Expression of Ideas and Information and Structuring

Expression of Ideas and Information and Structuring Written Communications Containing a Thesis and Argument

The most important part of academic writing is to make sure that the audience understands what is being communicated and there are some solid ways of achieving this if certain steps are followed, including providing a thesis statement and using topic sentences. It is also vitally important for academic writers to encapsulate their main thesis and argument in their analysis of texts in ways that make them distinguishable and understandable. Finally, it is also critically important for all writers to avoid plagiarizing others by ensuring that all sources used in a research paper are properly cited and all ideas are properly attributed. This paper provides a review of selected chapters from Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers (2004) to explore these issues in greater details, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

In Chapter 4 of her text, Hacker (2004) explains that well-structured paragraphs are the starting point to good academic writing. According to Hacker, "A paragraph should be unified around a main point. The point should be clear to readers, and all sentences in the paragraph should relate to it" (p. 40). To help communicate what the paragraph is about, it should begin with a topic sentence but there are other factors that should be taken into account when shaping effective structure paragraphs. In this regard, Hacker advises that, "Aim for paragraphs that are clearly focused, well developed, organized, coherent, and neither too long nor too short for easy reading" (p. 40). In addition, it is important to include transition sentences in well-structured paragraphs to alert readers to a change in focus in the succeeding paragraphs (Hacker). With the innovation of word processors, writers also now enjoy the ability to easily go back and edit their paragraphs in order to make them appropriate lengths. Rather than an arbitrary ending for the sake of length and to prevent text from appearing too dense, though, there are a number of reasons for ending one paragraph and beginning another, including the aforementioned shift in ideas as well as to signal a change in speakers, time or place.

In her chapter 46, "Writing about Texts" Hacker makes the point that writers should be critical in their analysis but careful in their interpretation of texts. By capturing the main themes and focusing on the issues presented in the thesis statement and topic sentences, writers can "keep their eye on the prize." In addition, there are some steps that academic writers can take to paraphrase and analyze, though, and these issues are especially important in avoiding even inadvertent plagiarism as described by Hacker in "Memory Against Plagiarism."