Academic
writing for business and engineering majors
by
Fung Lan Yong
Page 13, The Borneo Post
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Undergraduates
of various disciplines, especially those majoring in business and engineering,
need effective academic writing skills to fulfill their course
requirements. It enables them to
communicate succinctly in various situations, including research/report writing
and presentations. In brief, scholastic
performance and communication of undergraduates rely heavily on effective
academic writing.
Characteristics of academic writing
Effective
academic writing enables university students to achieve learning outcomes since
most courses require it to demonstrate subject matter mastery. Most business or
engineering students are required to take academic writing to gain expertise in
professional writing. Besides helping
them to write their final-year thesis, such writing skills are also needed for
them to climb the professional ladder long after graduation.
To make a successful
transition from school writing to academic writing at university, students need
to know the main characteristics of an academic paper. It should reflect
scholarship, presenting an informed argument on a topic or issue through analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation of relevant information.
Analyzing requires students to dissect
associations and reactions concerning an issue critically – by segmenting the
topic and then relating each part to whole.
Synthesizing encourages students to
seek connections between ideas. While
analyzing allows them to make disparate observations or perspectives,
synthesizing requires them to create an umbrella argument that merges the
separate elements.
Evaluating a topic allows students to
articulate and support their own response – by clarifying what aspects in a
text lead them to respond in a certain way.
In brief, while analyzing requires students to examine an issue from
different angles, synthesis and evaluation encourage them to integrate
information and make informed decisions concerning it.
Structure
of an academic paper
Different courses have different
expectations in terms of what effective academic writing is. Since business and engineering majors have
their own formats for essays, reports, or case studies, students should know
the expectations to be on target.
Although there are many ways to organize an academic paper, it usually
contains an introduction, some body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
The introduction conveys some
background information on the topic and the writer’s rhetorical stance. Background information can be obtained by
conducting a review of literature, usually by summarizing and integrating
various views concerning the topic. The
rhetorical stance reflects the writer’s stand on the topic, taking the audience
into account. Stated as a thesis
statement, the stance usually appears at the end of the introduction, presenting
an arguable or controversial point.
After presenting the argument, the
writer should also acknowledge the opponents, considering various opposing
views. This can be done by anticipating
what the opposition might say and then determining where and how to rebut
it. The writer can dismiss the
opposition in the first paragraph or rebut its arguments point by point.
To
support the argument convincingly, body paragraphs are essential. Declaring its relationship to the thesis
statement, a body paragraph contains a topic sentence upon which supporting
ideas and details are established. The topic sentence declares the argument of
a particular paragraph, usually appearing at its beginning. Besides declaring a
single point of the argument, it should also be clearly related to the previous
paragraph. To expand a body paragraph,
primary or secondary sources (with proper citations) can be used as supportive
evidence.
An
effective conclusion should be persuasive; hence it requires more than just
summarizing the main ideas. Writers can
highlight their own contribution, for instance, by adding fresh insight and new
dimensions to the literature review.
Further, they may acknowledge the opposition to indicate that they have
won the argument. They may also provide
recommendations on how to deal with a contentious issue. Overall, an effective conclusion usually
contains crucial points that will resound in the reader’s mind; by reinforcing
the main ideas, the conclusion offers readers something to ponder.
Tips
on effective academic writing
Successful
academic writing conveys the intended message with an appropriate layout and
sentence structure and vocabulary.
Layout
is the first thing readers notice upon receiving a piece of writing. Since long paragraphs tend to be tedious,
written documents should have a reasonable amount of white space and be
presented in appropriate chunks.
Appropriate
sentence structure and vocabulary enable writers to convey their intended
meanings accurately and ensure understanding at the first reading. To maintain
consistency and sequence, sign-posts and connective words/phrases should be
used.
Business and engineering
are rather rich in technical terms.
However, business and engineering people often write for non-technical
readers. Hence, to facilitate
understanding among a broad audience, writers should put everything in
layperson terms. Clear, concise writing
on a complex topic prompts readers to continue reading, but unfamiliar language
dispels them. While using difficult words
shows the writer’s penchant for jargon, producing a clear message reflects his
or her subject matter mastery as well as mastery in verbal communication.
Finally, successful academic writing at
university is an important graduate attribute; it prepares students to
communicate effectively in both local and international settings. Hence, it is crucial for business and
engineering students to acknowledge academic writing as a soft skill that
demands critical thinking skills as well as knowledge of appropriate layout, structure and
vocabulary, and language use.
