Academic Writing

Just enough theory to use it

Three competence aims meet here: rich and precise language 'adapted to situation and purpose', producing texts 'with clear content, appropriate style and structure', and using sources 'in a critical and accountable way'. The workhorse is the five-paragraph essay (expandable to any length): an introduction that hooks, contextualises and lands on a thesis statement – your answer to the task in one arguable sentence; body paragraphs each built on one point (topic sentence → evidence/example → analysis → link back); and a conclusion that answers the thesis with the argument's yield, never just repetition. Academic register is the language aim in practice: formal but readable – no contractions in formal essays, precise verbs over phrasal ones ('examine' not 'look at'), hedging where certainty is unearned ('suggests', 'appears to'), and none of the banned openers ('In this essay I will...', 'Since the dawn of time...'). Cohesion: linking words used as logic, not decoration – paragraphs that follow BECAUSE of each other. Sources: evaluate before use (the reliability tests), integrate by quoting or paraphrasing WITH citation, and know the plagiarism line – including that unedited AI text presented as yours crosses it. The metatext skills (reading academic texts, avoiding waffle) round out the toolkit. This topic is your exam's grading rubric turned into practice.

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