Writing Basics
What every student knows, or should know, about effective academic writing
- It is not easy! It is a special skill that must be honed and re-honed. (An academic writer will immediately question and check whether "re-honed" is an acceptable word).
- A major component of writing is editing. It is very difficult to edit your own work and every writer worth his/her salt will get someone else to read over the paper. Any composition using Microsoft word will pay careful attention to words underlined in red and green! These are new "codes" of the 21st century that mean, not stop and go, but spelling and grammar.
- In general, avoid using the names of books and journals when writing in-text references. That is, brevity comes first. Eg. "Denis Hlynka in his 1991 book titled Paradigms regained: the uses of illuminative, semiotic and postmodern criticism as modes of inquiry in instructional technology" is a good way to increase your word count but not academically acceptable. Say "Hlynka (1991) identifies..." The rest goes into the References section.
- Referencing is both in-text and bibliographic.
- In-text references should follow the general format of author, date, page (Hlynka, 2001, p. 4).
- Abstract. Place on a separate page, immediately after the title page. Think of the abstract as a document for the "reader in a hurry". Tell them everything in about 100 words or 4-5 sentences.
- Paragraphs. Begin with key points, then provide supporting details. One paragraph equals one thought.
- Paragraphs are tied together via some logical structure. That is, paragraphs should flow logically into one another.
- Avoid "pronoun shifting". Writing in first person (I believe...) or second person (This paper will show how you should act in an emergency) is considered weak. Use third person.
- When quoting a block of over 40 words, indent 5 spaces. No quotation marks.
- Bibliography. Don't call it that! In APA, it is "References".
- Citing the internet source (in-text): Use same format as #3 above, but omit pages. (Hlynka, 2001)
- Referencing internet sources: Example: Anderson, K. (1999). Feminist myth. Retrieved March 9,1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.etc...
- References: If an author is anonymous, then use (Title, date)
format. If no date, write n.d.
- Quoting from the Internet. 2000. Retrieved from... etc.
- Quoting from the Internet. (n.d.). Retrieved from... etc.
A useful reference: http://www.unb.ca/web/coned/wss/apatext.htm
How your major paper will be marked
- Before even reading your paper, I will look for the following:
- Is there a "complete" title page, including word count, e-mail and telephone number?
- Is there an abstract?
- Is there a bibliography (titled "References") of at least ten items? Does the bibliography seem to follow APA format?
- Does the text of the paper clearly follow an apa in-text citation format?
- Once I begin reading:
- Look at the first paragraph. Is there a clear statement of focuses and/or thesis statement? Is there a strong opening sentence which seems to capture the essence of the paper and/or focus the reader's attention.
- Look at the conclusion. Does it bring the paper to a close.
- Look at the overall text. Is the paper written in third person. Beware papers that illustrate pronoun switching, ie a move into second or first person.
- Then and only then do I read the paper, for content, style, format, and grammar.
Comment: Did you notice the inappropriate pronoun shifting in this section? I immediately (in the title) use second person, then in A move to first person, but follow with third person. The stem in B is in first person, but components B (1-3) are in second person. Stem C is in first person.
Denis Hlynka, Ph.D.
Email:
dhlynka@cc.umanitoba.ca
Website:
umanitoba.ca/centres/ukrainian_canadian/hlynka
Professor,
Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
Office: 236 Education Building
Phone: (204) 474-9062
Acting Director,
Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies
Office: 207-29 Dysart Road
Phone: (204) 474-8907
Fax: (204) 474-7624