The Pros And Cons Of Academic Writing

Most of us don’t know what academic writing is, or what it entails. The majority of us are just as lost as the subject matter as our other classmates. The following two pieces, on academic writing, focus on what the individual should be doing, as they begin their college writing experience. The topics discussed relate to the main idea of academic writing and what it will involve for the novice writer. Academic writing proves to be a challenging skill to grasp and fully understand, but with effort and time, can be comprehended.

From Inquiry To Academic Writing, written by Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky, academic writing is described as “what scholars do to communicate with other scholars in their fields of study”. This, of course, is the simplest

Leanie Irvin’s article “What is “Academic” Writing?”, focuses on addressing the college freshmen who are clueless when it comes to this skill. Irvin tells the reader to sit back as he digs deep into all components of this writing task as he begins to spell out how to correctly do each element.

“What is “Academic” Writing?” (2010) contains key tips on how to become a successful academic writer as well. Throughout the pages, various headings introduce each aspect needed to be considered or cultivated. Some of these include the ability to read and analyze complex texts, as well as presenting an argument using thoughtful structure and support. In addition, the article is broken apart in these such sections to clearly inform and educate the audience/reader on these important characteristics.

In Irvin’s article, (2010) his talent and knowledge of writing is demonstrated, the published article is a well-organized, informative and cohesive piece. He manages to explain in great detail, while using evidence and metaphorical situations to support his

Irwin lists out several of these common myths that students may believe. One such example of a common myth is the concept of the “The Five Paragraph Essay”. This format has been taught at a young age and has been continuously drilled into our minds for years when, in fact, it turns out this format should be outgrown and will not always be the most useful writing style. This will have to be gauged by the writer whether it is appropriate for the particular writing assignment.

Irvin stresses to ask yourself when you begin to write “Who’s your audience?” to ensure your communication is effective to the reader (2010). Irvin spells this out when he says, “Novice writers often write as if they were mumbling to themselves in the corner with no sense that their writing will be read by a reader or any sense of the context within which their communication will be received”(Page 6). Irvin is clearly articulating that new writers don’t properly address the reader and keep them in consideration, instead they ramble with only their own understanding in