Upload
others
View
3
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Academic Writing,
Audience and Purpose,
Topics, and Prewriting
Presentation Outline
• What is academic writing?
• Who is your audience?
• What is your purpose?
• How do you choose a topic?
• What is the writing process and prewriting?
What is academic
writing?
ACADEMIC WRITING
• Academic writing is formal.– You should not use contractions such as I’m, don’t, or
can’t.
– You should not use symbols such as & (and), @ (at) or
+ (in addition, plus). Instead, you should spell the
word.
• Academic writing uses strong support.– Your writing relies on evidence and facts rather than
feeling, likes, or dislikes. Your examples use details.
• Academic writing is free from error.– You must use logic, correct spelling,
grammar, punctuation, and capitalization,
strong vocabulary, and MLA format in
English classes.
Academic Writing vs.
e-Writing and Communication
Why we should avoid writing the way we talk or write in
the electronic world:
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake in Hashtag:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA
Let’s discuss:
• What do you notice about this conversation?
• How does their talking differ from what we need to
accomplish in academic writing?
Who is your audience?
Who is your audience?
• Your teacher is not your
only audience member.
• When you write in
academia, your work is
often shared with many
people: classmates,
college students at other
schools, scholars around
the globe.
– This is one of the reasons
why our writing must follow a
specific format (MLA) and
should be free from errors.
• Here’s an important
question: should you care
what your audience
thinks?
What is your purpose
for writing?
What is your purpose for
writing?
• We do not write for ourselves. Writing is a
way to communicate with others to:– Inspire others
– Inform others (Teach)
– Entertain others
– Persuade others
– Challenge others or debate with others
• Our purpose may change with each
writing assignment!
• If you struggle with an assignment,
stop and consider your purpose.
How do you choose a
topic?
How do you choose a topic?
• Often, we are assigned a topic to write
about. For example, pretend you have been
given this prompt in a health class:– Should California lower the legal age to drink? Explain
why or why not.• Topic: Lowering the legal drinking age
• How would you begin to think about this
topic, research your topic, and gather
support for your paper?
How do you choose a topic?
Broad topics
• Broad topics give you a
lot of room!
– Food
Limited topics
• Limited topics give you
moderate room to
choose.
– Candy
How do you choose a topic?
Narrow Topics
• Narrow topics have very
little space!
– Snickers bar
Broad, Limited, and Narrow
• Note that each one gets
more specific!
– Food
• Candy
– Snickers bar
Broad, Limited, and
Narrow
Note: It would be very boring to
read a 20 page paper about a
Snickers bar.
Broad topics work well for long
works such as novels. These
broad topics are often considered
themes in a book. For example:
love, family, and forgiveness.
These are all broad ideas with a lot
of room for interpretation.
Thus, these topics often will have
different page lengths.
If you are given a broad topic to
write about, it will often be your
responsibility to choose what to
limit or narrow the topic. Always
ask your instructor for guidance!
What is the writing
process and
prewriting?
What is the writing process?
• Nothing is ever done well without following some
sure-guided steps.
• The writing process has 5 steps:
– Prewriting: We generate ideas to figure out what we
want to say about a topic.
– Organizing and Outlining: We group ideas, eliminate
ideas, and plan an order of discussion for the ideas we
generated in prewriting.
– Drafting: We write without worry!
– Revising: We rewrite several times to
enhance our ideas.
– Editing and Proofreading: We correct our
grammar, spelling, and formatting
before turning in our work
Why should we
bother following a
process?
• Benefits to following the
writing process:– You have a chance to make your work better
before receiving a final grade.
– You grow a stronger voice and write with
confidence.
– It is less stressful than writing overnight and
worrying about what grade you will receive.
– You will note that you do not have an option in
my class. You must turn in every step of the
writing process for your paragraph and essay
assignments.
Often, students will write a paper
overnight with the idea that it is
better to turn in something rather
than nothing.
In college, this is unacceptable.
Most professors will not grade work
that is poorly written.
Think of it this way: would you
prepare for a job interview the
morning of the interview? If you
did, the outcome would likely be
undesirable.
If you just threw a cake together
without adding ingredients in a
proper order, the outcome would
likely be disastrous!
Step 1: Prewriting
• If there are benefits to following a process, then we
start at the beginning! Beginnings are exciting!
• Here’s an inspiring quote from one of my favorite
artists to help you start:
– “Art is the absence of fear.”
Erykah Badu