Communicating Information through Writing

In their book They Say I Say, Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst outline strategies writers can use to avoid common mistakes often seen in academic writing. The book thoroughly outlines the different components that make up academic writing, such as initially summarizing what others have said before, responding with original ideas, proving a purpose to the writing, and connecting the writing in a logical and eloquent manner.

What is academic writing? If you were to ask a majority of first year college students what academic writing is I am definite that an inadequate amount will be able to give you the correct definition, while some like myself may not even have a clue as to what academic writing is. Since taking English 101 and being assigned the readings, They Say/ I Say and Rhetorical Approaches I was able to comprehend the meaning of academic writing for the better of my understanding. According to Purdue University academic writing is, “Rules and practices that may be organized around a formal order or structure in which to present ideas, in addition to ensuring that ideas are supported by author citations in literature.” Also the text in They Say/I Say reads, “For us, the underlying structure of effective academic writing ---and of responsible public discourse---resides not just in stating our own ideas but in listening closely to others around us, summarizing their views in a way that

The definition of academic writing has varied consistently throughout the course of any youth’s life. One moment, it is the grand discovery that intrigues the very lives of all, such as Sir Isaac Newton’s 17th century publication, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). Also known as Principia, it is said to be, “Arguably, the most important book published in the history of science” (Hatch). At another point in one’s youth, academic writing could have been defined as the challenging of moralities. An example of such writing would be, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, or, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Now, as one begins to take on academic writing at a collegiate level, the author of any piece of literature must take these two accounts into great consideration. Academic writing can be defined as the freedom to express opinionated thoughts over a certain, agreed topic, so that others may be introduced to different perspectives and form new, underlying ideas. As stated by Tibor Baukal, “A response paper is your chance to communicate in writing your personal viewpoint and personal learning as they relate specifically to the book, essay, paper, article, etc. in question and the ideas and values contained therein” (“Eros and Psyche”). Response papers, are therefore, the prime example of academic writing.

Scholarly writing is no different from all other writing, except, beside it having a purpose and having an audience like any other writings, scholarly writing is evidence-based (Laureate Education, 2012). It is important, since the scholar-practitioner write for a specific audience, that his or her material be free of personal opinion, assumption, and bias. When writing a scholarly material, a scholar-practitioner has to be objective in tone, write clearly, concise, produce a mechanically correct writing that contains evidence-based material.

Before entering class, I deemed myself a competent writer. However, I quickly discovered that my writing involved mediocre writing precepts. In contrast to the principles of scholarly discourse, my writing held the tenets of conversational writing and did not meet academic standards. Furthermore, much of my poor writing involved deep-rooted habits that were humbling and challenging. Passive voice, unneeded words, long sentences, were a few of the obstacles that impeded my journey toward effective writing. However, using peer reviews and an editing checklist I slowly began improving my skills as a competent writer. I also found that reading concerning writing provided supplementary methods in improving my skills as a scholarly writer.

Writing is a difficult, complex and laborious activity. There are areas that need work to be done and get better at. Scholarly writing is directly tied to critical thinking, one need to improve on its critical thinking skills to be able to write clearly, concisely and precisely. This well help in presenting thoughts in a cohesive and logical sequence while being specific. One will work hard to do away with overlong sentences and try to make every sentence a complete thought. Another area that will need some improvement is paragraphing, one will learn how to begin each paragraph with a topic sentence then followed by supporting sentences that illustrate, explain, or clarify main point. In doing this, the coherence, unity and emphasis (CUE)

This scaling study was to determine how well high school English courses prepare high school students for college English writing and writing research assignments for their college courses. It was to determine how well students understood the difference between what are scholarly sources for information and what is not considered to be scholarly sources. According to St Mary's University (What is a Scholarly Journal?), a scholarly journal is also called a peer-reviewed, academic, refereed, or professional journal, is often required or preferred by professors for use in research papers or projects, and are essential for quality graduate work. Scholarly journals are heavily reviewed by subject experts in the particular field of study. The authors are researchers or scholars in the field and the credentials of the authors are listed in the articles. The audience is other scholars, professionals, or students familiar with the particular field of study. The purpose is to report original research, experiments, or theories. They are always cited, contain the references at the end of the article, and are published by professional associations who deal in the particular field.

What is scholarly writing? How does it differ from day-to-day writing and why is it important to someone pursuing an academic degree and planning to become a professional? As you learn about some of the elements of scholarly writing and how to write for specific audiences, you will gain the skills necessary to complete written assignments that are appropriate in your role as a Walden student in a master's or doctorate program. In this Application, you will critique a sample of scholarly writing and provide feedback on ways to make it more effective.

Prior to reading Sommers’s essays, I believed that scholarly writing dealt with essays entirely written using facts. However, Sommers claims, “nothing reveals itself straight out, especially the sources all around them.” In other words, Sommers wants her students and other college students to consider themselves as their own source when writing.

The writing submitted to professors gives them an impression of the way our practical mind works when confronted with a significant topic in a distinct field of study. Instructors want to see us learn to think like someone trained within this field. Academic writing make extensive use of specialized vocabulary and is often difficult to read if the reader is unfamiliar. The audience for this type of reading is a reader with the same background and equivalent preparation. In

The last time I wrote an academic paper was in the fall of 2010. The topic was The “Pipe-Line” & At-Risk Youth. Upon reading all the data and research it was clear that the research topic I selected was too broad. My professor suggested that I narrow my research in order to pinpoint my thesis and purpose. The suggestion assisted me in developing a specific topic, which ensured that my research met the qualitative and quantitative properties. Eventually I passed the course with an A-. I believe the Webinar Crash Course in Scholarly Writing is helpful and insightful. It will allow me to produce the same results similarly to my experience in 2010. The video suggests that “voice, evidence, paragraphs and argument” is the writing tools for success in scholarly writing. The video also recommends that academic writing is a “skill that can be learned by immersing yourself in scholarly literature.” Walden University Writing Center. (2015c). Scholarly writing: Overview. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarly

Throughout my journey in the Nine Lives of Scholarly Writing course, I have learned a great deal about myself as a writer. The course provided ample opportunities for self assessment, brief assignments to engage in the writing process, and a humbling but rewarding mechanism to receive feedback through peer review. These features of the course made the most significant contribution toward my development as a scholarly writer this year.

With all the information I obtained about scholarly writing, I plan to use it to numerous types of writing I will do in the future. I can use this knowledge I acquired on this subject for different types of writings at the scholarly level during my studies at the university and beyond, upcoming course assignments, discussion replies, spoken conversations on the subject and my dissertation process. I can give

Academic writing is a vital skill needed to complete university essays and assessments. This is because, academic writing is easily understood as there is no informal language used. Therefore, academic writing is more concise and readable. This is important because academic writing is written to inform the reader.

The writings I’ve worked on for the Research Problem have helped me towards achieving course learning outcome number 3: “Use a flexible writing process and varied technologies to produce texts that address the expectations of the student’s disciplinary or professional discourse community in terms of claims, evidence, organization, format, style, rhetorical situation, strategies, and effects by drawing on an explicit understanding of the genre(s) being composed.” This learning outcome is focused