FLG 143: ACADEMIC WRITING

Part One: Introduction to Academic Writing

I.0 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

Definition of Academic Writing

 Academic writing is any forms of expository prose used by university students and researchers
to convey a body of information about a particular subject.
([Link])

 It is any writing that can either be supported by past research to validate a certain claim or is
conducted to explore a particular subject commonly assigned by universities and colleges.
(www. [Link])

Differences between academic writing and non-academic writing

Academic writing and non-academic writing are distinguished from each other by their structure,
language use, level of formality, use of sources, and use of writing conventions.

Features of academic writing1

A. Academic writing is clearly structured

A clear structure is important for several reasons:

 It is the framework around which you construct your assignment.

 It enables you to present your material in coherent, logical manner.
 It gives your work a sense of direction.
 It helps the reader to understand the text.

Structuring an assignment involves

 grouping similar points together

 dividing sections into paragraphs
 ensuring that each paragraph deals with a main point or theme
 presenting the main point or theme in a sentence at or near the beginning of the paragraph
 developing the main point or theme of the paragraph in the sentences that follow
 ensuring that each paragraph links smoothly with the previous one.

1
Adapted from Features of Academic Writing. Writing Development Centre. Learning Resources. Retrieved 23 08
2011 from [Link] [Link].

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B. Academic writing is well-developed.

Academic writing is logically developed.

 A well-written academic assignment must have a clearly formulated central idea which is
developed in a logical manner, leading to a conclusion.
 The central idea summarizes the answer to the question posed in the title.
 In answering the question, a clear and sustained line of reasoning is followed. This involves
identifying points in support of the central idea and developing them using appropriate
evidence.
 A smooth progression from one point to the next is important; digressions, gaps, and jumps in
logic must be avoided.
 A concluding paragraph caps the assignment. Overall, the thread of argument runs smoothly
from beginning to end.

C. Academic writing is analytic.

Academic writing employs analytic approach. This will require some of the following:

 Explaining; giving reasons; examining, or anticipating consequences

 Comparing, contrasting, and evaluating
 Considering both sides of an issue
 Taking a position
 Supporting your claims with credible evidence
 Investigating claims made by others and if appropriate, questioning the evidence
 Drawing conclusions
 Making suggestions and recommendations

D. Academic writing is based on sources.

All academic work builds on the work of others. In reporting, developing, applying, criticizing, or even
rejecting the contributions made by others, a writer must follow well-established conventions for citing
and referencing reading sources.

 Citing authorities in your own or related disciplines give credibility to your work.
 Citing sources provides the evidence that you need to support your claims or criticize claims
made by others.
 Citing sources will help you avoid committing plagiarism or academic dishonesty.

E. Academic writing is distinguished by appropriate use of language.

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1. Written academic English is objective.
 Since academic writing is used as a vehicle for logical argumentation, not self-expression or
emotional response, the language used is measured, fair, and accurate.
 It avoids exaggeration and bias.
 It shows respect for the view of others.

2. Written academic English is cautious.

 It is important that the language used in academic writing reflects the strength of evidence
available to support an idea or claim.
 The less certain the author is about his claim, the more tentative the language should be.
 The most usual ways of expressing caution or lack of certainty are by means of verbs and
adverbs.

Verbs Adverbs

appears to perhaps

seems to possibly

tends to probably

may apparently

might likely

The following sentence is a definite statement.

Industrialization is viewed as a superior way of life.

To make it more tentative or cautious, we can change or add some words.

Industrialization tends to be viewed as a superior way of life.

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3. Written academic English is formal.
 It uses formal vocabulary2.

The field trip was a totally The field trip was an

awesome experience. enjoyable experience.

The writer needs more The writer needs more

info for his study. data for his study.

According to some biologists, According to some biologists,

coming up with clear proof of offering clear proof of the
the decreasing numbers of decreasing numbers of frogs
frogs has been difficult. has been difficult.

 It uses as few words as possible.

The competition in the cell The competition in the cell

phone industry has gotten phone industry has
more intense. intensified.

 It avoids contractions.

The economy won’t improve The economy will not

until more jobs are created. improve until more jobs are
created.

 It uses formal negatives.

Not any No

The book didn’t provide any The book provides no new

new insights. insights.

2
Feak, Christine. ‘Teaching Lower Level Academic Writing Using a Graduated Text Approach.’ Turkey. Retrieved 06
09 2011 from http:// [Link].

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 Not many Few

This problem doesn’t have This problem has few viable

many viable solutions. solutions.

Not much Little

Not much research has been Little research has been done.
done.

 It avoids the use of personal pronouns. To achieve this, use the passive voice of the verb.

You can see the results in Fig. 1. The results can be seen in
Fig.1.
You put the chemicals in the
test tube. The chemicals are put in the
test tube.
We used two different
methods in research. There were two different
methods of research.

 It avoids use of imprecise words.

lots of many

nice excellent, pleasant

big large

things reasons, problems

like such as
 It avoids use of abbreviated forms.

it’s it is

they’re they are

e.g.

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 i.e. for example

etc. that is

and so on

1.1 AVOIDING PLAGIARISM3

Definition of plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined by many dictionaries as the stealing of other people’s written work. Plagiarism
occurs when a person takes credit for work that is not his. Plagiarism can range from improper citation
to outright purchasing of essays from the Internet or paying someone to write the essay. It is illegal and
court action can be taken against the perpetrators.

Forms and levels of plagiarism

1. Total copying: This is the most serious form of copying. In this form, a student hands in an essay
that is totally written by another writer and claims that it is his/her own work. Every single word is
taken word for word and this is the highest level of copying.

2. Major copying: This involves copying a large section from one course, such as a textbook. The
student copies paragraphs without making any changes to them.

3. Patchwork copying: This is the most common form of plagiarism. The student copies chunks of text
from several sources and then joins them by making slight adjustments. No attempt is made to
change the text copied.

4. Substituting words (using synonyms)

This form of copying maintains the structure of the original paragraphs. However, keywords and
phrases are changed so that it does not look like the student is copying totally other people’s work.

5. Clumsy paraphrasing: The student paraphrases most of the paragraphs taken from different sources
and then haphazardly strings them together rather than making effort to summarize the paragraphs
and putting them together in a coherent manner.

6. Incorrect paraphrasing: The student omits to put original words taken from other sources within
quotation marks when paraphrasing a sentence. Hence, the sentence, may seem impressively

3
Krishnakumari, K. et al. (2010). Writing with Sources: A Guidebook for Academic Writers. Avoiding plagiarism. pp.
2-8. Shah Alam: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).

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 paraphrased but in fact it is not correctly paraphrased. In this case, the idea of the original
information is maintained, but the paraphrased sentence is not totally the work or writing effort of
the student.

7. Copying of opinions and arguments: This form of plagiarism involves copying merely the original
writer’s arguments on a particular idea or concept. This could happen with students who are not
well-prepared at analyzing the issue or argument at hand. They initially acknowledge the source of
information correctly but they copy certain opinions or arguments of the original writer and present
them as their own.

8. Incorrect citing of sources: Plagiarism also occurs when students unintentionally or intentionally
conceal the sources, thus not giving credit to the original writers. Sometimes, students think that
they have given proper citations and do not realize that they have committed plagiarism.

Examples of plagiarism

Sample 1: Total copying

Original work It is of course disappointing for any university if its world ranking is
lowered in any survey, especially one done by the respected The
Times Higher education Supplement (THES) 2005.

Source: Chin V.K. (2005, November 10). Vital for local grads to be
well-rounded (Cited in Krishnakumari et al 2010).
Student’s work It is of course disappointing for any university if its world ranking is
lowered in any survey, especially one done by the respected The
Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) 2005.

Form and level of plagiarism

1. The student has reproduced the words verbatim from the original source without adding quotation
marks or acknowledging the original writer in an in-text citation.
2. This is an example of total copying.

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Sample 2: Major copying, patchwork copying, and clumsy paraphrasing

Original article 1 I refer to the national concern regarding the sharp plunge in the
rankings of Malaysia’s two premier public universities in The Times
Higher Education Supplements (THES) 2005 World University
rankings.

Source: Ranjit, S.M. (2005, November 13). Focus on quality, not

rankings. (Cited in Krishnakumari et al 2010)
Original article 2 Instead of finding out the reason for the drop from 89 th to 169th
position, the university administration did not seem to consider
that a big deal. (paragraph 3)

It looked at the positive side, pointing out that the university was
among the top 100 in Arts and Humanities. (paragraph 4)

But even with the best teaching staff, what can pull a university
down is the qualities of its students. Unless the school leavers
have a strong foundation in the core subjects, the academics
cannot perform miracles and produce world-class graduates.
(paragraph 7)

It is only when you find out where your organization has gone
wrong that you can take the remedial steps to put things right and
improve your performance in order to excel. (paragraph 9)

Source: Chin v.k. (2005, November 10). Vital for local grads to be
well-rounded. (Cited in Krishnakumari et al 2010).

Student’s work With reference to the national concern regarding the sharp plunge
in the rankings of Malaysia’s premier public universities i.e.
Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), we
should look at the positive side. Instead of finding out the reason

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 for the drop, more should be done to beef up the teaching and
research and also school leavers should have a strong foundation
in the core subject. When we find out where the organization goes
wrong, then remedial steps can be done and improve our
performance to excel.

Forms of plagiarism

1. Major copying

2. Patchwork copying

3. Clumsy paraphrasing

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Identify the form and level of plagiarism in each of the following samples of student writing.

SAMPLE 3

Original text Your awareness of who you are also develops in your communication with
others. Once you mastered language, symbolic interactionism shaped you in
ways that made you what you are today. Symbolic interactionism refers to
the process of development of the self through the message and feedback
received from others (Mead, 1934). You may have been punished for acting
up in class, rewarded for athletic skill, or ignored for saying too little. The
result is the person you see in the mirror today.

Source: Pearson, J.C., Nelson, P.E., Titsworth, S., & Harter, L. (2008). Human
Communication. (Cited in Krishnakumari et al 2010)

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 Student A Your awareness of who you are also develops in your
communication with others. Once you mastered language,
symbolic interactionism shaped you in ways that made you
what you are today. Symbolic interactionism refers to the
process of development of the self through the message and
feedback received from others (Mead, 1934). You may have
been punished for acting up in class, rewarded for athletic
skill, or ignored for saying too little. The result is the person
you see in the mirror today.

Source: Pearson, J.C., Nelson, P.E., Titsworth, S., & Harter, L. (2008).
Human Communication. (Cited in Krishnakumari et al 2010)

Student B Your attentiveness of who you are also progresses in your

interaction with others. Once you mastered language, symbolic
interactionism shaped you in ways that made you what you are
today. Symbolic interactionism refers to the process of
development of the self through the communication and
comment received from others (Mead, 1934). You may have
been punished for acting up in class, rewarded for athletic skill,
or ignored for saying too little. The outcome is the person you
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see in the mirror today.
Student C Knowledge about oneself develops with your self-
awareness. Who you are today is shaped by
symbolic interactionism. According to Mead
(1934), symbolic interactionism means the process
of development of yourself through the
communication and criticism that you received
from people around you. You are what you are
today.

Student D Knowledge about oneself develops with your self-

awareness. Who you are today is shaped by symbolic
interactionism. Symbolic interactionism refers to
the process of development of the self through the
message and feedback received from others. You
may have been punished for acting up in class,
rewarded for athletic skill, or ignored for saying too
little. You are what you are today.

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Avoiding plagiarism4

1. Whenever you use ideas or information from a source but do not intend to quote the source
directly, paraphrase the source. You must restate the material in your own words, using your own
phrasing and style. Do your paraphrasing at the time you take notes.
2. Whenever you intend to use the source’s words, copy those words exactly onto a note card and
place them within quotation marks. To be doubly sure that you will not later mistake the author’s
words for your own, place a circled letter Q (or some other prominent device) on the card next to
the quotation.
3. For any borrowed material- whether a direct quotation or your paraphrase of it- carefully note the
source and page number (s) on your note card so that you can cite them in your paper.
4. In your paper, you will give full credit to the sources of all borrowed material, both those you quote
directly and those you paraphrase. The only exception is for commonly available factual
information.
5. Observe the rules for acknowledging sources in your paper by providing acknowledgment phrases,
parenthetical notes, and a list of references.

1.2 EXPLORING THE WRITING PROCESS

The Writing Process: Many students mistakenly think that good writers simply sit down and write out a
perfect letter, paragraph, or essay from start to finish. In fact, writing is a process consisting of a number
of steps:

THE PREWRITING STEP

In this step, writers think, let their imagination run free, jot ideas down, decide which ideas to use, and
come up with a plan of writing. Doing this early work saves time and frustrations later and usually
creates a much better piece of writing than just sitting down and starting to write. This step involves the
following tasks:

4
Veit, R. and Gould, C. (2010). Writing, Reading, and Research. 8th ed. Avoiding plagiarism. p.381. Boston:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

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1. Thinking about a topic
2. Narrowing the topic
3. Freely jotting down ideas about the topic

This is done by using a number of idea-generating techniques, to wit:

 Listing
It is a technique in which you think about your topic and make a list of whatever words or
phrases come into your mind. Your purpose is to produce as many ideas as possible in a short
time and your goal is to find a specific focus for your topic.

Guidelines in listing ideas:

1. Write everything that comes to you about a topic-words, phrases, ideas, details, and
examples.
2. After you have brainstormed, read over your list, underlining exciting ideas you might
develop further.
3. Do not worry about spelling or grammar.

 Concept mapping or clustering

Clustering is another brainstorming activity you can use to generate ideas. To use this technique,
write your topic in the center of your paper and draw a ‘balloon’ around it. This is your core
word or stimulus. Then write whatever ideas come to you in balloons around the core. Think
about each of these ideas and make more balloons around them.
 Journal writing
In journal writing, you can record your daily experiences, or you can write down quotations that
are meaningful to you. The advantage of writing a journal is that you are writing only for
yourself. You can write down your thoughts and explore ideas without worrying what other
people will think. A personal journal can be a very rich source of ideas.
4. Selecting ideas/ dropping ideas

ILLUSTRATION OF THE PREWRITING PROCESS

Person you know

Topic

Family member
Narrowing the topic

My father

My father’s face

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 Generating ideas about the topic through clustering
My father’s face

needs constant
leathery moisturising
wrinkled

interesting
complexion
nose like that of
a boxer

mouth My father’s face

looks like it
has been
broken
twice
FIGHTfight

threatening
chin
hard funny

massive angular

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Selecting ideas/ dropping ideas

My father’s face

 skin-pores

 complexion-leathery and wrinkled

 interesting X

 gray streak of hair

 nose like that of a boxer

 mouth-hard and threatening

 chin- massive and angular

THE WRITING STEP

Writers who have planned ahead are now free to concentrate on writing the best possible draft. The
focus is on presenting ideas, feelings, and experiences as convincingly as possible, rather than on
correction. In this stage, the writer

1. formulates the main idea/ thesis statement.

2. arranges the ideas that support the thesis in logical order.

3. provides devices that will connect the ideas smoothly.

4. summarizes the main idea in the form of a concluding sentence.

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Formulating the main idea
My father’s face is rough.

Arranging the ideas with help of transition devices and providing a conclusion

My father’s face is rough. First, his complexion is leathery and wrinkled. Also, there are large

pores in the skin that covers his nose and cheeks. Moreover, his nose, broken twice in his life, makes him

look like a boxer who has lost too many fights. Furthermore, his mouth, unless he smiles, looks hard and

threatening. Add to that is a chin that is massive and angular. Overall, shaved or not, my father’s face is

rugged.

A. The main idea is the first sentence.

B. There are four supports that develop the main idea.

C. The supports are connected by transition devices that ensure coherence in the paragraph.

D. The paragraph closes with a concluding sentence.

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ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Computer
Topic

Narrowing the topic Uses of computers in our lives

Uses of computers in my studies

Generating ideas about the topic through listing

-saves work conveniently

- corrects grammar mistakes

- can connect with friends easily

- useful in looking for information

- refines writing skills

- helps plan paper

- provides support in doing assignments and

homework

- can redo work easily

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Selecting ideas/ dropping ideas

Uses of computers in my studies

1. helps plan paper

2. useful in looking for information

3. corrects grammar mistakes

4. can redo work easily

5. saves work conveniently

6. refines writing skills

7. provides support in doing assignments/homework

8. can connect with friends easilyX

Formulating the main idea U The use of computer helps

improve my writing skills.

Arranging ideas into logical/ coherent order using transitional devices

Using the computer really helps improve my writing skills. First, it helps me plan my paper. I could go

to the Internet to look for information and I can redo my work easily if I make mistakes. Second, it helps

me improve my grammar skills. If I misspelled a word, the computer will know and give the correct

spelling. It also shows me the suitable vocabulary to use. Lastly, it enables me to save my work

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conveniently so there is no fear that I will misplace or lose it. In conclusion, the computer helps me a lot

in improving my writing ability.

LEARNING ACTIVITY5
Number the stages in each list from 1 to 5, with 1 marking the broadest stage and 5 marking the
thesis.

List 1 List 2

_________ Teachers _________ Retail companies

_________ Education _________ Supermarkets
_________ Math teacher _________ Dealing with customers
_________My high school math teacher _________Working in a supermarket
was competent _________ I’ve learned how to handle
unpleasant supermarket
customers

List 3 List 4

_________ Bicycles _________Camping

_________Dangers of bike riding _________First camping trip
_________ Recreation _________Summer vacation
_________ Recreational vehicles _________Vacations
_________ Bike riding in a city is a _________My first camping trip was a
dangerous activity disastrous experience

5
Langan, John. (2000). College Writing Skills (5th ed.). Writing Good Thesis [Link] York: McGraw-Hill.

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THE REWRITING STEP

In this stage, writers shape and rework rough material into something meaningful. They read the
material again with a fresh, critical eye and rewrite-adding, dropping, or rearranging ideas; changing
words to achieve more clarity and punch. Finally, they proofread for grammar and spelling errors.
Specifically, this step involves these tasks:

A. Polishing content and organization (Revising)

 Check to see that you have achieved your purpose.

 Check to make sure that you have a clearly stated thesis statement.

 Check to make sure that you have included adequate supports to develop the thesis.

 Check for unity. Check off sentences that are off the topic.

 Check for coherence and use of transition signals.

 Check if you have a concluding sentence that summarizes the thesis.

B. Polishing for grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation (Editing)

 Check each sentence for correctness and completeness.

 Check each sentence for a subject and a verb, subject-verb agreement, correct verb

tenses, noun plurals, articles, and so on.

 Check for incorrectly used or repeated words.

 Check for contractions (can’t, isn’t, I’ll, and so on).

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Summary of stages of writing

*Examining your topic/s

PRE-WRITING
*Identifying your audience

*Determining your purpose

*Generating ideas through different

techniques

* Organizing ideas (outlining)

*Writing effective sentences

*Writing thesis statement, topic sentences,

WRITING ESSAY
supports

* Writing effective introduction

*Writing effective conclusion

*Checking for spelling

EDITING/REVISING
*Checking for punctuation marks

*Checking for grammar usage

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LEARNING ACTIVITY

1. Choose ANY ONE of the topics given below.

2. Generate ideas about the chosen topic by employing any one of the prewriting techniques.

3. Once relevant ideas about the topic are gathered, formulate a topic sentence and develop this

topic sentence by providing supports and specific examples.

4. Arrange the supports in logical order.

5. Revise for grammar errors.

TOPICS

a. heroes

b. college life

c. holidays

d. entertainment

e. family member

f. hobbies

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