ST.

THOMAS MORE COLLEGE – CLARK

 

Purposive Communication

Academic Papers
Finals Week One Topic

Prepared by:

MR. EUGENE S. PINEDA

Lecturer I
 What is an Academic Paper?

The most important characteristic of

an academic or scholarly paper is that it has
to pass an academic quality assessment
before it can be published in an academic
journal. Before an article is accepted for
publication, it has to be reviewed by
researchers working in the same field
(referees). This control process is called
peer-reviewing and is designed to
guarantee the academic standard of an
article.
What is an academic research paper?
An academic paper is not a social commentary, an
opinion or a "blog". An academic paper begins with a
thesis - the writer of the academic paper aims to
persuade readers of an idea or solution to a problem
based on EVIDENCE - not personal opinion.

Academic writing should present the reader with

an informed argument. To construct an informed
argument, you must first try to sort out what
you know about a subject from what
you think or feel about a subject.  You can begin by
posing a question that will lead to your idea (in which
case, your idea will be the answer to your question), or
you can make a thesis statement. Or you can do both:
you can ask a question and immediately suggest the
answer that your essay will argue.

The research process is not simply collecting data,

evidence, or "facts," then copy-and-pasting" this
preexisting information into a paper. Instead, the
research process is about investigation —asking
questions and developing answers through serious
critical thinking and thoughtful reflection. Most
research involve at least a survey or questionnaire
soliciting opinions from a reasonably-sized sample of
relevant participants.
 How are Academic Papers
assessed?
1. Is the Full Paper an accurate reflection of the
title, abstract and keywords?
2. Does the paper clearly state the problem,
outcomes, findings or conclusions. Is the
structure of the paper clear and logical?
3. Does the paper clearly define the methodology,
research tools and research questions?
4. Does the paper include sufficient relevant
theory and is such knowledge clearly portrayed
and correctly cited?
5. Does this paper present new knowledge or
insights, and suggest future work in the field of
design education.
6. Are any parts of the paper weak or lacking, and
how could these be improved?
7. Have ethical requirements been addressed,
including how the research was conducted.
8. Does the paper adhere to the style guidelines?
 Elements of an academic paper

Abstract
The abstract contains a short summary of the
article as well as a description of the
objective, method, result and conclusion of
the study. Keywords (or subject words), which
identify the contents of the article, are also
given in the abstract. An abstract is between
300 and 500 words.

Full Paper
A Full Paper can contain up to 5 000 words,
and consists of the following:
Introduction

• Briefly describe the focus of the

overall paper and its main points
• Highlight background information
or issues necessary to understand
the direction of the paper. The
evaluator might not be from your
field of design.
• Define any key terminology need
to understand the topic
• Finish with your thesis statement
Research Method and material

• The methodology and methods ought to

be reasonable for and appropriate to
that which is being studied.
• Identify the methods used to identify
and locate sources and the rationale
used for selecting the sources to
analyze. The detail should be sufficient
so that the research process can be
assessed, and reproduced by future
researchers.
• Explain the procedures used for
analyzing the data and arriving at
findings.
Results

Important data is given textual form

preferably using tables and figures. Even
unexpected or negative results are
presented.

Discussion

The discussion is an assessment of the

results. Methodological considerations as
well as the way in which the results
compare to earlier research in the field are
discussed.
Conclusion

• Restate your thesis from the

introduction in different words
• Briefly summarise each main point
found in the body of the paper (1-2
sentences for each point). Give a
statement of the consequences of not
embracing the position (argumentative
paper only)
• End with a strong clincher statement:
an appropriate, meaningful final
sentence that ties the whole point of
the paper together

References

All documents mentioned in the article

should be included in the bibliography so
that the reader is able to refer to the
original sources.
Referencing and citation

If you make judgments about something in

academic writing, there is an expectation that you will
support your opinion by linking it to what a published
author has previously written about the issue.

Citing the work of other authors is central to

academic writing because it shows you have read the
literature, understood the ideas, and have integrated
these issues and varying perspectives into the
assignment task.

The importance placed on referring to other

authors in your work can be reflected in the elaborate
referencing conventions.

The abbreviated Harvard system of citation

should be used. References should be published
materials accessible to the public. Internal technical
reports may be cited only if they are easily accessible
(i.e. you give an Internet address within your citation).
Proprietary information may not be cited.