Top Tips for Maintaining AcademicTone
One of the hardest
things about academic writing is staying in an academic tone. Whether you are joining the academic
community after taking years off, are new to the community, or are a seasoned
academic writer, it is still something that each of us needs to be aware of in
our own writing. So, to get to the
point— academic tone is very important and relevant to all academic writers, in
all fields, and at all levels. So here
is my quick and dirty list of tips and tricks to make sure you are easily able
to do so!
Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is a
valuable way for a writer to include specific information and data to their
writing, while still giving credit to the original researcher. This allows for the writer to have the space
needed to draw their own conclusions from the literature, and then present
those conclusions in a specific fashion using the research of experts in the
field to support their ideas. In paraphrasing
instead of directly quoting, you will also better meet the expectations of APA style,
which prefers paraphrasing to direct quotes in most cases. Also, in using paraphrasing instead of direct
quotes you, as the author, are showing the reader that you are an expert in the
field and do not need to rely on the direct quotes but rather have interpreted
the information of others. So, to sum it
up— paraphrasing makes your sound much more academic than using direct quotes.
Paraphrase Quick List:
Use
Specific Information
One of the hallmarks of
academic writing is including specific information and details. A lot of times we are so close to the
materials we are presenting that the “they” or “she” we use in our writing
makes perfect sense to us. However,
often times when readers see this information they aren’t quite sure what
author, topic, or research study we are referencing. This is why it is super important to use
specific language. You don’t want to
spend hours and hours on a paper, only to not have the reader understand your
point!
Here are some quick
examples of vague wording, and how to correct it:
Needs
Revision:
|
Revision:
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They (2003) surveyed 500…
|
Dean (2003) surveyed 500…
|
This was to…
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The purpose of Bill 774 was to…
|
Specific Information Quick List:
Replace Clichés
In this day and age
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Path of least
resistance
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Think outside the box
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Few and far between
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All walks of life
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At the end of the day
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All intents and purposes
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Writing on the wall
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The rest is history
|
Clichés
Quick List:
Revise,
Revise, Revise
Even though revision is
an important aspect of all academic writing, it is especially important when
you revise
your academic tone.
In having a consistent and scholarly tone you are ensuring that the
reader fully understands not only your argument but that you are an expert in the
material.
One of the best ways to
practice using scholarly writing is to write and edit your own work as
frequently as possible. In doing so you
will both find your academic voice, and develop the editing skills needed to
ensure you stay within your scholarly tone.
Hopefully this convinces you that it is important to use the strong
writing and editing skills you are developing during your time here at Walden
University.
Revision Quick List:
Meghan Barnes is an instructor and writer based in the South. She has two dogs, and a handful of composting worms that she enjoys feeding scraps to. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she enjoys playing kickball, softball, and other active sports.
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Thursday Thoughts: New and Improved, Just for You!
Alongside our grammar modules and plagiarism prevention modules, these new and improved APA style modules are another essential tool for your success at Walden. They allow you the opportunity to learn at your own pace about the aspects of APA that you need to better understand.The new APA style modules will be your key to understanding some of the trickier aspects of APA, such as avoiding bias and clarifying the actor. They will also help you to understand tricky formatting guidelines for numbers, headings, and lists.
Please, take a second to peek at one (or all!) of the new APA style modules below:
- Avoiding Bias
- Clarifying the Actor
- Emphasis and Specification
- Using and Formatting APA Headings
- Listing the Facts: Using Numbers, Hyphens, and Lists in APA
If you've pulled up our page for the new APA style modules, and you are not sure which modules will be the most helpful for you, consider taking one of our diagnostic quizzes for some guidance. These diagnostic quizzes will point you in the direction of the module(s) that will be most beneficial for you to study. The References and Citations Quiz would be a great place to start!
Finally, the biggest thanks goes to you, our students, for being an inspiration to us to always better our services and strive to be the best. This improvement is for YOU!
The Walden Writing Center offers to Walden students 1:1 writing support and offers to students and non-students alike all the writing expertise, tips, and information a writer could want.
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Don't Apologize for Missing a Paper Review Appointment
The Walden University Writing Center prides itself on providing Paper Review appointments to Walden University students across the globe. But have you ever wondered what happens if you make an appointment but can't meet the deadline? Not to worry! Don't let one missed appointment stand in your way from continuing to work on your academic writing.
It happens sometimes at the Writing Center: a student misses an appointment. There can be a number of reasons why this happens. Students are busy enough with schoolwork itself to also have time to work with outside services like the Writing Center. Emergencies and unforeseen events can crop up, taking time away from work. Sometimes, a student just forgets. And I am here to tell you: all of this is okay.
From time to time, the Writing Center will get
responses from students apologizing profusely for missing appointments, or
providing reasons and excuses. Though we always love to hear from students
personally, I hope it is known that we hold no grudges and have no issues
with students who miss an appointment. We completely understand.
Because the Writing Center‘s mission is to help support students, we avoid penalizing students for either policy or academic-related
reasons. We also try to avoid using judgmental-sounding or discouraging
language. Our goal is always to get you to come back to the Writing Center. If
you miss an appointment, you should still be able to sign up for a new
appointment and we will review it the way we always have. You should never
worry about us chiding you for missing appointments or bothering you with
multiple reminder messages.
Here’s a bit of a look behind the scenes into the
Writing Center: you may think that failing to upload your paper on time is a
massive inconvenience to your instructor. In fact, it is not! The worst thing
that happens in this case is that your appointment will be marked as missed and
a different student may take your appointment slot. We Instructors are actually
pretty good at managing our time—don’t feel like you are wasting it if you miss
an appointment. There are always more students to work with, and other writing-related tasks we can do.
This does not mean that missing appointments is not
without consequences, however. According to our current appointment policies, a
total of three missed appointments on myPASS will lead to a students’ account
being deactivated. However, in those cases, all that is required is that you
contact an administrator to have your account reactivated. We understand that
sometimes multiple appointments will be canceled in a row because of unforeseen
circumstances. Again, our goal is always to have more students working with the
Writing Center, not less. Do not ever feel worried or ashamed to contact us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu
and ask for a reactivation of your account if you miss multiple appointments.
This might be a somewhat unorthodox message for a
Writing Center blog post, but my goal here is to put students more at ease. I
know, having been a student myself, how mortifying it is to be late on an
assignment, or forget to do it, or not do it very well. I know the feeling when
a teacher is disappointed in my work. The Writing Center is a safe space where
you can talk to us about all of these concerns. We serve the students first--not
instructors, the academic chair, or Walden’s corporate higher-ups. So don’t
feel the need to apologize: I can tell you from my own experience that my colleagues at the Writing Center are an empathetic bunch. We were once students like you,
and we know how you feel.
So, now that you know all this about your Writing
Center Paper Review services, isn’t it about time for you to log on and make an
appointment? I’m looking forward to working with you.
Nathan Sacks is a writing instructor in the the Walden University Writing Center. He also enjoys writing books, playing guitar, and playing with cats.
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Thursday Thoughts: Students Inspire Us to Give Back
This week, Walden's Global Days of Service are in full swing! We at the Walden University Writing Center feel invigorated by the stories you've shared about your own positive social change causes and triumphs. Thank you so much for sharing your passion with us! From Walden's 2014 Social Change Impact Report, it is easy to see how passionate Walden students are about their impact on positive social change, with 79% of you believing that you can make the world a better place through your actions. |
| Join us in creating positive social change in our communities. |
This week, we at the Writing Center feel inspired by you, our students, and we are actively engaging in volunteer activities to create a positive impact in our communities.
- On Monday, we worked with Emma Norton Services to help women, children, and families get ahead.
- On Tuesday, we worked with the Alzheimer's Association to get out communication about the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. to local chapters and provide for the Walk to End Alzheimer's.
- On Wednesday, we worked with Cookie Cart to provide teens with meaningful work, life, and leadership skills through experience and training in an urban, nonprofit bakery.
- On Thursday, we will be working with EDIT (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Together) to empower youth to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion together in our communities through service learning, leadership, and the arts.
- On Saturday, we will be working with Pillsbury United Communities to create quality support resources that enrich communities with academic, social, and emotional success.
If you, too, are considering how/why/when/where you might impact positive social change, feel free to peruse the resources below.
- Read our recent blog post from Jes, who discusses the positive impact of giving back to your communities through volunteering.
- Keep an eye out for our recording of the Writing for Social Change webinar, and learn how you can create positive social change in your writing.
- Visit our Facebook and Twitter pages to catch up on posts from our Global Days of Service week, and read the social change stories your peers shared.
Walden University provides a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can effect positive social change.
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Global Days of Service Kick-Off: Volunteering in the Hustle and Bustle of Daily Life
Fun With Writing Center Staff
,
Global Days of Service
,
Social Change
,
Walden University
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| Walden University's Global Days of Service starts today! |
Today begins Walden’s Global Days of Service 2016, a week-long
celebration of our mission of social change where those in the community are encouraged to volunteer
and make a difference.
According to a 2015 study conducted by the United States Department of Labor, the volunteer rate for the US is in
decline with 24.9% of the population volunteering. While many in the Walden
community volunteer regularly, there’s a good chance that this isn’t something
that everyone does, perhaps because they don’t feel like they have the time or
they haven’t found a place to volunteer. We get it. There’s already so much to
balance in life from work to family to school.
However, as Hillary stated in her blog post last week about writing skill development, “Yes,
you do have time for that—even if it’s just 5 minutes a day.” The same is true
for volunteering and working to make a difference in your community: you have
time for that, and it’s important. Even if it’s just an hour a week or one
afternoon each fall, taking the time to volunteer will bring many positive
benefits to both you and your community.
In my own experiences volunteering at grade schools, summer
programs, the zoo, fall clean up days, and nursing homes, here are the benefits
of volunteering I’ve discovered:
You Meet New People: Volunteering
is a great way to get out in the community, meet some new people, and form relationships.
The people you meet might become your friends, colleagues, co-workers,
teachers, and more. There’s a good chance that you’ll meet people who are
different than you and can challenge you, help you grow, and teach you new
things. For example, each time I volunteer with kids, I learn more about
curiosity and having fun, and each time I volunteer at nursing homes, I learn
about wisdom and patience and storytelling. Meeting new people and expanding
your network and the people in your circle can bring many rewards.
You Learn About Your
Community: Through volunteering and the people you meet and structures you
work within, you can learn a lot about how an aspect of the community
works. For example, I just moved to
Minnesota from Missouri, and each week I volunteer at my local grade school in
the media center and in a classroom. Through this experience, I’m learning a
lot about the diversity in my community, the needs of the school district, and
what kinds of books and topics entice kids to read.
You Positively
Benefit Others’ Lives: Volunteering, by nature, is a somewhat selfless act.
We all have busy lives, and choosing to spend our time on an activity without
compensation shows effort. That effort
is not missed, and you might find that your volunteering positively impacts
someone else. Whether it’s providing someone with a meal, offering tutoring in
a community center, cleaning up fallen leaves, or working one-on-one with kids:
you’re making a difference through your selfless act and positively impacting
someone else’s life.
You Get to Try
Something New: Volunteering is a great way to develop skills and have new
experiences, and the time commitment can be as much or as little as you like. Through
volunteering, I’ve enjoyed developing my skills in working with children, which
is not something I do in my job as a Writing Instructor here at Walden. In
addition, through fall clean-up and outdoor beautification projects, I’ve
learned a lot about yard work, basic maintenance, and gardening. You might find
too that you can use volunteering as an avenue to have a new experience or
develop a new skill.
You Can Use Your
Professional Skills in a New Context: Volunteering is a great way to use
your professional skills in a different way to benefit those in need. For
example, several years ago I volunteered in a summer program held at the zoo,
assisting kids grades 1-5 as they created books about their experiences and the
animals they were seeing and learning about.
As a writing teacher practiced in asking leading questions to encourage
and support writers, and as an amateur sketch-artist gifted with the ability to
draw pictures of animals, these skills were very helpful working with kids this
age as they worked on their first books. I felt proud using my professional
training and creativity in this way.
As we celebrate Walden’s Global Days of Service, I hope
you’ll reflect here with me: What other
benefits are there for volunteering? How
do you use your professional skills to volunteer and offer a service to your community?
I look forward to hearing your responses and celebrating Walden's Global Days of Service with you.
Jes Philbrook is a Writing Instructor and the Coordinator of Doctoral Writing Assessment at Walden University, and she is working on her dissertation as she nears the end of her own doctoral program in English. In addition to her busy life working and writing, Jes volunteers each week at the neighborhood grade school. She loves volunteering because it’s a way to give back, make new friends, and learn about her community.
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Thursday Thoughts: Global Days of Service Sneak Peek
Across Walden, there are murmurings of our upcoming Global Days of Service, which begin next Monday and continue throughout the week, October 17th to the 23rd. Empowered by a university mission statement that focuses on social change, the entire Walden community participates in our Global Days of Service with excitement, passion, and purpose. This is a "fun, weeklong celebration that underscores our mission of social change by encouraging all members of our community to volunteer and make a difference. With multiple days and opportunities to volunteer, you are sure to find a project that you can be passionate about and that fits your schedule."To participate in Walden's Global Days of Service, you can
- Read and comment here on the Writing Center blog or on our Facebook page; we would love to hear about your involvement in positive social change
- Join the Writing Center for our live, interactive webinar, "Writing for Social Change: Exploring Perspectives," on Wednesday, October 19th, from 7-8pm EST
- Email globalday@waldenu.edu to inquire about volunteer opportunities in a number of cities across the U.S.
- Check out the Walden library's Journal of Social Change database
- Participate in Walden's annual Scholars of Change video contest with a chance to win up to $4000 for yourself and $500 for your charity of choice; share your "why" with the Walden community; what motivates you and drives you to action?
- Review Walden's social change scholarship awards and consider applying
However you choose to participate in creating positive social change in your communities, know that we at the Writing Center proudly stand behind you and support your efforts. We feel lucky to read about many of your social change efforts in your writing. Through your actions, you are impacting the lives of others in meaningful ways.
Thank you for all that you do.
Walden University provides a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can effect positive social change.
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I Only Have 5/20/60 Minutes! Which Writing Center Resources are Right for Me?
Have you ever told yourself that you'd practice your writing if you just had a little bit more time? Today's post makes that excuse irrelevant. The Walden University Writing Center has on-demand resources that can be useful in any time-increments. Read on to learn how to continue improving your academic writing in manageable periods each day.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from students is “I
don’t have time for that.” There’s no way to sugarcoat the situation: Time is your natural enemy. In any given 24
hours, you may be working your professional job, engaging in Walden coursework,
preparing a meal, exercising, commuting, managing parental duties, and getting
a few hours of sleep. It’s hard to think of adding more to that list of
activities.
But in order to succeed at Walden, you will need to carve out some time for skill development above and
beyond your classroom requirements. Writing proficiency is something that will
serve you in your program by way of confidence, clear communication, and swift
achievement of milestones. It is also something that you take with you after
completing your degree, with the potential to impact your career as a
scholar-practitioner.
So the question is: How can you hone your writing skills without
losing the precious work-life-school balance you have achieved? Two years ago,
in a WriteCast podcast episode, my colleagues Nik and Brittany introduced Writing Center resources
and tips appropriate for short nuggets of time. In this blog post, I update
their list of resources with a few of my own. So the next time you’re about to
forgo writing because you feel like you don’t have the time, hopefully this can
be you instead:
“I want to utilize the Writing Center’s resources to practice my scholarly writing, but shoot! I only have…”
5 minutes:
Read a Writing Center
blog post, skim a web page, or view a video. Have you identified one
writing issue you’d like to work on? It’s a great idea to have goals for each
quarter or semester. Once you have chosen your writing goal for this term, you
can learn about it in short 5-minute bursts. Use the website’s Search button in
the upper right to find appropriate blog posts, web pages, and videos—and then
bookmark and work through them one at a time. Perfect for: waiting for the water to boil on the stove.
Freewrite or journal. It might seem silly, but getting in the habit of
writing will make your “for real” academic writing better. Keep a journal nearby
where you can freewrite for 5 minutes about the weekly course topic, your
research process, or even about your day. Perfect
for: sitting in the parking lot waiting for kids to finish sports practice
or school.
20 minutes:
Listen to an episode
of our WriteCast podcast, a casual conversation for serious writers. The audio podcast tackles such subjects as the writing process,
the perfect paragraph, writer’s block, and word choice. Downloadable to your
device of choice. Perfect for:
commuting to work or exercising.
60 minutes:
Watch a recorded webinar. The Writing
Center presents three to four live webinars per month, and all of these get
archived on the website. Start with What Is Academic Writing? and then work through the webinars in the Scholarly Writing category for an overview of key writing concerns. Each recording is
roughly 1 hour. Perfect for: viewing
while munching on your lunch break.
Take a grammar or APA module and then apply what you learned. Feeling
interactive? The Writing Center offers modules on APA style and on grammar
issues such as verbs and sentence structure. These are 30-45 minutes in length
and include quizzes, videos, and text-based instruction to support your
learning. After taking one of these modules, reread a past discussion post or
paper and analyze what you would do to improve it, based on your new knowledge.
Jot down a few tips to apply to a future assignment. Perfect for: taking a breather from a strenuous assignment; staying
writing-minded during the weeklong hiatus between quarters.
Now do you see how writing skill development can fit into
your life? Yes, you do have time for that—even if it’s just 5 minutes a day.
Hillary Wentworth has been mentoring Walden writers since 2010—first in the Writing Center and now in the Academic Skills Center. In addition to teaching, she serves as the Academic Skills Center’s Manager of WCSS Faculty Development and Graduate Writing Courses to ensure quality instruction. Hillary edits an online literary journal and writes her own nonfiction from her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Thursday Thoughts: October Webinars
Psssst! Hey, writers! We at the Walden Writing Center are having so much fun reading your professional development plans, prospectuses, and discussion posts. Please, keep them coming. If you are a new student at Walden and are hoping to set up a 1:1 appointment with us, check out this page. Here, you'll find information about our scheduling system, myPASS, and the types of documents we can review.As we wrap up the first week of October, we're thinking about all of the Writing Center events on the horizon. This month, you have four webinars to look forward to, as well as a writing-focused look at Walden's Global Days of Service week, which begins on October 17 this year.
From the webinar schedule, you can see that we are excited to chat about paraphrasing, as well as cohesion and flow. During our October 19 webinar, we will be celebrating Global Days of Service, and during our October 25 webinar, you'll get a peek into our 1:1 appointment service.
- Cohesion & Flow: Bringing Your Paper Together
6:00PM - 7:00PM Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - Writing for Social Change: Exploring Perspectives
7:00PM - 8:00PM Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - Practical Skills: Paraphrasing Source Information
6:00PM - 7:00PM Thursday, October 20, 2016 - An Inside Look at Writing Center Paper Review Appointments
1:00PM - 2:00PM Tuesday, October 25, 2016
We hope you'll join us for these webinars. We are excited to see you! Feel free, as well, to check out our entire Webinar Recording Library here! If you have any questions about our webinar schedule or appointment scheduling system, email us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu.
The Walden University Writing Center webinars teach APA guidelines and writing skills for all Walden students, along with webinars specifically for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral capstone students. Webinars offer live writing instruction, as well as an opportunity for students to connect via Q&A and chatting with staff and other Walden students, and each webinar is recorded for later viewing.
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