Improving Academic Writing: Key Aspects of Academic Style and Referencing
Learn about academic style in English, principles of referencing, and how to write effectively for assignments. Understand the functions of academic style, such as clear communication and showcasing membership in the academic community. Explore a paragraph analysis on making people work harder, identifying problems in writing style. Access slides and resources for further guidance.
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The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team How to Write for Assignments and an Introduction to Referencing These slides can be accessed on our website: https://qahighereducation.com/the-ace- team/ The session will start at 4.30 pm. Please ensure that your speaker/output settings are correct.
The ACE Team Today s topics Some key aspects of academic style Principles of referencing 2
EAPFOUNDATION.COM The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team What is academic style in English? .. eapfoundation.com (2013)
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team What is academic style in English? Academic writing in English has a distinctive style it is generally formal and uses particular conventions that you need to learn; it can also help you to think more logically and clearly as you work on an assignment. eapfoundation.com (2013)
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Functions of academic style To communicate subject matter and arguments clearly and effectively To demonstrate membership of the academic community . 5
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Study this paragraph. First impressions? How to make people work harder is a topic that lots of people have written about in the last few years. There are lots of different theories etc and I think some of them are ok. When we think about this we should remember the old Chinese proverb, that you can lead a horse to water but you can t make it drink. So how do we increase production? It s quite a complex subject but I ll just talk about a couple of ideas. Bailey (2015: 138) 6
Name the problems with the style of this paragraph The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team How to make people work harder (1) is a topic that lots of people (2) have written about in the last few years (3). There are lots of (4) differenttheories etc(5) and I think (6) some of them are ok (7). When we think about this (8) we should remember the old Chinese proverb (9), that you can lead a horse to water but you can t make it drink. So how do we increase production?(10) It s (11) quite acomplex subject but I ll just talk about a couple of ideas (12).
Name the problems with the style of this paragraph The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team How to make people work harder (1) is a topic that lots of people (2) have written about in the last few years (3). There are lots of (4) differenttheories etc(5) and I think (6) some of them are ok (7).When we think about this (8) we should remember the old Chinese proverb (9), that you can lead a horse to water but you can t make it drink. So how do we increase production?(10) It s quite a (11) complex subject but I ll just talk about a couple of ideas (12). Imprecise Too personal Colloquial Inappropriate evidence Informal contracted verbs Rhetorical question
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team How is this paragraph different from the previous text ? What has made it more suitable in terms of academic style? Motivation has been the subject of numerous studies during recent decades, but this essay will focus on Maslow s (1943) hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg s (1966) two-factor theory. Their contemporary relevance to the need to motivate employees effectively will be examined critically, given that this can be considered crucial to a firm s survival in the current economic climate. Bailey (2015: 139)
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Why write in an academic style? Paragraph 1: Fairly informal style Paragraph 2: More formal style Constant use of we/I is too personal and distracts the reader from the information being discussed More objective statements Everyday words More complex vocabulary: motivation, relevance, survival Contractions: it s, I ll Everyday tone, not very precise, loose structure / not succinct Quite dense: every word counts. Carefully and tightly structured.
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team What are the key characteristics of academic style? Formal Objective Precise Cautious about size of claims made Concise Contributes to clear development of ideas Careful about supporting claims with evidence
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Academic Writing Style 1 Avoids informal expression such as Kids, boss Have a look at, set up You meaning people in general It ll, It s, gonna So why did the project fail? And then but after that so 2 Aims to be precise In 2014, A further example is , a beneficial development rather than A few years ago, And so on.. , etc , a good thing, . 3 Avoids claiming too much by using hedging language such as Appears / could / may / seems likely that .. 4 Is cautious about personal language Surprisingly / fortunately I, we 5 Includes citations (referring to others work) 12
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Developing your academic style Notice the style in textbooks and articles: - Is the meaning clear? - What makes the writing formal? - What makes it precise? - What makes it objective? - How does the writer avoid making generalisations? Be prepared to draft and re-draft Make use of ACE resources and tutorials 13
The ACE Team What is Academic Integrity? Share your ideas in the chat box 1.---------------- 2. --------------- 3. ---------------
The ACE Team What is Academic Integrity? Academic Integrity is about being honest and not cheating
Is this behaviour acceptable? The ACE Team My academic English is not very good. My essay will look better if I copy and paste some sentences from this article I ve put my sources in the reference list. I don t think I need in-essay references because I ve paraphrased I can get a better sentence to put in my writing if I use a thesaurus or translation software. Everypixel.com (2021) Focussedcollection.com (2021) Freepik.com(2021)
The ACE Team I have to submit my researched essay tomorrow and I have NO TIME to write it! Can I copy yours please? Send it to me and save my life!!!xxx Is this behaviour acceptable? Freepik.com(2021) vecteezy.com (2021)
The ACE Team Why is referencing necessary? 1.---------------- 2. --------------- 3. ---------------
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Why is referencing necessary? To give credit where it is due To demonstrate the required knowledge of academic conventions To avoid plagiarism and academic misconduct Poor information sources and poor referencing lose marks
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team How is referencing done? Through citations in the body of the text to give credit where it is due and signpost to the source And Through a reference list with full details at the end
The ACE Team Referencing Styles Most commonly used styles 1 Harvard 2 APA Versions of Harvard and APA Use your own university partner s version.
The ACE Team From looking at these examples, what can you say about in-text citations? 1 Smith (2003) believes that for children play is a tool for learning. 2 According to Smith (2003), play is the means by which children learn. 3 Smith (2003: 62) believes that all children learn through play . 4 For children, play is a tool for learning (Smith, 2003).
The ACE Team Reference list: a short example Bailey, S. (2006) Academic Writing. Abingdon: Routledge. Dalhousie University (2021) Information Management APA. Available at: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/InformationManagement/APA (Accessed: 11 February 2021). Writer.com (2021) Chicago style citation manual. Available at: https://wr1ter.com/chicago-style-citation-manual (Accessed: 10 February 2021). What do you observe about this reference list, which uses a version of Harvard?
The ACE Team Reference list: a short example Bailey, S. (2006) Academic Writing. Abingdon: Routledge. Dalhousie University (2021) Information Management APA. Available at: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/InformationManagement/APA (Accessed: 11 February 2021). Writer.com (2021) Chicago style citation manual. Available at: https://wr1ter.com/chicago-style-citation-manual (Accessed: 10 February 2021). Alphabetical by author s surname / organisation s name A fixed order for the different pieces of information
The ACE Team Items in a reference list entry the basics 1 A book Bailey, S. (2006) Academic Writing. Abingdon: Routledge. Author Year Title Place of publication: Publisher 2 A web-based resource Dalhousie University (2021) Information Management APA. Available at: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/InformationManagement/APA (Accessed: 11 February 2021). Author Year Title Location: found here at this time.
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Top tips for referencing Note down all the information about a source as you go along. Allow enough time to check your references and their formatting before you hand in your work. Always use your own institution s guidance. If you wish to use software to manage your referencing, please familiarise yourself with your institution s guidance first eg any sample reference lists they provide and use the software they recommend.
The ACE Team The ACE Team The ACE Team Reflection What would you like to remember or think about further from today s session? Questions? 27
The ACE Team Thank you for attending the How to Write for your Assignment and an Introduction to Referencing workshop today. We would be grateful if you could take 5 minutes to complete our feedback form. Via the URL in the Chat Box By scanning the QR Code https://forms.office.com/Pages/ ResponsePage.aspx?id=lwcinDf D-EmwhqmiSXn3KJx4- QmcBv9NnNg4SAsynGNUMDR JTEhHQ1RYSVVMQVZCNjhBMlp MNExDTi4u
The ACE Team References Bailey, S. (2015) Academic Writing for International Students. 4th edn. Abingdon: Routledge. EAPFoundation.com (2013) Academic Style. Available at: https://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/style/ (Accessed: 17 September 2021). Everypixel.com (2021) Young female university student studying in classroom. Available at: https://www.everypixel.com/image-12511462096592509559 (Accessed: 11 February 2021). Focussedcollection.com (2021) Young male university student studying at home. Available at: https://focusedcollection.com/178126322/stock-photo-young-male-university-student- studying.html (Accessed: 11 February 2021). Freepik.com(2021) University student wearing headphones. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/university-student-wearing-headphones-watching- notebook-computer-studying-online-home_10579844.htm (Accessed: 11 February 2021). University of Roehampton(2020) University of Roehampton Harvard Referencing Style Guide for Partner Institutions. Available at: https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/ld.php?content_id=32542499 (Accessed: 9 January 2020). Vecteezy.com (2021) photo. Available at: https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/1225645-two-people- working-on-laptops (Accessed: 10 February 2021).
