Academic writing...feedback on your responses
So, how did you fare? If you chose the incorrect answer to a number of the questions you might wish to revisit your lecture notes or have a look at the Academic Writing slides.
 And the correct answer is...No, I disagree. It's more important to write clearly and succinctly than to write with a flourish or to use elaborate language. If you can write with a flourish and put your point over succinctly then great, but as a new student we would recommend focussing on putting your ideas over in a clear rather than an overly elaborate way. We agree 100% with Dr Christine Robinson on this one: "write to express, not to impress."
 And the correct answer is...No, that's incorrect. The reader will thank you for spending a little time setting the scene by introducing the topic and outlining your intentions within an introduction. It is really difficult for the marker to work out what your hoping to do if you launch straight into a response.
 And the correct answer is...No, that's incorrect. It is fine to use contractions informally but less so when writing a formal piece of academic work such as an essay or report. Essentially, contractions sound a too informal and conversational.
 And the correct answer is...No, don't agree with that. Precision and accuracy (as opposed to vagueness and generalisation) are essential within most forms of academic writing. Furthermore, writing with 'passion' would seem to be at odds with the idea of rational, unemotional discussion that we have talked about in class in recent weeks.
 And the correct answer is...Yes, that's true. A conclusion should also summarise what has gone before, refer back to the question and, ideally, end with a punch or a nice sentence to round things off.
 And the correct answer is...Yes, sounds good to me. As discussed in class, a reference list provides details of all the sources you cited within an essay, while a bibliography includes all those sources plus the details of any other sources that informed your thinking, even if you didn't mention them specifically within your essay.
 And the correct answer is...No, not sure about that. Spell checking is a good idea, however you need to re-read your assignment afterwards as the magic of the spellchecker won't necessarily pick up every error. For instance, where you have typed 'form' instead or 'from', where you used 'their' when you meant to use 'there' or when you typed 'its' rather than 'it's'. And don't forget Alice's threat surrounding the use of the 'z' on account of using having your spellcheck set to the American setting...
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