Scholarly Writing Skills

Writing in a scholarly manner is one of the most difficult tasks for a student. It involves the correct knowledge, comprehension, and expertise to be able to produce a good output. One important skill in scholarly writing is being able to compose statements and paragraphs with reliable content. This means that there should be adequate supporting evidence to posed arguments. Also, proper citations on both in-text and reference list must be included to avoid plagiarism. Another important skill is producing a readable output. Readability is achieved through writing in a scientific manner which means that words and statements should be clear and concise. Highfalutin words and vague statements should be avoided (Goldbort, 2001). Lastly, an important skill in scholarly writing is being consistent with standard academic conventions for writing. This means that the output should follow basic grammar rules and use correct style, tone, and argument formation (Hall, 2000). Hall (2000) discussed in detail the basic grammar rules which include writing in complete sentences, subject-verb agreement, appropriate punctuation, right vocabulary, and correct use of apostrophe. Furthermore, she explained the style conventions which include typing and spelling, avoidance of abbreviations, capitalization of letters, etc. A writer should also write formally (avoiding cliches and jargons) and make sensible use of paragraphs that involve analysis and answering the questions or supporting the thesis (Hall, 2000). On the other hand, I need to improve and learn common referencing styles as I am only familiar with the American Psychological Association format. Based on feedbacks from my professors, I am able to provide good review of literature containing supportive and sound evidences for my thesis, but my skills in providing accurate in-text and reference citations should be improved. Another aspect that I need to improve on is forming sound arguments. Sometimes, I provide too many information and focus too much on specific details that the most important subject or even the answer to the question is not emphasized in my writing. These are the two skills in that I need to improve the most. Meanwhile, I am able to produce readable outputs that helps my readers understand my writing easily. I have learned and practiced not too use cliches and jargons in academic writing. I also allot ample time in proofreading my writings in order to minimize and correct grammatical and typographical errors before I submit them. The best way to improve my skill in accurate referencing style is by studying the common reference styles used in scholarly writing such as the APA, MLA, Turabian, and AMA. It is also important to consider when to use these types of referencing styles aside from learning how to use their format (Delany, n. d. ) To address my lack of competence in forming sound arguments, I need to organize my thoughts by structuring an outline on my topics and subtopics so that my statements and paragraphs would be coherent and clear. I would also need to define exactly the question I need to answer, the supporting evidences for my answer, and the analysis and critique of the supporting statements that I presented.