FIS 1311F (Fall, 2005) Writing Criteria
Some students, such as those who have recently completed an arts degree, will find the writing guidelines presented below to be obvious. However, for many students who do not have recent or significant experience with academic writing, the following is presented as a very brief and basic primer. Additional resources for help are included at the end.
Writing Style
It is important to get used to academic writing style which is different from other styles, such as business writing, journalism, etc. Academic style is always in the third person (that is, never use the words "I" "you", etc.). Sentences are usually short, terse, and precise. Sentences need to be complete: no bullets or point form. Avoid the use of highly colourful language, cliché, colloquialism, slang, and so forth. Also avoid contractions (e.g. "can't" vs. "cannot") and most abbreviations. Finally, good grammar and correct spelling are both essential ingredients of academic style. In short, academic style is dry, serious, precise and clear. Here is an example of non-academic and academic style:
Non-academic:
This article tried to argue that computers will one day replace paper, but I wasn't convinced at all, b/c the idea that you can just like replace newspapers with tiny little palm pilot screens or whatever is totally bogus, and ...
Academic:
The central idea presented here is that most uses for paper will eventually be replaced by digital media. However, there are three significant obstacles to this scenario that were not addressed by the authors. First ...
Citations
It is essential that you accurately cite both ideas and actual quotations from others that you have incorporated into your writing. Failure to do this constitutes plagiarism, which is a very serious academic offense. If in doubt, include a citation. Please use the citation format of American Psychology Association ("APA"), unless you have made special arrangements with the instructor or his assistants to use a different format. The Inforum offers a seminar on citations, and the Inforum staff can point you to additional resources. You may also use online guides, for example: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
Critical Analysis and Reasoning
Pay close attention to what the assignment is asking you to do. There is always an important purpose for an assignment beyond demonstrating that you have read and understood something. This is where critical analysis and reasoning are very important. By "critical", we mean being objective and evaluative rather than simply accepting what you read. Often (but not always) this also means being critical in the sense of looking for faults or problems overlooked by the authors of what you are commenting on. For example, the project profile assignment asks you to describe an ongoing technology project in the domain of information studies. Simply summarizing what you are able to find out is not enough for a high grade. The project profile assignment also suggests a number of questions you can address (you will not likely be able to address them all because of relevance, importance, and space limitations), and there are many more possibilities.
Consider this example of critical analysis and reasoning: you may happen read that a given technology project is consuming a very large proportion of a library's budget. You might wonder what is being eliminated to pay for it. You might then do some digging and learn things that lead you to conclude that the cost is too great to merit the project in terms of what is given up in return. In this case, the thesis may be that the project is technically sound but represents a poor policy decision for x number of reasons. Sources that you may investigate and cite to support your thesis could include articles that discuss the implications of downsizing public libraries, examples of libraries that have had problems from over-investing in technology, and so forth. In this hypothetical case, critical (that is, evaluative) analysis is demonstrated by investigating the context of the project that goes beyond the facts about the project that you have read. Reasoning is demonstrated by exploring costs and consequences of this and similar projects.
The most important rule in academic writing is that you cannot make a statement without supporting it with evidence. For example, you cannot say that a project was not well planned without being able to point to either: (a) specific evidence or reasoning that supports your contention (e.g. the outcome was delayed and over budget); or (b) the evidence and reasoning of another author that you cite.
Writing Structure
A piece of scholarly writing needs to have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The purpose of the introduction is to explain what you are writing about, and it should state your thesis. The thesis is a statement of the position you are taking with respect to what you are writing about. For example, if you are critiquing a scholarly journal article, your thesis might be that be that the research it describes is promising but incomplete in some concrete way(s). Or, your thesis could be that there is some critical flaw in the reasoning. It could even be that there are no flaws, and you are proposing implications of the research on something. The introduction should clearly list what issues you are going to discuss, so that it acts as a blueprint for the reader about how your writing will unfold.
The purpose of each body paragraph is to completely discuss one issue that you have raised. Short write-ups will nearly always have one issue per paragraph and one paragraph per issue.
The purpose of the conclusion is to briefly restate your thesis and remind the reader how you proved it in your body paragraphs. Sometimes it is good for a conclusion to finish with some brief speculation about future developments or implications, but they need to be clearly described as possibilities and predictions, not statements of certainty.
Getting Help
U of T offers writing lab services where you can get help. See www.utoronto.ca/writing and www.sgs.utoronto.ca/english . One other good way to improve your writing is to ask your classmates to proofread your work, and vice-versa.
FIS 1311F (Fall, 2005) Writing Guidelines
Some students, such as those who have recently completed an arts degree, will find the writing guidelines presented below to be obvious. However, for many students who do not have recent or significant experience with academic writing, the following is presented as a very brief and basic primer. Additional resources for help are included at the end.
Writing Style
It is important to get used to academic writing style which is different from other styles, such as business writing, journalism, etc. Academic style is always in the third person (that is, never use the words "I" "you", etc.). Sentences are usually short, terse, and precise. Sentences need to be complete: no bullets or point form. Avoid the use of highly colourful language, cliché, colloquialism, slang, and so forth. Also avoid contractions (e.g. "can't" vs. "cannot") and most abbreviations. Finally, good grammar and correct spelling are both essential ingredients of academic style. In short, academic style is dry, serious, precise and clear. Here is an example of non-academic and academic style:
Non-academic:
This article tried to argue that computers will one day replace paper, but I wasn't convinced at all, b/c the idea that you can just like replace newspapers with tiny little palm pilot screens or whatever is totally bogus, and ...Academic:
The central idea presented here is that most uses for paper will eventually be replaced by digital media. However, there are three significant obstacles to this scenario that were not addressed by the authors. First ...
Citations
It is essential that you accurately cite both ideas and actual quotations from others that you have incorporated into your writing. Failure to do this constitutes plagiarism, which is a very serious academic offense. If in doubt, include a citation. Please use the citation format of American Psychology Association ("APA"), unless you have made special arrangements with the instructor or his assistants to use a different format. The Inforum offers a seminar on citations, and the Inforum staff can point you to additional resources. You may also use online guides, for example: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
Critical Analysis and Reasoning
Pay close attention to what the assignment is asking you to do. There is always an important purpose for an assignment beyond demonstrating that you have read and understood something. This is where critical analysis and reasoning are very important. By "critical", we mean being objective and evaluative rather than simply accepting what you read. Often (but not always) this also means being critical in the sense of looking for faults or problems overlooked by the authors of what you are commenting on. For example, the project profile assignment asks you to describe an ongoing technology project in the domain of information studies. Simply summarizing what you are able to find out is not enough for a high grade. The project profile assignment also suggests a number of questions you can address (you will not likely be able to address them all because of relevance, importance, and space limitations), and there are many more possibilities.
Consider this example of critical analysis and reasoning: you may happen read that a given technology project is consuming a very large proportion of a library's budget. You might wonder what is being eliminated to pay for it. You might then do some digging and learn things that lead you to conclude that the cost is too great to merit the project in terms of what is given up in return. In this case, the thesis may be that the project is technically sound but represents a poor policy decision for x number of reasons. Sources that you may investigate and cite to support your thesis could include articles that discuss the implications of downsizing public libraries, examples of libraries that have had problems from over-investing in technology, and so forth. In this hypothetical case, critical (that is, evaluative) analysis is demonstrated by investigating the context of the project that goes beyond the facts about the project that you have read. Reasoning is demonstrated by exploring costs and consequences of this and similar projects.
The most important rule in academic writing is that you cannot make a statement without supporting it with evidence. For example, you cannot say that a project was not well planned without being able to point to either: (a) specific evidence or reasoning that supports your contention (e.g. the outcome was delayed and over budget); or (b) the evidence and reasoning of another author that you cite.
Writing Structure
A piece of scholarly writing needs to have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The purpose of the introduction is to explain what you are writing about, and it should state your thesis. The thesis is a statement of the position you are taking with respect to what you are writing about. For example, if you are critiquing a scholarly journal article, your thesis might be that be that the research it describes is promising but incomplete in some concrete way(s). Or, your thesis could be that there is some critical flaw in the reasoning. It could even be that there are no flaws, and you are proposing implications of the research on something. The introduction should clearly list what issues you are going to discuss, so that it acts as a blueprint for the reader about how your writing will unfold.
The purpose of each body paragraph is to completely discuss one issue that you have raised. Short write-ups will nearly always have one issue per paragraph and one paragraph per issue.
The purpose of the conclusion is to briefly restate your thesis and remind the reader how you proved it in your body paragraphs. Sometimes it is good for a conclusion to finish with some brief speculation about future developments or implications, but they need to be clearly described as possibilities and predictions, not statements of certainty.
Getting Help
U of T offers writing lab services where you can get help. See www.utoronto.ca/writing and www.sgs.utoronto.ca/english . One other good way to improve your writing is to ask your classmates to proofread your work, and vice-versa.