ACADEMIC WRITING

PARAGRAPH FORMAT

GROUP 1 :

Dian Apriani (20207470045)

Ema Azkiya (20207470042)

Eka Drienasari (20207470006)

Siti Khusnul Khotimah (20207470025)

UNIVERSITAS INDRAPRASTA PGRI

MAGISTER OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
2020

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 PREFACE

Bismillah. Praise to Allah Almighty for the blessing of His Grace and that we were
given the opportunity to be able to compile a working paper entitled “ Paragraph Format “ is
properly and correctly, and to be on time.

This paper is organized so that readers can find out why is academic writing became
so important and what are parts of it.

Hopefully this paper can provide a broader insight to the reader. Although this paper
has advantages and disadvantages. Authors beg for advice and critism. Thank you.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Preface …………………………………………………………………………………2

Chapter I : Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 4

1.1 Background of the paper ………………………………………………… 4

1.2 Purpose of the paper ……………………………………………………… 4
1.3 Problem Formulation ……………………………………………………... 4

Chapter II : Theory and Discussion …………………………………………………… 5

2.1 The theory of academic writing …………………………………………. 5

2.2 The importance of academic writing ………………………………………6

2.3.1 Paragraph Format ………………………………………………………. 6

2.3.2 Capitalization …………………………………………………………… 9

2.3.2 Sentence Structure ……………………………………………………… 9

2.3.3 Fragments ……………………………………………………………... 10

2.3.4 Writing Process ………………………………………………………… 11

Chapter III : Conclusion ………………………………………………………………. 12

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………… 13

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the paper

Students, professors, and researchers in every discipline use academic writing to

convey ideas, make arguments, and engage in scholarly conversation. Academic writing is
characterized by evidence-based arguments, precise word choice, logical organization, and an
impersonal tone. Though sometimes thought of as long-winded or inaccessible, strong
academic writing is quite the opposite: It informs, analyses, and persuades in a straight
forward manner and enables the reader to engage critically in a scholarly dialogue.

1.2 Purpose of the paper

a. Knowing what is academic writing

b. Knowing why academic writing is important

c. Knowing about paragraph format, capitalization, sentence structure and writing process

1.3 Problem Formulation

a. What is academic writing?

b. Why academic writing is important?

c. What is a part of academic writing?

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 CHAPTER II

THEORY AND DISCUSSION

2.1 The theory of academic writing

Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is

formal by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as contractions or informal
vocabulary. It is impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or feelings,
and instead emphasising objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary specific
to the discipline. Different disciplines also have different styles and structures of writing. For
example, some disciplines, such as in the humanities, expect longer paragraphs, which
include topic sentences to show how your argument is structured. Other disciplines, for
example in the sciences, expect short paragraphs, with no topic sentences, which are denser
in factual information.

“Writing academic papers is a common learning situation at university. Writing not

only requires knowledge about grammar, genre, and vocabulary but also the ability to self-
regulate one’s own learning (Graham & Harris, 2000; Zimmerman & Risemberg, 1997).”

Academic writing is clear, concise, focussed, 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.

Examples of academic writing:

Literary analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an argument
about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes beyond mere
summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts and often focuses on
a specific characteristic, theme, or motif.
Research paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or make an
argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be evaluative, analytical, or
critical in nature. Common research sources include data, primary sources (e.g., historical

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records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer-reviewed scholarly articles). Writing a research
paper involves synthesizing this external information with your own ideas.
Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the conclusion of a Ph.D.
program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the doctoral candidate’s
research.

2.2 The importance of academic writing

Academic writing is imperative for students. It is necessary for practical purposes, as

students will need to write essays for tests like TOEFL, IELTS, and the SAT, college
applications, and then many more once they reach college. Upon graduation, at whatever job
they have, they will have emails, reports, presentations, and speeches to compose. It isn’t just
philosophy – academic writing skills ensure students are prepared for their futures.

However, academic writing is important beyond just the bottom line. Learning
academic writing sharpens minds, teaches students how to communicate, and develops their
thinking capacities and ability to understand others. Writing is thinking, and every student
deserves to be a strong thinker.

2.3.1 Paragraph format

A paragraph is a group of related statements that a writer develops about a subject.

The first sentence states the specific point, or idea, of the topic. The rest of the sentences in
the paragraph support that point.

 Model handwritten assignment :

1. Paper. Use 8 1/2 –inch-by-11-inch lined. Three-hole paper. The three holes should be
on the left side as you write. Write on one side of the paper only.
2. Ink. Use black or dark blue ink only.
3. Heading. Write your full name in the upper left corner. On the next line, write the
course number. On the third line of the heading, write the date the assignment is due
in the order month- day- year with the comma after the day.
4. Assignment Tittle. Center the title of your paragraph on the first line.

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 5. Body. Skip one line, and start your writing on the third line, indent ( move to the
right ) the first sentence ½ inch from the left margin.
6. Margins. Leave a 1-inch margin on the left and right sides of the paper. Also leave a
1-inch margin at the bottom of the page.
7. Spacing. Leave a blank line between each line of writing.

Jhon Berg
English 002
September 20, 2020

The Best Sandwich of My Life

When I was thirteen years old. I had a great surprise. My favorite soccer teaam

was visiting from Mexico, so I went to the Grand Hotel to get autographs from some of

the players. When I got there, I waited outside for a long time because I was very nervous.

Finally, I told my legs to start moving. I walked in and went up to my favorite player,

Sergio Verdirameto ask for his autograph. My voice was trembling.but I controlled it. He

stopped to listen to me. Than an amazing thing happened. He invited me to dinner with

the team. I could not believe it! Suddenly I was sitting across the table from Sergio

Verdirame! I ordered a huge sandwich with everything on it. When the food came, my

hands were shaking, and I could not eat or talk. Affter a while, I took a deep breath and

said to myself. Hey, this happens just once in your life. I fought off my nerves and started

talking with the team and enjoying my meal. They were really great guys. We had a good

time laughing and joking together. That was the most delicious sandwich I ever ate

because I was eating it with my hero.

 Model Computer-Written Assignment :

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1. Paper. Use 8 ½ -inch-by-11-inch white paper.
2. Font. Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman. Do not use underlining,
italics, or bold type to emphasize words. It is not correct to do so in academic
writing. Use underlining or italics only when required for titles of books and some
other publications.
3. Heading. Type your full name in the upper left corner 1/22 inch from the top of
the page. On the next line, type the course number. On the third line of the
heading, type the date the assignment is due in the order month-day-year with a
comma after the day.
4. Assignment Title Skip on line, and then center your title. Use the centering icon
on your word processing program.
5. Body. Skip on line, and start typing on the third line. Use the TAB key to indent
(move to the right) the first line of the paragraph. (The TAB key automatically
indents five spaces).
6. Margins. Leave a 1-inch margin on the left and right.
7. Spacing. Double-space the body.

Jhon Berg
English 002
September 20, 2020

The Best Sandwich of My Life

When I was thirteen years old. I had a great surprise. My favorite soccer
team was visiting from Mexico, so I went to the Grand Hotel to get autographs
from some of the players. When I got there, I waited outside for a long time
because I was very nervous. Finally, I told my legs to start moving. I walked in
and went up to my favorite player, Sergio Verdirameto ask for his autograph. My
voice was trembling.but I controlled it. He stopped to listen to me. Than an
amazing thing happened. He invited me to dinner with the team. I could not
believe it! Suddenly I was sitting across the table from Sergio Verdirame! I
ordered a huge sandwich with everything on it. When the food came, my hands
were shaking, and I could not eat or talk. Affter a while, I took a deep breath and
said to myself. Hey, this happens just once in your life. I fought off my nerves and
2.3.2 Capitalization
started talking with the team and enjoying my meal. They were really great guys.
We had a good time laughing and joking together. That was the most delicious
sandwich I ever ate because I was eating it with my hero. 8
 These are the most important rules for capitalization in English. Capitalize the
following:

1. The first word in a sentence

2. The pronoun
3. Abbreviations and acronyms formed from the first letters of words
4. All proper nouns. Proper nouns include:
a. Names of deities
b. Names of people and their titles but not a title without a name Note: Some writers
capitalize titles such as president and prime minister when they clearly refer to one
person
c. Names of specific groups of people (nationalities, races, and ethnic groups),
languages, and religions
d. Names of specific places on a map
e. Names of specific geographic areas but not the names of compass directions
f. Names of days, months, and special days but not the names of the seasons
g. Names of specific structures such as buildings, bridges, dams, monuments
h. Names of specific organizations (government agencies, businesses, schools, clubs,
teams)
i. Names of school subjects with course numbers
j. First, last, and all important words in the titles of books, magazines, newspapers,
plays, films, stories, songs, paintings, statues, television programs

2.3.3 Sentence Structure

 Simple Sentence
A sentence is a group of words that (a) contains at least one subject and one verb and
(b) expresses a complete thought. There are four kinds of sentences in English: simple
sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex
sentences.
Example :
My father works in Garuda Airlines
S V

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 The Stars Wars movies were international hits
S V

 Subject Verb Agreement

Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number.
This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural.
Example :
 My sister is married. (singular)

 My sister are married. (plural)

 My brother and I are single. (plural)

2.3.4 Fragments

Fragments are sentence errors or incomplete sentence.

Example :

Is very hot today even with the windows open (There is no subject)

One of my classmates from my country, Indonesia (There is no verb)

Correct sentence :

It is very hot today even with the windows open (Add subject “It”)

One of my classmates is from my country, Indonesia (Add verb “is”)

2.3.5 Writing Process

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 Writing is never a one-step action; it is an ongoing creative act. When you first write
something, you have already been thinking about what to say and how to say it. Then after
you have finished writing, you read over what you have written and make changes and
corrections. You write and revise and write and revise again until you are satisfied that your
writing expresses exactly what you want to say. · The process of writing has roughly four
steps. In the first step, you create ideas. ln the second step, you organize the ideas. In the third
step, you write a rough draft. In the final step, you polish your rough draft by editing it and
making revisions.

 Step 1 : Prewriting

The first step is called prewriting. Prewriting is a way to get ideas. In this step, you
choose a topi.c and collect ideas to explain the topic.

 Step 2 : Organizing

The next step in the writing process is to organize the ideas into a simple outline.

 Step 3 : Writing

The next step is to write a rough draft, using your outline as a guide. Write your rough
draft as quickly as you can without stopping to think about grammar, spelling, or
punctuation. Just get your ideas down on paper. You will probably see many en·ors in
your rough draft. This is perfectly usual and acceptable-after all. this is just a rough draft.
You will fix the errors later. Notice that the writer added some ideas that were not in his
outline. Notice also that he added a concluding sentence at the end.

 Step 4 : Polishing (Revising and Editing)

In this step, you polish what you have written. This step is also called revising and
editing. Polishing is most successful if you do it in two steps. First, attack the big issues
of content and organization (revising). Then work on the smaller issues of grammar,
punctuation, and mechanics (editing).

CHAPTER III
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 CONCLUSION

1. Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is

formal by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as contractions or informal
vocabulary. It is impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or
feelings, and instead emphasising objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using
vocabulary specific to the discipline. Different disciplines also have different styles and
structures of writing.
2. Academic writing is imperative for students. It is necessary for practical purposes, as
students will need to write essays for tests like TOEFL, IELTS, and the SAT, college
applications, and then many more once they reach college.
3. The parts of academic writing are paragraph format, capitalization, sentence structure,
and fragments.

a. A paragraph is a group of related statements that a writer develops about a subject.

The first sentence states the specific point, or idea, of the topic. The rest of the
sentences in the paragraph support that point.
b. A sentence is a group of words that (a) contains at least one subject and one verb
and (b) expresses a complete thought.
c. Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number.
This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural.

d. Fragments is error sentence or incomplete sentence.

4. Writing process is never a one-step action; it is an ongoing creative act. There are four
step: Prewriting, Organizing, Writing, and Polishing (Revising and Editing).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1475725716682887

https://austinama.org/2013/11/10-capitalization-rules-everyone-should-know/

https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/subject_verb_agreement.html

https://englist.com/en/why-academic-writing-is-important/

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1131601.pdf

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing

https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-academic-writing.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-academic-writing-1689052

Introduction to Academic Writing, Third Edition by Alice Hashima and Ann Hogue

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