Transitioning to university writing
Academic writers value precise, measured, evidence-based writing.
Quickly adopt academic writing practices by:
Completing assigned course readings
Learning to “see” and take note of stylistic conventions while you read
Emulating academic style
Read for 5 minutes just before setting out to write and then pretend to be that author as you write your draft
A few advisories:
Don't emulate writing if you can't understand it... it's likely not great writing!
Permit yourself to write informally and in your own voice, especially when brainstorming and creating first drafts.
> Activity: Which statement seems more academic to you? Why?
A
Blues House coffee is so much better than Drip House coffee. It’s definitely worth spending a little extra at Blues House. I personally will never go to Drip House again. The last coffee I had there was acrid sludge.
B
Blues House coffee has a better taste than Drip House’s, which has a burnt flavour due to a documented practice of leaving the carafe on the burner for too long (see “Local Coffee Exposed,” Union Star, 8 Nov 2017).
Answer
If you thought that "B" seemed more academic, you're on to something! B offers characteristics that academic writers and readers appreciate:
Specificity: Compare "so much better than" in A with "has a better taste than" in B
Emotion-free language: Note that B avoids use of emphatic descriptive words while A has many, including words like "definitely," "personally," and "acrid sludge." In contrast, A uses specific description of "burnt flavour" without emphatic description like "disgusting burnt flavour."
Evidence: Note that B provides no explanation for why Drip House coffee might be worse than Blues House coffee while A offers a news expose that documents practices that cause Drip House to serve burnt coffee.
MYTH: Academic writers are impressed by big words
Academic writing involves carefully selected (or created!) words with specific meanings in order to be as precise and specific as possible. When possible, define the key words you're using to explain precisely how you're using them.
Example: Penny's freedom—her ability to leave her captive's manor if she wants to—is restricted by the dangers that lie beyond the manor's walls.
Pro-tip: use em dashes, commas, or parentheses (brackets) to insert a definition or clarification! Here's more on how.
MYTH: Academic writers prefer long, complex sentences
Complex sentence structures that permit writers to show connections between ideas are common in academic writing.
However, academic readers—perhaps especially those who are working through a pile of student papers—appreciate how clear and bold a simple sentence can be. Don't be afraid to use them to emphasize important insights or observations!
MYTH: Academic writers are annoyed by repetition of all kinds
Academic writing, like much professional writing in other fields, should be concise.
Repetition that is not purposeful will potentially annoy your reader. However, your reader will appreciate repetition that is productive and helpful.
If you’re writing an essay about freedom and use several synonyms for “freedom” throughout the paper, your reader is likely to be confused. “Freedom” does not mean the same thing as “autonomy” or “sovereignty” or even “freedoms”...
Strategically repeat key words and phrases to keep your essay focused.
MYTH: There is one academic style
There are many varieties of academic styles, with differences that reflect the various work of scholarly communities as well as their value systems and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and truth.
For example: In the sciences, a preference for avoiding the personal pronoun “I” connects with the value for the scientific method and its role in the production of reliable knowledge. If the scientific method is responsible for the discovery of knowledge, then it makes more sense to say, “This study reveals that…” than it does to say, “I reveal that…”.
In contrast, humanities scholars appreciate the author’s role in the construction of knowledge and value its acknowledgment through the use of the personal pronoun “I”. Rather than obscuring the author’s role in statements such as, "This paper contends…”, humanities scholars tend to prefer, "I contend…” or "The author contends...”
You don't need to memorize the conventions of each scholarly community! Just do a bit of reading so you know what you're emulating, and focus on making your writing clear, precise, measured, and evidence-based.
How to divide your time between writing tasks?
40% of the time it takes to produce a paper involves selecting a topic and working towards a paper outline.
This process involves brainstorming, conducting initial research, narrowing the topic, identifying patterns and connections that will shape your paper.
20% of the time it takes to produce a paper involves writing a complete first draft.
This should happen fairly quickly, especially if you've invested in reading, note-taking, and planning.
40% of the time it takes to produce a paper involves revision as you produce a final draft.
Although you might feel nearly finished with that first draft done, you may find that necessary revisions have you doing more research and reading, reconsidering your argument, and completely reorganizing your paper.