The organisation of thoughts into a coherent piece of writing is what many students find is difficult to achieve. The task is less formidable, though, if it is seen as a sequence of sub-tasks, the completion of one leading on to the next. Subtasks which precede and prepare the actual writing process comprise the collecting of information on a given topic, and using efficient reading and note making skills for gaining, ordering and reviewing the information. The actual writing process, which follows, mostly is not a straightforward putting together of finished thoughts but a heuristic process. It is a process of drafting and revising concepts and of clarifying goals and thoughts before they eventually enter into the final product.
In this and the following chapter we discuss principles of academic writing, writing as a heuristic process, how to focus the goal of a paper, types of academic papers, how to create a coherent piece of writing, and criteria for assessing academic papers.
Principles of academic communication and writing
In 1975 the philosopher H.P. Grice stated four maxims of conversation which found much acclaim. They are:
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The maxim of quality
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Speakers' contributions to a conversation ought to be true. They should not say what they believe to be false, nor should they say anything for which they lack adequate evidence. |
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The maxim of quantity
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Speakers' contributions should be as informative
as is required for the purpose of the conversation. One should say neither too little nor too much.
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The maxim of relevance
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Speakers' contributions should clearly relate to
the purpose of the exchange.
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The maxim of manner
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Speakers' contributions should be intelligible -
in particular, they should be orderly and brief, avoiding obscurity and
ambiguity.
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With special regard to written productions,
the principles of academic communication can be re-stated in the following
form:
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HONESTY
State only that which you can support with factual evidence. Always acknowledge the source of both evidence and ideas. |
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REALITY
Explain what needs to be explained, but assume your reader has basic knowledge of the world and needs no explanation of trivial matters. |
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CLARITY
Be clear and direct in your style. Be direct about your aims and objectives. Don't use more words than are necessary. |
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RELEVANCE
Consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of your argument or discussion. Do not include anything that you cannot link to your argument or show its impact on the topic discussed. Do not put crucial information in your conclusion that has not previously been discussed in the body of your work. |
[http://www.sussex.ac.uk/langc/skills/]
Writing as a heuristic process
There is cognitive reciprocity of being able to clearly state what you want to say and forming a clear concept of it. This is why most academic publications go through one or more draft versions. Drafts are critically reviewed before a final version is produced. Good writers are their own first readers and critics. A critical review constructively feeds back into the range and quality of what one knows and can do. This is why writing often contributes no less to the improvement of the writer’s knowledge than to that of a reader’s, and why it is a good academic exercise. Even good writers are hardly ever totally satisfied with what they wrote; they keep re-writing it. We may say, therefore:
Good writing starts with the skilled collection of the available information on a given topic. This requires efficient reading and note making strategies. Experienced writers know, too, that time is a scarce commodity and they plan their time accordingly. Good time management saves stress and leads to better results. It is essential, therefore, that students learn to organize their work.
Focussing the goal of your paper
Readers expect of writers that they clearly state their topic and observe the four principles of academic writing. But good writers keep an eye, too, on who their readers are. They tailor their writing in style and content to their readers’ age and knowledge and to their assumed expectations. For seminar papers it is best to see your fellow-students as the readers of your writing. That will give you an idea of how explicit you have to be on certain points, which technical terms you can use, and what you do not need to explain laboriously.
Readers are irritated if authors do not make clear the relation of their topic to what they write. Good writing therefore starts with focussing the task and goal of the paper. Frequently a given topic or task contains explicit verbal indications of what is required. Sometimes, however, this is only implicitly contained in a given task or topic and needs to be made clear by the author. The following table presents a selection of keywords that represent certain task-types. They simultaneously highlight strategies for analysis and writing that are typical for academic papers.
| analyse | Identify and describe the parts of X, and explain how they relate to each other or work together. If it is a theory or claim or argument which you analyse, see if the claims on which they are based are true or false; present and discuss points ‘for and against’. This may lead to an evaluation |
| compare | Describe X and Y; highlight similarities and differences. A comparison requires that different texts or objects are subjected to the same set of categories by which they are compared. This may lead to an evaluation |
| contrast | Similar to compare, but focussing on the differences between two or more things. Like compare it may, but need not, lead to an evaluation. |
| define | Look up the definitions of a given term or subject in dictionaries, encyclopaedias, or handbooks; compare them; name a definition which seems most appropriate to the subject |
| describe | State which form, structure, and/or other properties characterize a given object; they can be the shape and spatial relations of surface forms, a sequence of events, or a relation of cause and effect, or other statements of facts. |
| discuss | Identify and describe one, two or more statements on the given topic; then analyse them for whether they are statements of facts or opinions; compare them, and give points for and against, before drawing a conclusion from the points presented |
| examine | Similar to analyse: Describe and divide into parts a given topic; distinguish major from minor characteristics of it, hierarchically distinguish super-ordinate from sub-ordinate features; add a critical comment if that seems appropriate. |
| explain | Examine the cause and effect of, or reasons for a given object or statement, and give a detailed account of them; make clearer, possibly by giving examples or illustrations (a figure, or diagram). |
Types of academic papers
Academic writing often contains a claim
or argument or critical analysis,
and students must know how to distinguish these types of papers in their own
and in other people’s writing.
A claim, in academic terms, is something that is asserted to be true or valid. It must be based on factual evidence. This must be presented. Academics analyse and evaluate the evidence upon which claims are based. This includes presentation of examples and quotation of relevant outside sources. An argument presents and discusses a central or set of related claims. Arguments frequently take the form of a discussion of a thesis or hypothesis. They often lead to a discussion of arguments ‘for and against’. The result can be a synthesis or conclusion. A critical analysis focuses, for example, on how stringently claims and arguments are presented and how conclusively ideas are linked. It may also focus on the style of writing or its literary quality. In factual texts a critical analysis may start with a description of a state or event which is then analysed and compared to other events or interpreted in terms of a model. A critical analysis frequently leads to an evaluation.
A widespread and useful feature of academic papers is that they have a three-part structure. They start with an introduction; this is followed by the main-body of the text, and the final part is a conclusion or summary.
The introduction should clearly state the aim and topic of the paper and give a brief outline of its structure, line of argument or choice of perspective and type of presentation.
The main body of the text should be divided into chapters and sub-chapters with titles and subtitles that flag their respective topics and functions. Their function may be, for example, to present or describe or analyse or compare or contrast or discuss or explain certain objects, ideas, arguments or events. Within chapters a clear paragraph structure helps to bring across the intended meaning. Keywords can be used to formally mark (by type of print) the main points of a paragraph. Formal linguistic devices like conjunctions, connectives, adversatives and similar lexico-grammatical means should be used to underline the function and meaning of paragraphs and their ‘logical relation’ to their neighbours. Good writers make sure that there are no missing links or other ‘logical gaps’ in their presentation. In other words, they critically check that their papers have coherence (on the content level) and cohesion (on the level of style and grammar).
Academic papers should conclude with a summary. This is followed by a bibliography that lists all the books, articles, and other sources used for producing the paper or quoted in it.
Criteria
for assessing academic papers
Some students profit from having an explicit list of the criteria their instructors use for an evaluation of essays. The following two tables present some criteria which tutors typically use for the evaluation of academic papers submitted by their students.
A positive evaluation frequently states that the author (paper):
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In contrast, a not satisfactory piece of work might get the following assessment:
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