Blog Assignment #3

Hello readers,

Throughout my time in ASTU100 thus far, I have learned a significant amount about academic culture and writing that has altered my view regarding what it truly means to be an academic scholar. I have learned what it means to be critical in scholarly writing, and also how to address scholars without being disrespectful towards their works. In a recent ASTU100 lecture, Professor Luger noted the difference between what most students think of when they hear the word criticism, and what criticism means in academic writing. Professor Luger stated that in academic writing, criticism is “expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art.” I have come to the realization that it is important to be respectful towards other scholars in academic writing for a variety of reasons; mainly due to the fact that writing takes time, and it is important to show one’s respect for the amount of time and thought that goes into writing various works. An example of positive and negative criticisms that comes to mind for me is when I was in high school and we began to learn how to conduct a debate, and criticize our opponent’s argument. My teacher always enforced the fact that when we make our rebuttal, it is important to speak articulately, with respect towards our opponent. My teacher wanted to stress the fact that when you criticize respectfully, both the audience, and your opponent will respect you and listen to your argument much more intently. Thinking back on this lesson that I learned in high school during debate lessons, I have concluded that this rule of thumb applies when critiquing authors of scholarly writing as well. Sometimes it is difficult to express opinions that we are very passionate about, without coming across as offensive, however academic writing is a good practice for critiquing carefully and thoughtfully, with solid arguments to back up said argument.

Criticism can sometimes be less obvious than expected. An example of respectful critique can be identified in Matthew Bolton’s, “Well-Told Lie.” In this scholarly article, Bolton states, “Thus, in addition to concerns that Ondaatje has not sufficiently met the responsibility his ethnicity creates, Christopher’s account of Lalla’s death and his alternative depiction of Mervyn raise concerns that Running is factually inaccurate as well.” (Well-Told Lie)

Another lesson that I have learned about academic writing is that before writing a summary, it is always important to follow a series of steps. Before doing anything, it is vital to read the abstract while taking notes, which is the basic “gist” of the work, or essentially, the summary of the work. What surprised me most about preparing to summarize, is that it is expected of the writer to read the summary before summarizing. Another point that I found interesting is that it is also assumed that the writer of the summary will read the work at least two times before determining what the the main argument is and how it is being argued.

To conclude, I have accumulated a significant amount of knowledge regarding academic and scholarly writing so far in ASTU100, and I have realized that academic writing is a completely new world compared to the writing that I was familiar with conducting throughout high school. Academic writing is an art that cannot be learned overnight, but it takes thoughtful practice, and dedication towards following the many complex rules of academic writing, such as critiquing scholars and their works respectfully, and preparing to summarize, to name a few.

 

Works Cited:

Matthew Bolton (2008) Michael Ondaatje’s “Well-Told Lie”, Prose Studies

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