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ACADEMIC WRITING:FOUR CATEGORIES
Dr. Bret Zawilski, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and CompositionAppalachian State University, Boone NC USA
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DISCOURSECOMMUNITYGroups of individuals who share a common goal, a common terminology, and talk or write to one another about a specific set of topics.
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Four Broad Categories of Academic Writing
1. The Humanities2. The Social Sciences3. The Natural Sciences4. The Applied Fields
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The Humanities
▸ Interested in:▹ Human thought, and▹ Creativity
▸ Guiding Questions▹ How do we make sense of the world through
various forms of expression?▹ How do we interpret what we experience, or
make meaning for ourselves and others?
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The Humanities
▸ Humanistic writing explores the meaning of an artifact of human culture.
▸ These artifacts include:▹ Films, historical documents, comic strips,
paintings, poems, religious artifacts, video games, essays, photographs, songs, graffiti, social media content, and more.
▹ Anything created by humans.
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The Humanities
▸ Humanistic writing involves responding to other scholars’ ideas.
▸ Also frequently “thesis-driven”▹ Writers make a claim about an artifact,▹ Support that claim with specific evidence from
the artifact, and▹ Draw upon the work of other scholars who have
studied that artifact.
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The Humanities
▸ Uses the active voice in writing▹ Active: The girl chased the dog.
▹ The subject, “the girl” takes action.▹ Passive: The dog was chased by the girl.
▹ The subject, “girl” is obscured by being placed at the end of the sentence.
▹ Passive: The dog was chased.▹ The subject is omitted from the sentence.
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The Humanities
▸ Two common kinds of writing you might encounter as a student in the humanities▹ Textual Interpretation
▹ Makes a claim and support the claim▹ Artistic Texts
▹ Paintings, sculptures, songs, poems, stories, video games, short films
▹ Can be used as artifacts for further textual interpretation
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The Social Sciences
▸ Interested in:▹ Human behavior▹ Social structures
▸ Guiding Question▹ Why do we do what we do?
▸ Includes:▹ Psychology, sociology, anthropology,
communication studies, political science
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The Social Sciences
▸ Broad Examples of Social Science Research Questions:▹ What therapy options are available for
individuals with autism?▹ What are the effects of drug abuse on families?▹ What do the communication practices of
certain communities tell us about those communities?
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The Social Sciences
▸ Conventions differ across fields, but one commonality is the structure of writing:▹ Introduction▹ Methods▹ Results▹ Discussion
▸ Recently published research is valued more than older research
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The Social Sciences
▸ Two Kinds of Writing You May Encounter:▹ Literature Reviews
▹ Provide a detailed look a prior research that has been published on a topic
▹ Theory Response Essays▹ Ask students to apply a social science
theory to their own experiences
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The Natural Sciences
▸ Interested in:▹ Natural Phenomena▹ Laws of Nature
▸ Guiding Question▹ Why does that occur?
▸ Example:▹ Why do the stars appear to “twinkle” in the night
sky?
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The Natural Sciences
▸ Fields of Natural Science▹ Biology▹ Chemistry▹ Geology▹ Physics
▸ Often blended together▹ Biochemistry▹ Biophysics▹ Geophysics
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The Natural Sciences
▸ Research is guided by scientific method:▹ Observe a phenomenon▹ Ask a research question▹ Develop a hypothesis (a possible reason for the
phenomenon).▹ Test the hypothesis through experimentation▹ Explain the results of the experiment
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The Natural Sciences
▸ Important Conventions:▹ Objectivity▹ Replicability▹ Recency▹ Cooperation▹ Collaboration
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The Natural Sciences
▸ Kinds of Writing in the Natural Sciences:▹ The Observation Logbook
▹ Writing the catalogues observations and questions
▹ The Research Proposal▹ Used to gather thoughts, design complex
studies, acquire funding▹ The Lab Report
▹ Shares the findings of an experiment
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The Applied Fields
▸ Broader than previous groups▸ Includes fields such as:
▹ Sports psychology, business, law, education, counseling, public administration, many others.
▸ Research typically used to solve specific problems.
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The Applied Fields
▸ Professionals often:▹ Identify a problem▹ Ask why problem exists▹ Consider reasons behind the problem▹ Explore solutions to the problem
▸ Audience is usually mix of academic and non-academic individuals.
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The Applied Fields
▸ Kinds of writing directly connected with specific jobs or fields.▹ Nursing
▹ Patient release forms▹ Teacher
▹ Lesson plans▹ Lawyer
▹ Legal briefs
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The Applied Fields
▸ The one major commonality across the Applied Fields are the reliance on solving problems and using knowledge for practical purposes.
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In Conclusion
▸ The kinds of writing you encounter will be shaped by your academic field.
▸ There is not a single universal form or structure for academic writing.
▸ These videos aim to provide you with adaptable strategies that you can change to fit your chosen discipline.
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For an extra assignment, take 15 minutes to explore your academic field. Make a list of the kinds of writing you think you may perform in your future career. Which general group that we discussed is most similar to your field?
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ACADEMIC WRITING:FOUR CATEGORIES
Dr. Bret Zawilski, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and CompositionAppalachian State University, Boone NC USA