234 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
234 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
# Academic Writing Conventions
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## Table of Contents
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1. Academic Tone and Voice
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2. Sentence and Paragraph Construction
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3. Argumentation and Logic
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4. Common Errors to Avoid
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5. Discipline-Specific Conventions
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## 1. Academic Tone and Voice
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### Formality Levels
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**High Formality (STEM, Law, Medicine):**
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- Avoid contractions (use "cannot" not "can't")
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- Minimize personal pronouns
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- Use passive voice strategically
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- Employ technical terminology precisely
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**Moderate Formality (Social Sciences, Humanities):**
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- Personal pronouns acceptable in methodology
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- Active voice preferred for clarity
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- Balance between accessibility and precision
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### Objectivity
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**Maintain neutrality:**
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- Present multiple perspectives
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- Acknowledge counterarguments
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- Use hedging language: "suggests," "appears," "may indicate"
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- Avoid absolute statements: "proves," "always," "never"
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**Hedge appropriately:**
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- Strong evidence: "demonstrates," "shows," "indicates"
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- Moderate evidence: "suggests," "implies," "may reflect"
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- Weak evidence: "might," "could," "appears to"
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### Precision
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**Be specific:**
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- ❌ "Many studies show..."
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- ✅ "A meta-analysis of 47 studies [1] demonstrates..."
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**Use technical terms correctly:**
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- Define specialized terms on first use
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- Maintain consistency in terminology
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- Use standard abbreviations
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## 2. Sentence and Paragraph Construction
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### Sentence Structure
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**Clarity principles:**
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- One main idea per sentence
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- Subject-verb proximity
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- Active voice for clarity (when appropriate)
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- Vary sentence length for readability
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**Examples:**
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❌ Weak: "It was found by the researchers that the algorithm performed better."
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✅ Strong: "The algorithm demonstrated superior performance [1]."
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❌ Weak: "There are many factors that contribute to climate change."
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✅ Strong: "Multiple factors contribute to climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and industrial activity [2]."
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### Paragraph Structure
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**Standard academic paragraph:**
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1. **Topic sentence**: Introduces main idea
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2. **Evidence**: Supporting data, citations, examples
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3. **Analysis**: Interpretation and explanation
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4. **Link**: Connection to thesis or transition to next point
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**Example:**
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"Machine learning algorithms have transformed medical diagnostics [Topic]. Recent studies demonstrate that deep learning models achieve diagnostic accuracy comparable to expert physicians in radiology [1], dermatology [2], and pathology [3] [Evidence]. This performance stems from the algorithms' ability to recognize complex patterns in large datasets that may elude human observation [Analysis]. These advances suggest a paradigm shift in clinical decision-making processes [Link]."
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### Transitions
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**Between paragraphs:**
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- However, Moreover, Furthermore
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- In contrast, Similarly, Conversely
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- Consequently, Therefore, Thus
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- First, Second, Finally
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**Within paragraphs:**
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- Additionally, Also, Furthermore
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- For example, For instance, Specifically
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- In other words, That is to say
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- Nevertheless, Nonetheless, Still
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## 3. Argumentation and Logic
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### Thesis Development
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**Strong thesis characteristics:**
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- Specific and focused
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- Arguable (not self-evident)
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- Supported by evidence
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- Addresses "so what?" question
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**Examples:**
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❌ Weak: "Social media affects society."
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✅ Strong: "Social media platforms' algorithmic curation of content contributes to political polarization by creating echo chambers that reinforce existing beliefs and limit exposure to diverse viewpoints."
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### Evidence Integration
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**Citation placement:**
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**Author-prominent:**
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"Smith et al. [1] argue that quantum computing will revolutionize cryptography."
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**Information-prominent:**
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"Quantum computing threatens current cryptographic methods [1], [2]."
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**Synthesis of multiple sources:**
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"While some researchers emphasize the benefits of AI in education [1], [3], others highlight potential risks [2], [4]."
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### Logical Fallacies to Avoid
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1. **Hasty generalization**: Drawing broad conclusions from limited evidence
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2. **False causation**: Assuming correlation implies causation
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3. **Appeal to authority**: Relying solely on credentials without evidence
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4. **Straw man**: Misrepresenting opposing arguments
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5. **Cherry picking**: Selecting only supporting evidence
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## 4. Common Errors to Avoid
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### Wordiness
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❌ "Due to the fact that"
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✅ "Because"
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❌ "In order to"
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✅ "To"
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❌ "It is important to note that"
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✅ Delete (unnecessary)
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### Redundancy
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❌ "Past history," "future plans," "advance warning"
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✅ "History," "plans," "warning"
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### Vague Language
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❌ "Things," "stuff," "a lot," "very"
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✅ Specific nouns and precise quantifiers
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### Inappropriate Register
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❌ "The data is super interesting and shows..."
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✅ "The data reveals significant patterns..."
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### Anthropomorphism
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❌ "The study wants to prove..."
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✅ "This study aims to demonstrate..."
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❌ "The paper believes that..."
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✅ "This paper argues that..."
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## 5. Discipline-Specific Conventions
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### STEM Fields
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**Characteristics:**
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- Emphasis on methodology and reproducibility
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- Extensive use of figures, tables, equations
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- Passive voice acceptable in methods sections
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- Present tense for established facts, past tense for specific studies
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**Example:**
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"Samples were collected from five sites (Methods). Figure 1 shows the temperature distribution (Results). These findings indicate that thermal gradients affect reaction rates (Discussion)."
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### Social Sciences
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**Characteristics:**
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- Theoretical frameworks prominently discussed
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- Qualitative and quantitative methods
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- First-person acceptable in reflective methodology
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- Past tense for research conducted, present for ongoing debate
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**Example:**
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"Previous research suggests that socioeconomic factors influence educational outcomes [1]. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 participants to explore this relationship."
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### Humanities
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**Characteristics:**
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- Emphasis on interpretation and analysis
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- Extensive engagement with primary texts
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- Present tense for discussing texts/artworks
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- More flexible citation practices (footnotes common)
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**Example:**
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"In Pride and Prejudice, Austen critiques the marriage market of Regency England. Elizabeth Bennet's refusal of Mr. Collins represents a radical assertion of female autonomy."
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### Engineering
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**Characteristics:**
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- Focus on problem-solving and implementation
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- Detailed technical specifications
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- Extensive use of diagrams and schematics
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- Clear delineation of requirements and results
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**Example:**
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"The proposed architecture achieves 95% accuracy with 40% lower computational complexity than existing methods [1]. Figure 2 illustrates the system design."
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## Best Practices Summary
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1. **Clarity over complexity**: Simple, direct language conveys ideas more effectively
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2. **Evidence-based claims**: Support all assertions with citations
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3. **Logical structure**: Organize ideas hierarchically and sequentially
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4. **Consistent terminology**: Use terms uniformly throughout
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5. **Appropriate tone**: Match formality to discipline and audience
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6. **Active engagement**: Show critical thinking, not just summary
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7. **Revision**: Multiple drafts improve quality significantly
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## Self-Review Checklist
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- [ ] Each paragraph has clear topic sentence
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- [ ] Claims supported by evidence
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- [ ] Transitions between ideas smooth
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- [ ] Tone formal and objective
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- [ ] Technical terms defined
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- [ ] No logical fallacies
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- [ ] Sentence variety maintained
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- [ ] Citations integrated smoothly
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- [ ] Discipline conventions followed
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- [ ] "So what?" question answered
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