Problems in academic writing in English for non-native students can be the result of the transfer of their first language. Have you ever wondered why no matter how much time you spend learning the English grammatical rules or how hard you pay attention in your English classes, you are still unable to produce an
In conducting research, you can normally find both primary and secondary sources that can be used. It is important for students to recognise the difference between a primary and a secondary source and know how to use them appropriately. Download a summary of this post to keep for reference using the social buttons below A primary source,
It is often difficult for people writing in Australian English to hold to the conventions of Australian English, due largely to our regular exposure to American English in academic writing. In this week’s blog, we will review some important differences between Australian and American English writing conventions. The aim is to alert you to some
While it may seem obvious to say that academic writing must stay focused, and that all information included in an essay/thesis should be relevant to the question/topic, this is sometimes easier said than done. In this week’s blog, we discuss some strategies for keeping your writing focused and avoiding irrelevancies, both during researching and
So you have finished researching for your essay, and you have all of these amazing quotations. Now it is important to know when and how to use quotations to enhance the effectiveness of your writing. When should you use quotations? • Like supporting examples, quotations should be used to strengthen arguments. • They should be used
A book review is a critical review that gives an analysis, description and evaluation of a book. There are no fixed rules regarding how to write a book review because the format will depend on the context in which the book review is being written and the personal perspective of the reader. The style of
An article critique is a genre of academic writing that provides critical evaluation through intensive analysis of an article, which involves giving a brief summary of the article. Reading an article critique helps an audience in understanding the key points of the article, the author’s ideas and intentions. It indicates the perceived success of an
For many, writing a résumé can be a daunting task. Quite often, the power of a résumé is underestimated, but of course a résumé acts as your first impression to your potential employer. Since it could be among thousands of résumés sent to a company, it is really important that yours establishes your value as
The comma is one of the most common and important punctuation marks in the English language. It is also one of the most commonly misused. It is not uncommon when asking someone why he or she has used a comma incorrectly to receive answers like ‘because it just looked like it needed one,’ or ‘I
