Grading Academic Writing

When grading academic writing there are a number of things a professor will consistently look for apart from the fundamentals of spelling and grammar. Writing interesting content is great but even if you can’t or don’t, follow the steps below to cover your bases and your academic writing will certainly gain a pass.

Create an Intriguing Introduction: Begin with a bang. Make the introduction compelling and provocative so the reader feels, not that they must keep reading, but that they want to keep reading. The introduction in academic writing must outline the story in such a way as to serve as a road map and an overview. A map in terms of showing what will be discovered and an overview in terms of what will be uncovered.

Develop a Great Thesis: Write a clear thesis both for the readers benefit and your own. Academic writing that is tight is terrific. With that in mind ensure that the introductory paragraph tells the reader exactly what they will find contained in your academic writing. Use a research question to achieve this outcome and you can be sure that the thesis statement will be concise.

Honor the Style: The professor will have specified how he or she wants your academic writing presented in terms of a particular writing style. Style may be a common style like APA or MLA or it may be something like Harvard Style which sets some parameters but leave many up to the individual professor to ascertain. 

While styles will dictate the format of text, headings and paragraphs the most important function style serves is in terms of referencing. On that note follow referencing requirements relevant to a specific style to the letter. It goes without saying that all outside influences must be referenced, credited and cited.

Another point about citations is that cited sources should, most of the time, be used sources. That is to say that a long list of literary sources has little meaning unless those sources are used to define the research. In text citations to sources will show the professor how you applied the information gleaned to your own thesis and this will gain you credit.

Show Structure: Well organized academic writing is well graded academic writing. Ensure you meet all of the professor’s requirements in terms of style and content. Double check you have included the title page, an abstract, an introduction, a well structured body broken into logical segments, a summary and a conclusion. Don’t forget to restate the thesis in the conclusion.

During every editing phase check that your ideas are progressing logically and that there is flow from paragraph to paragraph. Transition sentences that are easy to follow are a key ingredient of excellent academic writing.

Be Original: your writing must reflect your learning and your own ideas. After a period of time your academic writing will acquire a particular style that is yours. When this happens every academic paper you write will bear the mark of your distinct style. In the meantime look for flow and try to be creative as well as you can but concise, because there is a fine balance that will make your writing stand out. As well as being original in style look for original takes on your subject topic. Find the niche that hasn’t been tapped and your academic writing will go from okay to awesome and so will your grade!