Academic writing

What is academic writing?
That was the first question we had to consider at the Doctoral Training Workshop on academic literacy run by Theresa Lillis.

Answers included:

• formal writing beyond reports
• e.g. essays, thesis, dissertations, conference abstracts & papers,
• very exact, saying precisely what is meant
• argument laying out reasons for a position
• referenced, structured, a particular genre and style
• emotionally detached in the sense of being objective
• coherent
• a process

Another question was
What do I feel or think about academic writing?
Personally, I worry, don't like arguing and fear I lack opinions, but also that if I don't lack opinions that someone will attack my opinion, identifying its flaws, that my arguments won't stand up to scrutiny or that I'm using the wrong words, too many words, and being imprescise. Other students mentioned dense or long winded writing and unfamiliarity. That sounds to me like reading academic writing whereas I was thinking about writing academic writing.

Nevertheless, on five minutes free writing, I was delighted to find that I had thoughts to put to paper on an idea related to my current thinking on accountability. I know writing is hard work, but it is very satisfying when you produce something.

Here are some useful texts on the topic:

• Potter, S., (ed) 2006, Doing postgraduate research, chapter 6 on Academic Writing
• Swales, J., & Freak, C., 2004, Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills,
• Writing down the bones, Natalie Naimark-Goldberg

This last one is not necessarily about academic writing, but perhaps more creative and one that I read some years ago, but I noticed a colleague at the DTW had a copy and said she liked it, so I intend to reread it.