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Writing in An Acdamic Style

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11 views

Writing in An Acdamic Style

Uploaded by

chuyi zhang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing in an Academic Style

If you have received feedback in your assignments such as the one


below, you may need to adjust your academic style. This module aims
to provide you with the tools to make your writing more formal,
objective and impersonal.

There are six modules in the course. In each module, you will complete a short test to consolidate your understanding. Get

started by clicking on the first module listed below!

Useful Insight

Academic style varies from discipline to discipline and from context to context. You will need to learn to identify the features of

particular types of texts (e.g. research articles, conference presentations) in your particular discipline.
What is academic writing?
'Academic style' is usually associated with university

assignments, conference presentations and journal articles,

but there's a lot more to it than just using big words.

Academic style is not a black and white dichotomy but more of

a continuum. That is, within the academic realm, there are

texts that are more formal, objective and impersonal than


others. For example, a conference presentation will be more

informal than a research paper.

Watch and Learn!


https://youtu.be/X1ayZx45VcU

Post your paragraph analysis here


Based on the lessons you learned in this section, revise a paragraph you've completed in your units of study in the following

Discussion Board. When you're done, comment on the submissions other students have contributed to feed forward your

feedback and consolidate your learning.

Features of Academic Writing

Alexandra Isabel Garcia Marrugo

1 sectionWriting in an Academic Style

No unread replies.No replies.

1. Analyse a paragraph from a text in your discipline. Identify the following features of academic
style:

 Specificity

 Type of evidence

 Wording of claims

 Reference to the reader or writer


How are academic words
different?
Academic words tend to be longer than general English words.

Words like 'a lot of', 'stuff', 'bad' and 'big' are usually too vague

and informal for academic writing. The alternative will depend

on the context. The resources on this page explain how and

why academic language can be different from regular everyday

language.

Watch and Learn


Watch this video to learn how to identify academic words and where they came from:

https://youtu.be/qCw8sYKKXsI -Focus on vocabulary

Want to learn more?

Access the following resources below to extend your learning: Sounding Formal (PDF)
Download Sounding Formal (PDF)-AS2
Can you measure academic
style?
Is there a way to know if your writing is academic enough? Is

your writing too descriptive? Are you merely summarising the

information you found in books or online? Lecturers reward

students who go beyond this by classifying information,

establishing comparisons, taking positions and challenging

existing positions in the literature. Use the resources on this

page to be recognised for your academic style.

Watch and Learn

Watch this video to learn how to find out whether your texts

are academic enough. This video will present three free online

tools that will help you in this task:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/x6xllCeBDk4、
Click on the links below to access the online tools

showcased in the video:

http://bit.ly/ReadTestTool

http://bit.ly/LancsLex

http://bit.ly/AcadVoc

Want to learn more?

 Use the Formal and Technical vocabulary guide (PDF) Download


Use the Formal and Technical vocabulary guide (PDF)
 Consolidate your learning by commenting on the discussion

board.

 Use this chartDownload this chart to compare your writing to

that of a text in your discipline.

Choosing the right word


Sometimes you are literally stuck for words and just checking

a thesaurus won't do. This video will show you a couple of

ways to find the right word. While a thesaurus is a good source

for synonyms, you need to check whether your choice is


appropriate in context. This page conains a number of

resources to help you do exactly that!

Watch and Learn

Watch this video to learn how to learn where to find and how

to choose more appropriate words for your texts:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/2LU_A2KwKE0

Want to learn more?

https://writefullapp.com/
Being Objective
Objectivity is a word that gets thrown around quite often. But what does it mean? Think about how much evidence you have

to support your claims. If you state that "Australia will face a recession next year", is this a proven fact? What are the odds?

Depending on the evidence, you can state that "Australia is likely to/ may or might face a recession".

Watch and learn


Watch this video to find out what it means to be objective in academic writing and how to make your claims match the

available evidence.

Want to learn more?

Expressions to discuss evidence (PDF)


Expressing your voice in
academic writing
The commonly accepted rule for academic writing is that it should be impersonal (i.e.
you shouldn’t use I, we, you, etc) – but there are many occasions when you can take
an impersonal approach.Words like 'a lot of', 'stuff', 'bad' and 'big' are usually too
vague and informal for academic writing. The alternative will depend on the context.

Watch and Learn


This video will guide you in making the right choices:

Test your knowledge


Answer these questions to check your understanding of the appropriate use of
personal and impersonal language

Want to learn more?

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