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INSIDE TRACK SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING
SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING ANDY GILLETT, ANGELA HAMMOND & MARY MARTALA INSIDE TRACK www.pearson-books.com INSIDE TRACK SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING An imprint of GET THE INSIDE TRACK TO SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING Become a better academic writer and communicate your research & ideas fl uently and successfully whatever your discipline, prior knowledge or level. Successful Academic Writing will guide you through the whole process of academic writing, developing your ability to communicate your ideas and research fl uently and successfully. From understanding the task and planning your essay or assignment, right through to using feedback and editing to improve your writing skills, it will ensure that you understand how to get the most out of the process of writing. With the in-depth understanding of the practice of academic writing that this book delivers, you will be better prepared to deal with – and succeed in – the full range of writing tasks that will be expected of you over the course of your academic studies and on into your chosen career. Get the inside track to: Understanding the brief Addressing your audience Assessment criteria Best practice in reading and note-taking Awareness of different types of academic writing The editing and proofreading process Interpreting and using feedback Visit www.smartstudyskills.com to access a wealth of useful information, tips, templates and interactive activities to support your studies. About the Authors Between them, Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond, Mary Martala have many years of experience in writing and teaching academic writing to students ranging from those with little formal education, through prospective undergraduates to PhD students, across a wide range of subject areas. ▼▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ CVR_GILL1710_01_SE_CVR.indd 1 27/5/09 15:46:12 SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page i We work with leading authors to develop the strongest educational materials in academic writing, bringing cutting-edge thinking and best learning practice to a global market. Under a range of well-known imprints, including Longman, we craft high quality print and electronic publications which help readers to understand and apply their content, whether studying or at work. To find out more about the complete range of our publishing, please visit us on the World Wide Web at www.pearsoned.co.uk A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page ii INSIDE TRACK SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala University of Hertfordshire A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page iii Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk First published 2009 © Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala 2009 The rights of Andy Gillett, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. ISBN: 978-0-273-72171-0 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gillet, Andy. Writing academic essays / Andy Gillet, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala-Lockett. p. cm. – (Inside track) ISBN 978-0-273-72171-0 (pbk.) 1. English language–Rhetoric–Study and teaching (Higher) 2. Academic writing. I. Hammond, Angela. II. Martala-Lockett, Mary. III. Title. PE1408.G5584 2009 808'.0420711–dc22 2009008664 Page 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 13 12 11 10 09 Typeset in 9/12.5 pt Helvetica Neue by 3 Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests. iv A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page iv BRIEF CONTENTS About the authors xiv Acknowledgements xiv Introduction xix 1 Understanding the task 1 2 Overcoming the blank page 13 3 Planning your work 29 4 Carrying out the research 39 5 Reading and note-taking 59 6 Features of academic writing 87 7 Writing descriptively 113 8 Writing critically 135 9 Personal and reflective writing 163 10 Working with other people’s ideas and voices 179 11 Finding your own voice 201 12 Genre and discipline-specific writing 217 13 Presenting your work 239 14 Working with feedback 255 15 Editing your work 271 A last word 283 Feedback on activities 285 Index 329 v A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page v GET THE INSIDE TRACK TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS Written by a team of highly experienced authors, this series will equip students with effective and practical ways to improve their academic skills across all subject areas. Eg^XZh VgZ XdggZXi Vi i^bZ d[ \d^c\ id egZhh ONLY £12.99* A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page vi CONTENTS About the authors xiv Acknowledgements xiv Introduction xix 1 UNDERSTANDING THE TASK 1 Introduction 2 Academic writing 2 Disciplines and their differences 4 Genres of writing 5 Learning outcomes and assessment criteria 6 Learning outcomes 6 Assessment criteria 6 The assignment title 7 Basic structures 7 Essay 8 Report 9 Other types of academic writing 9 Critique/review 10 Research proposal 10 Lab report 10 Reflective account 10 Project 11 Case study 11 Summary 11 References 11 2 OVERCOMING THE BLANK PAGE 13 Introduction 14 Understanding the assignment title 14 Drawing attention to the key words 14 Turning the title into a series of questions 15 Instruction words 18 Approaching your lecturer 21 Starting to write 22 Tackling the blank page 22 Examination questions 27 Summary 28 References 28 vii A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page vii 3 PLANNING YOUR WORK 29 Introduction 30 The landscape of an assignment 30 Practicalities 31 Assessment criteria 31 What to include 32 Your existing knowledge of the subject 32 Research 33 Using your existing notes 33 Making new notes 34 Using outside sources 34 Carrying our primary research 34 Resources 34 Time management 35 Summary 37 4 CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH 39 Introduction 40 Six questions to ask 40 Why do you need to do any research? 40 What research do you need to do? 40 Sources 41 How should you do the research? 44 Understanding an assignment 44 Developing your topic 45 Keyword searches 46 When should you do the research? 48 Where should you do the research? 48 Who should you research? 49 Navigate the sources 49 Evaluate the sources 57 Summary 58 References 58 Further reading 58 5 READING AND NOTE-TAKING 59 Introduction 60 Purposeful reading 61 Efficient reading 61 Interactive reading 62 Critical reading 62 Effective reading strategies 63 Using the title 63 Using your knowledge of text structure to understand a text 64 Contents viii A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page viii Scanning to locate specifically required information 67 Skimming to get an overall impression 69 Reading and note-taking 74 Taking notes 74 How to take notes 74 Summary 85 References 85 6 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING 87 Introduction 88 Academic style 88 Formal vocabulary 89 Multi-word verbs 90 Use of the passive voice 91 Cautious language 94 Objective versus subjective language 94 Emotive language 96 Use of questions 96 Contracted forms 96 Critical writing 97 Referencing 99 Developing paragraphs 99 Topic sentences 100 Supporting sentences 101 Creating topic sentences 101 Developing supporting sentences 103 Concluding sentences 104 Connecting ideas within sentences and sentences within paragraphs (signalling) 104 Connecting paragraphs 107 Writing plans 110 Writing drafts 111 Writing drafts for lecturers 111 Summary 112 References 112 7 WRITING DESCRIPTIVELY 113 Introduction 114 Defining 115 Describing things 117 Describing processes 120 Instructions 122 Sequence 123 Including charts and diagrams 124 ix Contents A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PRELIMS.QXP:A01_GILL1710_01_SE_PR 15/5/09 15:24 Page ix . SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING ANDY GILLETT, ANGELA HAMMOND & MARY MARTALA INSIDE TRACK www.pearson-books.com INSIDE TRACK. www.pearson-books.com INSIDE TRACK SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING An imprint of GET THE INSIDE TRACK TO SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC WRITING Become a better academic writer and communicate