ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

BEGINNING TO WRITE
INTENDED OUTCOMES
After you have studied this unit you will be able to:
Understand the instructional terms given in your academic
written assignments
Explore effective methods of understanding and interpreting
what you read
Create an appropriate structure to your essay assignment
 Utilise the three phases of essay construction
Initiate the five C’s of proofreading
What is academic writing and examples?

• Academic writing is descriptive. 

• Its purpose is to provide facts or information. An example would be
a summary of an article or a report of the results of an experiment.
• The kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive they may include:
'identify', 'report', 'record', 'summarise' and 'define'.
 Academic writing can be classified into the following four major types.

• Descriptive writing. Descriptive writing is one of the simplest and most used
academic writing types. ...
• Analytical writing. ...?
• Persuasive writing. ...?
• Critical writing. …?
What is analytical writing?

• Analytical writing is evaluative and critical.

• It seeks to go beyond the descriptive presentation of facts or details
to the reader, and instead evaluates and investigates their
significance.
Examples of analytical writing can include movie analysis or how a
writer uses a literary device in a poem.
What is persuasive writing and examples?
• Persuasive writing is any written work that tries to convince the
reader of the writer's opinion.
• Persuasive texts are constructed to make the reader do something.
• Persuasive texts can take a number of forms, for example an advert
persuading you to buy some chocolate,
• a poster encouraging people to stop smoking or
• a travel brochure enticing the reader to go to a particular country.
Critical writing
• Critical writing involves: analysing information to understand a
problem or topic from more than one perspective; making logical
connections between ideas; offering your own perspective on the
topic based on your evaluation of the available evidence.
What is purpose of critical writing?
• Critical writing is writing which analyses and evaluates information,
usually from multiple sources, in order to develop an argument.
• A mistake many beginning writers make is to assume that everything
they read is true and that they should agree with it, since it has been
published in an academic text or journal.
 Mind map

• It is made up of headings,
words, diagram or pictures
• Its aids the writer to see if
they have enough ideas
• It focuses the writer’s
thoughts and ideas
• It orders the writer’s thoughts
logically and sequentially
Clustering
• Sometimes also known as 'branching' or 'mapping'
• After generating material for essay writing ideas that belong together
are group
• Clustering is a way of visually arranging ideas of the same kind – if
limited more information can be generated
 Flow chart
• It’s a diagram that shows
different stages of a complex
activity
• It allows the writer to
structure the work correctly
in a chronological order
• It encourages lateral thinking
 Outline
• The main ideas or facts about
something without the details
• Describes something (the
main points) without the
details
• It allows the writer to
organize the notes from
planning or brainstorming
Cheating
During test
• found test hard
• saw Jeff cheating
After test
• got angry
• wanted to tell
• dismissed idea
In college
• implication of cheating
• goals of education
Personal/reflective writing
• Also known as (reflective writing) based on your own experience and sharing of
thoughts ideas or feelings
• This form of essay is written from personal experience – using the first person (“I felt…”)
• It can help promote critical thinking and problem solving skills
• It encouraging the habit of analysing your actions or events & considering the
consequences.
• Used with diaries, blogs & reflective journals in order to;
record events
help you make sense of things
build up an understanding of events over time
allow you to write freely.
Reflective writing in an academic context
• Follow certain academic standards to produce good quality
reflective writing:
support the points you make with examples drawn from your
experience
explore the implications and consequences of your actions
 consider
‘This different
was quite possibly due to perspectives
… on the events
Reasons for an you
event write about.
Demonstrate
‘The problem here, I the ability
believe, was theto factanalyse,
that. . .’ evaluate
Alternative&solutions
synthesise
‘On the one hand, . . . yet on the other . . .’
Reflection language INFORMAL FORMAL
Different points of view (ADAMEMIC
‘In thinking back, . . . On reflection . . .’
CONTEXT) Problems that were caused.
A reflective learning cycle

Explanation:
what you did and
why

ca ti on:
i e
Appl s you ar e al ysis: nd
hat step
e o n th An
go od a u
w o tak h ave t w as at yo
g t o u a
wh bout w y h
goin f what y a h
o
basis learne
d bad id and w
d

on:
Eva l ua ti
t o f what
e im p ac
th
id
you d
Narrative writing
• It’s a piece of writing that tells a story
• Narratives can be essays, fairy tales, movies, and jokes
• A narrator style, chronological order, point of view is used to tell a
story
• Gives an answer to the question “what happened then”
Five Narrative elements
• The plot is the thread of events that occur in a story.
• The setting is the location of the events in time and place. "The
Martian" is set on Mars in the not-too-distant future.
• The characters are the people in the story who drive the plot,
• The conflict is the problem that is being resolved. Plots need a
moment of tension, which involves some difficulty that requires
resolution.
• The theme what is the moral of the story? What does the writer
intend the reader to understand?
descriptive writing
• Descriptions –include defining a topic, describing an object, system, or a process.
• Involves describing situations, processes or outlining the way things are in details
• It paint a picture with words (subjective description)
• The description is written in the present tense (looks, contains) as it is something
• that is generally true.
• Descriptions questions includes: What are . . .
Define . . .
Outline . . .
Describe . . ..
descriptive writing
• Organized chronologically (time) and in order of importance.
• When writing a description of an object, include: physical description,
weight, size, colour, structure, material, shape, properties, function.
• When describing processes (how things are done or made) use the
following phrases to keep the time sequence; It starts with . . . The
next step . . . Next . . . Finally . . .
Persuasive writing
• A is a piece of academic writing where you use logic and reason to show
that your point of view is more legitimate than any other
• Is equipped with reasons, arguments and justifications
• Provide evidence – why your viewpoint is right (factual), disproving the
opposing claim to prove your point & supporting your point of view with
resources – refutation/concession
• It tries to persuade the readers to take a stand and agree that your point
of view is correct
• States the writer’s opinion, reasons why readers should agree, convince
readers to take action, do something about a situation (call-to-action)
three main elements of persuasive writing
• Logos – the appeal to reason and logic. You express it by using facts
presented in logical manner.
• Ethos – the appeal to ethics. In persuasive writing, you must convince
the reader that you’re right from an ethical point of view.
• Pathos – the appeal to emotion. You have to awaken the reader’s
sympathy, sadness, anger, or any other kind of emotion, so you’ll
make your main argument more convincing.
Expository writing
• Expository” means “intended to explain or describe something
• It explain, illustrate, clarify, or explicate something in a way that it
becomes clear for readers.
• The writing is usually in a logical order and sequence
• The function of an expository essay is to clarify and expose things,
ideas, persons, and places through description, process,
comparison/contrast, or through problem solution.
• Used in textbook writing, how to articles, recipes, business or
technical or scientific writing
expository essay categories
• Descriptive Essay: describes something, some place, some experience,
or some situation through sensory information.
• Process Essay:  explains or shows a process of making or doing
something.
• Comparison Essay: makes comparison and contrasts between two
things.
• Cause/Effect Essay: finds out the cause of something and then its
effects on something else.
• Problem/Solution Essay: presents a problem and its solution for
readers.
Critical writing
• Involves analysing & evaluating your own & others’ work & presenting
a point of view which you can support
• It includes making connections between the ideas of your subject &
trying to explain why things happen as they do.
• Compare & contrast arguments & ideas OR find advantages and
disadvantages of solutions to problems, explanations your actions &
provide evidence & support for your points of view.
Claim Evidence Reasons
(proposition, (support or (warrant or
thesis) grounds) argument)
 Critical writing
Analysis: Evaluation:
Examines and breaks Makes judgements about the value of information,
information into parts: ideas or materials for a given purpose in a given
context:

o it identifies causes and effects o it investigates to what extent something is true

o it draws conclusions o it investigates importance
o it finds evidence and examples to support o it interprets and justifies
generalisations

e.g. e.g.
o How is . . . Related to . . .? o Do you agree with the actions/outcomes . . .?
o Can you show a connection between . . . and . . .? o How important is . . .?
o Why . . .?
o How would you prove/disprove . . .?
1.1 UNDERSTANDING TERMS
• You will be able to write a coherent essay or answer an exam question
only when you are able to read the question, interpret the meaning of
each word individually and then combine those words into a logical
sequence of meaning.
• The glossary provided below presents you with verbs of
instruction that you will encounter when asked to
complete assignments.
• By knowing the word and its meaning, you will understand
what you are required to do.
Analyse: Separate the ideas into their essential parts to
discover their function or interrelationship, carefully
examine or study, consider in detail.
Argue: Offer sound evidence according to already held
convictions or ideas.
Compare: Illustrate the similarities between items or
ideas.
Contrast: Illustrate the differences between items or
ideas.
Discuss: Investigate the possibilities for and against
an idea to convince or reach conclusions.
Evaluate: Determine, appraise or judge carefully
something’s significance or worth.
Explain: Clearly reveal the relationship between ideas
or the way a process occurs or develops.
1.2 READING FOR UNDERSTANDING
• “When you are lost, do not walk fast” (Matengu Katukula).
• If you are given a report or an article to read, there are active steps you can
take to get the most out of the written text.
• Read the question carefully to determine exactly what you are required to do.
• Double-check with your lecturer to ensure that you know what you must do if
you do not understand the question.
• Your initial understanding of the task is crucial. Once
you are certain of the assignment, you are ready to
start reading.
• Study the paragraph to grasp the significant features.
• Highlight the points that carry the main ideas.
• Select only those points that are important for the
assignment.
• Write brief personal comments in the margins.
• Use transitional expressions that will able you to
follow your line of reasoning.
• Terms such as “firstly” or “secondly” suggest a clear
sequencing of important ideas.
• Words such “furthermore”, “moreover” or “in
addition to” mean that the writer is adding to the
point he or she is making by providing additional
information.
• “However”, “yet” or “but” are words of contrast and
indicate that the information to follow provides an
opposing idea to those that have already been
presented.
• Recognise the difference between a fact, which is a
verifiable statement supported by statistics or
observable examples.
• An opinion, which reflects a person’s own point of
view and is not clearly substantiated with sufficient
data.
• You will to decide the types or genre of the text that
you are reading to know how you are to interpret the
information provided.
1.3 WRITING WITH PURPOSE
• Generally in a university setting, you will be writing with a purpose set
for you by your lectures.
• The general guidelines for most university papers are as follows:
The essay must be typed, usually double spaced or 1,5 spacing, but
rarely single spaced unless requested.
NB. Double spacing allows the lecturer to make corrections, identify
grammatical or spelling errors, or flaws in structure or conceptual
omission.
The paper used should be standard white typing paper
(80g/m2), NOT onion skin or coloured paper.
The font type and size required is generally Times New
Roman 12 or Arial 12.
The margins are the standard margins set for Microsoft
Office Word or Macintosh computers.
Most research papers require a bibliography on the final
page.
NB. The bibliography should not be included in the body of
the essay, but placed as a separate page at the back of the
essay.
Some lecturers also request a footer that states the
student’s name, student number and the name and the
due date of the assignment .
The paper can be secured with one stable in the upper left
corner, although large assignments may need to be placed
in a transparent cover and secured with a spine.
Assignments can also be submitted in plastic sleeves, but it
is important to remember to staple the pages together
before inserting them into the sheaf to ensure the pages
are not lost.
 The cover page should contain the following information:
Student name
Student number
Course name and code
Lecturer’s name
Brief name of assignment or title
Date of submission
NB: Plain cover page is professional. Avoid garish borders or
pictures.
1.4 CONSTRUCTING YOUR ESSAY
• Writing an essay requires three phases of construction.
• These are the preliminary or pre-construction, the construction and
the reconstruction phases.
1.4.1 Pre-construction phase
Examine the question
Determine your approach
Formulate your ideas
• Continues…
Consider how to search for material
Collect relevant information
Arrange your research
Draft a thesis statement
Prepare an outline
• Continues…
• Identify all the significant words that are essential or key
terms.
for instance:
“Evaluate the character development of Karabo in the short
story ‘Mrs Plum’ by Es’kia Mphahlele”
o Evaluate- means to determine the significance or worth of
something.
Determine your approach
This step requires you to consider the options available to
you in researching and writing the assignment.
• Continues…
 Formulate ideas
• The best way to approach this step is o create a mind tree
or subject cedar.
• This helps you to look at the central concepts and
formulate or develop ideas that flow from one main area to
the other.
Search for material
• Your lecturer may suggest some resources to you or even
provide a selection of articles or possible website
addresses.
• Continues…
• The next step would be the textual or journal resources
available in your library.
• You should ask your library staff to train you to use OPAC
(Online Public Access Catalogue) as it provides information
on the resources available through your library.
• Then, do an internet search using the key words or phrases
that you have highlighted.
 Collect relevant information
• Stay focused on the assignment itself, and gather only
information that pertains to that particular question.
• Continues…
• When you look up the various sources, make sure they are
relevant to the specific assignment or section of your
course.
• For instance, the question that has been set on Karabo’s
character development does not require you to provide a
summary of the story or biography of the author, Es’kia
Mphahlele.
NB. Avoid the temptation of collecting reams of irrelevant
information that is peripheral to the topic and does not
hone in on the question itself.
Arrange your research
• This part requires you to examine the information that you
have collected and consider a strategy for putting that
material into a coherent form.
• In the case of our question, you will need to consider what
characteristics Karabo first exhibited in the story, and make a
list of those and the situations where those qualities were
evident.
• Next you need to reflect on the circumstances that caused
her behaviour to change, illustrate the changed behaviour
by examples or quotation.
Draft a thesis statement
• The formal outline of your essay may contain two
statement: a purpose statement and a thesis statement.
• The purpose of your essay is generally written in the
infinitive form:
To evaluate the character development of Karabo in
Mphahlele’s short story “Mrs Plum”.
NB. This statement may appear first in your formal outline
• The thesis statement clearly defines the direction your essay
will take.
• It should appear in the opening paragraph of your essay as it
prepares the reader the nature, purpose and intent of the
work before him or her.
• This statement is a single-sentence definite assertion that
declares what you are going to do.
• For instance:
This essay will evaluate the growth exhibited in the
character of Karabo during her time of serving Mrs Plum.
• As you progress you not want to be as dogmatic as that and
may change to a less rigid form, for example:
 Karabo, like many black African laboures, experienced a
profound transformation during the dawning of democratic
ideals as she realised a new sense of identity and freedom.
This essay will examine Mphahlele’s protagonist in his probing
and insightful short story “Mrs Plums”.
NB. Avoid expressing your intent with uncertain phrases like
“This essay attempt to…” or “This essay will try to convince
you that…” such ambiguous phrase approach.
o Avoid assertions like “In my opinion”, “I think that” or “I want
to show that”.
o Using first person (I) suggest that you have become the final
authority on the subject.
o It places doubt on your credibility and the quality and
integrity of your work, which is something you want to avoid.
Prepare an outline
• Before you start any essay or exam question, it is advisable
to draft an outline that sketches the significant elements
contained in the answer and gives the sequence in which
will occur.
• In a more formal presentation, this outline should contain
your purpose and thesis statement, followed by the specific
headings and subheading of your main ideas.
• A simple outline can consist of bulleted ideas in their order
of development, such as
 Karabo, a simple, grateful new hireling
Transition from rural to urban
Change in food and technology
Development of interracial relationships
Enjoys job
Impressed with Mrs Plum
Considers Mrs Plum a wise, good and progressive woman
Encouraged to read newspaper and magazines
Attends Black Crow meetings
Talks with other domestics and Mrs Ngoyi
Learns new skills
Begins to develop own identity and ideas
Recognises Mrs Plum’s hypocrisy
Determines her own culture and importance of family
Chooses to quit job for family responsibilities
Demands increase and sets terms for return
Secure and confident in identity transformation
 A formal outline would look like
o Purpose: To evaluate the character development of Karabo
in the short story “Mrs Plums”.
o Thesis statement: This essay will evaluate the growth
exhibited in the character of Karabo during her time of
serving Mrs Plum.
WRITING PARAGRAPHS
2.1 BEGINNING NEW PARAGRAPHS
ITENDED OUTCOMES
After you have studied this chapter, you will be able to
• Know when to begin a new paragraph
• Recognise a topic sentence
• Write a unified paragraph using spatial, chronological or logical
organisation
• Maintain unity by consistently reiterating the main idea
• Create interest by varying the form and the length of you sentences.
2.1 Beginning new paragraphs
• Pages of solid type are daunting and uninviting to a reader.
Furthermore, they are difficult to read and to comprehend.
• It is important to create paragraphs in your essays.
• Separate paragraphs enable both the writer and the reader to group
ideas together and see a logical progression of thought.
• Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly when to begin a new
paragraph.
You begin a new paragraph when you
introduce a new:
• Concept
• Speaker of the dialogue
• Era or time period
• Step in an expository process
• Significant point in your argument.
Continue…
• You will often begin a new paragraph with a transitional expression, as
it provides a visible bridge that smoothly connects your ideas.
• You will begin a new paragraph when you conclude your essay as it
signals to the reader that the work is complete.
2.2 creating topic sentences
• Each paragraph must have the main idea that is contained in the topic
sentence.
• Topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph.
• Often topic sentence is the opening sentence as it:
 it serves to inform the reader of the focus of the paragraph.
2.3 writing unified paragraphs
2.3.1 unity through one main idea
• A paragraph must be unified.
• It must stay focused on one main idea.
The paragraph must have unity: meaning that the topic sentence
must be supported by the sentences that come after it.
 What does PEEL stand for? 
• P = Point: start your paragraph with a clear topic sentence that establishes
what your paragraph is going to be about. Your point should support your
essay argument or thesis statement.
• E = Evidence/Example: here you should use a piece of evidence or an
example that helps to reaffirm your initial point and develop the
argument. 
• E = Explain: next you need to explain exactly how your evidence/example
supports your point, giving further information to ensure that your reader
understands its relevance.
• L = Link: to finish the paragraph off, you need to link the point you’ve just
made back to your essay question, topic, or thesis.
 Analysis: Paragraph using PEEL Method
• Here’s an example of what you might include in a PEEL structured paragraph: 
• Topic: Should infants be given iPads? 
Thesis/argument: Infants should not be given iPads.
• Point: Infants should not be given iPads, because studies show children under two
can face developmental delays if they are exposed to too much screen time. 
• Evidence/Example: A recent paediatric study showed that infants who are
exposed to too much screen time may experience delays in speech development.
• Explanation: The reason infants are facing these delays is because screen time is
replacing other key developmental activities.
• Link: The evidence suggests that infants who have a lot of screen time experience
negative consequences in their speech development, and therefore they should
not be exposed to iPads at such a young age.
PEEL method (follow the link to watch the
video
PEEL stands for Point, Evidence, Explain and Link. 
https://youtu.be/Oy7R6ticmag
How do you use the peel method?
• PEEL
• POINT. Begin your paragraph by stating your point.
• EXPLANATION. Give evidence to substantiate your point.
• EXAMPLE or EVIDENCE. Explaining in more detail about how and why
your evidence supports your point.
• LINK. Provide a smooth link to your next paragraph and/or point.
2.3.2 unity through directional organisation
• Another method of keeping a paragraph unified is to create sentences
which are built one upon another like a staircase.
 Directional organisation can take one of three forms:
Spatial
Chronological
Logical
Spatial organisation
 spatial organisation requires you to describe a scene or person from
a particular perspective.
Creative writing- painting a visual picture.
Medical science- description of an injury or illness.
 in spatial organisation you capture the entire essence of the scene or
provide a more complete and comprehensive picture.
Chronological Organisation
 Requires you to develop your sentences in a particular time order.
 follow the events as they happen or should occur. E.g. manual,
instructions
 sometimes events are numbered in order. (step-by-step process)
Chronological order is important to understanding.
Logical order
 Logical order is essential in every paragraph.
NB. Logical order is of particular importance in argumentative essays
In which you are trying to prove the reasonableness of your stand on
an issue.
 a logically constructed paragraph illustrates clear and consistent
thought.
The ideas may be ordered from the specific or from the important to
the least, from the general to the specific or from specific to the
general.
2.3.3 unity through reiterating the main idea
Paragraphs are unified by maintaining a clear focus on the topic
sentence, developing sound spatial, chronological or logical order and
reiterating the main idea consistently throughout.
Paragraph unity.
sentence coherence and the idea.
2.4 varying paragraph structure
 a paragraph becomes more interesting when you vary the opening
of each sentence.
 paragraphs the begin in the same manner are boring.
Avoid repetition of the opening. Sometimes start the sentence with
dependent phrase. For example varying the structure of each
sentence is important in making an interesting paragraph “ Although
the government
SUMMARY
• Effective, unified paragraphs have one main idea
• The main idea of a paragraph is contained in the topic sentence and
all subsequent sentence support this concept.
• A paragraph is able to maintain unity if it is organised either spatially,
chronologically or logically.
• a paragraph is more appealing if the sentence are varied in length
and form.
Adapted from:
• Bailey, S. 2011. Academic writing: Handbook for international
students: 3rd Ed. Chapter 1.11 pp 83-89. London and New York:
Routledge.
• Gillett, A., Hammond, A., & Martala, M. 2008. Inside track: Successful
Academic Writing. Page 113, 135, 163 Pearson Longman: London.