Academic Writing and The Documented Essay in The Twenty-First Century

ACADEMIC WRITING
AND THE DOCUMENTED

ESSAY IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Purposive Communication
Scintillate, Scintillate, globule aurific
Fair would I fathom thy nature
specific
Loftily perched in the ether
capacious
Strongly resembling a gem
carbonaceous.
(Rocco & Hatcher, 2011)
ACADEMIC WRITING
 Specific and Clear
Language
 Academic writing should not sound
pompous.
 Pompous language obscures
meaning.
Academic writing should not be difficult to read
because academic knowledge is meant to be
shared with others.
 Obscure and pompous prose is irritating.
 Instead of using unnecessarily difficult words-
or falling prey to the “thesaurus syndrome” of
looking for the longest possible synonym for a
word – students should aim for precise and
appropriate language.
 Style of academic writing means
following the rules of Standard English
or avoiding usages that are considered
ungrammatical or non-standard.
 Avoid language used in colloquial or
conversation and informal contexts.
MORE
INFORMAL/NON-
FORMAL/PRECISE
STANDARD USAGES
EQUIVALENTS
Alright, a lot, result to, discuss
about, cope up with (non-standard, All right, a lot, result in, discuss,
informal, or unique to certain cope with (acceptable usages in
varieties of English) Standard written English)
Entertaining, insightful,
Good – as in “good” book
interesting, instructive
(imprecise)
(precise)
Can’t, won’t, I’ll, she’s, didn’t

Cannot, will not, I will, she is, did
(conversational, speech-based
not (spelled out as two words)
contractions)
Gonna, gotta (conversational,
Going to, have to (spelled out)
speech-based shortcuts)
Anyway, boring or uninteresting,

Anyways, boring as hell, bored to
extremely bored, depressing (more
death, major downer
formal/precise/uncluttered)
(conversational/informal)
I arrived here late; she left the office;

I got here late; she got out of the
he received a call; they loaded gas or
office; he got a call; they got gas
they refuelled (more specific
(overused, imprecise verb)
alternatives)
As soon as possible, by the way,

ASAP, BTW, SOP (acronyms that may
standard operating procedure (spelled
not be universally known)
out)
University of the Philippines,
UP, ADMU, DLSU (acronyms for Ateneo de Manila University, De
institutions) La Salle University (spelled out the
first time they are used, but later
may be substituted with acronym)
Hit the sack, loo, and comfort room

(expressions from American Sleep, toilet or bathroom (more
English, British, and Philippine widely understood usages)
English)
Lol, afk, nrn, #feels (informal Laugh out loud, away from keyboard,
Internet or text messaging no reply necessary, a wave of emotions
language) (spelled out or explained)
ACADEMIC
NON-ACADEMIC USAGE
USAGE
The conclusion gotten by the group

doesn’t follow.
The respondents needed to chill.
The interviewee was pulling my leg.
The student promised to submit the

document asap.
A Balanced and Credible Voice
 Academic writing should not be stiff or
stilted and somber in tone.
 The writer’s voice need not disappear
entirely, but this voice should sound
credible and, therefore, balanced,
objective, and not overly emotional.
 The writer’s personality and
reactions are more subdued in an
academic paper because the focus of
the reader should be on the subject of
the paper.
 Our group conducted a survey on 100
University of the Philippines freshmen to find
out their opinions on the new academic
calendar.
 A survey was conducted on 100 University

of the Philippines freshmen to find out their
opinions on the new academic calendar.
I usually go out with someone to be relaxed
and have fun. As a student, I go out to escape
all the stress of school stuff. Which is why
going out with someone who talks like a
research paper wouldn’t be such a good thing.
I would end up getting bored and still stuck
with the things I get enough of in school. It
would end up in boredom instead of fun and
excitement.
People typically engage in dating activities in order
to relax and to enjoy themselves. For students, dating
is a n escape from their hectic academic lives. Thus,
if one’s date turns to be a person who talks like a
research paper, the purpose of the activity would be
defeated. The experience would be neither engaging
nor interesting because one would be faced with
dreaded academic topics and discussions. Essentially,
the date would be a tedious rather than an enjoyable
one.
SOCIALLY AND CULTURALLY
RELEVANT TOPICS
A student should begin by considering the

topics that are particularly interesting and
relevant for him/her.
These are topics he or she would like to find
out more about.
It is also essential to consider such topics or
research areas in light of their social and
cultural significance.
DOCUMENTED ESSAYS
It emphasizes that any kind of scholarly or
academic writing requires the writer to (1) read
and gather information from a variety of
relevant sources on a chosen topic (2) clearly
acknowledge these supporting sources, and (3)
add to scholarship by selecting, arranging,
commenting on, or even debunking the
information from these sources.
In standard essay, generally known facts and
personal experiences of the writer are sufficient to
support the thesis.
The documented essay requires concrete
supporting information from relevant sources.
In documented essay, when these sources or any
material quoted, paraphrased, or summarized from
them are mentioned, there is an explicit
acknowledgment or citation of these sources.
Students should know how to
acknowledge their sources properly.
This involves three essential elements:
(1) attributions, (2) in-text or parenthetical
citations, and (3) a list of works cited.

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ACADEMIC WRITING

AND THE DOCUMENTED

Can’t, won’t, I’ll, she’s, didn’t

Anyway, boring or uninteresting,

I arrived here late; she left the office;

As soon as possible, by the way,

Hit the sack, loo, and comfort room

The conclusion gotten by the group

The respondents needed to chill.

The interviewee was pulling my leg.

The student promised to submit the

 A survey was conducted on 100 University

A student should begin by considering the

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