Academic writing
1. Genres in academic writing
| No. | Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Essays |
| 2 | Reports |
| 3 | Case Studies |
| 4 | Research proposals |
| 5 | Book reviews |
| 6 | Brief research reports |
| 7 | Literature reviews |
| 8 | Reflective writing |
| 9 | Introductions |
| 10 | Research methods |
| 11 | Research results |
| 12 | Research discussions |
| 13 | Writing conclusions |
| 14 | Research abstracts |
| 15 | Research Dissertations & Theses |
2 An Example:
- Discuss possible solutions to the problem of international credit control.
What do you need to do?
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Define credit control, say what it is and give an example; |
| 2 | Explain why international credit control is a problem in business today, and support your explanation by evidence from your reading; |
| 3 | Describe some possible solutions to the problem of credit control in an international context. Again support your suggestions with evidence from your reading; |
| 4 | Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions; |
| 5 | Decide which solution you would prefer and give reasons |
To-Do list
| Step | Todo |
|---|---|
| 1 | Define |
| 2 | Give an example |
| 3 | Explain why |
| 4 | Support your explanation with evidence |
| 5 | Describe a solution |
| 6 | Describe advantages and disadvantages |
| 7 | Choose |
| 8 | Explain why |
3 Structure:
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| 1. Preliminaries | Title page |
| 2. Main text | Introduction |
| Main body | |
| Conclusion | |
| 3. End matter | References |
Main Text
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| I. INTRODUCTION | General Statement / Organisation Statement |
| II. MAIN BODY | A. Introductory Sentence + Point1 + Point2 + Point3 + … + Concluding Sentence |
| B. Introductory Sentence + Point1 + Point2 + Point3 + … + Concluding Sentence | |
| B. Introductory Sentence + Point1 + Point2 + Point3 + … + Concluding Sentence | |
| III. CONCLUSION | Recall issues in introduction; |
4. Features of academic writing
| No. | Features | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Complexity | more complex than spoken language.(EX.noun-based phrases than verb-based phrases) |
| 2 | Formality | no colloquial words and expressions. |
| 3 | Precision | facts and figures are given precisely. |
| 4 | Objectivity | objective rather than personal.(main emphasis should be on the information) |
| 5 | Explicitness | more different signalling words. |
| 6 | Accuracy | narrow specific meanings |
| 7 | Hedging | The strength of the claims you are making.(should, could, would,….) |
| 8 | Responsibility | demonstrating any source texts you use. |