南京大学学术英语写作上课记录单元总结完整版

Lesson 1

1.Importance of writing

1)help u to reach people in different time and space;

2)express yourself more clearly and more accurately;

3)organize your thoughts in clear and logical way;

4)make a distinction between facts and opinions;

5)reflects on your thoughts and feelings;

6)enable u to see both the overall picture and minute details of complex issues;

7)turn your initial impressions or gut feelings into complex research design;

8)seek worthwhile questions;

9)establish the relationship between writers and readers

10)refine and enrich your ideas based on feedback from readers

11)essential job skill

2.academic writing

(1) Features:

1) written for specific audiences;

2) present an argument;

3) cohesion and coherence;

4) formal and no spelling and punctuation errors;

3.what makes critical reading?

1)Judging the appropriateness of the reading materials;

2)Finding materials most relevant to the research topic;

3)Avoiding the materials that contain weak arguments;

4)Distinguishing between and opinions.

4.Requirements of a critical writer

1)understanding the requirement of writing task;

2)proving or arguing for a point;(introduction, body, conclusion)

3)providing a set of contributing arguments;

4)considering alternative or opposing views;

5)being a critical reader of her or his own writing;

6)conclusion drawn naturally and logically from argument;

7)contributing something new;

PS: things to avoid: 1) being to descriptive and rely too much on summaries and explanations; 2) being biased and blinded by personal misconceptions; 3) sticking to one position blindly.

5.Writing process

1）Prewriting and outlining;(help to organize idea and generate idea)

Free-writing; Questioning (why when where who and how); make the list;

Diagramming; preparing a scratch outline

2）Writing a first draft;

Content first; think about the essay as a whole; consistency (in word, sentence type, tone)

3）Revision (change content and structure)

Whether the paper is unified (stick to one thing); is my paper supported? Is my paper

organized?

4）Editing

Sentence be parallel; consistent point of view; specific words; active verbs;…

Lesson 2

1.Basic structure of an essay (have no single rule or pattern apply to all essay)

1)introduction;

providing the background, raising a question or problem; indicating the importance of an issue; ending with a thesis statement.

2)main body;

topic sentence;

supporting sentence: key concepts; examples; explanations; significance;

concluding sentence

3)conclusion

repeating, restating; summarizing; answer the question; point out the importance;

giving consequences; making predictions.

2.Topic selection

General principle:

1)Interest to u and your reader;

2)Meaningful, having academic and practical appeal;

3)Manageable, give your time, energy and expertise.

Steps:

1)Brainstorm to get research topic ideas;

2)Read general background information;

3)Focus in on your topic (narrow down the topic);

4)Make a list of useful keywords;

5)Define your topic as a focused research question;

6)Formulate a thesis statement

Additions tips:

1)Ask why where when who how;

2)Avoid topics are too: locally confined; recent; broadly interdisciplinary(跨学科)；

popular

3.Types of writing (Expository writing\Descriptive writing\Persuasive writing\Narrative

writing)

1)Expository writing;

Explains or informs. It talks about a subject without giving opinions.

Features:

(a)subject-oriented;

(b)facts and figures needed;

(c)no opinions.

Key points:

(a)explain something in a process;

(b)equipped with facts and figures;

(c)in a logical order or sequence;