The document discusses considerations for successful academic writing. It begins by defining academic writing as a formal style used by researchers to define the boundaries of their disciplines. It then outlines two common patterns used in academic writing: general-specific, which moves from broad definitions to more specific details; and problem-solution, which describes current issues and potential answers. The document also provides guidance on writing summaries, critiques, and commenting on research data by highlighting key details and implications. It emphasizes writing in your own words, being fair in critiques, and proofreading.

1. Academic
Writing
Dr. Nora Almalki
Assistant professor of European Languages
Head of Development (DELDE)

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Learning outcomes:
Discuss considerations involved in successful academic writing
(positioning)
Use patterns of expository prose (movement from general to
specific, movement from problem to solution)
Write well-structured summaries and critiques
Write detailed and comprehensive comments on research data
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I. What is academic writing?
Audience Purpose Organization Style
Flow Presentation Positioning
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Academic Writing
Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to
define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and their specific
areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal
tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective
(usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and
precise word choice.
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II. Patterns of writing
1. writing general-specific texts (GS)
3 contexts to use this pattern:
o An answer to an examination question
o An opening paragraph of an assignment
o A background (scene-setting) paragraph to an analysis or discussion.
GS texts usually begin with one of the following:
o A short or extended definition
o A contrastive or comparative definition
o A generalisation or purpose statement, or
o A statement of fact
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General-specific texts (GS): Definitions
1 Definitions are a common way of getting started (hooks)
e.g. ‘defined as’ instead of
‘known as’
‘refer to’ for terminological
explanations
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General-specific texts (GS): Types of Definitions
Extended
 details on features, process analysis …
Competing
 lack of agreement, competing perspectives…
 Useful strategy: acknowledge some of the different definitions then make clear to the
reader which one(s) you will adopt
Contrastive
 When you need to make a clear distinction between two (or more) related terms:
e.g. postcolonial literature and postcolonial theory
Comparative
 Two approaches: 1. present a historical account of how a concept has changed
(developed) over time
2. present an overview of how various expert today view a concept differently. Good
comparative definitions contain elements of each approach.
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II. Patterns of writing
2. Problem-solution
General-Specific Problem-solution
Passages tend to be
Descriptive & expository
Passages tend to be
Argumentative &
evaluative
Position yourself as being
informed and organised
Position yourself as being
questioning and
perceptive
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II. Patterns of writing
2. Problem-solution
This pattern is commonly used to review
the current state of knowledge in the field.
the review allows the author to raise
questions about the current state of
knowledge and to offer a possible answer
or solution.
The pattern can be used to describe
procedures and processes.
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Problem-solution: Tips: (by + process)
1 By + human agent is uncommon except when describing the
history of the field Or when the agent is important to
mention:
The theory of transformational
grammar was developed by
Noam Chomsky.
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Problem-solution: Tips: (by + process)
2 Use Passive voice for by + nonhuman agents/ by + process:
o Bactria found in meat can
be killed by radiation
o Cultures are partly
preserved by rituals.
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Problem-solution: Useful techniques
1 Highlighting causes and effects
An increase in demand is likely
to cause a rise in prices.
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Problem-solution: Useful techniques
2 Formulation indirect questions
Until such time, nonnative
speakers of English remain
uncertain about how effective
their publications are in their
own languages.
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Problem-solution: Useful techniques
3 Introducing the solution
Recently, researchers have
made significant progress in
overcoming this difficulty by
……
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III. Data Commentary
Discussion of data presented in graphs, tables, …
How? The art of the matter is to find the right
strength of a claim (most significant OR least
significant data)
The data might come from a source or the
results of your own.
Remember: Don’t offer description but
commentary
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III. Data Commentary: Structure
1 Location elements and/or summary statements
e.g. Table 5 shows/ gives/ suggests/
provides/ demonstrates
As shown in Fig. 6, ……
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III. Data Commentary: Structure
2 Highlighting statements (significant observations)
o You can spot trends and
regularities in the data
o You can separate more important
data from less important data
o You can make claims of
appropriate strength
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III. Data Commentary: Structure
3 Discussions of implications, problems, exceptions,
recommendations, etc
o Useful comparisons
o Concluding a commentary requires original
thinking
o Explanation and/or implications
o Dealing with unexpected results or
unsatisfactory data
o Possible further research or future predictions
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III. Data Commentary: Task (1)
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Summaries
A good summary has three main requirements:
It should condense the source material and be
presented in the summary writer’s own words.
It should be focused on the relevant aspects of
the source text.
It should represent the source material
accurately.
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1 Guidelines for good summaries
Always try to use your own words except for technical terms
Include enough supporting details
Do not try to paraphrase specialised vocabulary or technical terms
Focus on the content of the original
Make sure the summary reads smoothly (use transition devices)
Identify the source in a summary
Most summaries begin with a sentence including the source and the
main idea.
According to Bradley et al. (2004), meeting tourism can
have an enormous effect on the economy of a city.
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Summaries

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2 Comparative summaries
More challenging
Require analysing, using information from more than one
source, drawing connections among the sources.
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Summaries

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Notes on plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
What about borrowing the words and phrases that are
commonly or frequently used in academic writing?
Formulaic language
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Critiques
Common forms of critiques: book reviews, article reviews.
Evaluation and discussion of its relevance to the field
Short summary of the main argument
Contextualise the argument in relation to previous contributions to the
field (show familiarity with the field, expertise, major concepts)
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1 Typical topics for praise or criticism
Degree of originality
Coherence of an argument
Readability/ style
Extent or relevance of references
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2 Typical topics for praise or criticism
Who is the audience?
What is the purpose of the article?
What research question(s) is (are) being addressed in the article?
What conclusions does the author draw from the research?
What kind of evidence is offered in support of the conclusions? Is there
any evidence that could or should have been included but was not?
How good is the evidence?
Are the author’s conclusions valid or plausible based on the evidence? Why and why not?
Are there any important assumptions underlying the article?
Does the research make an original contribution to the field? Why and why
not?
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Critiques

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3 Beginning the critique: Examples of opening sentences
………. present a plausible case…..
………..has written an important and timely article on…
………presents a compelling argument on……., however..
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IV. Writing Summaries and Critiques: Critiques

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Scare quotes
In critiques, the use of scare quotes is a useful way to signal that you are not
necessarily committed to the author’s position.
e.g. The authors’ position regarding English “dominance” in academia….
The scare quotes indicate that you have doubts about the validity of the
author’s position.
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Remember
Be fair
Your job is not to find faults.
Play the role of a peer advisor engaged in a written dialogue with the
author
Consider the originality of the manuscript, the author’s familiarity
with the field, the appropriateness of the methodology and statistical
analyses, the appropriateness of the conclusions and writing style.
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Some useful tips
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Avoid polemic
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Titles
Clarity
Accuracy
Precision
o A common format
o Dividing the title into two components separated by a colon (:). These
components consists of:
 a main title outlining the general area of the research
 a supplement that includes more specific information
Example:
Motivation in the workplace: A Case study of full-time and part-time employees in a
department store in Aberdeen
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Narrating your Literature Review
Your review of literature should be a piece of discursive prose not just a
descriptive list or a set of summaries, but an evaluation of the scholarship
already produced that provides a context to your writing.
It is therefore a bad sign to see every paragraph opening with the name of
the researcher. Neither is it the objective to find as many works as possible-
so avoid trying to read everything.
The literature review should be written in the form of a narrative
synthesis, telling the story of your research topic from what others
have done to what your project will do.
Use signposts to help readers follow the narrative.
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Check your Quotes
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Keep an abstract
Keep focus
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Always proofread
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Q&A
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Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feak. Academic
Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and
Skills. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2009.
References
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