Academic Writing Styles: How to Create a Good One? Essay

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Summary of Bartholomae’s argument

Bartholomae’s argument puts forward many tips for good academic writing styles. First, he says that new writers should come up with new specialized ways of arguing, engaging their thoughts, and bringing about authority. Commenting on this tip, Bartholomae says, one must “invent the university” (Norgaard 209). To invent the university, one has to show authority in scholarship, analysis, or research. From their writings, people should sound like masters of the language.

For summaries involving technical writings, Bartholomae suggests that one should use exceptional vocabulary and a system of presentation. Besides, people should make use of a scheme that is interpretive (Norgaard 212). Bartholomae also argues that a good writer should make use good of a “commonplace” in his/her writing. Commonplace implies a statement that embodies a self necessary explanation. Lastly the writer, through his/her work should sound as if privileged or having status; he/she should use the language of the teachers. Since students have difficulty going through the transition between writer based and reader-based prose, Bartholomae suggests that one should train to write with a reader originally in his/her mind.

Summary of Anzaldúa’s argument

Anzaldúa’s argument revolves around the inferior position of the black woman in society. She echoes Bartholomae’s argument about the training of writers when she says “…perhaps if we go to university” (Anzaldúa and Moraga 167). Here she implies that going to university would be the first step towards one becoming a good writer. She further adds that black women’s endeavoring as much as possible to become middle class would be another recipe for good writing. Anzaldúa denounces skin color, gender, or race as a requirement for good writers. She observes that it should be women’s conviction to “…cultivate art for art’s sake” (Palczewski 12).

Bartholomae puts across the same argument through the phrase “inventing the university”. This, put in other words, would imply having the skills of an artist (creativity) would be a prerequisite to professional writing. In another argument, Anzaldúa says that an aspiring writer should “put frames and metal frames around the writing” (Anzaldúa and Moraga 167).

The act of putting frames and metal frames implies protecting one’s work from others by making it as unique and special as possible. Uniqueness in written work is a sign of creativity and authority. This argument coalesces well with Batholomea’s argument about good writers. When referring to the same point, Bartholomeo argues that through his/her work, a writer should sound as if s/he were master of the language; a statement that in Anzaldúa’s context implies making the work look unique and special, which is a symbol of security as the metal frames seem to suggest. To be a professional writer, Anzaldúa argues that an individual should always avoid being simple, immediate, or direct.

Bartholomew also highlights this idea by Anzaldúa by suggesting that new writers should come up with new specialized ways of arguing, engaging their thoughts, and bringing about authority. Coming up with new specialized ways of arguing, engaging thoughts, and bringing out authority according to Bartholomeo, are ways of breaking away from simplicity, immediacy, or directness. Anzaldúa also adds that good writers should be able to fuse personal experience and world view. Their experiences should inspire them to write.

In my opinion, good academic writing lies in the originality of the written word. Age, gender, or skin color is not criteria for rating writers. The writing styles that individuals employ in their literary works should follow the right format with the writers acknowledging well-borrowed work. Power and authority are very essential elements of a good piece of literary work. From my point of view, the expression of authority in literary work goes hand in hand with how the writer chooses his or her words and arranges his or her ideas. The choice of words should suggest that the writer has in-depth knowledge and understanding of what he or she is writing about because this will always put him/her at a higher position relative to the reader.

I vehemently accept the existing power structure that defines what “good” academic writing because the criteria that the model uses for judging good writing are justifiable (Flower 72). First, the criteria emphasize power and explain how the writer should bring this power out. Power in a piece of writing not only puts the writer at a higher level than his reader but also makes the readers appreciate the content.

The way the structure makes use of “commonplace” in writing also helps support the existing power structure. The use of commonplace in writing helps in clarifying the contents of the work to the reader and as a result, makes it more interesting. Most readers appreciate work that not only fully conveys the message of the writer but also engages their minds. The use of ‘commonplace’ successfully achieves this objective; an involving piece of writing cannot be boring and this fascinates readers; if anything, who would love to read a simple, immediate, direct, and boring piece f writing?

Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria, and Moraga, Cherrie. Ed. This Bridge called my Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. Massachusetts: Peresphone Press, Inc., 1981.

Flower, Stella. “Revising Writer-based Prose”. Journal of Basic Writing, 3.1 (1981): 62- 74.

Norgaard, Rolf. Readings for College Writers: Composing Knowledge. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.

Palczewski, Catherine. “Bodies, borders, and letters: Gloria Anzalda’s: Speaking in Tongues: A letter to 3rd world women writers.” Southern Communication Journal 62.1 (1996): 1-16.

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