Students are expected to complete numerous academic writings during their study in a university. At that they are expected to complete with standards accepted in the university and develop sophisticated qualities of reasoning and ability to write in a scientific style.Naturally students experience a sort of shock when they have to write and argue in a totally new style. This paper is to examine particular problems which students face in the field and propose solutions for them.When being engaged in academic writing the students first need to understand what should they write.
They have to be engaged in cognitive process, which includes cognition of two elements: requirements for writing (form of writing) and the knowledge they have to demonstrate in their papers (content). This occurs already before writing itself begins[1].After understanding the form and content of writing students need to develop their arguments based on cognized knowledge.At that there is a problem, that students may confuse the data which they gather from sources and the data they have to put in their paper, so that the paper may become simply a retelling of the sources or a descriptive essay without any own thinking.
Moreover, students need to build their argument logically, and this creates additional confusion.When working with sources, especially the ones which stand close to their subject, students might desire to give ideas of others for their own, or simply plagiarize.There are two types of plagiarism: deliberate and non-deliberate. The first one is when students knowingly use sources without references, and the second one is when students are not aware of proper referencing to sources and do not refer them properly when using.demWhen presenting their essay students have to combine three “virtues” – ethos, pathos and logos.
Ethos means that their essay is to be trustworthy both for them and their academic supervisor. Following ethos means avoiding plagiarism and writing fairly.Pathos means an ability to be persuading for the audience. For this students need to develop not only writing, but also oral and presentation skills. And finally logos is ability to create strong, logical and non-contradictory argument[2].
There are several strategies students might use to be successful in writing. Firstly they have to follow the instructions of their academic supervisor and requirements for writing.This especially concerns first-year students, who are not yet enough experienced. Students need to understand the necessity of academic writing and their convenience for investigation.
And surely they have to behave ethically and not to plagiarize.The second strategy is individual study of recommendations for academic writing proposed by different authors. Students need to be strongly encouraged to do so, because this would additionally help them to develop their research skills and will make them more self-confident.And the third strategy which students might use is consultations with students from senior courses, who are already experienced in writing. Such consultations would provide them with up-to-date information about academic writing and help them establish their social contacts.
Academic writing is something what all students need to perform and there is nothing horribly difficult about it. May generations of students have passed through it and “green” students need to understand, that they can cope with it same as their senior colleagues did.Works cited1. Linda Flower.
"Cognition, Context, and Theory Building" College Composition and Communication, Vol. 40, No. 3. (Oct., 1989), pp.
282-311.2. Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean.
Writing Arguments. 4th Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998[1] Linda Flower. "Cognition, Context, and Theory Building" College Composition and Communication, Vol. 40, No. 3.
(Oct., 1989), pp. 282-311.[2] Ramage, John D.
and John C. Bean. Writing Arguments. 4th Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998, p.
81-82.
