Essay Form and StructureMLA

Academic Writing

What is Academic Writing?Academic Writing is

the writing that you do for school.

It follows a fairly strict set of conventions.

Academic writing is also used in journals, blogs, books, articles, etc.

Features of Academic WritingUses standard edited EnglishUses clear and recognizable patterns of

organizationMarks logical relationships between ideas.States claims clearly and provides

appropriate support.Presents your ideas as a response to

others.Documents sources using appropriate style.

Standard EnglishFollows standard

conventions of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

More rather than less formal.

Shortcuts used in informal situations are not acceptable in academic writing.

Clear Patterns of OrganizationAcademic writing is

organized in a way that is easy for readers to recognize.

The organization is described clearly in the thesis statement which states the main point and says how the text will be structured.

All paragraphs, essays, letters, books, blogs, etc have three separate sections:

Introduction Body Conclusion

ParagraphsThe opening

sentence of your body paragraphs tell the reader what that paragraph will be about.

These are called topic sentences.

Headings can help guide reader.

Academic Essays Follow a PatternBegin with simplest ideas and then move

step by step to the most complex ideas.Start with weakest claim or evidence and

progress to the strongest ones.Treat some topics early as background

information.Arrange ideas chronologically starting with

earliest and ending with the latest ones.

Common PatternsOrder of

importance (AKA emphatic order).

Time orderSpace order

Logical RelationshipsAcademic writing

makes it clear how your ideas relate to one another.

You need to mark links between ideas.

You need to help readers understand relationships by using transitions.

TransitionsShow relationships

between ideas.Use within

sentences, between sentences, and to introduce paragraphs.

Improve coherence.

See list in Canvas.More About Transiti

ons

State Claims ExplicitlyPresent claims

clearly.Support claims with

evidence.Claims are stated

clearly in a thesis statement which comes at the end of the introduction.

Thesis Statements

Qualify Your StatementsVery few issues are

black and white, so avoid terms like always and never.

Qualifying words like frequently, often, generally, sometimes, rarely make it easier to support a claim.

Good, Solid EvidenceEvidence should be

from trustworthy sources.

Evidence should be persuasive.

What is accepted as trustworthy in academic writing may be different than other contexts.

Consider Multiple PerspectivesDon’t cite sources

that only support one opinion.

Consider and acknowledge counterarguments and viewpoints.

Synthesize IdeasSupporting your

ideas involves synthesis.

This means you weave the ideas and words of others into your argument.

Give credit to those ideas using MLA style.

Develop an Academic StyleToneAudienceContextOrganization

ToneRefers to the

author’s attitude towards the topic.

ToneAn academic tone

is more formal than a conversational tone.

Avoid slangAvoid clichesAvoid second

person (you)Avoid first person

(I)Avoid abbreviations

and short cuts

AudienceIn academic writing

the audience is the professor, and in some cases, your classmates

In social media, the audience is your friends and family.

There is a difference.

Provide Context You need to

provide background information in academic writing.

You can’t assume that the reader knows all of the backstory.

Who, what , when, where, and why are guiding questions.

OrganizationState a claimOffer support for

that claimOrganize your

ideas in a logical manner

Present counterarguments

Common organizational patterns include cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, classification, example, process.

Your purpose will determine the rhetorical strategy you use.