The Art and Craft of Writing (Chs. 1-6)

1b Preparing to meet expectations for U.S. academic writing

1bPreparing to meet expectations for U.S. academic writing

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 formal academic papers much more than five pages long 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 and even new definitions of writing; you may be asked, for example, to create a persuasive Web site or to research, write, and deliver a multimedia presentation. If you grew up speaking and writing in other languages, the transition to producing effective college work can be especially complicated. Not only do you have to learn new information and new ways of thinking and arguing in unfamiliar rhetorical situations, but you also have to do it in a language that may not come naturally to you.

Instructors sometimes assume that students are already familiar with their expectations for college writing. To complicate the matter further, there is no single “correct” style of communication in any country, including the United States. Effective oral styles differ from effective written styles, and what is considered good writing in one field of study is not necessarily appropriate in another. Within a field, different rhetorical situations and genres may require different ways of writing. In business, for example, memos are usually short and simple, while a market analysis report may require complex paragraphs with tables, graphs, and diagrams. Even the variety of English often referred to as “standard” covers a wide range of styles (see Chapter 29). In spite of this wide variation, several features are often associated with U.S. academic English in general:

conventional grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics
organization that links ideas explicitly (4g)
an easy-to-read type size and typeface, conventional margins, and double spacing
explicitly stated claims supported by evidence (Chapter 9)
careful documentation of all sources (Chapters 32–35)
consistent use of an appropriate level of formality (27c and 30a)
conventional use of idioms (Chapter 43)
use of conventional academic formats, such as literature reviews, research essays, lab reports, and research proposals

This brief list suggests features of the genre often described as U.S. academic writing. Yet these characteristics can lead to even more questions: What does conventional mean? How can you determine what is appropriate in any given rhetorical situation? New contexts often require the use of different sets of conventions, strategies, and resources, so ask your instructor for advice, or check with your writing center, local library, or friends for examples of the kind of text you need to create.

Talking the Talk: Conventions