Academic Writing for University Students

Academic Writing for University Students is designed to help all students succeed in writing essays, reports and other papers for coursework and exams effectively. Academic writing is often the biggest challenge facing college and university students, but this book provides all the tools needed to master the necessary skills.

The book is divided into four parts, to help teachers and students easily find the help they need, both in the classroom and for self-study:

The Writing Process: From finding suitable sources, through to editing and proofreading

Writing Types: Practice with common assignments such as reports and cause-effect essays

Writing Tools: Skills such as making comparisons, definitions, punctuation and style

Lexis: Academic vocabulary, using synonyms, nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs

This key handbook breaks down and practises every stage of essay writing. All units are fully cross-referenced, and a complete set of answers to the practice exercises is included. In addition, the companion website hosts comprehensive teaching notes as well as more challenging exercises, revision material and links to other sources.

Designed for self-study as well as classroom use, this book uses authentic academic texts from a range of sources and provides models for common writing tasks such as case studies, while progress checks are included for each part to enable students to assess their learning. Academic Writing for University Students is an invaluable guide to all aspects of academic writing in English.

Table of Contents

Academic Writing for University Students – Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction for Tutors and Lecturers

Introduction for Students

Academic Writing Quiz

Part 1

The Writing Process

1.1 Writing Basics

1.2 Understanding Essay Questions and the Planning Process

1.3 Reading: Finding Suitable Sources

1.4 Reading: Developing Critical Approaches

1.5 Finding Key Points and Note-making

1.6 Avoiding Plagiarism

Progress Check A

1.7 References and Quotations

1.8 Summarising and Paraphrasing

1.9 Contrasting Sources

1.10 Organising Paragraphs

1.11 Introductions and Conclusions

1.12 Editing and Proofreading

Progress Check B　

Part 2

Writing Types

2.1 Argument and Discussion

2.2 Cause and Effect

2.3 Problems and Solutions

2.4 Case Studies

2.5 Literature reviews

2.6 Writing Longer Papers

2.7 Reports

2.8 Reflective Writing

Progress Check C

Part 3

Writing Tools

3.1 Cohesion

3.2 Comparison

3.3 Definitions

3.4 Examples

3.5 Generalisations

3.6 Numbers and Visual Information

3.7 Punctuation

3.8 Style

Progress Check D

Part 4

Lexis

4.1 Approaches to Vocabulary

4.2 Academic Vocabulary: Nouns and Adjectives

4.3 Academic Vocabulary: Verbs and Adverbs

4.4 Prefixes and Suffixes

4.5 Synonyms

Progress Check E

Answers

Written British and American English: A short guide

Glossary

Index/