Final Exam-Wm Campbell

Final Exam-Campbell


What Are the Qualities of Good Academic Writing?


Writing is the most effective way to show that one really understands a subject and has made the subject a part of one’s thinking. Academic writing attempts to analyze collections of facts and thoughts, to organize the information, and to inform a particular audience. Good academic writing resounds with authority, or comes across as if the writer knows the subject. It speaks with a coherent voice, flowing from one point to the next. It also speaks with a clear voice as it must follow the standards of grammar, usage, and punctuation. In the end it is the product of a great deal of thought, understanding, careful planning, writing, and revising.
Careful study is to academic writing what imagination is to creative writing and what intuition is to reflective writing. The starting point of a piece, after choosing a particular subject, is the careful study and analysis of all the related facts. One must know and understand the facts well enough to tell the audience, “Here is what I understand.” One must know and understand the facts well enough to be able to ask the questions, Who? What? Where? When? Why? Why not? How? The answers to these questions should lead to a focus, a main point, or center of interest. Within the focus, the key problem or issue should come to the fore, and the direct way to approach the issue will become the purpose of the piece. This purpose should then be presented so as to inform, explain, compare, identify causes and effects, define, propose solutions, or argue for or against.
The form of the piece should be in traditional essay form, beginning with a thesis statement. The thesis statement should occur as early as possible in the introductory paragraph and should identify the specific part of the subject about which the piece is written. As stated previously, this will be the focus of the writing. This statement, or focus, should carry through the writing and should be a controlling vision that defines what will be said. The thesis statement should then be developed in successive supporting paragraphs in the essay body and must present details and explanations in an orderly way to make the often complicated ideas easily understood for the audience. The supporting paragraphs should make use of examples, facts, statistics, quotations, opposing views, and contrasting comparisons. They could also include judgment, criticism, persuasion, and argument. In a perfect world, the supporting paragraphs would answer the audience’s questions even as they form. The piece should end with a summary paragraph or conclusion which ties together all of the facts and might include solutions to issues. It should leave the audience with a clear and concise understanding of the topic discussed.
The writer’s voice and point of view should be consistent throughout the piece. The voice should be semiformal and avoid the use of slang terms or popular expressions. Words should be chosen for clarity and organized in an orderly and concise way. The third person point of view (he, she, they) should be used in all academic writing except when the writing focuses on personal experience.
Good academic writing does not happen by chance. It happens with a well conceived thesis, or focus, which comes from a well researched effort to identify, study, and analyze the facts of some appealing point of interest. It requires a holistic understanding of the related issues and the subsequent orderly, clear, and concise discussion of the purpose of the piece. It helps the audience to a deeper understanding of the topic and leaves them with something to think about and to question, perhaps keeping the premise of the piece alive long after it has been read.