Time to Transition to the Academic Style
By Randee Baty at The Lukeion Project
Academic writing is what is going to be required of students as they begin their more rigorous high school classes and their college classes. This is an objective, structured, third-person style of writing that is not taught in younger grades. It can be a challenge for some students at first. They are used to being told that colorful adjectives and adverbs are good, which they are, but not in academic writing. They are accustomed to giving their opinions, which is good, but not in academic writing. They are comfortable with being told that using their imagination is good, which it is, but academic writing uses the imagination in a different way.
Taking on this challenge should begin by 8th or 9th grade. Unless they are specifically taking creative writing classes or enjoying personal writing time, creative writing skills will not be used much in class after this point. It was a great gateway to writing, but –at least for now— creative writing will be more of a hobby or stress-reducer.
At this point, what a student thinks or feels about a subject or topic becomes less important than what they can give evidence for and what they can discuss analytically. Some students are shocked to realize that most high school teachers and professors do not much care what the student thinks about the topic they are studying or assigned to write about. Those instructors will expect to see well-written thesis statements that are back up by evidence rather than opinion. How a student feels about something will matter little. What a student can provide evidence to support is everything. Instructors will normally start expecting academic writing from their students as they mature through high school and move to college level work.
Academic writing is how one scholar, the student, talks to another scholar, their professor. Academic writing has certain conventions that those professors assume will be used, such as formatting the paper according to specific guidelines, writing in a third-person point of view, staying in a formal, academic tone, using source citation, and creating an argument that they can support with evidence in a clear, logical manner.
For some parents, this is the point where they become uncomfortable judging their student’s writing because it may have been many years since they did this type of writing themselves. They are unsure how to help their student master this skill and how to judge whether the student is becoming a strong academic writer or not. Here are some of the guidelines to help parents know if their student is on track to become a strong academic writer as they must in rigorous high school classes and in a good college.
Formatting is Key
Formatting is far more important than most students believe. Professors are going to ask most commonly for MLA or APA formatting. If they ask for it, the student must know what is being asked for and provide it. The professor will not ask for it if they are not going to grade on the student’s ability to format their paper in that style. The best guide to both styles is in the Purdue Owl. Their information is usually easier to use than the style guides provided by the organizations that write these styles. Formatting matters, and students must learn to employ it well whether they understand why or not.
Be Clear
Academic writing uses few adjectives or adverbs, modifiers, or intensifiers. While students may have learned to use these extensively to create imaginative stories, they are not used any more than necessary in academic writing. Scholarly writing is clear and straight to the point without unnecessary words. Getting to the point as quickly and clearly as possible is how academic writing is done. Clarity is valued above technique. If modifiers or intensifiers are required, then the writer did not use the correct word to begin with. Common modifiers are not necessary but are just a habit of the author, such as using the word “very.” Eliminating unnecessary modifiers will make writing more powerful and concise.
Be Concise
To go along with the previous point, academic writing is concise. Complex thoughts must be expressed in the simplest way with the fewest words possible. If you have read academic articles or papers that feel like you are wading through mud, you know why concision is a desired quality of academic writing. Do not pad the paper, do not add fluff, and do not use any words that are not needed to convey the intended meaning. Cut ruthlessly!
Be Precise
Academic writing is specific. Some students think this contradicts the idea of using few adjectives and adverbs, but it does not. Being specific refers to giving the necessary details and using the precise word that conveys the intended meaning. It means saying “rose” instead of “flower.” It means saying “Paris” instead of “the city.” It means giving specific quantities instead of vague generalities. Specificity is what makes writing interesting. I had a student draft a paper over a surgery she had, but by the end of the paper, I had no idea what the surgery was for. After using my feedback to revise her paper, I still had no idea what the surgery was for. Having read two versions of the paper, I had still had no idea if the surgery was on her hand, foot, head, or where it was. That lack of specificity made the paper not only uninteresting to read, but ineffective in conveying the information she wanted me to know. Be as specific as possible.
Most parents should have their student take some classes in academic writing to help them learn how to write arguments, use research sources, and put together strong introductions and conclusions. Parents can give the students a good start by working on some of these aspects of their student’s writing earlier rather than later and then encouraging the jump from creative pieces to analytical writing by early high school.
