WRITING

SKILLS
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW
 OVERVIEW

01 02 03 04 05
Background to Developing Plans Paraphrasing Reference Quote
Writing from Titles
BACKGROUND
TO WRITING 1
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WHAT IS WRITING?

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“Writing is the painting of the voice”

Voltaire, a French writer

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Types of writing
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WHY WRITING IS IMPORTANT?

Writing = important communications skills

Writing can be a career

Writing is required in work

Academic writing -
writing done for academic purpose
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ACADEMIC WRITING IS:

Impersonal

Formal

Clear

Precise

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What makes good

academic writing?
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WHAT MAKES GOOD ACADEMIC WRITING?

Some common answers:

Spelling, punctuation, grammar – no mistakes
Formal; objective; impersonal
Well structured; good paragraphs; well organised
Well researched; all points evidenced; referenced
Concise – no “waffle”
Precise – answers the question(s); unambiguous
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BASIC RULES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING

Do not use first person - ‘I’ and ‘my’ and the ‘we’ and ‘our’

For example:

My essay will argue that…

This essay will argue that…

We can conclude that…

It may be concluded that…
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2.Developing Plans

Identify the
Understand
main
the title
requirements

-be clear what question the For example:

title is asking before starting
to plan “Academic qualifications are of little practical benefit in
the real world – Discuss.”
- read around

Discussing involves examining the benefits and drawbacks

of something.
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COMMON MISTAKE:

‘While you demonstrate good

general knowledge of the topic, you
have not answered the question’

Reference: Academic writing skills presentation slide, the University of Essex

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EXAMPLE

a) Define Information Technology (IT) and outline its main applications in

medicine.

b) Compare and contrast the appeal process in the legal systems of Britain
and the USA.

c) Evaluate the effect of mergers in the motor industry in the last ten years.

d) Trace the development of primary education in Britain. Illustrate some of

the issues currently facing this sector.

Note that most of the titles above have two terms in the title. You must decide how much importance to
give to each section of the essay (e.g. title (a) might demand 10% for the definition and 90% for the outline).
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Define give a definition

Outline describe the main features

Compare examine the similarities

Contrast look at the differences

Evaluate consider the value

Trace describe the main features

Illustrate give examples

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The following terms are also commonly used in essay titles.

Match the terms to the definitions on the right.

Analyse Give a clear and simple account
Describe Make a proposal and support it
Examine Deal with a complex subject by giving the main points
State Divide into sections and discuss each critically
Suggest Give a detailed account
Summarise Look at the various parts and their relationships
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3.Paraphrasing

Paraphrase = changing a text, yet retains all the meaning.

paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length but to restate the text.

More than half of the students in this room own a mobile phone.

EXAMPLE
In this classroom, more than half of the students are mobile phone owners.
More than 50 per cent student in are mobile phone owners
.
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a) Changing vocabulary
studies > research
society > civilisation
mud > deposits

e.g. search for synonym

b) Changing word class:

Egypt (n.) > Egyptian (adj.)
mountainous regions (adj. + n.) > in the mountains (n.)

c) Changing word order:

Ancient Egypt collapsed > the collapse of Egyptian society began
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Paraphrase to avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Paraphrase

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What is plagiarism?

Taking someone else’s work as

your own

Using someone else’s work

without giving proper credit

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4.References

A reference is an acknowledgement that you are making use of

another writer’s ideas or data in your writing.

For example:

As Donner (1997) pointed out, low inflation does not always lead to low interest rates.

OR

Low inflation does not always lead to low interest rates (Donner, 1997).
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When do we give reference?

Decide which of the following need references.

a) A mention of facts or figures from another writer
b) An idea of your own
c) Some data you have found from your own research
d) A theory suggested by another researcher
e) A quotation from a work by any author
f) Something that is agreed to be common knowledge

2 (a), (d) and (e) need references.

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Liverpool are better than

Think of it like this… Manchester Utd!

In everyday life we
give opinions all the
time. Usually, no-one
wants or needs
supporting evidence.
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But if you asked a Liverpool fan to consider the

evidence before reaching a conclusion…
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5.Quote
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Bonus

Tips to improve writing skills

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THANK YOU!
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Sources:

Academic Writing A Practical Guide for Students by Stephen Bailey

Teaching materials from the University of Essex