1. Introduction to Academic Writing
Session 6
Introduction to Academic Writing

2. Learning outcomes for this session
At the completion of this session, you will:
Know:
What the requirements for academic writing are.
The difference between common forms of academic writing (such as essays, lab reports, case studies and journal articles).
Be able to:
Identify in-text and end text referencing.
Identify plagiarism in academic writing.

3. What is academic writing?
Is based on facts and data (i.e research, not opinions)
Sounds formal (uses an academic vocabulary)
Draws on (and therefore references) information from expert sources

4. *Is based on facts and data *Uses (and references) expert sources
When we research (i.e. we find the facts and data that we want to use in our assignments), we need to be careful to take note of whose work/information we are using, so that we can acknowledge (i.e reference) their contributions.
In different parts of the world, there are different approaches to how we use other people’s information, and show respect to those who wrote it.
In the Australian HE system, we re-write it
in our own words (which can be difficult to
do, you will need to practice the skill of
paraphrasing) and we always acknowledge the
original author with a citation/reference.

5. What does academic writing look like?
It is based on research, and that research is referenced (so we know where the idea came from)
According to Buote (2012), students who developed friendships on-campus were 72% more likely to continue with their course in times of difficulty, compared to students who did not develop friendships beyond the classroom. The on-campus friendships, which included informal ‘coffee catch-ups’ and library study sessions, provided opportunities for students to de-brief and de-stress when difficulties arose. Students reported that they were able to “put things into perspective” by talking to their friends, and this therefore contributed to their resilience.
Facts are used to explain the idea (not opinions or emotions)
Also note that it is written in a formal-sounding vocabulary (which uses academic words and avoids the first person perspective)

6. But I don’t normally write like that!
Nobody does, so don’t worry- you can learn how to do it (this will be one of the outcomes of your degree)
It won’t happen overnight, but you will develop these skills throughout your course - starting today .
We will start by:
Discussing what plagiarism is
Trying our hand at paraphrasing
Looking at different academic writing formats (such as essays, reports and case studies) to get a good
picture of what “academic writing” really is.

7. 1. Read page 177. Take notes on key points. Discuss with the class.
Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and is not acceptable in HE. A student’s writing contains plagiarism if they have done any of the following:
Copied writing from someone else’s work (a book, a website, another student’s essay etc)
Used ideas that someone else researched or developed without referencing the original source
Made mistakes with their paraphrasing and referencing (such as only putting some parts of the writing into their own words)
The Study Skills Handbook
1. Read page 177. Take notes on key points. Discuss with the class.

8. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means putting ideas into your own words (but you still reference where it came from!)
The reference is important for two reasons- 1) It acknowledges the original writer, and 2) It tells your lecturer what you were reading, i.e. :
Who the author is- maybe they’re an expert in the field?
And when it was published- recent information is best (because ideas become outdated and information superseded, over time)
And putting the paraphrase into your own words tells your lecturer that you have understood the information

9. Paraphrasing and referencing to avoid plagiarism
Activity: Compare several
attempts to paraphrase a
text, and identify which
ones are successful.
Activity: Discussion- How would you go about paraphrasing an article? (What steps are involved?) And as a class, develop a list of tips for paraphrasing

10. To avoid plagiarism, follow these steps:
Protect yourself:
Never give your work/ assignments to another student
Take notes when reading:
Always take note of where information has come from (where you read it, who wrote it)
Develop your skills:
Learn how to quote, paraphrase and reference properly

11. Writing structures Essays Reports Lab report Annotated bibliography
Case study
The Study Skills Handbook
1. Read ‘Common features of all
academic writing’ on pg. 287.

12. Preparing an academic assignment TAKES TIME
There are many steps involved- from
finding the facts and figures to answer the essay question (researching), to writing a draft (which will be in your everyday ‘voice’ or vocabulary), to ‘making it sound academic’ and then editing/formatting.
If you leave it until the last minute to do your assignment, you will not get the best mark that you are capable of (research shows that a ‘rough draft’ generally scores 20% less than a ‘final copy’).

13. The assignment writing process:
This can take 2+ weeks
This might take a week?
This might take another week?
You will need at least 24 hours for this

14. Words to add to your academic wordlist (with definitions):
Plagiarism
Paraphrasing
Citing (also called “In-text referencing”)
Quoting
Referencing
In-text referencing; End text referencing

15. Sources Used: Images: https://www.shutterstock.com/ Textbook:
All of the page numbers quoted on these slides refer to pages in:
Cottrell, S., The study skills handbook. 4 ed. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.