Writing in College

ACADEMIC WRITING: WHAT TO EXPECT

In college you will probably do more writing than you did in high school, and the expectations instructors will have of your writing will also be different. This section explains what you can expect about writing in college.

EXPECT YOUR WRITING TO BECOME LESS PERSONAL

Much of your writing up to now may have been about yourself and your experiences. In college you may be asked to share your ideas and opinions, which will be based on your experiences, but you will need to support these ideas and opinions with good reasons and objective evidence, such as examples, observations, facts, statistics, and expert opinion. As a result, you will find that college writing uses third person (it, they, he, she) much more than first person (I, me).

In some cases, your main reason, or purpose, for writing in college may be to express your thoughts and feelings, but in most cases it will be to inform or persuade.

Informative writing presents information about a subject in an objective, nonpersonal way. For example in a sociology class, you might write an essay defining generation 1.5. You could offer examples of friends and relatives who are members of generation 1.5, but you would focus mostly on characterizing that generation as a whole.
Persuasive writing attempts to convince readers to think or act a certain way. For example, you might write an essay for your criminal justice class arguing that the penalties for drunk driving should be increased. In writing this essay, you could draw on your personal knowledge of drunk driving, but you would need to supply mostly objective evidence to persuade your readers.

As you analyze a writing assignment, determine how much of your personal experience and personal opinion (if any) are appropriate for the assignment.

EXPECT TO WRITE IN DIFFERENT FORMS, OR GENRES

In college you will write much more than essays and exam answers. Depending on your program of study or major, you may also write in a variety of specialized genres (or types):

essays and essay exams
abstracts and research projects
case studies and observational or laboratory reports
diagnostic evaluations

Each genre has its own set of conventions and expectations. For example, a lab report:

has a specific purpose (to report the results of a laboratory experiment),
follows a specific format (it includes sections with headings such as Introduction, Materials and Methods, and Observation),
has an expected style of writing (brief, factual, and concise), and
uses technical and specialized language (names specific instruments and refers to elements as abbreviated in the periodic table, for example).

As you encounter new genres, read samples that can serve as models for your own writing.

EXPECT TO USE THE LANGUAGE OF THE DISCIPLINE

Each academic discipline has its own language — words and phrases that are used only or primarily in that discipline. The words photosynthesis and homeostasis, for example, are used primarily in biology, and the words allegory, symbolism, and personification are used in literature. When you write in a particular discipline, you are expected to use the language of that discipline. Concentrate first on expressing your ideas clearly. As you revise, check to be sure you have used the language of the discipline correctly. (See Chapter 3 for suggestions on learning vocabulary.)

EXPECT TO USE STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH

Although nonstandard English (slang, incorrect grammar, intentional or unintentional misspellings) may be appropriate in some settings (such as text messages and emails to friends), students in an academic context are expected to write in standard, correct American English. As you proofread your writing, concentrate on correctness. Refer to a grammar handbook or consult an online writing resource for help. (For help with sentence-level problems, see Chapter 10 and unless you are using the Brief Edition, the handbook at the back of this book.)

EXPECT TO READ, WRITE, AND THINK CRITICALLY

In college, instructors will expect you to go beyond merely repeating what you hear in class or read in the textbook; they’ll expect you to demonstrate understanding by being able to draw your own inferences based on what you have learned and to synthesize information from sources to support your ideas and to come up with new ideas. (For more on reading actively and critically, see Chapters 3 and 4.)

EXPECT TO USE AND DOCUMENT SCHOLARLY SOURCES

Many college writing assignments require you to conduct research to acquire the information you need to support your ideas. College writing often requires the use of scholarly sources (books and articles written by experts and published in scholarly journals and university presses). In many cases popular sources (magazines like People or Sports Illustrated, newspapers like the Los Angeles Times or USA Today) may not be appropriate because they may not offer expert information or sufficient detail. Consult your reference librarian if you need help finding scholarly sources. Google may be familiar and easy to use, but it may not be the best place to find the scholarly sources you need. You will likely search for sources online, using your library’s online catalog of books and databases listing scholarly articles. Keep in mind that the best sources for your research may (still) be available only in print.

Whether you quote directly or express ideas from a source in your own words through a summary or paraphrase, your instructors will expect you to credit the sources you use by including an in-text citation and a list of works cited (or references). (For guidance in locating and using scholarly sources, see Chapters 22, 23, and 24.)

EXPECT TO WRITE MULTIPLE DRAFTS

College instructors will expect you to write multiple drafts, so that the essay you turn in is thoughtful, appropriate to the assignment, clearly organized, and free from errors of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. They will expect you also to write using a computer, which will help with writing multiple drafts. If you are new to using a computer for writing, your college writing or computer lab may offer resources and advice to help you get started. (For more about the writing process, see Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.)