ACADEMIC WRITING SLIDES, Slides of Creative writing

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A Lecture Designed for L3 Level CWP Module University of Tlemcen Department of English

Overview

 On a first hand, This lecture helps the students to understand what is ‘Academic Writing’ in general. Then it sheds light on the main errors made by EFL students when writing in an academic context. It also suggests corrections for such errors. Students should bear in mind that this lecture is mainly a theoretical overview of the target issue, so further practice is always needed.

Definition

 “Academic writing is the kind of writing used in high school and college classes. Academic writing is different from creative writing, which is the kind of writing you do when you write stories. It is also different from personal writing, which is the kind of writing you do when you write letters or e-mails to your friends and family. Creative writing and personal writing are informal, so you may use slang, abbreviations, and incomplete sentences. However, academic writing is formal, so you should not use slang or contractions. Also, you should take care to write complete sentences and to organize them in a certain way.”

Errors to Avoid in Academic Writing

 1. Sentence Fragment

 2. Wordiness

 3. Faulty Parallelism

 4. Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

 5. Diction and Word Choice

1. Sentence Fragment Examples:  X Some of the students working in the lab last semester. X  Some of the students were working in the lab last semester.  X The most common problem. X  The most common problem is unemployment.  Unemployment is the most common problem worldwide.

2. Wordiness  Wordiness is the use of more words than necessary to effectively convey meaning in speech or writing. A wordy expression says the same thing twice or more, and doublespeak avoids getting directly to the point. Wordiness may produce sentence such as: X Despite the fact that she was feeling ill, she came to the conclusion that she would go to work. X (Despite feeling ill, she decided to go to work)

3. Faulty Parallelism  Faulty parallelism (also sometimes called parallel structure error) happens when the structure of a sentence is not grammatically parallel. This error occurs most often in sentences that contain lists. For instance, it is a faulty parallelism when you are writing a list of things and mix up verb forms ( to write, reading, watched ). The result will be a sentence like the following: X In his free time, Ali writes stories, reading n books, and yesterday he watched a movie. X

3. Faulty Parallelism  Other Examples:  X Physical and mental health and wellness rest on four pillars: regular exercise, healthy diet, social interaction, and getting sufficient sleep. X  Physical and mental health rest on four pillars: regular exercise, healthy diet, social interaction, and sufficient sleep.  X Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed. X  Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method.

4. Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers  A modifying word, phrase or clause should be placed next to the word it describes. In the following sentence, the modifying clause has been misplaced: X She wore a bicycle helmet on her head that was too large. X She wore on her head a bicycle helmet that was too large.

4. Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers  A modifying word or phrase that starts a sentence must be followed right away by the word it is meant to describe. Otherwise, the meaning of the sentence is changed, and the modifier is said to be dangling.  Example:  X Delighted with the movie, a conversation over coffee ended our evening. X Was the conversation delighted with the movie?  Delighted with the movie, we ended our evening with a conversation over coffee.

Conclusion

 Effective and successful academic writing is clear, concise, focused, well-structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader's understanding. It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Presented by: Dr. Youcef Messaoudi Credits: Prof. Hafida Hamzaoui University of Tlemcen Department of English