2. Copyright 2014
PUBLICATIONS
1. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Challenges in
Accessing business loans from Islamic banks: A Comparative
Case Study of SMEs in State House Slums, Hargeisa Somaliland
BY Phillemon Landy Tubei ;Edited by Tracy Wekaya Tubei. Published
by International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
2.Challenges of local women development NGOsin contributing
to economic transformation ofHargeisa, Somaliland by Phillemon
Landy Tubei:Published by International Journal of Social Science and
Humanities Research.
3.Factors Hampering Provision of Quality Education in Third
World Countries: A case study of Nairobi Kibera Slum Children
during Free Primary Education Programme in Kenya.By
Phillemon.Published by Academia.Educ.
4.Book:Challenges of NGOs in Economic development of Third
World Countries.Amazon.com.
5.Not yet published:Difficulties in Learning English as a Foreign
Language:A case Study of Hargeisa Learning Instituions. By
Phillemon Landy Tubei
2
3. Copyright 2014
1.1 What Is Academic Writing And Why Do We Need It?
The term academic writing refers to the forms of expository and
argumentative prose used by university students, faculty, and researchers to
convey a body of information about a particular subject.
The skill of writing is required throughout our life for various purposes.
Academic writing is the writing you have to do for your university courses.
So, academic writing skill is of utmost importance as it enables the students
to communicate their ideas well in an organized and structured manner.
All academic writings own a particular tone that caters to the style related to
a particular discipline.
The academic tone wants writers to depict ideas objectively, concisely and
in a formal way.
Academic writing does not only aim to be presented to the lecturer.
It also aims to inform the target audience or the readers about the topic in a
way which has a solid backing and proper argument for enhancing their
knowledge.
3
4. Copyright 2014
Academic writing skills are important to be learned and developed due to
their on-going need in an academic environment.
Following are the main reasons to develop the good writing skills:
1. The written assignments can only be best represented to the course
instructor/marker through good writing and communication skills.
2. Good communication skills are required to persuade the audience about
your argument to be an objective one that is based on the ideas gathered
from different literature and have solid formation.
3. Development of sound writing as well as research skills is the key of
attaining the good grades in academic environment.
4. At tertiary level education, these skills are must to cope up with the
dynamic environment of university where writing reports and presenting
them hold much worth.
5. Through writing, you have more opportunities to get exposed to the
underlying facts and exploring them will enhance your knowledge as well
as thinking sphere.
4
5. Copyright 2014
Main features of academic writing
Academic writing in English is linear, which means it has one central point
or theme with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without
digressions or repetitions. Its objective is to inform rather than entertain.
Complexity
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written
language has longer words, it is lexically more dense and it has a more
varied vocabulary.
Formality
Academic writing is relatively formal. In general this means that in an essay
you should avoid colloquial words and expressions.
Precision
In academic writing, facts and figures are given precisely
Objectivity
Written language is in general objective rather than personal.
It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader.
5
6. Copyright 2014
Explicitness
Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the
text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer in
English to make it clear to the reader how the various
parts of the text are related.
Accuracy
Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most
subjects have words with narrow specific meanings.
Hedging
In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to
make decisions about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.
Responsibility
In academic writing you must be responsible for, and
must be able to provide evidence and justification for,
6
7. Copyright 2014
1.2 Sentence Structure. Sentence Types
Sentence combining calls on you to experiment with
different ways of building sentences and organizing
paragraphs.
1. Simple Sentences
A simple sentence is one clause with a subject and verb.
e,.g Computers are important in the modern world
2. Compound Sentences
A compound sentence consists of 2 or 3 clauses. It is
when simple sentences are joined together.
In this sentence structure, the clauses are joined with
the followingcoordinating conjunctions: F = for; A = and;
N = nor; B = but; O = or; Y = yet; S = so
e.g Computers are important, but they can be dangerous
too. 7
8. Copyright 2014
3. Complex Sentences
Complex sentences are two (or more) clauses joined together,
but they are not joined by 'fanboys' (coordinating conjunctions).
They are joined by subordinating conjunctions.
e.g I went to bed as soon as he left because I was tired.
These are subordinating conjunctions:
4.Compound-Complex Sentences
Compound-complex sentences are the same as complex
sentences but they also have a simple (or compound) sentence
before or after the 'complex' part.
e.g. I ate a lot when I got home, but I was still hungry.
After, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though,
because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, in case, once, since,
so that, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, whereas, where,
wherever ,while
9. Copyright 2014
1.3 Punctuation
What is punctuation?
Punctuation is "the use of spacing, conventional signs,
and certain typographical devices as aids to the
understanding and the correct reading, both silently and
aloud, of handwritten and printed texts."
Different punctuation marks are used in different
situations but all help with conveying your message with
clarity.
9
10. Copyright 2014
Punctuation mark When to use it
Apostrophe 1) to show that something belongs to someone or something
(possession)
2) 2) to show letters are missing in words (omission)
Brackets Used in pairs around groups of words introducing an extra idea
e.g. an explanation or afterthought to be kept separate from
the rest of the sentence.
Capital letter 1) at the beginning of a sentence
2) for names
Colon 1) to introduce something that is to follow, which may be a list
2) to introduce the second half of a sentence when it explains
or expands on the first half
Comma 1) to mark a brief pause within a sentence, such as where you
would naturally pause if you were speaking
2) 2) to separate words in a list in a sentence (but do not put a
comma before “and” or “or”)
Dash 1) to create a pause for dramatic effect, introducing something
surprising or unexpected
2) 2)used in pairs in a similar way to brackets
Exclamation Mark at the end of an exclamation – an expression of emotion such
as surprise, anger, delight etc. 10
11. Copyright 2014
Full stop 1) at the end of a sentence
2) to show an abbreviation (shortening)
Hyphen to join two words together to make a compound word
Question Mark at the end of a sentence which asks a direct question
Quotation marks 1)to show that you are using someone else’s words
2) around words actually spoken 3) around titles of books, films etc.
Semi-Colon 1) to link two sentences and turn them into a single sentence when
a full stop would be too abrupt
11
12. Copyright 2014
General list of linking words and their meanings
Personal opinion: In my opinion/view ,To my mind ,To my way of thinking, I am
convinced that, It strikes me that, It is my firm belief that, I am
inclined to believe that, It seems to me that, As far as I am
concerned, I think that the economic recession of the previous
decade was foreseeable.
To list
advantages and
disadvantages:
One advantage of, Another advantage of, One other advantage of, A
further advantage of, The main advantage of ,The greatest
advantage of
To list points: Firstly, First of all, In the first place ,Secondly, Thirdly, Finally
To add more
points to the
same topic:
What is more, Furthermore ,Apart from this/that ,In addition (to this
Moreover Besides (this)
To refer to other
sources:
With reference to, According to.
To emphasise a
point:
Indeed, Naturally, Clearly, Obviously, Of course, Needless to say
To give
examples:
For instance For example
To state other
people's opinion:
It is popularly believed that ,People often claim that, It is often
alleged that, Some people argue that, Many argue that, Most people
feel that 12
13. Copyright 2014
END
THANK YOU
13
To conclude: Finally, Lastly, All in all, Taking everything into
account/consideration, On the whole, All things considered, In
conclusion ,On balance, For the above mentioned reasons, To
sum up, Therefore I feel that
Summarising: In short ,Briefly