Some basics of academic writing

Writers of academic papers need to appear to be serious, knowledgeable, objective and precise, so that their readers will think that what they have written is reliable, worth reading, and not influenced by emotion. The language used should be clear and concise. It should also be more formal than the language used in speaking and presentations.

Academic papers should be carefully planned, logically organized, and carefully checked. You should begin by thinking about what you are going to write, doing some research, and writing a plan. The paper should have a title, an introduction, a body, a conclusion, and a list of the sources that you used. You should write a first draft, then reread and rewrite at least once.

Here are two diagrams of the process:

Diagram one (from Writing Tips Webster University, St.Louis, Missouri) is very similar to the diagram in Success in College Writing. (Unfortunately there is a spelling mistake: "invidual" for "individual"). Diagram two (from Language and Learning Online, Monash University, Melbourne) is for longer pieces of writing that require research.

Useful online guides to academic writing can be found here (University of New South Wales), here (Hamilton College; the real link to the explanation of persuasive essays is here), or here (by Andy Gillett). The first link is the simplest one, and the last the most sophisticated. We will also talk about these issues in class.

Here are some guidelines regarding the writing style used in academic papers:

1. Do not use abbreviated forms such as 'don't' or 'etc.' (However, it is acceptable to use abbreviations for the names of organisations such as the UN. In the case of the abbreviation for a less well known organization, you should give the complete name when you first mention it, with the abbreviation in brackets (for example, 'the International Whaling Commission (IWC)'). After that, you can just write 'the IWC'. Abbreviations are also accepted in the case of longwinded technical terms such as ODA (overseas development assistance) and HIV (human immuno-deficiency virus).

2. Aim for a combination of longer and shorter sentences. If you use only short sentences, it will be difficult for the reader to understand the links between your ideas. On the other hand, there is no need to write very long sentences with complex structures. Avoid very short paragraphs (a feature of newspaper writing), and paragraphs longer than one page. For ideas about how to make longer sentences, see Richard Nordquist's page on combining sentences from about.com.

3. Clarify the links between your ideas by using transition words such as ‘first/second’, ‘however/on the other hand’, ‘moreover/in addition’.

4. Do not be vague. For example, if you mention that Japan was opened to foreign trade as a result of pressure from America, you should give the date when this trade started (1859). Give evidence to support your assertions. (Evidence might be a logical explanation, an example, the opinion of an expert, or relevant statistics.) If you have obtained information or ideas from somewhere else (a book, newspaper, website...), make sure that this source is reliable, and name it, for example in a footnote, - unless the source is an encyclopedia or dictionary. (It is not necessary to cite encyclopedias or dictionaries because it is assumed that the information found there is common knowledge.) When you borrow the actual words of a source, however, you should use quotation marks and name the source even if it is a dictionary or encyclopedia.

5. Do not use colloquial language. This includes words such as 'kid' instead of 'children', and also the use of either 'So' or 'Also' to start a sentence. Instead of 'So' you should use words or phrases such as 'Therefore' or 'As a result'; instead of 'Also' you should use words or phrases such as 'Moreover', or 'In addition', or change the position of 'also' so that it follows the verb.

6. Use a varied vocabulary. Avoid over-used words such as ‘good’, and ‘nice’, since they lack impact and meaning. Words of Greek and Latin origin have a role similar to that of 熟語 in academic English. However, there is no need to use obscure words, or words that you do not fully understand.

7. At the end of the introduction to your paper, or at the beginning of paragraphs, do not use presentation-style language. (In the Writing section of Study Skills for College English there is a useful example of the same paragraph written first in 'presentation style' and then in a more academic style.)
For example, how would you put the following into written style?
In this paper I will talk about the meaning of friendship. I will show you two points.
My suggestion:The topic of this paper is the meaning of friendship, with special reference to the following two points : A and B.

8. Try not to use 'I' very much. In particular, do not use 'I think'. If you use 'I think', it sounds as if you are not sure, or as if you are giving your own subjective view rather than writing objectively. For example:
a) There is no need to use 'I think' in front of a clear assertion. Instead of ' I think this is a difficult question', write 'This is a difficult question.'
b) If you wish to make it clear that a sentence contains your considered opinion, use expressions such as the following: 'In my opinion,', 'It is clear that', 'The conclusion must be that'.
c) On the other hand, if you wish to make it clear that a sentence contains your suggestion, use expressions such as 'It is likely that', 'It seems that', 'It is reasonable to assume that', 'probably', 'may', 'might'.
(For more advice, see 'Should I Use "I"?', a handout from the Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)

9. Do not address the reader directly as 'you'. Instead use 'one', 'we' , 'people', 'someone' etc. For example, instead of 'You cannot understand discrimination unless you have suffered from it yourself':
People cannot understand discrimination unless they themselves have suffered from it.
It is not possible to understand discrimination unless one has suffered from it oneself.
It is not possible for us to understand discrimination unless we ourselves have suffered from it.

Links
This section, from Hong Kong University English Centre's Academic Grammar site, gives more advice about using academic language in an effective way..
There is also some useful advice here from Ken Paterson, from the Oxford University Press English Language Teaching blog.
For a well-organized list of phrases that are often used in academic writing, see Manchester University's Academic Phrasebank.
Here is some advice about good and bad thesis statements from the George Mason University Writing Center
Also recommended is the Purdue University Online Writing Center, which has a special section for speakers of English as a second language.
For writing about economics, see this section of the Economics Network website. This page gives you two student essays to evaluate and links to the evaluation of a teacher of economics. This section of Monash University's Language and Learning Online should also be helpful. It includes a lecturer's advice to first-year Economics students about essay writing.