essay form and structure mla academic writing. what is academic writing? academic writing is the...
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Essay Form and StructureMLA
Academic Writing
What is Academic Writing?Academic Writing is
the writing that you do for school.
It follows a fairly strict set of conventions.
Academic writing is also used in journals, blogs, books, articles, etc.
Features of Academic WritingUses standard edited EnglishUses clear and recognizable patterns of
organizationMarks logical relationships between ideas.States claims clearly and provides
appropriate support.Presents your ideas as a response to
others.Documents sources using appropriate style.
Standard EnglishFollows standard
conventions of spelling, grammar and punctuation.
More rather than less formal.
Shortcuts used in informal situations are not acceptable in academic writing.
Clear Patterns of OrganizationAcademic writing is
organized in a way that is easy for readers to recognize.
The organization is described clearly in the thesis statement which states the main point and says how the text will be structured.
All paragraphs, essays, letters, books, blogs, etc have three separate sections:
Introduction Body Conclusion
ParagraphsThe opening
sentence of your body paragraphs tell the reader what that paragraph will be about.
These are called topic sentences.
Headings can help guide reader.
Academic Essays Follow a PatternBegin with simplest ideas and then move
step by step to the most complex ideas.Start with weakest claim or evidence and
progress to the strongest ones.Treat some topics early as background
information.Arrange ideas chronologically starting with
earliest and ending with the latest ones.
Common PatternsOrder of
importance (AKA emphatic order).
Time orderSpace order
Logical RelationshipsAcademic writing
makes it clear how your ideas relate to one another.
You need to mark links between ideas.
You need to help readers understand relationships by using transitions.
TransitionsShow relationships
between ideas.Use within
sentences, between sentences, and to introduce paragraphs.
Improve coherence.
See list in Canvas.More About Transiti
ons
State Claims ExplicitlyPresent claims
clearly.Support claims with
evidence.Claims are stated
clearly in a thesis statement which comes at the end of the introduction.
Thesis Statements
Qualify Your StatementsVery few issues are
black and white, so avoid terms like always and never.
Qualifying words like frequently, often, generally, sometimes, rarely make it easier to support a claim.
Good, Solid EvidenceEvidence should be
from trustworthy sources.
Evidence should be persuasive.
What is accepted as trustworthy in academic writing may be different than other contexts.
Consider Multiple PerspectivesDon’t cite sources
that only support one opinion.
Consider and acknowledge counterarguments and viewpoints.
Synthesize IdeasSupporting your
ideas involves synthesis.
This means you weave the ideas and words of others into your argument.
Give credit to those ideas using MLA style.
Develop an Academic StyleToneAudienceContextOrganization
ToneRefers to the
author’s attitude towards the topic.
ToneAn academic tone
is more formal than a conversational tone.
Avoid slangAvoid clichesAvoid second
person (you)Avoid first person
(I)Avoid abbreviations
and short cuts
AudienceIn academic writing
the audience is the professor, and in some cases, your classmates
In social media, the audience is your friends and family.
There is a difference.
Provide Context You need to
provide background information in academic writing.
You can’t assume that the reader knows all of the backstory.
Who, what , when, where, and why are guiding questions.
OrganizationState a claimOffer support for
that claimOrganize your
ideas in a logical manner
Present counterarguments
Common organizational patterns include cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, classification, example, process.
Your purpose will determine the rhetorical strategy you use.