Writing In An Appropriate Style - Edition 1

Use The Appropriate Writing Style


different academic subjects will demand different styles of writing from you. for example, some subjects require you to use the third person ('Smith argues that ...', or He said ...') and to achieve a certain amount of distance from the arguments you are writing about. Other subjects expect the first person ( 'I placed the seeds in full daylight ...'), for example, in the in the reports that you might write for a science or technology subject.


however, despite the differences, you will always be expected to use evidence and justification to back up what you write, rather than simply using your personal opinion. look at your course materials for guidance on what kind of style you are expected to use in your assignments.


when you write an academic assignment, you should aim to

• Use your own words. When you draw upon the ideas you have come across in your course, you should reformulate the words that the original authors wrote. In using your own words to express the argument, you avoid plagiarising  other people's work and you improve your understanding of what is being said.
• Support your arguments. In all types of assignment (other than creative writing assignment) you will be expected to write in a vigorously argued way. This means, rather than simply saying what your opinion is without explanation, you must give evidence and reasons that indicate how you've come to that conclusion or opinion.