COM 142 (2024)

University of Botswana
Dr. Richmond Ngula
 What is academic writing?
• Academic writing refers to the kinds of written texts or
prose produced by scholars and students in an
academic context, such as the university

• It is an important and complex skill set that has

rhetorical, linguistic and disciplinary elements.

• For students, proficiency in writing is a basic

requirement for academic success.
 What is academic writing?
• Academic writing can be regarded as having
specialised and stereotypical language that is known
by the experienced members of the scientific
communities involved.

• There is therefore the way to write in a proper

academic style which needs to be consciously learned
by novice, new or less experienced academic writers.
 Purposes of academic writing
• To produce/construct new knowledge for the
academic community (e.g., Research Articles)

• To disseminate existing knowledge, or cast it in new

ways, especially for learners (e.g., Undergraduate
Essays, Textbooks)
 Scientists as communicators
• Communication skills are as important as the scientific knowledge
for the scientist.

• Scientists are researchers who follow systemic and replicable

procedures in their fields to uncover and report new knowledge,
especially in writing. Nearly every discipline is therefore a science
but the idea of what constitutes ‘science’ is often misconstrued as
referring to researchers in the pure or applied sciences. There is a
difference between writing as a scientist and writing as someone
in the field of the pure/applied sciences.
 Scientists as communicators

• Scientists often need to communicate to different set

of audiences and this requires of them to know how
to communicate their scientific knowledge in different
situational contexts (e.g., Technical writing, popular
science, etc.)
 Different types of student writing in the
sciences
• Essays (e.g., Discussion, reflection, exposition,
argumentation)
• Mini research reports (e.g., lab experiment reports,
undergraduate research reports, etc.)
• Reviews of articles or other types of literature
• Reviews of literature on a topic
• Postgraduate dissertations
 Typical characteristics of scientific writing –
accuracy in style
• As you write your essays and reports, you will be expected to adopt
an effective scientific writing style.
• Scientific writing is most effective when it is:
• Clear and easy to read;
• Concise and precise;
• Neutral or formal in style.
• Always remember that clarity, readability, conciseness, and precision
in language use are particularly important in science, where there is
the need to build trust around issues which impact greatly on society.
 Features of the scientific style – practical
activities
• Being clear, concise and readable: no unnecessary
words/phrases

• Being simple: direct language, not vague or complicated

• Being precise: choose word/expressions for their accuracy and

specificity.
 Features of the scientific style – practical
activities
• Logical and coherent: ideas flow logically and orderly

• Objective and impersonal: an effort to avoid or downplay on

the human writer, focusing on factual statements/claims supported by
evidence.
• avoid subjective opinions (beliefs)
• avoid personal or emotional values and references
• restricted use of personal pronouns to mark self-reference (author presence)
 Features of the scientific style – practical
activities
• Use of cautious language: avoiding total commitment to claims
when evidence for making them is not complete (hedge your claims).

• Correct conventions for using sources: citing sources from

previous research provides evidence for your claims and helps to
enhance objectivity.
 Characteristics of scientific writing – clear
structure and layout
• Scientific essays are usually structured in terms of:
a. Introduction
b. The main body
c. Conclusion
• When it is a report, the main body consists of methods, results and
discussion sections.
• The ideas in scientific writing are organised around paragraphs, so
every piece of scientific essay or report consists of several paragraphs.
• Pre-writing planning helps in the structure/layout of scientific writing.
 Characteristics of scientific writing –
coherent flow of ideas
• What is coherence and how can it be achieved?
• Coherence is the quality of ideas being logically related. A
piece of writing is coherent when the flow of ideas from
beginning to end is logical. Writing that is coherent is clear
and can be easily understood.
• Cohesive devices – reference pronouns, repetition, logical
connectors, and parallelism.
• Coherence within a paragraph
• Coherence between paragraphs
 Characteristics of scientific writing –
Accurate use of language
• Grammar – problematic issues
• Subject-verb agreement
• Tense and Voice
• Use of articles and prepositions
• Vocabulary – word use and spelling
• Sentences
• The use of punctuation
• Incomplete sentences
• Overlong sentences