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Introduction In many ways, academic writing is unlike any other writing, even writing which may seem of a similar formality, such as business or legal writing. The demands of academic writing are specific, and usually clearly defined by the particular university department or school that will assess it. However, these demands often seem unclear or hard to follow for many university students. At the simplest level, the differences between academic writing and other writing are the expectations of the academics who will assess the paper. Therefore, it is essential for every university student to both know and practice the standard for writing expected at their institution. This essay will give a brief description of the main factors that contribute to a well-written university-standard essay. It will first explain the importance of an effective essay-writing process, and suggest stages to use in an essays development. Many students and researchers are still confused about how to write good academic papers of various different kinds in English. Academic writing must be distinguished from other formal styles of writing such as official and business as stated by Jordan (1986 p. 18). The main characteristics of good academic writing have been the focus of much debate in the general field of writing skills, as have the significance of language discourse functions and the important role that they play when it comes to producing good academic writing. This essay will define what academic writing is and identify the main characteristics of good academic writing. The main aim of this essay will be to explain the importance of academic writing in universities and for students.

Academic Writing First of all, we must define what academic writing is to identify its features. Jordan (1999, p. 8) states that academic writing must be written in a proper formal style. Hamp-Lyons and Poole (2006, p. 16-17) also define academic writing in terms of formality. They state that academic writing is a formal piece of paper for which credit has to be given to the writer and that the work will contain specific grammatical patterns, organisation and argument. They outline the formality of academic writing suggesting it comes from its readers who must be academics. Its contents that must be a serious thought and it should be constructed using a variety of complex grammatical structures which have no errors. The vocabulary utilised should be varied and of a technical level appropriate to the subject matter. This will be discussed further in Section 3. Moreover, Anderson and Poole (2001, p. 9) focus on defining the problem in academic writing. They assert that the first step must be to define the problem which involves determining what is being asked in the question or the title. As mentioned before, I can summarise that Academic writing can be defined as the way that we express our ideas, knowledge and information clearly in terms of discussing an academic problem. It must address a topic or title clearly. It has some characteristics that must be addressed in the text such as accuracy, organisation, argument, coherence, cohesion, appropriateness and referencing. These characteristics help the reader to understand the academic problem in a crucial way by discussing many points of view relating to it.

Characteristics of good academic writing There are many characteristics of good academic writing. Many researchers such as Anderson and Poole (2001), Jordan (1986, 1999) discuss those features in different ways. I have outlined the main characteristics under the following sub-headings: Organisation When we talk about organisation in academic writing, we really need to focus on a clear introduction, body and conclusion. The progression of ideas and paragraphing must be clear and supported with examples. We also have to present a reasonable number of alternative points of view and to achieve a sense of argumentation. Greetham (2001, p. 182-202) focuses on the importance of the introduction, paragraphs and conclusion that must be clear and coherent. He thinks that the introduction is a key part in which the writer must interpret the title or question and tell the readers the map that they are going to follow through the piece of writing.

He also emphasises that the paragraphs, which are in the main body of the academic writing, must follow the map the writer outlined in the introduction. He recommends that the writer should have a topic sentence for each paragraph which gives the reader a brief description about what is going to follow. Regarding conclusions, Greetham (2001 p. 197) says: The opinions you express in the conclusion must reflect the strength and balance of the arguments that have preceded them in the body of the essay. Anderson and Poole (2001, p. 17) suggest that we should have an introduction, body and conclusion. They believe that the introduction has to begin with an obvious statement of the problem and provide the readers with all essential data that is to follow. Anderson and Poole (2001, p. 17) argue that the body should be an attempt at a progressive solution to the problem stated in the introduction. They believe that the conclusion should present the results of the investigation and provide a solution to the problem that has been set. Furthermore, the conclusion can be used to suggest further areas of investigation. Task achievement In academic writing, your work must be directly relevant to the title. You have to approach the task in a direct and efficient way. The development of the argument must be relevant, accurate and appropriate. Davies (2008) believes that successful academic writing must address a topic or title clearly. He suggests that writers must be careful what information they include in the essay noting that interesting information may not necessarily be orientated towards the question that is being asked. When doing a final review of your work, it is important to focus on the relationships between the ideas that have been discussed. Accuracy In accuracy, we have to have high standards of grammar, word choice, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. Jordan (1986, pp. 10-18) also provides many examples and exercises that reveal the importance of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. The misuse of tenses changes the meaning and spelling mistakes causes confusion. I do not think it is the readers job to guess what words the writer chose. He also distinguishes the differences between some verbs lead to confusion such as lend and borrow, rise, arise, raise and increase, make and do and say and tell as a part of taking care of word choice and the use of words. Coherence and cohesion In an academic context, it is necessary to have good use of linking words to join the ideas within and between sentences and paragraphs, and an excellent usage of signposting words to show the development of your argument. This is called cohesion. Defining coherence, Carter (1999, p.245) states A is perceived as coherent when it makes consistent sense, with or without the help of devices of . He defines cohesion as the

demonstrable pattern of thes integrity, the marks of its hanging together. In other words, coherence implies that the text must make sense and cohesion means that it must be appropriately structured and interlinked by suitable signposts and linking words. For instance, In the next section we will and As we have argued previously are good examples of signposts. Linking words include moreover, however, therefore and many others.

Appropriateness and referencing The language must be appropriate to the given topic within an academic context. The writers have to make appropriate use of source texts and of direct and indirect quotations too. They also have to provide adequate references and/or bibliography details. Jordan (1986, p. 18) points out the most important features in academic writing. He outlines them as follows stating that written academic English rarely contains the following: Contractions: ( I do not agree..) would be used instead of ( I dont agree); (I am trying..) instead of ( Im trying).

Importance of Academic Writing in Education The web page: (http://www.papersunlimited.biz/importance-academic-writing/), pointed out that Academic writing is one of the most dreaded academic activities that students inevitably come across. Academic writing is no way an easy task as it consists of lengthy procedures of conducting thorough research and the ability to write skillfully. Most of the students either lack sufficient writing skills or they fear criticism from their professors once they complete their papers. In either way academic writing is something that cannot be avoided as far as a student is a part of academia. Academic writing is indeed vital for growth and enhancement of important skills to be able to lead a successful life after the completion of studies. This section highlights some of the important aspects of academic writing that are vital for growth and to be able to lead a successful life. Read below to learn more about the importance of academic writing. Critical Thinking Skills When a student is involved writing academic papers he/she is not limited to just providing information. The procedure of academic writing also consists of conducting thorough research and identification of relevant and irrelevant information. In the process a student has to identify what is relevant and what is not with ample evidence to prove or disprove the claims made. This process enhances intellectual capacity and enables students to think critically on a number of problems. Moreover, it allows students to look into a problem from

various dimensions and come up with appropriate solutions relevant to the situation discussed in the term paper, research paper or an essay. The positive impact of the writing process cannot be over-emphasised. In particular, a most vital stage is that of planning. As the next section describes, good essays need clear structure. In order to ensure that a clear structure is used, the student needs to take time to organise all of the information, known or researched, about the topic into a logical order. The planning stage allows this to happen. Further, without the stages of drafting and editing, even the best planned and structured essay can remain untidy, unclear and full of mistakes that will badly affect the eventual grade. However much the student edits on computer while going through the paper a final proof read can make significant improvements. Increases Knowledge During high school, college or University studies students come across a number of subjects and courses from different academic disciplines to write academic papers. This varying aspect helps increase knowledge in many other academic disciplines. It broadens a student's horizon and enables him/her to write on any given academic topic. Prepares you for the Future Academic writing assignments prepare you for the future to take on more challenging projects requiring analytical skills. When you enter the real practical world you become accustomed to take on complex challenges. Academic essay writing helps you solve various problems. It allows you to see a problem with different dimensions. Intellectual Growth Academic writing develops your mental faculties. It sharpens your observational and analytical skills. It helps you identify what is relevant and what is not. It sharpens your memory and helps you remember things easily. Improves Writing Skills When you are involved in academic essay writing your language improves. You become good at making research on numerous topics from a number of academic disciplines. Intellectual Capacity Academic writing facilitates intellectual growth. When you get a term paper to write you get involved in an in-depth analysis of a particular topic to be able to present something rational and relevant as to make it debatable and argumentative among the audience. This exercise increases your intellectual capacity thus making you ready for more complicated future assignments. Research making Skills

Academic writing allows you to sharpen up your research making skills. Obviously, when writing term papers and research papers you just do not go on to write anything. To be able to write effectively you need to engage in thorough research of the topic. Once you have the information you need to skim through it to identify what is relevant and what is not. Time Management When you have to write an academic writing paper you have a deadline to submit it. You just cannot complete it anytime you want to else you may flunk in the course. In the process academic writing allows you to manage your time according to the priority. You learn to manage time as you have other important tasks to fulfill.

After reading this article you must not underestimate the benefits of academic writing. Rather, embrace it to make yourself prone to stiffer challenges of life ahead. Adds to your Knowledge Every time you write an academic paper you learn something new. You learn to have various perspectives on a particular argument or object. Academic writing increases your knowledge. It gives you an opportunity to be innovative and come up with ideas that did not exist before. So from now on take academic essay writing assignments more seriously if you really want to achieve something fruitful in your future career. If you are not good at academic writing aim to improve it with hard work and dedication as it is going to benefit only you in your future. (http://www.onlineessayspro.com/essays/ImportanceOfWritingEssays.html)

According to the web page (http://researchwriting4u.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/importanceof-academic-writing-in-education/) says that The time you get an academic essay writing assignment your mind goes haywire. You become confused and worried whether you will be able to complete an academic writing assignment. Every student you meet and ask what you hate the most in the world and the answer will be academic writing. Students do not realize the importance of academic writing. They do not realize how it can have an impact on their academic career. There is no use avoiding writing academic papers or an essay as it has to be done throughout the academic career. A student begins academic writing with simple essays and as he/she progresses to the higher academic levels academic essay writing becomes difficult with times. It basically depends on your intellectual growth. When you reach a higher academic level your professors expect you to be developed mentally to take on more challenging academic essay writing assignments. One might question the feasibility of a student watching a fruitful academic work. Nevertheless, if a goal of academic writing is the education, the students play an important role in the evaluation of literature produced by their professors. In this context, a measure of academic writing is the ability to give a balanced description of a particular case to provide.

Secondly, academic writing is useful for students as it articulates coherent theoretical explanation beyond the immediate case study that some future applicability for the reader to have. Finally, a good academic writing is an example of a level of accuracy for students to strive for in their own work. Whereas the academic writing it is useful to scholars workplace writing is important in the place of work or the jobs and helps the professionals to write resumes, memos, reports that will be persuasive and usable for the intended group of people. Two important concepts are applied in this kind of thesis writing: a. The first is the rhetorical consciousness. This concept takes into considerations the fact that the workplace written to convince the intended party and it follows that the rhetorical situations should be considered. These situations are rhetorical purpose of the writing of the audience, interested parties are affected and the context in which the background situation to take.

b. The other concept employed in writing the work reports the use of user-centered design. This concept provides the following: the treatment of the public attention of the readers on the basis of their expectations, their characteristics and whether they have a direct influence on the decisions to be made to have the goals that the readers are focused on what to which includes a clear picture for readers and finally the context of the readers.

Important aspects of successful written assignments at university This section is concerned with academic writing, which is a specific type of writing with its own rules and conventions. Unlike informal letters, notes and personal journals, academic writing is not modelled on everyday speech, but has a particular language style. Academics write in full grammatical sentences and express ideas in a concise and clear way. They concentrate on relating concepts or main ideas to each other rather than describing things in particular detail. One of the most important aspects of successful written assignments at university is analysing questions, or the ability to understand what the assignment question asks you to do. This applies to all assessment tasks, but particularly to academic writing tasks such as essay writing and report writing. Each of these writing tasks follows particular rules, but paragraph structure is important to all of them, as clearly structured paragraphs can help you develop clear arguments and descriptions. Another important aspect of academic writing is critical analysis. The usual way to satisfy the requirement of critical thinking is to look at what different academics have said about an issue and then decide who you agree with. Because you discuss other people's ideas and

arguments, you need to indicate where you got those ideas from, which is why a good understanding of referencing and plagiarism is very important to academic writing. Academic writing is indeed very difficult and boring. The amount of time you put in to write a quality academic writing paper is too much. You go through the rigors of making research, analysis of material found and lastly writing without making errors. Such a long process is something that many students hate to get involved in but they do not realize it all pays off richly at the end. Be it your personal life or professional life academic writing reaps seeds of rational thinking and decision making ability. This article provides some useful information on the importance of academic writing. (http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/acwrite) Keys to Effective Academic Writing There are a variety of factors that contribute to quality academic writing. It is important that you understand how to write for academic purposes as there are different types of writing and not all writing styles are sufficient or appropriate for certain audiences. There are a few keys to writing for academic journals that should be recognized: First, it is important for you to remember that academic writing is very formal. It is not the same as writing a short story or poetry. Understanding this will allow you, as the writer, to make sure that the tone of the written piece is very professional and free from the use of clichs, jokes or personal anecdotes. Second, academic journal writing is analyzed for its writing quality. It is very important that you take the time to make sure that such aspects as spelling, grammar and format are correct. Academic pieces that have a numerous errors will not be taken seriously. Third, effective academic journal writing should always be supported by citations and references. Correctly citing your sources is extremely important when writing for academic purposes as it shows that the proper credit is given to the individuals that were used throughout your academic piece for support of subject matter. (http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/effective-academic-journalwriting.html)

Conclusion: The goal of academic writing is to inform an audience about a particular topic in a very professional manner. Effective academic journal writing does involve clearly stating your purpose and presenting your information in a manner that is simplistic enough for others to read and understand while still having the tone of an academic piece. It is very important you are able to present your ideas clearly when writing an academic piece. Academic writing should be concise, without being completely stripped of the necessary facts that are needed to support your topic. Take the time to review your academic pieces prior to submission in order to ensure that the content is valid and informative and that the topic is properly supported by other sources in the correct manner. In academic writing, students are, in the majority of circumstances, asked to present their ideas in the form of an essay, a text possessing a clearly definable "outer shape" with equally identifiable "inner parts". From the outside, an essay appears to possess three distinct parts, namely a beginning, middle, and an end, which we refer to in academic terms as the introduction, body, and conclusion. Within the essay, each of these parts performs a specific function. In summary, importance of academic writing is to increase knowledge for the student and prepare them to the future challenge and it helps to improve your writing skills. Knowing the academic writing structure you are able to write effectively and up to avoid Plagiarism.

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Bibliographic References JORDAN, R.R., 1986. Academic Writing Course. Collins, London. GREETHAM, B., 2001. How to write better essays. Palgrave, Basingstoke. ANDERSON, J., Poole, M., 2001. Assignment and thesis writing. Wiley & Sons Australia, Milton. DAVIES, B., 2008. Academic Essay Writing: Some Guidelines. The University of Edinburgh http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/study/undergrad/essays/ (accessed 7.12.09). http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/academic-writing-importance-inpresent-generation-5838869.html http://mycourse.solent.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/3101/mod_book/chapter/1783/Linear_essay_flow _chart_and_notes.pdf http://academic.ezinemark.com/importance-of-academic-writing-16cba1fa67c.html http://www.a2zessays.com/articles/Academic-Writing-Importance.html http://www.ideamarketers.com/?Academic_Writing_Help&articleid=1719334 http://researchwriting4u.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/importance-of-academic-writing-ineducation/ http://www.papersunlimited.biz/importance-academic-writing/ http://www.onlineessayspro.com/essays/ImportanceOfWritingEssays.html

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Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Academic Writing ...................................................................................................................... 2 Characteristics of good academic writing .................................................................................. 2 Importance of Academic Writing in Education ......................................................................... 4 Important aspects of successful written assignments at university ............................................ 7 Keys to Effective Academic Writing ......................................................................................... 8 Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................ 9 Bibliographic References ......................................................................................................... 10

Tom Manejo Mero

The importance of academic writing

Universidade Pedaggica Chimoio 2012

Tom Manejo Mero

The importance of academic writing

Faculdade de cincias de linguagem comunicao e arte Delegao de Manica Essay writing of study skills 2 dr. Milton Coqui

Universidade Pedaggica Chimoio 2012