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How to write an academic paper
Organisation
What is academic writing?
Common stylistic problems
Academic genres
Writing an academic paper

Avoiding common mistakes
The writing challenge 1
Writing can sometimes be difficult
and even frustrating…
The writing challenge 2
But it can also be rewarding
Common stylistic problems
Non-native language often sounds translated, not
natural
Choppy and disconnected writing style

Sentences are needlessly wordy
Too informal or too direct style
We don’t want to write like Tarzan,
do we?
The thesis sentence
Thesis sentence = asserts, controls, and structures the entire
argument
Thesis sentence= strong, persuasive, thoughtful to avoid
unfocused, weak paper

A good thesis makes a claim = develops an interesting
perspective that you can support and defend (+ than a mere
observation)
e.g. observation: "Americans are violent”
e.g. perspective/position: “Americans are violent because they
are fearful"
Sources
http://www.papermoz.co.uk/theses/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/697/1
http://www.hawaii.edu/eli/online/eli83/CAPModel1.h
tm

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Academic Paper Writing Tips