WRITING ABOUT WRITING

Martino Zichittella SP0100129

Academic Year 2009/2010

Academic Writing considered as a methodical process and

analysed in relation with the real problems which arise

attempting to cope with it.

This essay attempts to demonstrate all the difficulties that

may occur trying to write an academic work in a foreign

language.

Several studies focus their attention on the importance of

Academic Writing which is described not only as a linguistic

operation, but also, and more precisely, as a complex and

structured process. It

appears to be truth that the most difficult step of this

process -according to the majority of the students who start

approaching this discipline- is the organisation of the text

which might present not only a various, complex and formal

style but also a global coherence. Style and structure have

to be perfectly integrated in order to stress and emphasize

the content and the information expressed in the essay.

Besides building the linguistic structure, an “academic

writer” is supposed to be well informed about the subject he

1
is dealing with and it consequently follows that his writing

process has to be preceded by an accurate work of

academic research.

Another central aspect of this discipline is the importance of

the reader: as a matter of fact an academic essay has to be

properly directed to the kind of “audience” is going to read

it, giving relevance both to the topic –the one supposed to

be of interest for the reader- and to the future application of

the text.

Going back to the central subject –the difficulties of A.W.- it

is presumably truth that students consider A.W. as a hard

operation to cope with.

According to this is neither usual nor common for a student

to express his ideas following a strict process, respecting

stylistic rules and giving attention to the syntactic structure

as well. Consequently the situation presents a considerable

opposition between students, who are usually accustomed

to an immediate and simple use of language, especially if it

is a foreign one, and the subject of their studies(i.e.

Academic Writing).

As a matter of fact an academic essay is due to be

elaborated for a long time, studying the best way to satisfy

both stylistic formality and coherence in the content.

In spite of the difficulties that frequently occur, A.W. is a

fundamental skill, required learning in order to achieve an

high English level. All the problems have to be faced with

2
the consciousness that succeeding in writing an academic

essay is not a matter of talent but depends on exercise and

practice.

This academic discipline can be considered as the result of a

long and methodical process; not simple to comprehend but

necessary to slowly assimilate.

In addition to this the importance of A.W. is surely related to

the flexibility of its use: in fact this skill can be useful dealing

with a large variety of subjects, and is conventionally

assumed as an indispensable ability to work as a

professional.

In conclusion it is reasonable to assume that, in order to

achieve good results in Academic Writing, it is necessary to

learn and assimilate a specific, precise and proper method .

It can be divided into three fundamentals steps: the first is

surely the research of the materials, the second step is to

focus the attention both on the proposals and on the

audience of the text and the third consist of developing a

structured and articulated organisation which has to respect

a stylistic formality and coherence.

Initial problems, difficulties and mistakes are just part of a

main, necessary to be faced and presumably functional to

succeed in learning how to write an academic essay.

(549)