Writing for an American Academic Audience(2)

Example:

The remaining workers were laid off because they were considered expendable, a drain on the company’s budget. Also expendable was the company’s organizational vision. The initial charter stated that the company would. . . .

Be Direct, Concise, and to the Point
Most professors in American universities are not impressed by a complicated writing style, one which uses lots of complex sentence structures, overly formal words, and the continuous repetition of ideas. If you can keep your style simple, you will be less likely to commit errors in grammar and thus more likely to hold the interest of your reader.

What Else Should I Know?
Talk often with your professors. They know best what they want to see in your work, and often you will understand an assignment better if they can talk to you about it one-to-one. Scholars in the West believe that published academic work is the intellectual property solely of the one who creates the work. When you use other people's words or ideas in your own writing, you must give them credit; failure to do so is called plagiarism, which amounts to theft! The Writing Lab has a handout and research handbooks that show you how to avoid plagiarism.

Understand that learning English is a process, not something that is immediately acquired, like a new car, nor are language difficulties something to be "fixed." Don’t be discouraged by difficulty—no one, not even native users of a language, ever becomes perfect in a language. Set reasonable goals that you can achieve over a long period of time. The tutors in the Writing Lab can help you set these goals and check your progress.

Schedule time each week to work on English skills not related to your academic work. Talk with English-speaking friends, read local newspapers, and find out about the cultures around you. Also, the Writing Lab offers you a self-study center that helps you work on reading, speaking, and listening at your own pace. You can also make appointments to talk with tutors about your papers.