Citation:
Irvin, Lennie L. “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?”. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. 1st ed. 2004. 3-17. Web.
Summary:
Irvin’s goal is to help introduce students to high level writing and provide a loose writing guide that will make the transition from high school level writing to college writing easier for those entering university. We begin by debunking some common myths about writing. The author then discusses the tools the reader will need in order to write a well rounded college paper. Next we go into the different types of papers, and what is expected out of the reader depending on the type of question asked. We end with a list of elements that should be present in one way of another in all academic literature.
Evaluation:
This will serve as a guide as to how I should write my essays. I can use this information to explain the structures and purposes for academic writing. It will also help me understand where I succeeded and/or failed in my pervious work.
Citation:
Rothman, Joshua. “Why Is Academic Writing So Academic?”. The New Yorker. The New Yorker. June 2017. www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-is-academic-writing-so-academic. Sept. 2017.
Summary:
This article is Rothmans take on academic writing and how it got to were it is today. Journalism seems friendly because it has to be inviting, the audience is often a stranger. Academic writing although it may seem colorless and impersonal is actually one of the most personal writing styles, the author is addressing a small group of knowledgable individuals who don’t need to be convinced the argument worth caring about. Nicholas Kristof called out professors in an article he wrote for the New York Times. Kristof claims professors “marginalized” themselves. Their need to keep academia exclusive has lead to less public intellectuals on university campuses. Rothman believes academics don’t write this way to keep others out. Professor write in a competitive genre for very small groups, with a large amount of influence in their field and possibly on the professors individual career.
Evaluation:
This article helps me understand the importance tailoring my writing for a specific audience and how to be more effective in targeting my work. The majority of my writing in college will be extremely focused and for a specific audience.
Citation:
Orwell, George. “Why I Write,”. The Complete Works of George Orwell. 1947. http://www.george-orwell.org/Why_I_Write/0.html, Accessed 4 March 2009.
Summary:
We get a look at what shaped the author into the writer he is today. The majority of his childhood was spent in solitude, because of his relationship with his imaginary friends and habit for telling stories. After a brief look at his upbringing the author list why he thinks anyone writes. The reasons are ego, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, political purpose. Orwell’s goal is to make political writing an art, but still he cannot ignore his need to create an aesthetic experience for the reader.
Evaluation:
This article helped me understand the importance of purpose and analyzing what the goal is when writing. This will help me focus my writing. It will also help me in understanding why I’ve included certain sentences or chose certain words in my work and what should do going forward.