Academic Writing Skills

What will this session cover?

 What is Academic writing?

 How different is academic writing from other writing?

 How will academic writing help?

 Various forms of academic writing

 Some common mistakes observed in academic writing

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 What is Academic Writing?

 A formal style/ type of writing used in institutions of higher learning

 Associated with scholarly/ research writing

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 How is Academic Writing Different From Other Writing?

 Answers a question
 Has a purpose
 Formal tone and presentation (no colloquialisms, word contractions, and other informal
insertions)
 Presents an argument (critical)
 Evidence or data
 Coherent structure
 Uses 3rd person
 Builds on prior knowledge
 References and citations - Unicheck (GBS)/Turnitin (YSJ) for detecting plagiarism

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 How Will Academic Writing Help?

 Build a skill

 Improving interpersonal and professional communication

 Learn report writing

 Effective/ impactful presentations

 Learn to conduct an authentic research

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 Theoretical Framework

 It strengthens your argument and demonstrates that your answers are based on an
academic study/research rather than a general understanding.

 The theoretical concepts or background work that has been done will support
your research and thesis.

 It gives a perspective through which an analysis can be interpreted

 In simpler words, theoretical framework is the structure that holds support from
the academically proven theory/ models that are closely related to the ideas you
have discussed in your work.

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 Report Writing

 A report is a concise document presenting an analysis of a situation,

providing recommendations for future action.

 Written for a particular set of readers

 It is information/fact based

 Always include section headings

 Bullet points may be used to present specific details

 Written in a style appropriate to each section

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 Framework of a Report

 Abstract/ Executive Summary (excluded from the word count)

 Table of Contents (excluded from the word count)

 Introduction

 Body of the Report

 Recommendations & Conclusion

 References & Appendix (excluded from the word count)

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 Step 1

 Abstract (Executive Summary):

The abstract (executive summary) should briefly outline the subject matter, the
background problem, the scope of the investigation, the method(s) of analysis,
the important findings arguments and relevant issues raised in the discussion,
the conclusion and recommendations.

 Table of Contents:
Enlist how you have organised and divided of the information in your report.
The headings and sub-headings you use will be dictated by factors such as the
content of the report, the type of problem being addressed

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 Step 2
Introduction
 The background to the issue (i.e. why was the report commissioned),
 The objective or purpose of the report
 An overview of the report’s sections and their relationship to the research
problem
 An outline and justification of the scope of the report (the boundaries the report
is working within)
 A description of the range of sources used (i.e. personal investigation,
interviews, statistics and questionnaires)
 Acknowledgment of any valuable assistance received in the preparation of the
report
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 Step 3

Body of the report

 This section will expand and develop the material in a coherent manner,
reflecting the structure outlined in the Introduction. It contains a
description of the findings and a discussion of those findings.
 What were the most significant findings or factors involved in the topic/
problem?
 Tables and graphs are used often to back the findings
 Did the findings support the theory? Have you found some disagreement
with the theory?
 Did you uncover any unexpected or new issues that need to be considered?

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 Step 4

Recommendations & Conclusion

 Recommendations are written for a course of further action so they should
be as concrete and specific as possible; they should read as a list of things
the reader/client should do based on the findings of the report
 The conclusion summarises the major inferences that can be drawn from the
information presented in the report.
 The conclusion/s presented in a report must be related to, resulting from
and justified by the material which appears in the report. The conclusion
must not introduce any new material.

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 Lets us look at a sample report

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 Essay

 An essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an argument or narrative

based on evidence, analysis and interpretation.
 Semi-structured
 Argumentative and idea-based
 Not written with a specific reader in mind
 Written in single narrative style throughout
 Usually do not include sub-headings
 Usually do not include bullet points
 Rarely include tables or graphs
 Offer conclusions about a question

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 Framework of an Essay

 Introduction

 Main body

 Conclusion
An essay would reflect a learner’s

 Ability to present an idea

 Understanding of a subject -Learners own and others (with evidence)

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 Step 1

Introduction

 Provide a background of the question at hand.

 Introduce the main subject of the essay and why it is an important topic.

 Key terms, definitions for any new terms or concepts which are used in the

main body of the essay should be introduced.

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 Step 2

Main body:
 Should discuss the main ideas
 paragraphs should contain one main idea or argument. This should be outlined
in the first sentences.
 Each paragraph should provide new evidence to support the main idea. If you
do not have evidence to support a point, do not include it.
 Evidence might include data, facts, quotations, arguments, statistics and
research from your readings as evidence. Make sure that you include a
reference and explain how and why you think this evidence supports your
point.
 Your paragraphs should connect to each other and follow on in a logical order.

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 Step 3

 The conclusion should make the overall message and argument clear to the
reader. A conclusion is not a summary of everything written in the main body
of the essay

 You should also present the main message or argument that you want your
reader to take away. Make sure your conclusion is clearly supported by the
evidence presented in the essay.

 At the end of the conclusion, move from the specific to the general, to set the
discussion into a different or wider context.

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 Let us look at a sample essay

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 Reports vs Essays

Reports are:  Essays are:

• Formally structured • Semi-structured

• Informative and fact-based • Argumentative and idea-based

• Written with a reader in mind • Not written with a specific reader in mind

• Written in a style appropriate to each • Written in single narrative style throughout

section • May use section headings but usually do not
include sub-headings
• Always include section headings
• Usually do not include bullet points
• Sometimes use bullet points
• Rarely include tables or graphs
• Often include tables or graphs
• Offer conclusions about a question
• Offer recommendations for
action
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 Master Thesis/ Capstone Project

 Students of GBS MBA will write a Master Thesis with a word count of 15,000.

 YSJ MBA students will write a Capstone Project of 12,000 words + Poster
presentation (with a reflective analysis)

 Level 7 Diploma students progresses to the Stage 2 for an Executive Capstone

Project (of 60 UK credits) - Proposal 2,000 words & Report 12,000 words

(Please follow the guidelines provided by the respective school)

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 Some common errors to be avoided
 Not adding proper punctuations (comma, full stop, semi-colon)
 Not checking the spellings and grammar before final submission.
 Avoid putting ‘Table of Contents’ before Executive Summary.
 Writing the summary of the report under ‘Introduction’.
 Not citing images, graphs, tables (Avoid putting random images and tables in image format).
 Incorrect placement of in-text citations. See the below example –
Incorrect Citation –

The microenvironment isn’t the only point of call for businesses, with some arguing the importance of factors outside
the business as being more informative, especially when concerned with larger sized companies. (Rakesh, 2014)

Correct Citation –

The microenvironment isn’t the only point of call for businesses, with some arguing the importance of factors outside
the business as being more informative, especially when concerned with larger sized companies (Rakesh, 2014).
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