Transcript PPT Slides

Video #3
ACADEMIC VERSUS
NON-ACADEMIC
WRITING
Dr. Matthew Robinson
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC USA
ACADEMIC WRITING:
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
Questions to ask yourself:
1) Who wrote it? (an academic or a
“layperson”?)
2) Who is it written for? (an academic
audience or the general public?)
Recall that academic writing is writing done
by scholars for other scholars
ACADEMIC WRITING:
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
3) Where is it published?
Is it an academic source?
For example, an academic journal
For example, a “university press”
ACADEMIC WRITING:
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
4) Is it “blindly reviewed”
The blind review process:
a) paper written by a scholar is submitted to
journal
b) editor sends paper to other scholars
(the paper does NOT have the name of the
author on it)
c) the other scholars read the paper to
determine if it should be published
(the identify of those scholars (the reviewers) is
never known by the author of the paper)
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
1) Academic journal article
Article written by scholar(s) …
Submitted to journal …
“Blindly” reviewed …
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
Academic journals
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
2) University press book
Book written by scholar(s) …
Submitted to publisher …
“Blindly reviewed”
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
(American Association of University Presses)
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
University presses
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
University press books
NON ACADEMIC WRITING
Articles and books published are often NOT
academic …
in magazines
in newspapers
on websites
These might be accurate and they might be
useful
Since they are NOT reviewed, they might NOT
be accurate or useful
NON ACADEMIC WRITING
You determine this by evaluating the source
Who are the authors?
What are their agendas/biases?
For example, would you trust a report on
climate change by an oil company?
NON ACADEMIC WRITING
NON ACADEMIC WRITING
NON ACADEMIC WRITING
NON ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
Examples of NON academic sources
 “Global Warming & Climate Change”
(website from New York Times)
 “Climate Change/Environment”
(website from The Guardian)
 “How To Talk About Climate Change so People Will Listen”
(article in The Atlantic, a magazine)
 “Climate Change”
(article in Discover Magazine)
 “Climate Change is Here”
(article in National Geographic , a magazine)
NON ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
 Lots of websites, too!
NON ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
 Lots of websites, too!
NON ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
 Lots of websites, too!
NON ACADEMIC WRITING:
EXAMPLES
 Lots of websites, too!
ACADEMIC WRITING:
A SUMMARY
To determine if writing is academic,
remember:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Who wrote it?
Who is it written for?
Where is it published?
Is it “blindly reviewed”