FNT203: Introduction to

Masters Degree

Week 2:
Academic Writing
Topic’s goals:

 Gain an understanding of the steps leading to effective

academic writing

 To equip students with the academic tools required to write

essays at a University level

Reading:
 Topic Academic Writing
 Steps for writing an Essay
 Directions for writing an Essay

Quiz:
Fill in Assessment Quiz 2 on topics related to academic writing.

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Academic Writing

"Your success with academic writing depends upon how well you understand
what you are doing as you write and then how you approach the writing task"
(Irvin, 2010).

Academic writing is suitable for any written assignment in any academic setting.
The list below summaries the various assignments you will be requested to
follow the appropriate academic style:
 Essays
 Literature Reviews
 Article Reviews
 Research paper or research article
 Dissertation and Thesis

How to organize my essay?

1. Carefully read the instructions

2. Choose your topic and identify keywords
3. Make an outline of your ideas and areas you wish to cover
4. Conduct a research. Choose scholarly and reliable online engines to
search your keywords (e.g., Google Scholar), printed books, newspapers
etc.
NOTE: Keep a record of the sources you use. This will help you create your
reference list.

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5. Start writing (introduction, main body, and conclusion)

 Choose an interesting title which states the main idea of your essay.
 Present your essay in a coherent and logical order.
 Use formal language (avoid first person statements. Third person
statements only).
 Support your arguments with credible evidence (adequately cover
all points of views).
6. Proofread your written work.
7. Manage the layout and the structure of the essay.
NOTE: Do not divide your work with subtitles such as introduction, main
body, and conclusion.

How to develop my essay?

Introduction

Introductions are crucial in one’s written work. The following points need to be
cover in the introduction:
 General context of the essay (clarify topic and main keywords).
 Provide a brief information background on the topic.
 Note that the reader might not be familiar with your topic. Include a brief
description of key terms and concepts.
 Present an essay map (what follows in the essay).
 State the essay’s aim, clarifying the main question (s) or problem (s) that
seeks evaluation.
 The introduction needs to be interesting in order to engage the reader.
 It should not exceed the 6-8% of the total essay (approximately 1-2
paragraphs).

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Main body

 The main body (discussion) should cover in distinct sections all parts of
the title/outline.
 Avoid using the pointing system (e.g., bullet points, number) to present
your information.
 Add in-text citations for all of the information you have borrowed.
 Try to be critical and not descriptive.
 Support and elaborate your arguments with empirical evidence.
 Use your personal view (e.g., examples from your professional experience)
 Use direct quotations (if you are unable to paraphrase or summarise with
your own words). Note: Do not overly depend on direct quotations. Make
sure they are properly cited and presented. Use a double set of inverted
commas to enclose short quotations. Long quotations (40 words or more)
should start on a new line and are indented half an inch from the left
margin and double spaced.

 Each body paragraph should have the similar structure (e.g., length).
 The paragraphs should have as introductory sentence explaining the main
idea of:
o The whole paragraph, whereas, the last sentence should be an
overall summarization.
o Use linking words and phrases to connect your sentences and
paragraphs (see examples of linking words at the tables below).

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Sequence Result Emphasis Addition

First / firstly So Indeed And

second / secondly As a consequence (of) Obviously In addition /
Next, last, finally As a result Generally additionally / an
In addition, moreover Therefore Undoubtedly additional
Another Thus Admittedly Also
Also Consequently Particularly / in particular Too
Further / furthermore Due to In fact As well as
To summarise Hence Especially Furthermore
In conclusion Importantly
Clearly

Table 1: Linking Words (1)

Comparison Reason Example Contrast

For For example However

Likewise For For instance Nevertheless
Also Because That is (i.e.) Nonetheless
Like Since Such as Still
Similarly As Including Although
Just as Because of Namely Though
Similar to But
Just like Yet
Same as Despite
Compare In contrast (to) / in
compare(d) to / with comparison
Not only...but also While
Whereas
On the other hand
On the contrary

Table 2: Linking Words (2)

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NOTE:
Paragraphs need to be brief, relevant and critical.
a) Brief: Long paragraphs may confuse the reader and lose the main idea of the
argument. Make sure to start a new paragraph for each new idea introduced in a
paragraph.
b) Relevant: Keep your arguments and information on the point. In case an idea will
not assist the reader in understanding the main idea, then do not add it in your work.
c) Critical: Every section of your work needs to be critical (Why am I saying this? Do I
have adequate evidence to support it? How is this relevant to my main argument?).
Paragraphs need to flow in a cohesive way (each section should be linked to the previous
one). You can do this by:
1) Presenting a different idea of the same source or example.
2) Discuss an opposing idea (e.g., Despite evidence support…).
3) Make a direct referral to a previously mentioned idea (e.g., As previously
discussed…).

Conclusions

The conclusion is not merely a summarization. You should incorporate the

following characteristics:
 Summarize the main findings and ideas covered in the main body.
 Refer to your introduction and its relation to the subject.
 Add recommendations or solutions to the problem.
 Make suggestions for future studies
 Your conclusion should be linked with your title.
NOTE: Do not introduce new knowledge.

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Reference List

 All of the citations added in the main text must be presented in this
section and vice versa. This includes any kind of figures e.g., pictures,
graphs, charts, tables that were created by others.
 Format your reference list according to the referencing system the
University follows (Please see the related guide: APA referencing guide).
 Present your reference list in alphabetical order.
NOTE: hanging indent is employed for each reference. The initial line is
not indented and the rest are five-space indented.

Why add references?

1. To acknowledge other people’s work and give credit.
2. To help the reader track the information to its original source.
3. To allow readers to search additional information regarding a subject of
interest.

Final Tips
 Double-space your work.
 Use one inch margins on the left, right, top, and bottom of the page.
 The first line of each paragraph should be indented (except the abstract, block
quotes, titles and headings, subheadings, references, table titles, notes, and figure
captions).
 Use a 12 point font.
 The text should be left aligned (and not justified).
 Try not to use slang language.
 Do not use contractions (e.g., instead of it's, use it is).
 Numbers zero through nine are spelled out (except when it is a table or figure
number, or a metric measurement, etc.). Numbers above 10 should be written as
numbers.

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 Spell out any number when it is the first word of a sentence (e.g. Fifty students
participated in the survey……).
 You must give page numbers for direct quotes (e.g., Smith, 2011, pp. 66-67).
 Three or four quotes in a 10 page paper might be considered as the upper limit.
 Direct quotation of more than 40 words should be indented 5 spaces from the
left margin (double spaced). Omit the quotation marks and include the page
number in parentheses after the last period.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

psychological association. (6th Ed.). Washington: American Psychological
Association.

Irvin, L. L. (2010). What Is “Academic” Writing? In Lowe, C. & Zemliansky, P (Ed.),

Writing Spaces: Readings on Writings, Vol. 1 (pp. 3). Indiana: Parlor Press

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