Your Role in Academic Writing
April 30, 2019| Category: Writing Tips
The grades you get for completing an academic writing assignment are greatly influenced by your standpoint and perception of the task as they determine the stylistics and various writing choices you make. Find out more about such choices in this article.
Refuse from the Student Role
If you are of the idea that you can refer to the student role while being a senior student of the advanced course in your major, you are completely wrong. Student role presumes to make general conclusions and stitch your writing with the help of the works of the scientists. In general, it is perceived as you do not have a focus or thesis statement, which in its turn leads to receiving a lower grade. It is acceptable for a fresher or a sophomore yet being a senior student you are expected to discuss the topic on the level of scientists, to understand and be able to question them.
Know the Values of Your Readers
It goes without saying that your target audience in this particular case is your professor. What is of the first magnitude for them is the value of learning. The easiest way to decrease your grade is to show disrespect towards these positions, which could be done in the following ways:
- Reiterating the information (in other words, padding out your writing);
- Making mistakes while citing;
- Paying additional attention to the well-known facts or the information already familiar to the professor;
- Thinking there are details that are not worthy (for instance, the use of brackets, incorrect citing, ellipses, as well as other grammar and stylistic mistakes);
- Underestimating knowledge itself.
Understanding Your Attitudes
Poor writing can appear as a result of the bad experience with submitting previous writings to other professors. Your primary aim is to imagine that your professor is the most interested reader. In addition, another attitude problem occurs when the student is afraid to be criticized and tries to hide behind the names of famous scientists. The purpose of academic writing at the level of senior students was already mentioned: present own thoughts and ideas towards the existing issues that were already discussed before. Last but not least is the fact that writing an academic paper is a time-consuming process and if you generally dislike it and hate wasting time on such draining things, the compiled paper is weak.
Devising an Introduction
The first paragraph is the most vital one, so bear in mind the following aspects while working on it:
- Is there any particular interest from the academic perspective in your field of science?
- Is there any particular interest from the social perspective in your field of science?
- How can you stitch these two points together in the introduction?
Considering the aforementioned, you show your respect for the subject itself and the target audience.
Paper Focus
If you question what should drive your academic writing, the answer is obvious: it is your focus. Do not let the sources change the flow of thought you have. If you are of the opinion that your audience will argue the presented ideas, pay special attention to the ideas that contradict your perspective and support your standpoint with the help of additional pieces of evidence.
Enhancing Your Writing
If you do believe that your knowledge in the sphere allows you to write such type of paper and the only obstacle on your way to a successful writing is your skills, then you should devote time to reading academic books and special writing tutorials. Study how other writers, who can claim that they have a good command of English, bind their sentences and structures together. This will help you to study faster.