Academic Writing Assignment

Introduction

This assignment will look to explain my understanding of academic writing. Academic is used in third level education and also by professionals. It is a precise form of writing that is used to convey knowledge and information. It is thought to be very important in third level education and professional level. Jane Copland a PR manager at the Penster’s writes that out of a survey done ‘up to 90% of staff agree’ (Copland, 2015) that it is an essential skill that should be thought at third level. Copland also states that ‘In a nutshell, academic writing holds great significance and therefore needs much attention and support from the academic fraternity’.

Main body

According to Osmond (2016) good academic writing is seen to have qualities

First of all an essay should have a basic layout or structure which according to Jones (n.d.) should be an introduction, main body and conclusion. The introduction is a basic introduction to the essay, the main body is the argument presented in paragraphs and the conclusion summarises the essay. If the topic and gathering of ideas is looked at it is essential to be clear in what the topic is and to know what information is needed to present your argument. This can be done by reading the relevant literature and presenting it in your own words whilst ensuring that your own opinion shines through. It is also important that when an author gives there opinion it must be backed up by a reference. A reference is how an author acknowledges the work of an expert in the field. Dwyer (2014) writes that text should be linked to a bibliography to support a statement and it is a way of given credence to the subject being studied. There are a few different ways to reference where an author can use a direct quote, paraphrase or use just general information that has being researched. A direct quote is taking the exact text and placing it in the argument whereas paraphrasing is using the text in their own words whilst still acknowledging the source. Even if either of these was not used it must still be acknowledged if it in anyway influenced the argument or the direction in which the assignment has taken. Redman (2001)

This is known as establishing objectivity. So what is objectivity? It is basically looking from the outside in and not using words such as “I, We or you” when referring to the subject. Osmond (2016) says that this is needed in assignments and essays and that it is how the distance between the author and the subject is created and maintained. The objective is to cut out the First and second person opinion and to refer to the third person. When doing this the author is then showing that they have researched the subject extensively and are basing their opinions or argument on the work of respected professionals and experts in the field. However saying that it is important for the author to not let this create a barrier in a way the author may not get their opinion