A Roundtable Approacheth: April 15th at 10 a.m. in HM 340

ECU Scholars gather to discuss what makes academic writing academic

"What Makes Academic Writing 'Academic'?" (and other questions worth considering):  A Roundtable,
featuring ECU faculty members (from left to right in the photo at left): Chelsea Baker, Jim Hunter, Jennifer McMahon, Houston Mount, and Robin Murphy.

More Questions Worth Considering (feel free to comment by clicking on the button below!):
Preston Marshall:  Does an academic essay need to be persuasive?  I sometimes think that an essay could be interesting without it being there to persuade the reader to any particular view point. I think an essay could just present an idea or be someone giving their opinion on a matter or sharing something interesting. I just wonder if these types of essays fall more into the personal essay category or can an academic essay be just an exploration as well? When I was in high school all of my teachers led me to believe that an essay was there to persuade someone to your view not to just express a view.

"Free Speech" (1943) by Norman Rockwell

Kaylie Blackwell:  What are the best techniques for developing an academic essay?  This question is interesting to me because I have received conflicting advice concerning the development of academic essays. When I was taking Freshman Comp II, we wrote essays that were mainly based on fact rather than opinion. Our final project for that class was to write essay that essentially resembled scholarly journals. We were required to find a minimum of ten references, and we were never allowed to use "I" or even "you." (And don't even get me started on the five-paragraph format I learned in high school.) In [Dr. Benton’s Reading and Writing Advanced Essays] class, we seem to be focusing more on opinion than fact . . . though we can use facts to back up our opinions. Ironically, we are each responding to at least one reference (usually an article) and the words "I" and "you" are permitted. As a result of this conflicting advice, I would really like to know what is universally accepted in developing academic essays.

Laramie Mims:  Which part of an academic essay do you feel should get the most attention or is the most important? I ask this question because I am curious to see which part should be used to hook and keep the reader interested. I realize every part of an academic essay is important, but is there a specific part that you would find most important or deserves the most attention for any reason?

Paula Wiest:  When is an academic essay no longer considered "academic"?  For instance, say I include my own personal observations, findings and experiences, does my academic paper then become a research paper or perhaps fall into the personal essay?

Cody Stephens:  When I write, I tend to choose subjects that I have personally experienced or encountered within my life.  I do so to see other opinions and sides to stories that I also have an opinion on.  This leads me to pose the question of, "Can your opinion be accountable when opposing an essay that is statistically based or has relevant data to back up their reasoning?"  I primarily ask this because I am in this boat as we speak.  My essay [on the use of aluminum bats in baseball], in contrasting the articles that have statistics to back up their points, is based off of my many years that I have played and experienced the game myself.

Trevor Davis:  How do I make what I say academic instead of just seeming personal? I feel like that without proper sources, my opinion alone isn't credible enough.

Chad Large:  How does one determine the appropriate tone to take in an academic essay? I am always concerned about where to draw the line between conversational style and the "scholarly".  Balance? Audience? Topic?

Katie Anderson:  What kind of voice is best for an academic essay? Is it ever appropriate to throw a little humor into an otherwise dry topic/essay?I ask this because I hate to write in a dry and boring voice.  No I have never been told in a direct way that I couldn't add humor, but you can pick up on hints.  I was just wondering from a general perspective, if it's appropriate to add humor.  

Rodney Weaverling:  As a teacher, what do you feel is the best way for a student to show their authority in an academic essay?  Often as students, we feel like we are not able to comment on a subject because we feel like we do not have the authority to comment. Instead, we use quotes excessively to convey our view, rather than simply using them for support.

Lindsi Bonar:  In the essay I'm in the middle of writing, I keep finding myself wondering which to rely on more heavily - statistics or personal anecdotes? Which of these carries more weight in an academic essay? I have plenty of both, I'm just not sure which one to spend more time expounding upon.

Megan Van Eaton:  It has been my experience that an academic paper is characterized by "creditable" sources--lots of them. Do you think it's the sources that make the paper or is it the writing itself or tone the author employs? Can any topic be explored academically? What moves do you think work best in academic writing? How is the best way to approach an "academic topic" without sounding dry and boring?

I ask these questions because they plague me literally every time I sit down to write a paper. It makes it hard to focus because ultimately I don't want to write according to each teacher's needs, which I feel like I spend the majority of my academic career doing, I want to write for a larger audience and for myself.