Introduction to Academic Writing

Introduction to Academic Writing: Tardy’s Example(2010)

          In Tardy’s (2010) article, the author depicts a lesson in which students are introduced to academic writing. Doing research, summarizing, paraphrasing, citing and using impersonal formal style are some of the academic literacy skills required to become an expert while avoiding plagiarism. As being a multiple linguistic resourcer encounters many challenges, this lesson shows how those skills may be approached.

          The writer explains that the choice of Wikipedia as a starting point has many advantages to introduce students in the academic world. Not only does Wikipedia offer collaborative writing, but it also aims at a real audience. Furthermore, the website provides many samples in order to meet and be aware of its own requirements such as the number of words or how sources must be cited.

           Once students have been acquainted with the wiki world as well as the genre conventions, collecting information comes first. Summarizing and paraphrasing become crucial skills at the outlining stage, therefore, plagiarism is prevented. Drafting and revising follow - being collaborative writing crucial at this stage.

          The next step involves quoting; in-text citations as well as a reference list are required so that students need to be aware of their conventions. One feature of Wikipedia texts is the use of wiki links; this implies looking for words that may need further clarification and link them with the corresponding article within Wikipedia. After proofreading, the publishing stage finally arrives.

          To conclude, the writer has presented a description of how to initiate learners in academic writing taking into account both the multiple skills required for these types of genres as well as the process-based and genre-based approaches to writing.

 

 

References

Tardy, C. M. (2010). Writing for the world: Wikipedia as an introduction to
     academic writing. Retrieved from  English Teaching Forum,1, pp. 12-19, 27.