Powerpoint with key information about "Advice on Academic Writing" by University of Toronto

1. ACADEMIC WRITING
S. Gabriela Durán
I.S.F.D. N° 18

2. WHAT IS ACADEMIC WRITING?
Academic genres meet different intelectual and
communicative purposes
and correspond to different levels of academic
practices.

3. Academic writing has its own set of rules and practices
These rules and practices may be
organised around a formal order or
structure in which to present ideas
Academic writing follows a
particular register and style
Academic writing adheres to
traditional conventions of
punctuation, gramar, and spelling
Some kind of structure is required
such as beginning, middle, and
end
This simple structure is
typical of an essay format

4. Expectations of University writing
University… Discourage formulas
Provides freedom for you to present your own way of structuring your
argument
Offers discipline-specific guidelines for approaching written work
Discourage repetition
Encourages critical thinking
Rewards you for engaging in analysis

5. WHAT SHOULD AN ESSAY HAVE?
AN ARGUMENT
 It should answer a question of a few related questions
 It should be presented in a clear and persuasive way

6. STAGES OF WRITING

7. The stages of writing
Note the key
term in the
assignment
sheet
Ask questions
Formulate a
tentative thesis
statement
Interpret
essay
topic Note the type of
essay
Understand
genre
Searching stage
Produce an
outline
Pre-
writing
Register your
ideas
Draft
Checking of
details
Look at overall
organization
Polish and edit
the style
Refine the final
version
Revise
and
Edit

8. Interpret essay topics
Understanding and answering essay topic is a key academic skill.
 Note which concepts or methods the topic asks you to use (concepts and ways of thinking)
 Note the key terms in the assignment sheet, including those naming parts of the topic and
those giving directions for dealing with it
 Analyse means look behind the surface structure of your source material. See the relationship of parts to
whole
 Compare means find differences as well as similarities
 Evaluate emphasizes that you are to apply your judgement a to the results of your analysis
 Argue (agree or desagree) likewise asks you to take a stand based on analysis of solid evidence and explained
by clear reasoning
 To generate ideas ask yourself questions about the topic. Look for controversies
 Do all your reading looking for questions and isssues, not just information
 For an essay or argument formulate a tentative thesis statement at a fairly early stage. It
will help focus your investigation

9. Pre- writing
 Note the type of essay you should write
Comparative essay
Book review
Literature review
Science paper
Admission letter
Application letter
Laboratory report
History essay
Literary essay
 Knowing the patterns of reasoning
associated with a genre can help you to
structure your essay

10. Pre- writing
Searching stage
 Do your research in order to find information and to formulate the question
 Do a critical reading of resources look for ways of thinking about the subject
matter
determine the purpose of the text
distinguish the kind of reasoning the text
employs
examine the evidence the text employs
evaluate how a text is argued
 Do not rely exclusively on net resources
 Take note from research reading summarizes ideas that are relevant to your
topic
compress ideas in your own words
label your notes

11. Pre-writing
Produce an outline
 It helps to organize your ideas
 It helps to organize your writing
 It helps to decide the order and hierarchy of concepts
Kinds of outlines
sentence outline: write full sentences
topic outline: just words or fragments of sentences

12. Writing the draft
Register your ideas:
• Use the outline to start writing the essay
• Pay special attention to introduction
Identify your topic
Provide essential topic
Indicate your particular focus
Engage your reader´s attention
The length should be related to the
length of the rest of the text
Thesis statements typically
appear at the end of the
introduction

13. Writing an interesting introduction:
 Find a startling statistic that illustrates the seriousness of the problem you will address
 Quote an expert
 Mention a common misperception that your thesis will argue against
 Give some background information necessary for understanding the essay
 Use a brief narrative or anecdote
 Explain key scientific concepts and refer to relevant literature
 Define unfamiliar terms to your audience
Common mistakes:
 Do not provide dictionary definitions
 Do not repeat the assignment specifications
 Do not give details and information that belong to the body of the essay

14. • Pay attention to conclusion
• Writing an interesting conclusion
 Use an appropriate quotation or expert opinion that support your ideas
 Return to the anecdote you mention in the introduction and add some comments that derives from
your essay
 Propose future research suggestions
 Provide a sense of completeness to your essay
Sum up your arguments
Write your own reflections
Leave your reader something to
think about
The length of your conclusion
should be related to the length
of your essay

15. • Write clear paragraphs To achieve paragraph unity express the central idea in a topic sentence
The body paragraph develops your topic through an ordered and logical progression of
ideas
Ilustration in a paragraph supports a general statement by means of examples, details,
etc.
A definition paragraph define and distinct terms
An analysis paragraph develops a topic by distinguishing its component parts and
discussing each of these parts separately
A comparison or contrast paragraph establishes similarities and differences between two
ideas, sources, positions
A process paragraph involves a straightforward step-by-step description, following a
chronological sequence
Show connections to enhance flow within a paragraph by repeating key words or
synonims, pronouns, linking words

16. Revise and edit
Revision is more than proofreading, it involves checking details
 Check style and language
 Look at overall organization
 Polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters such as word choice,
sentence structure,
grammar,
punctuation,
and spelling
 Appeareance: include a cover page
number the pages
double-space your text
use a standard font in twelve-point size
put the referent list
staple your pages

17. Refine your final version
1. Lack of agreement
2. Sentence fragments
3. Overly-long sentences
4. Overuse of passive voice
5. Faulty parallelism
6. Vague pronouns
7. Dangling modifiers
8. Squinting modifiers
9. Mixed or dead metaphors
10. Faulty word choice / faulty diction
11. Wordiness
12. Comma splices
13. Misuse of comma, semicolon, colon
Pay attention to common errors in grammar, punctuation and style.
According to Dena Taylor and Margaret Procter from the University of Toronto, these are the
most common mistakes:

18. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

19. Using resources
There are different ways to integrate resources in your essay:
• Give the reference as soon as you use other people´s ideas, words, passages from books, etc.
• If you use some author´s exact words, enclose them in quotation marks
• Mention the author´s name even if you paraphrase or summarize their ideas
• Take into consideration the system of reference (different disciplines use their own system)
• Quote when the passage is relevant for your paper
• If the quotation is longer than four lines, set it off as a block quotation
• Summarize only the most essential point´s of someone else´s work
• Paraphrase to include other people´s ideas in your essay
Use resources critically: analize, comment and critizice them

20. English as a Second Language
 Common problems in ESL writings:
Using articles: pay attention where articles go
Special cases in the use of the definite article
Expressions of quantity: special cases of Subject-Verb agreement
Using gerunds and infinitives
Verbs for referring to sources
For further information link http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/english-as-a-
second-language

21. HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER´S BLOCK
WRITER´S BLOCK
It occurs when the writer feels
stuck and unable to write
POSSIBLE CAUSES:
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Lack of understanding
Look for key words (analyse, discuss, argue, compare, etc.)
Do more research
Be sure you have a specific topic
Focus on getting your ideas down simply and clearly

22. Resources
• Equipo docente de Taller de Expresión I (Cátedra
Reale). Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad
de Ciencias Sociales. Centro Virtual de Escritura
(s.f.). Retrieved April, 19, 2016. Web site:
https://centrodeescrituravirtual.wordpress.com
/
• University of Toronto. Writing at the University of
Toronto (s.f). Retrieved April, 19, 2016.
Web site: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/