ACADEMIC WRITING
Unlike personal writing, academic writing is not about you. Instead, it is about answering a particular assignment, in a particular situation, for a particular reader. For the most part, academic writing exists for a readership that is different from the writer. Because academic writing exists for an audience, the expectations and requirements of that audience tends to dictate the form and scope of an academic essay.
Overview:
Most importantly, academic writing tends to be about what the student can prove, or what the student has learned from outside sources, and not about what the student feels. Sometimes this proof will take the form of taking a handful of ‘given’ or axiomatic facts and assembling them logically into a written work that resembles a ‘proof’ from geometry. Other times, very little will be given, and it will be the responsibility of the student to establish not just the argument but the conditions of the argument.
One of the first things that a college-level writer should consider is what goals an instructor might have had for assigning an essay. At the same time, the student writer should consider what might be learned from completing the assignment. Because most college-level essays are not intended to be read by a large population of people, these assignments tend to be given for the sake of the assignment itself.
Application:
In some ways, academic writing is a kind of ‘training’ or ‘practice.’ It often involves practicing skills taught during class, and it also involves applying the content of the class in a new context. Even if the student does not feel the essay ‘does anything,’ it is uncommon for essays in an academic setting to be ‘busywork.’ When a tennis player practices forehands (even though there is no ‘game’ going on) or a weightlifter lifts in order to condition muscles (as opposed to, say, helping a friend to move into a new apartment), it’s not busywork. The application of the skills and the development of the physical tools are, ultimately, the point. Academic writing, like many college assignments, is about the development of mental tools.
In other words, a term paper in a college class is a great way for an instructor to make sure that the student has learned, at least temporarily, enough about the subject to write the term paper. The instructor wants students to show that they have thought about the subject and understood it, so a short paragraph that simply repeats a point the instructor made in class lecture is unlikely to fulfill the instructor’s goals. Be careful to look at any assignment and to understand its context (i.e. the teacher who assigns the paper, the class the paper is assigned in, and the stated goals of that class).
What to Avoid:
Try not to make the writing personal. Maybe you will have a teacher who encourages you to introduce more of yourself into an essay, but it is usually safer to begin from a more neutral and more balanced perspective. Academic writing asks for things like evidence and proof, and students who rely too heavily on personal opinion run the risk of writing for themselves, instead of for their readers. Most of the time, the writing assignment is about the process (i.e. the thought that goes into writing) and not the product (i.e. the five-page thing you turn in the next day).
Unlike personal writing, academic writing is not about you. Instead, it is about answering a particular assignment, in a particular situation, for a particular reader. For the most part, academic writing exists for a readership that is different from the writer. Because academic writing exists for an audience, the expectations and requirements of that audience tends to dictate the form and scope of an academic essay.
Overview:
Most importantly, academic writing tends to be about what the student can prove, or what the student has learned from outside sources, and not about what the student feels. Sometimes this proof will take the form of taking a handful of ‘given’ or axiomatic facts and assembling them logically into a written work that resembles a ‘proof’ from geometry. Other times, very little will be given, and it will be the responsibility of the student to establish not just the argument but the conditions of the argument.
One of the first things that a college-level writer should consider is what goals an instructor might have had for assigning an essay. At the same time, the student writer should consider what might be learned from completing the assignment. Because most college-level essays are not intended to be read by a large population of people, these assignments tend to be given for the sake of the assignment itself.
Application:
In some ways, academic writing is a kind of ‘training’ or ‘practice.’ It often involves practicing skills taught during class, and it also involves applying the content of the class in a new context. Even if the student does not feel the essay ‘does anything,’ it is uncommon for essays in an academic setting to be ‘busywork.’ When a tennis player practices forehands (even though there is no ‘game’ going on) or a weightlifter lifts in order to condition muscles (as opposed to, say, helping a friend to move into a new apartment), it’s not busywork. The application of the skills and the development of the physical tools are, ultimately, the point. Academic writing, like many college assignments, is about the development of mental tools.
In other words, a term paper in a college class is a great way for an instructor to make sure that the student has learned, at least temporarily, enough about the subject to write the term paper. The instructor wants students to show that they have thought about the subject and understood it, so a short paragraph that simply repeats a point the instructor made in class lecture is unlikely to fulfill the instructor’s goals. Be careful to look at any assignment and to understand its context (i.e. the teacher who assigns the paper, the class the paper is assigned in, and the stated goals of that class).
What to Avoid:
Try not to make the writing personal. Maybe you will have a teacher who encourages you to introduce more of yourself into an essay, but it is usually safer to begin from a more neutral and more balanced perspective. Academic writing asks for things like evidence and proof, and students who rely too heavily on personal opinion run the risk of writing for themselves, instead of for their readers. Most of the time, the writing assignment is about the process (i.e. the thought that goes into writing) and not the product (i.e. the five-page thing you turn in the next day).
