Standard American Academic Writing?

[Lana]

I never thought that writing an essay or a paper for educational purposes would ever be a trouble for me... unitl I realized that I am expected to write a standard Western style paper. Now, whatever I write, I receive such feedback : Your paper is problematic from the point of view of tha basic academic style.

The most embarassing thing is that I still can't catch that something that makes a difference between what my professors expect and what I produce according to my Armenian/Russian education. Has anyone encountered such problems? I know I can always apply to writing centers but I think this is something that has to do with culture and may be a personal experience will be more helpful.

[gamavor]

Lower your standard and try to "sound" more American. You need to use simple logical constructions while presenting your view and basically "follow the current". That's is what is expected from you. Avoid syllogisms, avoid personal opinions, avoid symbolism and metaphoric expressions (they will not understand what you are trying to say), avoid originalities, and stick to the facts.

 

One problem that most foreign students encounter is not emphasizing enough the main theme. They fail to do so for many reasons, the main of which is not being able to identify the main concept or idea. Usually this is due to difference in the culture. In America subtly everything is gain and loss. Even in most seemingly non-materialistic spheres everything is silently related to money.

[Armen]

I main problem I have encountered is that if you present your argument you need to show the whole logical line. Do not assume that they are going to make assumptions for you even if there is only one assumtion to make.

[Lana]

The most funny thing about this all is that I am going to become an ESL writing teacher/instrutor. Can you imagine my professors' surprise when they read my papers? "And how is she going to teach if she doesn't know herself?" and the usual on margins. Edited March 16, 2005 by Lana

[gamavor]

Exactly! We are use to understand each other with few words. Sometimes without words. Here you need to explain everything patiently and with courage.

 

And again do not "revolutionize" your paper. Stick to the standard and they will love you forever. Another very important for Americans writing feature is the Form. Be sure to be aware of all kinds of margins, indent, paragraphs, footnotes, etc..

[nairi]

I don't really agree with you Gams, about the revolutionize. You can be original, but stick to your thesis statement, be as detailed as possible, keep a logic, and explain everything. If you make assumptions, explain them. If you're critical, explain what makes you critical and how you came to that understanding.

 

You're writing for someone who knows something about the subject, but not as much as you do. You have to keep that in mind. Be as clear as possible at all times. Make references when necessary. You can use metaphors, but make sure they are universally understandable and fit in your argumentation.

 

If everything you wrote is logical, clear and makes sense, the only thing they can downgrade you for is "truth". For instance if you're analyzing the Bush administration, then don't write that the current president of the States is Nixon. That sort of falsity.

 

It's tough, but I think practice, practice, practice makes perfect. And read other people's essays (professional essays, articles, that sort of thing), learn from their style.

[Siamanto]

I never thought that writing an essay or a paper for educational purposes would ever be a trouble for me... unitl I realized that I am expected to write a standard Western style paper.

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Maybe you mean the "Anglo-Saxon" style. The French and the German write differently.

 

 

 

Lower your standard and  try to "sound" more American. You need to use simple logical constructions while presenting your view and basically "follow the current". That's is what is expected from you. Avoid syllogisms, avoid personal opinions, avoid symbolism and metaphoric expressions (they will not understand what you are trying to say), avoid originalities, and stick to the facts.

 

One problem that most foreign students encounter is not emphasizing enough the main theme. They fail to do so for many reasons, the main of which is not being able to identify the main concept or idea. Usually this is due to difference in the culture. In America subtly everything is gain and loss. Even in most seemingly non-materialistic spheres everything is silently related to money.

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I would simply add that the the English sentence is very simple in structure compared to the German one. The French is not as complex as the German but closer to the German. The English sentence is therefore much shorter and almost "linear."

(For instance, I would have expressed, the above two lines, as one sentence in French.)

I have noticed that Armenian sentences are long enough and relatively structured i.e. sentences within sentences.

Before I started writing in English on a daily basis, my sentences were very long and intertwined: I have learned to break them into several simpler and "linear" ones!

Using bullets is another technique that may help!

Don't worry, you'll adapt!

[Siamanto]

Also, the "Anglo-Saxon" mind is less fantasist and more straightforward.

You should also consider "stylistic techniques" to simplify your ideas and "presentation techniques" to better structure/group them in a way that guides the reader.

Edited March 16, 2005 by Siamanto

[gamavor]

In my class we had students from Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada, etc.. and they had the same problem as the rest of the students. Expropriating the term "Western" is American patent.

[gamavor]

....our main problem was that we were forced to explain OBVIOUS things as if we are in the kindergarden! On the other hand it was fun!

[nairi]

....our main problem was that we were forced to explain OBVIOUS things as if we are in the kindergarden! On the other hand it was fun! 

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Okay, I'll have to agree with that. So far I've had European/British style training, but I had an American essay prof once; messed up everything I'd learned until then, exactly with this! You had to go as far as to define each word you were using.

 

But maybe that was just him.

[DominO123]

Lower your standard and  try to "sound" more American. You need to use simple logical constructions while presenting your view and basically "follow the current". That's is what is expected from you. Avoid syllogisms, avoid personal opinions, avoid symbolism and metaphoric expressions (they will not understand what you are trying to say), avoid originalities, and stick to the facts.

 

One problem that most foreign students encounter is not emphasizing enough the main theme. They fail to do so for many reasons, the main of which is not being able to identify the main concept or idea. Usually this is due to difference in the culture. In America subtly everything is gain and loss. Even in most seemingly non-materialistic spheres everything is silently related to money.

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I AGREE 100%... depersonalize the article, or you'll never get it published. Simply sticking with facts, and clarity(that is my main problem).

[kakachik77]

I was educated in America so I am quite surprised to see from this thread that there are many other academic styles since my understanding was that the academic formats/styles are supposed to be universal. Anyhow, not sure exactly what your problem is...grammar, structure of the paper, sentence structure or else. For paper structure use something like this:

 

1. Introduction

(first parapraph with the thesis at the end, your thesis should clearly define your position on the topic, your arguments etc.)

 

2.Body

Body

Body

Body

(not sure how long your papers are, basically each body paragraph is supposed to explain some aspect of the thesis)

 

Conclusion (reiterate your thesis and summarize your conclusions).

 

For proper grammar, footnote style, etc. you can refer to

 

Modern Language Association Handbook (most current, any bookstore carries it), they even have a website nowadays www.mla.org

 

I hope I was somehow helpful, good luck

[Anoushik]

For me the problem has always been that my writing is too general. This is the comments I've gotten from my professors. In my current Advanced Writing class (required to graduate) the professor has told us that she doesn't want us to write standard, high school, five-paragraph essays, but rather take more freedom in our writings. Still, everything that we write in the essay has to tie back to the thesis. Also, every single point that we make has to be supported by at least two examples.

 

It's challenging and tricky to write a good essay, and unfortunately for me, I tend to write my essays the night before. Until recently I was used to getting A's for my essays that were written the night before but it all changed this semester as the expectations are higher. Now I'm struggling to start my essays earlier as the due date approaches

[nairi]

I AGREE 100%... depersonalize the article, or you'll never get it published. Simply sticking with facts, and clarity(that is my main problem).

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Maybe it depends on the subject, but we have always been encouraged to write from our own point of view. Using "I" or "we" is also accepted (though limited). Like I said, it's good to "revolutionize" and be original (i.e. being critical of facts), but be academic.

 

Also, as far as I have read Armenian essays, they tend to do the same, so I'm not sure this whole cultural thing is true.

 

What is true is that you're taught to unlearn everything you learned in high school. Maybe this is what is causing the problem and not so much the cultural difference.

Edited March 17, 2005 by nairi

[Harut]

Maybe it depends on the subject, but we have always been encouraged to write from our own point of view. Using "I" or "we" is also accepted (though limited). Like I said, it's good to "revolutionize" and be original (i.e. being critical of facts), but be academic.

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here in usa, we (i) have always been discouraged to use 'i' or 'we', unless it directly relates to me.

[kakachik77]

The most embarassing thing is that I still can't catch that something that makes a difference between what my professors expect and what I produce according to my Armenian/Russian education.

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Don't be embarassed!!! I think that's more an issue here than the so-called differences between American and Armeno-Russian essay writing styles. Why don't you sit down with a professor, be completely honest with the problem you are having and they should be the best source for you to understand what are you doing different. Ask them to be "clear" (as they are asking that of you , perhaps itemize the problems they see in your writings. This is called learning, nothing to be embarrassed about.

[Armen]

Maybe this was already mentioned ... but still.

 

Here in US "an argument" is something very rigid and clearly defined. It has a well defined structure as far as I came to know. For example, when you make a statement in the beginning of you argument you must make sure, that after you said what your argument "is", you should also state what it "is not". And this should be done very clearly. If you manage to make a strong contrast between these "is" and "is not", your argument becomes stronger. If this argument is in your conclusion and you make the same contrast using two different aspects of your context, your argument is even more stronger.

 

Interestingly enough, this structure that according to its goal should bring to iron strong logic in American academic writing, makes some of the academic literature very complicated and, strangely enough, vague. Especially, the political and sociological research paper or books. In economics or any other discipline that uses calculus this trend is not there. But in political literature ... The authors are so keen to make those contrasts in their argumentation that while reading these articles you totally forget what was their hypothesis or what were they trying to prove anyways.

 

If you have a 20 page article from some political or sociological book there are some 40 these kind of contraststing-arguments. I usually need to go back to the initial hypothesis (or glance though the title again) to recall what I was my string of thoughts.

 

As far as I have seen, in European writing these contrasting arguments are not a must for each and every case. It is less formalised.

 

Don't know which is better but I sure get higher marks here in US when I make my arguments "black-white" kind of thing.

Edited March 17, 2005 by Armen

[gamavor]

Nairi, I will try to explain why it is cultural, admitting that you may be right why it is purely matter of educational approach.

 

Firstly, the value system of the society. The value system determines what is right and what is wrong. In most Academic institutions in USA, students are trained (talking about MBA, Law, and other business related disciplines, but not only) to follow the money trail. They are encouraged to do so. A slight deviation would be considered not wrong, but as Lana said “problematic”, because it shows that the student is missing the track.

 

Why it is a matter of educational approach? What is the guiding source for the student is the textbook, and here is the big controversy. Most educational materials (talking about High education) in USA are written in a way that are far from any Academic standard, which the professor demands and expects from the students. They lack academic analysis and are written in a form that is more like re-telling a story, rather than examining the theory or presenting different concepts and their development. In most countries in Europe (surprisingly in Great Britain tooJ) the students are presented with whole bunch of authors, theories, books, etc. and it is up to them to make their point or argument at the exam. They have the freedom to choose what is the “right” answer as long as they can prove it.

 

In USA the study course of a discipline is more related to studding the facts and through analyzing the facts reaching the same conclusion as the one that is held as a “golden key” in the hands of the professor who will grade your work. And again it is cultural, because if your value system is different from the one of the Professor, although logically you can reach the same conclusion you will put it down, or would emphasize different topics or different concepts.

[kakachik77]

Ok, Gamavor, beware of assumptions you're making...this thread is supposed to educate not to indoctrinate.

[gamavor]

Guilty as charged.

[nairi]

In USA the study course of a discipline is more related to studding the facts and through analyzing the facts reaching the same conclusion as the one that is held as a “golden key” in the hands of the professor who will grade your work.

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It's the same here sweety All depends on the professor, and potentially on what course you're following (but I would say professor primarily). Some professors just want to hear what they have said in class; others appreciate a different point of view.

 

Grading essays is very biased, especially in the liberal arts department.

[gamavor]

It's the same here sweety

 

 

Oh, OK!

[Siamanto]

Lana,

If you do not enjoy "correctional" comments such as

... beware of assumptions you're making...[it] is supposed to educate not to indoctrinate.

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Don't behave as "delinquently" as gamavor. Don't attempt to understand, analyze and/or explain. You should limit yourself to observe, record and report.

 

Keep in mind that

1- An attempt to explain based on an analysis is a first degree felony

2- An attempt to analyze and understand - with no intention to explain - is a second degree felony

3- An attempt to explain without any due analysis is a third degree misdemeanor

 

Know your rights, get acquainted with the Laws!

[Lana]

Vaaay, es aveli xarnveci irar. However, I sat down today and tried to write my recent assignment according to your advise

So far I am satisfied with what I wrote.

Tesnenk professors inch kasi.