Quality in Academic Writing Is it just song and dance?

All online academic paper writing companies (wi thout exemp tion) promi se to

offer c ustom essays,  resea rch papers, e tc, that are of t he high est  quality. We can 

get into  reas ons why ma ny do  not live  up to expectations but let’s focus on w hat

real  quality academic writing is all about so that we can spot a con a mi le away 

before get ting ripped off.

The ques tion that needs to be asked therefore is: can the quality of an academic

paper be determined before you get that failing grade?  What  should you look for

when you receive your paper from the  paper writing service of choice?

While the checklist below does not guarantee you a passing grade, it

gives you a very accurate idea of whether you are getting your money’s

worth. If you weigh your paper against it and find that it deviates widely

from the checklist, chances are that your paper is poorly written, rushed

1.  Following tutor’s instructions: All writing guides  in the world are not a

substitute for your tutor/lecturer’s instructions. Your  paper should strictly

seek  to fulfill all

the requiremen ts handed over by the examining authority. If a grading rubric is

provided then care should be taken to follow it to the letter.

2.  Organization and structure: The paper you present should be neat as

this would appeal to the reader’s eye. Basically most academic papers are

structured in a similar manner. The most common structure for essays and

term papers is

•    Abstract (optional)

•    Introduction

•    Bo dy paragra ph s

•    Conclusion

•    Re ferences

•    Appendix (optional)

In the same way,    research papers, dissertations and theses follow a general

structure as follows:

•    Abs tract

•    Introduction

•    Literature review

•    Methodology

•    Analysis

•    Resul ts

•    Discussion

•    Conclusion

•    List of sources

•    Appendix (optional)

2.   The  Introduction: A great paper starts with… duh… a great

introduction. This  is  the

point of entry  to your paper. A good introduction should:

•    Open the main issues of the question

•    Indicate the way the question will be addressed

•    Outline how the essay is structured

•    Offer a statement of the types of conclusion to be drawn.

3.   Coherence: The most important  aspect  of the body of any paper is

clarity of ideas (coherence) and smo oth transition from one idea to the

next. Poor quality papers are incoherent and difficult to read.

4.  Paragraphs that support the central argument: Another sign of a

quality paper is that the body paragra phs support the thesis  statement one

after the other. Paragraphs that have  a vag ue relationship with the main

arg ument of the paper are an indication of poor quality.

5.  In text citations and referencing: It is paramount to give credit to the

sources  you

use  in yo ur paper. Whether you qu ote any author word  by word or  just 

para phrase an idea  from ot her literary works, you  are r equired  to

document yo ur so urces  within the body of your text (in  text ci tation  )

and includ e full citation at  the  end of y our tex t. Th ere are  different

styles of documenting sources such as APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian

among others. A good quality paper will adhere strictly to the chosen

formatting guide. Inconsistencies when documenting sources are a sign of a

Similarly, when listing down the sources at the end of the paper, this should

be done according to the particular formatting style. Additionally the full

bibliographic information should be presented whenever possible.

6.  Grammar and language: Poor grammar and incorrect use of language is

a major giveaway in academic paper writing. Typos and run-on sentences

will spoil even the well researched paper. Other tutors and professors will

give a failing grade to papers characterized by poor grammar run-on

sentences and typos. These indicate lack of thoroughness. As such, papers

should be proofread carefully and all sentences that make no sense or are

difficult to read rewritten.

7.  Conclusion: It is easy to give the least attention to your conclusion.

However your conclusion is meant to tie everything together in support of

your main argument or thesis statement. Here you can call for action and

give recommendation if appropriate. You may also open room for more

research in the same times. A conclusion is not supposed to merely be a

summary of your body. Neither are you to

introduce anything new that has not been covered in your text.

8.  Credibility of sources: The sources you use in writing your paper will say a

lot about the quality of your research. It is important to use authority sources.

Newspapers, magazines and some historical books, government and

organizational websites are good primary sources while journals, books are

good secondary sources. It is prudent to use a mixture of primary and

secondary sources as well as variety of these. Online sources whose academic

authority cannot be ascertained such as Wikipedia, answers.com and other

article mills should be avoided.

9. Plagiarism. Among our list of vices, plagiarism requires special attention.

Plagiarism is unauthorized or improper use of other people’s work in your

paper. Plagiarism can be intentional (where the writer is just trying to be

cheeky) or unintentional (the most common form). In academia, plagiarism is

a serious offence that has ethics as its key component and depending on your

institution’s policy on plagiarism; this offence can have serious consequences

including expulsion from college. That’s the bad news; the good news is that

plagiarism can easily be avoided. With the advent of internet, literacy

materials have become very readily available. This is a good thing but has

unfortunately been abused thus increasing incidences of plagiarism in

academia. There are numerous affective tools in use today to check for

plagiarism in submitted work. Here are a few tips to help you avoid plagiarism

in your paper:

a.   Be original: In research the goal is not for you to repeat and

reorganize what has been done before. Instead you are expected to

shed some new light on your chosen topic. You use other people to

help in the thought process as well as to support your assertions.

Otherwise try to approach your topic with an open and independent

mind.

b.   Paraphrase: Use  your own words  to explain  somebody’s  ideas. You

ares till required to give  credit to this source.

c.   Cite  your  sources properly:  Documenting  your  sources  in

accordance  to the instructions given by your lecturer/tutor will

save you much trouble.