main idea. You can use the phrases "even though" and "while".
• Outline


  A general plan of the material that is to be presented in a speech or a paper. The outline shows the order of the various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationship between the various parts.
• Types of Outline


  • Reading Outline - what you make when you study a paper for comprehension
  • Writing Outline - before you write an essay for organization
• Two Kinds of Outlining

  • Topic Outline
  • Sentence Outline
• Paraphrasing


  Expressing else's ideas in your own words while retaining the original meaning.
• Steps in Paraphrasing


  1. Repeatedly read the passage to be paraphrased until you have completely understood what it says.

  2. Do not look at the passage while you are writing your paraphrase.

  3. After writing your paraphrase, read the original passage once again to check if you were able to accurately capture its meaning. By doing this, you will avoid misquoting your source.

  4. Check whether paraphrases have errors in grammar or mechanics.

  5. Always cite your source.
• Techniques in Paraphrasing


  • Change word form or part of speech.
  • Use synonyms of "relationship words" such as contrast, cause, or effect, and substitute a word or phrase that conveys a similar meaning.
  • Use synonyms of phrases and words.
  • Change passive voice to active and move phrases and modifiers.
  • Do not change concept words, special terms, or proper names.
• Facts


  A fact is a specific detail that can be proven as true based on objective evidence. Objective, States reality, Can be verified, Presented with unbiased words.
• Opinion


  An opinion is a feeling, judgment, belief, or conclusion that cannot be proven true by objective evidence. Subjective, Interprets reality, Cannot be verified, Presented with value words.
• Steps in Forming Opinions Based on Facts

  1. Write your opinions in complete sentences.

  2. Add the facts and your explanation to support your opinions.

  3. Write your opinions and facts in an organized way by starting with your main point. Arrange your facts according to degree of importance.

  4. Summarize the ideas towards the need of what you are writing.

  5. Review what you wrote to check if you did not miss anything.
• Structure of Academic Text

  A well-structured text enables the reader to follow the argument and navigate the text. In academic writing, a clear structure and logical flow of ideas are imperative to a cohesive text.
• Structures of Academic Text


  • IBC Structure - Introduction, Body, Conclusion
  • IMRAD - Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion