In academic writing which of the following is the best way to support your claim
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For every claim you make in your writing, you will be required to prove your point. Your opinions and generalisations will need factual detail (evidence) to support them. Those supporting details may come from a number of different types of sources. Show
Please note that the APA referencing style is used in this workshop. About placing evidence in your essayIn a standard essay, you can follow these general rules (i.e. rules may vary) about where you should put your evidence: Click on each link for a description. Introduction paragraphs(about 5% of essay word count). INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPHS have a special function. Unless you are referencing a definition or an important introductory fact, avoid using references in your introductions. Body paragraphs(about 90% of essay word count). BODY PARAGRAPHS carry your evidence (e.g. explanations, arguments, examples). You will need to use a number of references in almost every paragraph to support your claims. Conclusion paragraphs(about 5% of essay word count). CONCLUSION PARAGRAPHS have a special function. Unless you intend to finish your conclusion with a final dramatic statement from a powerful source, avoid using references in your conclusions. Supported facts and unsupported factsStatements in academic writing need to be supported by factual details. When you are editing your writing, you will need to check that you have supported your claims with adequate evidence. For example: Facts not supported with evidenceFacts supported with evidenceMany students seek assistance with their writing skills at university.Wonderland University (2016, p. 36) reports that during the academic year, lecturers recommended that 396 internal and 267 external students should seek assistance with their writing.Writing academic paragraphs is the most important skill in academic writing.The Australian Association of Essay Writing (2012, p. 129) claims that their research in five universities shows that students are required to write academic paragraphs in 90% of their assessment tasks.Exercise 1: Recognising supported and unsupported facts Check the following sentence to see if you can recognise unsupported and supported facts: 1.The learning and teaching report showed that incorrect punctuation caused the most problems for students in conveying meaning in their essay writing (Department of Student Services, 2013, p. 23). Fact supported with evidence Correct! Unsupported fact Incorrect. 2.To convey meaning, students must punctuate their work correctly. Fact supported with evidence Incorrect. Unsupported fact Correct! Types of supporting detailsThere are a number of ways you can support your claims in writing by using information/evidence from the work of (significant) writers and researchers. The following are three of the most common techniques:
Exercise 2: Recognising types of supporting detail Check the following sentence to see if you can identify quotations, examples and statistics: 1.Many student writers have difficulty with some aspects of punctuation. For example, researchers (George et al., 2016; Jones & Brown, 2013; Smith, 2012) find that many students misuse commas, mix up colons and semicolons and use capital letters incorrectly. Quotation Incorrect. Example Correct! Statistic Incorrect. 2.In its research project, the Literacy Foundation (2014, p. 167) argues that “common punctuation errors cause problems with meaning-making in student writing”. Quotation Correct! Example Incorrect. Statistic Incorrect. 3.The Literacy Reference Group (2017, para. 10) finds that more than 60% of the students who were assessed on their literacy scale made errors in their punctuation. Quotation Incorrect. Example Incorrect. Statistic Correct! Using supporting and opposing ideasWhen you have sorted out the position you will take in your essay, you will write a number of paragraphs to provide support for your stance. It is also equally valuable to find information that does not support your stance and argue against those opposite points of view. Statements that you use to do this can follow a simple pattern: Many graduate students are often concerned that academic writing is too difficult. This concern, however, can be eased. There are many tips a student can learn in order to become a better academic writer. This includes understanding how the writing process can help develop the necessary writing skills needed for academic and professional careers. There are various online tools that students can use to improve their writing. One tool that is widely recommended is Trinka– world’s first grammar checker and language enhancement tool, specially designed for academic and technical writing. Trinka can be used by students to check their writing for technical spellings, formal tone, sentence structure and many other features of academic writing. Important Principles of WritingWriting is a process that involves many steps to collectively form a clear, logical research paper. Knowing the aspects of the writing process is an important part of becoming a better writer. Develop the Main IdeaThis is the focus of your paper and the basis of your argument. For example, if your main idea is to argue for three benefits of stem cell research, you should stay focused on developing and providing support for these three benefits.  ResearchYou should collect as many resources as possible. Reading more resources helps you gather ideas. Research also helps you to find the most effective support for your argument. The more resources you can use as support, the stronger your argument will be. AudienceOne aspect of writing that is sometimes overlooked is the audience. The goal of a research paper is to effectively transmit information and knowledge to the reader. Therefore, keeping the audience in mind will help you remain focused on effectively and clearly presenting your ideas. OrganizationResearch papers need to have an organization that follows a clear progression of ideas. Without this clear organization, you might end up with an unclear argument. Remaining focused on your argument helps to develop a clear organization. Important Tips for ESL WritersLike all writers, ESL writers need to follow the basic principles of writing that have been discussed. However, there are some challenges that ESL writers face when developing a research paper. Have a PlanFirst, make sure that you understand the research project. If anything is unclear, talk to your professor. Second, brainstorm. Brainstorming is an opportunity to gather as many ideas as possible. Third, develop a clear outline. This will help you organize your ideas and the overall paper. Read and Write…OftenPractice purposefully. One way to achieve the goals of writing a paper is to brainstorm. Read as much as you can on your topic and take notes. Also, developing a clear schedule of writing is just as important. Becoming an academic writer is about devoting time to practice. Read, Edit, and ReviseYou need to read and reread your paper. Don’t skim through your paper – do a close check of your paper when you edit. During revision, you will be able to correct any errors that might weaken your argument. You can use Trinka to identify and correct grammar and language errors in your writing easily. It is available to use via web browsers, browser plugins or MS Word add-in. Points to Avoid When Writing Academic PapersPlagiarismPlagiarism is when you use the work of another researcher and try to claim it as your own. This is a serious offense in academic writing. So, you need to know how to clearly reference the work of others when you use their writing as support. Using plagiarism checker can help you in determining plagiarized content and giving due credit to other researchers. Language and Grammar ErrorsLanguage and grammar are difficult aspects of writing for ESL graduates. You want to use strong, declarative statements in your writing. For language, avoid using the passive voice. Instead, use the active voice to make strong statements. Also, you should avoid using “I” too often. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors could lead to a less effective argument. If you are unsure about the language and grammar in your paper, you can consult a writing center or ask a friend to proofread your paper. If you want to ensure your paper is ready for the global audience, you should try Trinka ‒ its robust AI and exclusive features will provide you customized writing assistance wherever you write. What is your experience as an academic writer? Do you have any tips to offer? Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below. What is a claim in academic writing?What is a claim? • A claim is the main argument of an essay. It is the most important part of an academic paper. • A claim defines the paper's goals, direction, and scope. It is supported by evidence.
What are the good sources to support your academic writing?The most common credible sources are scholarly journals, conference papers and books because these have been peer-reviewed (read and approved for publication by other authors). However, there are good websites that can be used; generally ending in . gov / . edu / .
What supports the writer's claim?✓ A claim defines your paper‟s goals, direction, scope, and exigence and is supported by evidence, quotations, argumentation, expert opinion, statistics, and telling details.
What is your main claim called in an academic argument?Making a Claim / Forming a Thesis Statement
In academic writing, an argument is usually a main idea, often called a “claim” or “thesis statement,” backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In the majority of college papers, you will need to make some sort of claim and use evidence to support it.
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