Writing
In this course, you will learn to follow a pattern to produce a one page essay. Your essay will
be a direct response to a question. You will practice using different kinds of writing to
complete an academic paper. The important thing to remember in writing for this course is
that academic writing may be a new kind of writing for you. This means you may have to
make changes in your usual style of writing.
The use of academic writing for undergraduate students is necessary because in your classes,
you will have to write papers. Writing is used at university to give expression to your
learning. Writing a paper allows you to collect some knowledge and apply it to an idea, a
plan or an issue. It is the way academics work with words to develop theory or explain
practice. Writing allows you the scope to try new ideas, exercise your analytical skills and
stretch your expressive ability.
The academic writing you do in this course is a one page paper called a “theme”. A theme
covers one idea, developed in five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs and a
conclusion. By writing this kind of paper, you gain practice in the separate jobs of each of
these types of paragraphs. You will begin to see what to include in an introduction, how
much detail to use in the body, and what makes a strong conclusion. This kind of writing
experience will help you throughout your academic career and beyond.
One of the key elements of good writing is clarity. The words must make clear sense to the
reader and they must not leave any doubts or confusion in the mind of the reader. Academic
writing seeks to explain, to build knowledge and to make logical connections. This is your
goal, and your writing must work to achieve it. Your teacher will have suggestions for you to
refine your language, reduce your words, or think through the logic of your writing. Follow
these suggestions to create a well-reasoned, well-written paper.