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The book offers advice and guidance on how to write university assignments, including a section on the writing process with particular reference to essays. Another section deals with the basics Of report writing, incorporating sub- sections on business report writing as well as lab report writing. When writing university assignments, referencing the work of others is integral, hence there are sections on integrating the opinions of authors into your assignments, as well as how to construct a Reference List at the end of your assignment.
As a student for many years, as well as an academic author of research publications, I have designed the book to help new students with their Rooney into academic writing. Rather than becoming aware of the features of academic writing through trial and error, as have done, it is hoped that this resource will fast track you through to many of the key requisites underlying academic assignments. Indeed, that is why there are sections introducing you to marking guides, and lecturers and course co-ordination’ expectations surrounding university assessments.
Further, having personally experienced the paralyzing effects of procrastination and perfectionism, have added some advice and guidance, towards the end of the book, for managing these molly encountered obstacles to successful writing. A final section provides a range of resources focusing on grammar skills and the spelling of difficult words. While I have compiled, edited, and revised the book, in addition to contributing many sections, other staff, past and present, from the Palmettos North Student Learning Centre deserve acknowledgement.
Sections of this book derive from Anne-Marie Toke)ads (2002) Academic Writing booklet, and Heather Kava’s (2003) revised edition. Several pages of this book have been reproduced from the Student Learning Center’s resource amounts (prepared by Lisa Emerson, Grant Harris, Emmanuel Manual, Yummier Oliver, and others whose names do not appear), in addition to Christopher Van deer Grog’s (2001 ) Academic Writing Study Guide. Please forward any comments or suggestions on improvements for future editions to the Student Learning Centre, Massey University, Private Bag 1 1-222, Palmettos North, pH. 06) 350-2251 , fax (06) 350-5760, or email CLC- PN@massey. AC. NZ . For more information on planning, drafting, and revising academic assignments, Student Learning Centre staff from all three Massey University campuses are available for guidance and support. Writing is a difficult process. Hopefully, though, if you are able to read and reflect on the ideas and suggestions offered in this book, the process will develop into a more manageable and rewarding experience.
Best wishes on your journey into academic writing. It can be a life changing experience, as mine has been. Dry Nathalie Booker ii Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing Table of Contents . Academic Writing Some Differences between Academic Writing and Other Writing Contexts . Why Should You Develop Good Writing Skills? Citing and Referencing Identifying Academic Sources Integrating the Ideas of published Authors Citing Authors Author Citation Tips Putting Authors’ Ideas into Your Own Words Summarizing .
Copying and Changing a Few Words – Not Paraphrasing Things to Note about Acceptable Paraphrasing When to Retain SOME of the Original Features Techniques for Putting Authors’ Ideas into Your Own Words Verb List for Academic Changing the Sentence Structure and Form Ideas into Your Own Words Authors’ Ideas Quotation Tips Steps for Putting Authors’ Quoting . When to Use Quotations or Your Own Words? Integrating Quotations onto Your Assignment The Importance of Acknowledging Authors’ Ideas When Don’t You Need to Acknowledge Reference Lists. Details to Include in Your Reference List Book Referencing a Chapter within an Edited Journal Article References Online Documents . Formatting Your Reference List The Writing Process . Referencing a Difficult Essays The Importance Of planning an Assignment Interpreting the Topic . Common Key Task Words in Assignments Essay Structure Plans, Introductions and Thesis Statements Guidelines for writing a thesis statement Paragraphs Conclusions Strategies for Organizing Points in Assignments Ђћ The Process of Revision Editing . Refraining Layout Sample Essay I – 800 words sample Essay II – 2000 words Reports Basic Report Writing . What Is a Report? Having a Pre-Defined Structure Having independent Sections 2 5 8 12 13 14 16 17 21 23 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 36 38 43 45 50 62 63 Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing I iii Reaching Unbiased Conclusions Deciding on the Report’s Structure Structure . Hierarchical Structure General – Specific Structure Relationship Structures Techniques for Carrying Out Your Analysis of the Issues . Developing a Report Writing Style Tips on Being Concise in Your Writing .
Tips on Being Objective in Your Writing Example of a Report Basics on Business Report Writing What Is the Purpose of Writing a Business Report? What Are the Typical Sections Of a Business Report? What Is the Difference between an Inductive and a Deductive Report? Managing the Introduction section Managing the Discussion section Conclusions section Recommendations section Qualities of an Effective Business Report Resources on Business Report Writing Basics on Lab Report Writing What Is the Purpose of Writing a Lab Report? . What Are the Typical Sections of a Lab Report?
Managing the Abstract Managing the Method section Managing the Results section the Discussion section Resources on Lab Report Writing Scientific Report Writing Critical Thinking Being Critical What Does “Being Critical” Really Mean? . What is Available for Critique Steps for Developing Critical Thought . Organizing Your Critique An Introduction to Marking Guides Getting an A on Your Assignment Scope of Assignment Evidence of Reading . Presentation . Hierarchy in Assessment Tasks Other Useful Tips Dealing with Feedback on Assignments Procrastination Perfection Parts of Speech
Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation A Checklist for Proofreading Tricky .. Strategies for Improving Spelling Differences between British and American Spelling . References iv I Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing 64 65 66 67 68 69 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 100 101 102 103 104 107 109 112 114 Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing | 1 Some Differences between Academic Writing & Other Writing Contexts Writing is a skill that is required in many contexts throughout life. For instance, you can write an email to a friend or reflect on what happened ring the day in your personal diary. In these kinds of interpersonal settings (or interpersonal in the case of a diary record), the aim may be to communicate the events that have happened in your life to someone close to you, or to yourself. ; Opportunities abound for personal reflection. ; It is expected that in writing about these life events, you will include your personal judgments and evaluations, which may be measured by your feelings and thoughts. ; The personal stories you write in a diary or email to friends can be written down at the moment they enter your mind. There is no need to follow a structure, as prose on the page or the computer screen appears through freely associated ideas. Similarly, another quality of writing in personal contexts is that it is typically informal, so there is no need to adhere to structures of punctuation or grammar (although your reader may be quite appreciative if you do so). ; In these settings, it is perfectly acceptable to deploy colloquialisms, casual expressions, and abbreviations, like ‘that’s cool”, “by the way… ” , “slacker”, “Palm”, “be”, and “thru”. In contrast, academic writing does many of the wings that personal writing does not.