ACADEMIC WRITING.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

COMMON MISTAKES OF ACADEMIC WRITING.

Academic writing comes with so much Criticism these days. Some trends of Feedback related to Academic writing especially at PG Level claim Students;

1. – Fails to answer the question or to address the topic appropriately. You have tried to meet the requirements of the assignment brief. However, it lacks clarity.

2. – Poor structure. There are few clear links between statements or sections, and the assignment is descriptive.

3. – Little convincing or supported argument is presented, demonstrating a limited understanding of the topic.

4. – Some evidence is included but this is limited. Omissions and errors in referencing are evident. Adhere to APA referencing style.

 

 Unfortunately, in a failed attempt to address the issue in question, the experts quickly state that you have failed this assignment as you have not addressed the learning outcomes and you have not achieved the required standard to receive a passing grade of 40% or more. And the Student is required to please carefully consider the comments and those on his/her script to help support and improve in next assignment.  Whereas if a sample guide with similar structure and standard was given to students, then marked and a feedback given to individual students to enable them know their strengths and weaknesses would have better reduce the level of mass failures this experts produce then blame it on the students . 

Other query associated with this mistakes are; You will be contacted after the exam board to be advised if you are eligible or not for another attempt to pass this assignment.  The exam board typically sits the month after the module ends.  If you are eligible for another attempt, you will be able to resubmit your improved work on a set date around the middle of the following semester.  Please check your email regularly / SOLAR at the end of the module so you are aware of these dates.  Both coursework items must be passed to pass this module. Please seek support from the Centre for Academic Writing, Academic Liaison Librarian, your personal tutor, and the module teaching team.  If you require clarification about any comments on your script, please email the marker stated above. 

 

But to have an excellent grade, the student needs to address the question fully, including excellent summaries, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation. At the higher end the assignment may demonstrate originality and creativity showing COHERENCE, ARGUMENT and  EVIDENCE.

 

ANSWERING – You SHOULD write in response to the learning outcome or Link to Learning Objectives. Critically Analysing, Synthesising with evaluations.

COHERENCE – In other formats, writing usually follows the same overall structure: Introduction, Main body and Conclusion. Introduction could include: Definition of Term/Thesis, Scope and Origin of Term/Thesis, Statistical Analysis or Background of Term. In the main body each point is presented, explored and developed. The conclusion brings together the main points, and will highlight the key message or argument.

ARGUMENT – Your argument is an express of your viewpoint or opinion from what you read. Read the article, considering the evidence and drawing your own conclusion. e.g “To date there is no well-established tool to measure divided attention in children. Current methods used to assess divided attention usually involve a variation of the CPT with an additional task included e.g. counting or listening to auditory stimuli (Salthouse, 2003).”

EVIDENCE – Academic writing must be supported by evidence such as data, facts, quotations, arguments, statistics, research, and theories. APA Style In-text Citations and Referencing list 7th Edition is recommended. Kindly refer to what your academicians need.

 

 

Lets outline and address this issues;

1. To fix APA Style In-text Citations and Referencing list 7th Edition kindly follow this link J2771-21_APA_Guide_Amendments_April_2021_Digital_Interactive_Version_FINAL.pdf (coventry.ac.uk)

2. To fix Clarity about Evaluating a Policy or an issue, please have a look at this link The 7 Types of Evaluation You Need to Know (atlan.com)

3. Carefully surf through your Course brief to know what the Experts/lecturers/Module Leader etc, wants. In all cases no one failed, its just that the stakeholders involved (e.g Students and Module Leaders) did not get what they wanted and it in-turn leads to Negative writing.

You can as well add your views. T

Academic writing comes with so much Criticism these days. Some trends of Feedback related to Academic writing especially at PG Level claim Students;

1. – Fails to answer the question or to address the topic appropriately. You have tried to meet the requirements of the assignment brief. However, it lacks clarity.

2. – Poor structure. There are few clear links between statements or sections, and the assignment is descriptive.

3. – Little convincing or supported argument is presented, demonstrating a limited understanding of the topic.

4. – Some evidence is included but this is limited. Omissions and errors in referencing are evident. Adhere to APA referencing style.

 

 Unfortunately, in a failed attempt to address the issue in question, the experts quickly state that you have failed this assignment as you have not addressed the learning outcomes and you have not achieved the required standard to receive a passing grade of 40% or more. And the Student is required to please carefully consider the comments and those on his/her script to help support and improve in next assignment.  Whereas if a sample guide with similar structure and standard was given to students, then marked and a feedback given to individual students to enable them know their strengths and weaknesses would have better reduce the level of mass failures this experts produce then blame it on the students . 

Other query associated with this mistakes are; You will be contacted after the exam board to be advised if you are eligible or not for another attempt to pass this assignment.  The exam board typically sits the month after the module ends.  If you are eligible for another attempt, you will be able to resubmit your improved work on a set date around the middle of the following semester.  Please check your email regularly / SOLAR at the end of the module so you are aware of these dates.  Both coursework items must be passed to pass this module. Please seek support from the Centre for Academic Writing, Academic Liaison Librarian, your personal tutor, and the module teaching team.  If you require clarification about any comments on your script, please email the marker stated above. 

 

But to have an excellent grade, the student needs to address the question fully, including excellent summaries, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation. At the higher end the assignment may demonstrate originality and creativity showing COHERENCE, ARGUMENT and  EVIDENCE.

 

Key areas to take note of……….

ANSWERING – You SHOULD write in response to the learning outcome or Link to Learning Objectives. Critically Analyzing, Synthesizing with evaluations.

COHERENCE – In other formats, writing usually follows the same overall structure: Introduction, Main body and Conclusion. Introduction could include: Definition of Term/Thesis, Scope and Origin of Term/Thesis, Statistical Analysis or Background of Term. In the main body each point is presented, explored and developed. The conclusion brings together the main points, and will highlight the key message or argument.

ARGUMENT – Your argument is an express of your viewpoint or opinion from what you read. Read the article, considering the evidence and drawing your own conclusion. e.g “To date there is no well-established tool to measure divided attention in children. Current methods used to assess divided attention usually involve a variation of the CPT with an additional task included e.g. counting or listening to auditory stimuli (Salthouse, 2003).”

EVIDENCE – APA Style In-text Citations and Referencing list 7th Edition.

 

 

Lets outline and address this issues;

1. To fix APA Style In-text Citations and Referencing list 7th Edition kindly follow this link J2771-21_APA_Guide_Amendments_April_2021_Digital_Interactive_Version_FINAL.pdf (coventry.ac.uk)

2. To fix Clarity about Evaluating a Policy or an issue, please have a look at this link The 7 Types of Evaluation You Need to Know (atlan.com)

3. To fix Paragraph Structure and Cohesion CLICK this link https://files.coventry.aula.education/10c4f7c424ae565e7eeede4bc6420ac7paragraph_structure_and_cohesion.pptx

4. To fix Reflective Writing Click this link https://files.coventry.aula.education/e3d04f1061c53f76e9f50263891c787creflective_writing.docx

5. To fix Critical Writing click this link files Coventry aula education

6. To fix your overview on Academic English Writing Click this link files coventry aula education

7. Carefully surf through your Course brief to know what the Experts/lecturers/Module Leader etc, wants. In all cases no one failed, its just that the stakeholders involved (e.g Students and Module Leaders) did not get what they wanted and it in-turn leads to Negative writing.

You can as well add your views. Thank You.

 

 

 

By Ubine M. J.