EAPP 1ST QUARTER

Nature of Academic Writing

Academic Writing - Academic writing is writing which communicates ideas, information and research to the wider
academic community.

It can be divided into two types:

1. STUDENT ACADEMIC WRITING - which is used as a form of assessment at university, as well as at schools as
preparation for university study; and

2. EXPERT ACADEMIC WRITING - which is writing that is intended for publication in an academic journal or book.

Purpose: to inform, to argue a specific point, to persuade

Characteristics of Academic Writing/Texts

Clear and limited focus, Logical structure, Evidence-based arguments, Impersonal Tone

Clear and limited focus - The focus of an academic paper—the argument or research question—is established early by
the thesis statement. Every paragraph and sentence of the paper connects back to that primary focus. While the paper
may include background or contextual information, all content serves the purpose of supporting the thesis statement.

Logical structure - All academic writing follows a logical, straightforward structure. In its simplest form, academic writing
includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information, lays
out the scope and direction of the essay, and states the thesis. The body paragraphs support the thesis statement, with
each body paragraph elaborating on one supporting point. The conclusion refers back to the thesis, summarizes the
main points, and highlights the implications of the paper’s findings. Each sentence and paragraph logically connect to
the next in order to present a clear argument.

Evidence-based arguments - Academic writing requires well-informed arguments. Statements must be supported by
evidence, whether from scholarly sources (as in a research paper), results of a study or experiment, or quotations from a
primary text (as in a literary analysis essay). The use of evidence gives credibility to an argument.

Impersonal tone - The goal of academic writing is to convey a logical argument from an objective standpoint. Academic
writing avoids emotional, inflammatory, or otherwise biased language. Whether you personally agree or disagree with
an idea, it must be presented accurately and objectively in your paper. Most published papers also have abstracts: brief
summaries of the most important points of the paper. Abstracts appear in academic database search results so that
readers can quickly determine whether the paper is pertinent to their own research.

Examples of Academic Writing

LITERARY ANALYSIS, RESEARCH PAPER, DISSERTATION

Literary Analysis

- A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an argument about a literary work.
- As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes beyond mere summarization.
- It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or
motif.

Research Paper

- A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or make an argument.

- Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature.
 - Common research sources include data, primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g.,
peer-reviewed scholarly articles).
- Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this external information with your own ideas.

Dissertation

- A dissertation is a document submitted at the conclusion of a Ph.D. program.

- The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the doctoral candidate’s research.

Academic Text Structures

DEFINITION, DESCRIPTION, RECOUNT OF A SEQUENCE, CAUSE-EFFECT, PROBLEM-SOLUTION, COMPARISON AND
CONTRAST, ENUMERATION, CLASSIFICATION, THESIS-EVIDENCE
The type depends on the primary purpose of a text, which in turn determines how it is written – what information the
author introduces in the text and how this information is organized.

Definition

- A definition text explains the nature of something.

- It is used in explaining unfamiliar terms with the two major purposes: TO EXPLAIN OR TO CONVINCE.

Description

- A descriptive text gives concrete details about appearance, characteristics, and actions.
- It is the pattern of a narrative development that presents a word picture of a thing, person, situation, or a series
of events.

Recount of a Sequence

- It is a chronological narration of a historical period, a sequential description of a process or a procedure.

- It is a writing strategy that explains an information using the time order.

Cause-Effect

- It presents reasons why a situation is obtained.

- Though logically the cause comes before the result, in academic writing it is the effect that usually presented
first, perhaps to achieve a more dramatic effect.

Problem-Solution

- It starts off with a negative situation (problem) and ends with a positive situation (solution).
- It is a writing strategy which arranges the ideas from the discussion of the problem of concern to the outlining of
the solutions.

Comparison and Contrast

- In this text structure, similarities and difference are presented.

- Comparison is used to see how two objects or items are alike while contrast is to identify their differences.

Enumeration

- It is a listing, as in a list of parts, of characteristics, of examples etc.

- It often appears as a numbered list or a bulleted form.

Classification

- It presents groupings, types, classes, categories, and sub-categories that constitute a concept, presented in
hierarchical order.
Thesis-Evidence

- To serve the purpose of arguing a point/position or interpretation

- The thesis-evidence text organization or thought pattern may be arranged: 1. deductively (general statement or
thesis followed by supporting details) or 2. inductively (details from which an inference or thesis is drawn).
- Some words that signal this thought pattern are some verbs like assert, claim, prove/show that… support, and
allege that; and nouns like evidence, proof, and arguments.

ACADEMIC TEXTS

Strategies for a Better Understanding of Academic Texts

SUMMARIZING - A summary is a shortened or condensed version of a passage, which retains the essential information
of the original text.

SUMMARIZING TEXTS

First, the student must read and comprehend the text. Then, they must identify main ideas and key points. Finally, they
must express this information in their own words.

This means that summarizing a text requires both comprehension and expression skills.

Summaries should not contain

opinion; background knowledge; and personal information.

A summary should be entirely text based.

SUMMARIZING TEXTS

When you summarize, you explain the main idea(s) from someone else’s work. Note that you must include citation
information for summaries – think of your citation as showing your reader where they can find the original or “full”
version of the work that you have summarized.

Steps in Writing a Summary

1. Read the passage carefully to fully understand it.

2. Take notes about the main idea and supporting points you think you should include in your summary.

3. Using only your notes, explain the original author’s main ideas to someone else.

4. Reread the original source. Is there important information that you have forgotten or misremembered? Is your
summary very similar to the original source?

5. Add in-text citation and check the required formatting style.

Tips on Summarizing

- Use your own words.

- Include the key relevant elements of the original and keep it brief - you're just going for the original's essence.
- Do not include your interpretation/analysis within the summary - make a clear distinction between your
thoughts and someone else's.
- Vary how you introduce or attribute your sources, like "according to..." or "so-and-so concludes that..." so your
readers don't get bored.
- Always include a citation.
THESIS STATEMENT

- It is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
- It tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
- It makes a claim that others might dispute.
- It is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph)
that presents your argument to the reader.

Characteristics of a Thesis Statement

- It covers exactly the topic you want to talk about, no more and no less.
- It lets your readers know what to expect.
- It usually appears in your paper’s introductory paragraph.
- It helps you better organize and develop the contents of your paper.

Writing Thesis Statement

You should avoid thesis statements that simply announce your purpose. For example, in a research paper on health care
reform, you should avoid a thesis statement like this:

In this essay, I will write about health care in the United States.

Instead, a good thesis statement on health care reform in the United States would be more specific and make a point
that will help establish a clear purpose and focus for your essay. It might look something like this:

Although health care reform is a controversial topic in the United States, the need for strong reform is important, as too
many Americans are living without access to health care.

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following:

Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an
argument that misses the focus of the question.

Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or
even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If
your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what
specifically makes something “successful”?

Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to be “So what?” then you need to clarify,
to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not
seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have
figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.

Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too
open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position
right from the beginning.
OUTLINE

Helps the writer organize his/her material logically by helping him/her sort and classify the material systematically.

Outlines, in all their forms, serve four basic functions:

- to present a logical, general description,

- to summarize schematically,
- to reveal an organizational pattern, and
- to provide a visual and conceptual design of the writing.

Outline as: Pre-writing AND Post-reading

Developing an Outline

An outline has a balanced structure which uses the principles of: parallelism; coordination; subordination; and division.

Principles of Developing an Outline

PRINCIPLE OF PARALLELISM

All items in formal outlines must be parallel in grammar and structure.

Parallelism means that all the head topics in an outline should agree in form, i.e., if you use a noun in the first head, the
rest should be nouns, if you use verb, the rest should be verbs, etc.

PRINCIPLE OF COORDINATION

In outlining, those items which are of equal significance have comparable numeral or letter designations; an A is equal a
B, a 1 to a 2, an a to a b, etc. Coordinates should be seen as "having the same value." Coordination is a principle that
enables the writer to maintain a coherent and consistent document. Coordination means that all the items in the
outline should have the same importance or value

PRINCIPLE OF SUBORDINATION

In subordination, every outline has major and minor headings. You should always go from the more general the more
specific. But remember that each subdivision should have the same relationship to the whole.

PRINCIPLE OF DIVISION

In division, if you want to divide a part of an outline, you should have at least two levels. There should never be an A
without a B, or a 1 without a 2.
STRUCTURE OF AN OUTLINE

The most important principle for an outline's form is consistency. An outline can use TOPIC or SENTENCE structure, but
be consistent all the way through.

A TOPIC outline uses words or phrases for all points; uses no punctuation after entries.

A SENTENCE outline uses complete sentences for all entries; uses correct punctuation.

TOPIC OUTLINE

- Advantages — presents a brief overview of work; is generally easier and faster to write than a sentence
outline

Several aspects must be considered in writing a topic outline:

1. Recall that all headings and subheadings must be words or phrases, not sentences.

2. The wordings within each division must be parallel.

3. A division or subdivision cannot be divided into one part; therefore, if there is an “A” there must be a “B,” and if there
is a “1” there must be a “2.”

SENTENCE OUTLINE

- Advantages — presents a more detailed overview of work including possible topic sentences; is easier and
faster for writing the final paper

FORMS OF OUTLINE

An outline can use either alpha-numeric (usually with Roman numerals) form or a decimal form.

Alpha-numeric Outline

Alternating patterns of upper- and lower-case letters with alternating progressions of Roman and Arabic numerals

mark the level of subordination within the alpha-numeric form of the outline.

Decimal Outline

Progressive patterns of decimals mark the levels of subordination in decimal form of outlining. The decimal form has
become the standard form in scientific and technical writing.