Adding tassels to the hammer accomplishes nothing and might actually distract from your task. ![]() We are trying to build something, and it sucks to push those nails in by hand. When we use a hammer, we are not (usually) making a fashion statement. The purpose of any tool is to accomplish a task as efficiently as possible. You might try to think of academic writing as the tool that it is. These are the basic building blocks of any piece of writing. Transitions should show how one idea connects with (or leads to) another. Every sentence should represent one complete thought or piece of information. The key is to take it step by step, breaking down what you want to say into the smallest possible pieces, and then arranging those in a clear, logical order.Įach paragraph should represent one complete idea or claim. But all of that is complete nonsense.Ī simple structure can make even the most complicated ideas easy to understand. And conversely, if a piece of writing is simple and easy to follow, well then it’s probably not “academic” or “formal” enough. ![]() If a piece of writing is especially complex or difficult, well that’s just a sign of how advanced or sophisticated the ideas are. Somewhere along the way, it became expected that academic writing must be hard to understand. Trying to emulate the examples of academic writing that we see every day, which are often lengthy, dense, jargon-heavy, and just plain difficult to read. And I continue to see students struggle, trying to write in what they think is a proper academic style. ![]() But mostly I’ve just finally learned to stop worrying about it by keeping it simple.Īs a peer tutor with the Writing and Communication Centre, I continue to see students coming in with those exact same questions, those exact same fears. Now, years later, I’ve sort of got the answers to those questions. As a new student just entering university, I was obsessed with this idea of “academic writing.” What was it? How could I recognize it? How was I supposed to do it? I was always worrying about whether my writing was “formal” enough, or “academic” enough.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |