Academic Writing,

Audience and Purpose,

Topics, and Prewriting

Presentation Outline

• What is academic writing?

• Who is your audience?

• What is your purpose?

• How do you choose a topic?

• What is the writing process and prewriting?

What is academic

writing?

ACADEMIC WRITING

• Academic writing is formal.– You should not use contractions such as I’m, don’t, or

can’t.

– You should not use symbols such as & (and), @ (at) or

+ (in addition, plus). Instead, you should spell the

word.

• Academic writing uses strong support.– Your writing relies on evidence and facts rather than

feeling, likes, or dislikes. Your examples use details.

• Academic writing is free from error.– You must use logic, correct spelling,

grammar, punctuation, and capitalization,

strong vocabulary, and MLA format in

English classes.

Academic Writing vs.

e-Writing and Communication

Why we should avoid writing the way we talk or write in

the electronic world:

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake in Hashtag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA

Let’s discuss:

• What do you notice about this conversation?

• How does their talking differ from what we need to

accomplish in academic writing?

Who is your audience?

Who is your audience?

• Your teacher is not your

only audience member.

• When you write in

academia, your work is

often shared with many

people: classmates,

college students at other

schools, scholars around

the globe.

– This is one of the reasons

why our writing must follow a

specific format (MLA) and

should be free from errors.

• Here’s an important

question: should you care

what your audience

thinks?

What is your purpose

for writing?

What is your purpose for

writing?

• We do not write for ourselves. Writing is a

way to communicate with others to:– Inspire others

– Inform others (Teach)

– Entertain others

– Persuade others

– Challenge others or debate with others

• Our purpose may change with each

writing assignment!

• If you struggle with an assignment,

stop and consider your purpose.

How do you choose a

topic?

How do you choose a topic?

• Often, we are assigned a topic to write

about. For example, pretend you have been

given this prompt in a health class:– Should California lower the legal age to drink? Explain

why or why not.• Topic: Lowering the legal drinking age

• How would you begin to think about this

topic, research your topic, and gather

support for your paper?

How do you choose a topic?

Broad topics

• Broad topics give you a

lot of room!

– Food

Limited topics

• Limited topics give you

moderate room to

choose.

– Candy

How do you choose a topic?

Narrow Topics

• Narrow topics have very

little space!

– Snickers bar

Broad, Limited, and Narrow

• Note that each one gets

more specific!

– Food

• Candy

– Snickers bar

Broad, Limited, and

Narrow

Note: It would be very boring to

read a 20 page paper about a

Snickers bar.

Broad topics work well for long

works such as novels. These

broad topics are often considered

themes in a book. For example:

love, family, and forgiveness.

These are all broad ideas with a lot

of room for interpretation.

Thus, these topics often will have

different page lengths.

If you are given a broad topic to

write about, it will often be your

responsibility to choose what to

limit or narrow the topic. Always

ask your instructor for guidance!

What is the writing

process and

prewriting?

What is the writing process?

• Nothing is ever done well without following some

sure-guided steps.

• The writing process has 5 steps:

– Prewriting: We generate ideas to figure out what we

want to say about a topic.

– Organizing and Outlining: We group ideas, eliminate

ideas, and plan an order of discussion for the ideas we

generated in prewriting.

– Drafting: We write without worry!

– Revising: We rewrite several times to

enhance our ideas.

– Editing and Proofreading: We correct our

grammar, spelling, and formatting

before turning in our work

Why should we

bother following a

process?

• Benefits to following the

writing process:– You have a chance to make your work better

before receiving a final grade.

– You grow a stronger voice and write with

confidence.

– It is less stressful than writing overnight and

worrying about what grade you will receive.

– You will note that you do not have an option in

my class. You must turn in every step of the

writing process for your paragraph and essay

assignments.

Often, students will write a paper

overnight with the idea that it is

better to turn in something rather

than nothing.

In college, this is unacceptable.

Most professors will not grade work

that is poorly written.

Think of it this way: would you

prepare for a job interview the

morning of the interview? If you

did, the outcome would likely be

undesirable.

If you just threw a cake together

without adding ingredients in a

proper order, the outcome would

likely be disastrous!

Step 1: Prewriting

• If there are benefits to following a process, then we

start at the beginning! Beginnings are exciting!

• Here’s an inspiring quote from one of my favorite

artists to help you start:

– “Art is the absence of fear.”

Erykah Badu