2b Position yourself as an academic writer.
If you’re like most students, you probably have less familiarity with academic writing contexts than you do with informal contexts. You may not have written anything much longer than five pages of formal academic writing before coming to college, and you may have done only minimal research. The contexts for your college writing will require you to face new challenges; you may be asked, for example, to create a persuasive Web site or to research, write, and deliver a multimedia presentation. You can begin the process of learning by figuring out what your instructors expect from you. Of course, expectations about academic writing vary considerably in different courses and different disciplines (see Chapters 61–65), but becoming familiar with widespread conventions will prepare you well for most academic situations.
In the United States, most college instructors expect student writers to begin to establish their own authority—to become constructive critics who can analyze and interpret the work of others. But what does establishing authority mean in practice?
- Assume that your opinions count (as long as they are informed rather than tossed out with little thought) and that your audience expects you to present them in a well-reasoned manner.
- Show your familiarity with the ideas and works of others, both from the assigned course reading and from good points your instructor and classmates have made.
Your instructors will most often expect you to get to the point quickly and to be direct throughout an essay or other project. Research for this book confirms that readers depend on writers to organize and present their material—using sections, paragraphs, sentences, arguments, details, and source citations—in ways that aid understanding. Good academic writing prepares readers for what is coming next, provides definitions, and includes topic sentences. (See 20c for a description of the organization that instructors often prefer in student essays.) To achieve directness in your writing, try the following strategies:
- State your main point early and clearly.
- Avoid overqualifying your statements. Instead of writing I think the facts reveal, come right out and say The facts reveal.
- Avoid digressions. If you use an anecdote or example from personal experience, be sure it relates directly to the point you are making.
- Use appropriate evidence, such as examples and concrete details, to support each point.
- Make transitions from point to point obvious and clear. The first sentence of a new paragraph should reach back to the paragraph before and then look forward to what is to come (see 8e).
- Follow logical organizational patterns (see 8c).
- Design and format the project appropriately for the audience and purpose you have in mind (see Chapter 9).
- If your project is lengthy, you may also want to use brief summary statements between sections, but avoid unnecessary repetition.
U.S. Academic Style
- Consider your purpose and audience carefully, making sure that your topic is appropriate to both. (Chapter 5)
- State your claim or thesis explicitly, and support it with examples, statistics, anecdotes, and authorities of various kinds. (Chapter 7)
- Carefully document all of your sources. (Chapters 49–55)
- Make explicit links between ideas. (Chapter 8)
- Consistently use the appropriate level of formality. (Chapter 23)
- Use conventional formats for academic genres. (Chapters 3–4 and 61–64)
- Use conventional grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. (Chapters 31–48)
- Use an easy-to-read type size and typeface, conventional margins, and double spacing. (Chapter 9)