Academic Writing

A quick guide to get started your academic writing journey.

Arkar Kyaw
Developed by: Arkar Kyaw

• Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction (C)

Northern Illinois University (USA)
• Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching (2017-18)
• Student at Large Program [ Teaching Methodology,
History of Education, Advanced Essay Composition &
Curriculum Designing]
• Masters’ of Arts in English ( Mandalay University)
 What? & Why?

What
• Academic writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up
by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding.
• It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not
require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Why
• Mainly to communicate clearly.
• To let the thoughts show through.
• To prove a point while originating innovative thoughts and ideas.
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing
https://my.sunderland.ac.uk/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=56688664#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20acad
emic%20writing,of%20writing%2C%20is%20to%20communicate.&text=Therefore%20it%20is%20important%20
that,lets%20the%20thought%20show%20through.
 Characteristics of academic writing

● Planned and focused

● Structured

● Evidenced

● Formal in tone and style

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing
 Sentence order

● Topic Sentence ● Every claim has to be supported

● Supporting Sentence/s ● They have to be proved with logic or data

● Example Sentence/s ● No leakage is allowed

● (Concluding sentence) ** ● The sentences must support each other

 How they work

● Topic Sentence

○ Presents general idea of the ● Inle lake is a historic destination

para which was made a mosaic by nature
and human architect. (How?)
○ Maps out the passage
● Constant rain throughout the city
○ Lays out questions (Why? causes people to suffer from cabin
How?) fever. (Why?)
 How they work
● Supporting sentence/s
o Answers the Q laid by TS
o Involves logic or data
o Can be more than one
sentence
● The generous geography of the
Elephant mountain range beautifully
curves around the lake.
● Research shows that people living
close to north pole are more prone to
catching a cold from rain, hence,
preventing them from stepping out in
the rain. That consequently leads to
depression and conflict amongst
family members; signs of cabin fever.
 How they work

● The generous geography of the

Example sentence/s
o Supports the Su.S
o Involves proof for Su.S
● For instance, during rainy season, the
o Can be more than one sentence
Elephant mountain range beautifully
curves around the lake just like the nest
of a newly mothered Hummingbird.
reported cases of domestic violence
usually rise. Moreover, social media
feeds on those days even point out as
negative during overwhelming rainy
days.
 How they work

Concluding Sentence
o Wraps up the whole para
o Not necessary most of the time
o Helps organize writer’s points
● Therefore, the natural contributions to Inle lake
is deemed as a virtue.
● Hence, the rainy seasons in England can be
concluded as one of the contributors of
promoting cabin fever.
 Example para

• There are ample advantages for using public transport. Most importantly, it saves a huge amount
of carbon emission which is harmful to the environment. Literally, a forty seats bus equals ten
domestic cars and a train carriage equals nearly twelve to twenty. Moreover, public transportation
also solves the problem of time consuming. The widespread use of buses and subway leads to
less traffic on the streets helping the passengers to execute their tasks efficiently.

• On the other hand, private vehicles come in handy more often than sometimes. Firstly, important
events such as job interviews, doctor’s appointments or business meetings require punctuality
which public transport cannot guarantee since the buses stop every now and then while taking the
longest possible route. In addition, domestic vehicles are better equipped with safety measures
such as airbags, child locks and child seat, making one of the safest ways of travelling.
 Extra Note

Don’ts Dos
• Informal words (So, And, but etc) • Formal words (Therefore,

• Contraction (Don’t, Can’t, Didn’t, However, Moreover)

That’s) • Long form (Do not, cannot, did

• I, we , you, he, she, not, that is)

• People, Someone, One

 Writing an introduction

• Discuss the topic

• Make a stand
• Write a clear thesis statement
Public transportation is better for the environment than private transportation.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

• Most people believe that for the sake of the environment, public
transport systems provide more relevant solutions than domestic or
private means of getting around. Although this opinion appears true,
I would like to equally discuss the advantages of both types of
transport systems supported by practical examples.
Life is better in cities than in rural areas.
Do you agree or disagree?

• There is a popular belief that people living in cosmopolitan cities

have better lifestyle compared to the residents of rural regions. In my
way of thinking, I would strongly like to disagree with the statement
mainly because life in urban areas are full of stress and unnecessary
danger to life while quite country life takes people to the most utopic
feeling and essence of life.
 Writing a conclusion

• The final message

• Get the gist out of each paragraph

• Make your stand (Discussion Essay)

• No more than three sentences

• In conclusion, it is evident that both public and private ways of
travelling possess benefits for the society. However, when it
comes to looking from the perspective of preserving the
environment, I would strongly like to favour public transport since
private vehicles only focus the comfort of humans while the other
types also take into consideration of the survival of the planet as a
whole.
THANK YOU!

Contact Infos
Name: Arkar Kyaw @ David

Email: ccp@springuniversitymm.com