Academic Writing: Writing and Reading Across the Disciplines

By Janet Giltrow

Academic Writingis a unique introduction to the subject. As the author puts it in her preface, "this book develops from a strong claim: namely, that style is meaningful." In developing that theme, the author draws meaningfully on theory, especially genre theory, while remaining grounded in the particular. Giltrow presents and discusses examples of actual academic writing of the sort that students must learn to deal with daily, and to write themselves. As newcomers to the scholarly community, students can find that community's ways of reading and writing mysterious, unpredictable and intimidating. Academic Writingdemystifies the scholarly genres, shedding light on their discursive conventions and on academic readers' expectations and values. Throughout, Academic Writingrespects the student writer; it engages the reader's interest without ever condescending, and it avoids the arbitrary and the dogmatic. The book also offers abundant exercises to help the student develop techniques for working productively at each stage of the scholarly writing process; mastering and summarizing difficult scholarly sources; planning; and revising to create good working conditions for the reader. The third edition of Giltrow's extremely successful book incorporates extensive revisions that integrate the theoretical perspectives of genre theory into the whole of the book in a more organic fashion; the changes are designed to make the book both more attuned to scholarly practice and more accessible to the undergraduate student. Giltrow's Academic Readingis designed as an accompanying reader for Academic Writing.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551113953
• ISBN13: 9781551113951
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Broadview Press Inc
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Great Resource for University Students and Researchers

This book is very easy to read and understand. Without ever being condescending, the author writes at a level that Undergraduate and Graduate students can greatly appreciate. I always wanted a sense of the big picture in my approach to writing, and this book provided that. In fact it was the first book that did this for me. If you are an undergraduate who wants to improve your writing of essays, or a graduate student writing a thesis, this book is a good one to own, to refer to, and to give you a sense of how to approach your writing. The book is also useful if you are undertaking a literature review. The author has sections on note-taking and citation that are very useful. The book applies across the disciplines, but I would suggest it is most suitable to those in the social sciences. Overall, I would not hesitate this book to anyone who is faced with writing essays or theses for University or Research.

A Different Sort of Composition Text

As a part-time instructor of Freshman English, I am always looking for new ideas for my classes. This book has, since 1995, offered me some unconventional approaches. Giltrow outlines some of the rules and conventions of academic writing while acknowledging that rules change, genres overlap, and contexts matter. My students really liked the passage in which Giltrow admits that rules for writing are different within different academic disciplines and that "'Organization' in history is not 'organization' in psychology, and neither resembles 'organization' in an 'argument' essay..." I admire the exercises Giltrow provides and her use of rhetorical theory helps students grapple with the genre of academic writing. If a new edition is planned, I would ask for more examples of academic writing. The exercises are quite useful.This is a different sort of course text.