1. Introduction to Academic Writing OLT Residential Orientation
Monika Landenhamer, MLIS, M.A.
Based on a presentation by
Linda Riebel, Ph.D.,
Faculty member at Saybrook University
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - RO - Fall Landenhamer

2. Outline Importance of basic grammar Seven varieties of writing
Consult a basic guide to grammar (
Seven varieties of writing
Persuasive, Journalistic, Confessional, Popular, Textbook, Academic, Wisdom
Your task:
Use critical thinking
Avoid errors of content
Differentiate between acceptable vs. unacceptable sources
Learn APA style
Follow authentic writing and avoid plagiarism
Final thoughts
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - RO - Fall Landenhamer

3. Your first job is to write clear and understandable sentences.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

4. Don’t underestimate the importance of this basic task!
 Writing samples
About two years ago, a wart appeared on my left hand, which I wanted removed.
According to the report, a vehicle apparently ran off Ketch Road and
struck the mailbox as it attempted to get back on the roadway.
As a baboon who grew up wild in the jungle, I realized that Wiki had special nutritional needs.   
Lederer, R. (1987). Anguished English: An anthology of accidental assaults upon our language. New York, NY: Laurel.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

5. Think this could not happen to you?
Here are some sentences from Saybrook student papers:
As a leader of a group you must be prepared to take these barriers in stride, it is known by research that changing years of problems will take time and will be difficult to overcome.
It is a viscous cycle that has no end.
Another one of the top goals is to be group integrity, and a construction of an atmosphere of trust.
For examples of clear expressions in active voice see: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Chapter 3 “Grammar and Usage,” pp
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

6. Seven Varieties of Writing
Think of these as different languages. You may, during your lifetime, employ more than one of them.
Persuasive Advertisement, political statement
Popular I'm Ok, You're Ok
Confessional Memoir
Journalistic Newspaper article
Textbook Social Psychology and the Modern World
Academic Article in Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences
Wisdom The Meaning of Anxiety
See also: Pipher, M. (2006). Writing to change the world. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Part 1: What we alone can say (pp )
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

7. In the following slides, I will show you how one topic
– driving while talking on the phone –
can be treated in 7 different writing styles.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

8. Persuasion Hang up and drive.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - RO - Fall Landenhamer

9. Traits of persuasive writing: For the general reader Catchy phrases
For the general reader
Catchy phrases
Emotional or even sensational language
Political and or marketing slogans
Easy to remember
Creating interest
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

10. Dial ‘n’ Drive – A New Habit That Can Kill You!
Popular
Dial ‘n’ Drive – A New Habit That Can Kill You!
Seventeen-year-old Randy had just gotten his driver’s license when a friend called him on his cell phone. Randy took his hand off the steering wheel to answer the call, glanced down to see who was on the line, and plowed into the car ahead of him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

11. Traits of popular writing: For the general reader Catchy phrases
For the general reader
Catchy phrases
Emotional or even sensational language
Anecdotes
May recreate unknowable scenarios
[Sequel will be called Texting: The Sure Road to Sudden Death!]
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - RO - Fall Landenhamer

12. Confessional
When cell phones were first invented, I was ecstatic. I could reach my business contacts when I was in the elevator or at lunch – no more fear of missing important calls! Of course, I didn’t call while driving, but I took the phone with me in case of emergency. Then I began using the cell phone in the car for business emergencies. Over time, my definition of “emergency” became so broad that I was talking on the phone most of the time I was driving. Then a close friend was paralyzed in an accident caused by a driver who was talking on her cell phone.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

13. Traits of confessional writing: Personal reflection
Reveals writer’s interior life, including less-than-admirable traits
Develops over time
Readable but not sensational prose
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

14. Journalistic
Today the governor signed a bill to restrict the use of cell phones by drivers. Police departments and emergency room officials applauded the move, while opponents claim it infringes on personal liberty.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

15. Traits of journalistic writing: For the general reader
For the general reader
Linked to current events
Gives various viewpoints
Sources may be unspecified or may not be given at all (journalists may protect their sources)
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

16. Textbook
As you review the following case studies, remember that driving while talking on the phone has been studied by researchers from several fields, such as perception, neurology, behavioral economics, decision theory, and accident prevention. Overall, the following factors have been implicated in the death rate among cell phone users: divided attention, delayed response time, and overconfidence in one’s degree of control.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

17. Traits of textbook writing:
For targeted audience (age/education level varies)
Addresses reader/student directly
Summarizes and synthesizes research from a variety of sources
Prose and vocabulary may be at higher level than popular and journalistic styles.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

18. Academic
The scientific literature exploring the effects of these two types of cell phone use (hand-held vs. hands-free) on driving and driving-related performance is reviewed here. Our review shows that talking on the phone, regardless of phone type, has negative impacts on performance, especially in detecting and identifying events. Performance while using a hands-free phone was rarely found to be better than when using a handheld phone. Current research does not support the decision to allow hands-free phone use while driving.
Ishigami, Y., & Klein, R. M. (2009). Is a hands-free phone safer than a handheld phone? Journal of Safety Research,40(2),
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

19. Traits of academic writing: Typically narrow in focus and conclusions
Typically narrow in focus and conclusions
Based on facts (not anecdotes or personal reflections)
Neutral language, active voice (in APA style)
More complex sentence structure
Sources given in a reference list at end
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

20. Wisdom
Some of us are so dazzled by the many opportunities offered by our society that we want them all. We don’t believe we must relinquish one thing in order to have another. So what if time is a limited resource? In our hubris, we try to defeat this fundamental reality by doing several things at once. This failure to make existential choices underlies our tendency to talk on the telephone while navigating a half-ton vehicle through busy traffic. If time is money, haste is greed.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

21. Traits of wisdom writing:
Personal opinion, but grounded in much life experience
Large topics (human nature)
Approachable prose, but nuanced
Memorable, practical conclusions
Dangerous similarity to vacuous social commentary
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

22. Use persuasion to create interest in your ideas and writing but don’t use persuasive writing in your literature review and research papers
Foto: Martha Souduk (on flickr)
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - RO - Fall Landenhamer

23. Your Task Use Critical Thinking
Your task is to persuade your reader. It is not enough to hope, wish, assert, believe, rhapsodize, or even be right without proving it. You must make your case. How? First, organize your thoughts:
Narrow your focus to a manageable size.
State what you’re going to do and then do it.
Use sub-headings to divide the paper into sections.
Use transitions to help reader follow your train of thought.
End with a conclusion.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

24. Use Critical Thinking (continued)
Second, support your assertions with evidence, reasoning, or observations. Graduate school is, in many ways, training in well-documented persuasion. Your tools will include:
Evidence you have collected
Evidence others have collected, which you marshal and critique
Sound reasoning, also called critical thinking.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

25. Avoid Errors of Content: Some Common Issues
Not answering the question
Not fulfilling one's own promise to the reader
Not documenting assertions
Errors in logic
Omitting links in the argument
False or unquestioned assumptions
Insufficient literature base
No sense of scale. Giant topics
("Consciousness is transcendent")
Assuming that the reader knows what you are thinking
Presenting opinion as fact
Perpetrating the very error you are criticizing
("Stop obeying authority -- I said so.")
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

26. Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Information Sources
Remember the varieties of writing? At Saybrook University, you are asked to produce academic writing, not popular, journalistic, or wisdom writing.
 Acceptable (citable sources of information):
Books by authorities in a given field
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Peer-reviewed online journal articles
Personal observations or research
Subjectivity may be appropriate in some cases
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

27. Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Information Sources
 Unacceptable (not citable sources, but can be sources of information):
Popular magazines
News reports
Commercial or political websites
Wikipedia
Personal blogs
 Web surfing alone is not research!
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

28. Learn APA Style – Authentic Writing vs. Plagiarism
Dilemma: You must situate your statements in “the literature,” “the body of knowledge” but you must not plagiarize. If you were to copy someone else’s ideas or facts and claim them as your own, you would be plagiarizing. If you repeatedly use your own work in different classes without rewriting or adapting to the topic, you are self-plagerizing.
APA (2010) manual explains that authors “give credit to others for their prior work when it is quoted or paraphrased” (p. 16).
Paraphrasing and citing an author(s) from whom you draw your ideas is the antidote to plagiarism. Please read the policy on plagiarism and self-plagiarism in the Saybrook Catalog ( ), “Authentic Writing” (p. 133).
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

29. Three Criteria to Assess Plagiarism
Quantity of borrowed material.
Extent to which student carefully read, analyzed, and integrated the material (as opposed to simply cutting and pasting).
Student's intention (on a continuum from innocent to deplorable). Did student exhibit sloppiness… or laziness…. or intent to copy?
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

30. How to avoid plagiarizing
Read and think about what you’re basing your paper on.
Name sources you are mentioning, using APA style.
Name sources if you are paraphrasing closely.
Name sources if you are using verbatim quotations.
(Put verbatim quotations in quotation marks OR in block indented paragraphs).
Know that faculty uses TurnItIn – a software to check the authenticity of your work. You can check yourself for possible infringements.
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer

31. Final Thoughts
Imagine…. That writing is fun That ideas come to you easily That revising is rewarding and satisfying. And Know…. That Saybrook faculty members want you to succeed, That every writer faces setbacks, discouragement, and requests for revision. Keep working!
Recommended reading:
Pipher, M. (2006). Writing to change the world [Kindle edition]. Available from
Saybrook University - Academic Writing - Landenhamer