The laws of academic writing and the peculiarities of the use of time expressions in sentences

Part A: The Laws of Academic Writing

Individuals aiming to enhance their academic writing skills must focus their efforts on three main areas:

1. Rigorous Preparation

Writing is preceded by thinking. Writers should begin by reading over their sources and notes while marking the text that is worth paraphrasing or quoting. Detailed outlines should be written. A strong writer ensures that he/she has all the information needed for appropriate citations. The actual writing is the easiest part of the task if planning is done well enough.

2. Ruthless Proofreading

Writers should learn the major and minor points of grammar. They should spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from tutors, professors or other writers that they respect. English grammar is not only detailed but also complex, and proficient writers achieve clarity by practicing. Using a good writing reference can offer guidance on the intricacies of grammar points. Appropriate use of punctuation coupled with top-notch proofreading skills also strengthens academic writing.

3. Religious Formatting

Strong writers conform to the style required by their schools or employers, be it MLA, APA or any other format. All styles have their own unique ways of writing out citations, references, numbers, and more. These can be obtained online or in hard-copy at local booksellers.

Important take-away

Academic writing is basically a question of form as opposed to function. Writers are assured of not ending up with a different argument by developing logical and sound arguments, checking their grammar, correctly citing their sources and sticking to a required format. This way, they make their arguments more rigorous, clearer and easy to comprehend.

Part B: The peculiarities of the use of time expressions

The peculiarities of the use of time expressions in sentences can be surprising, especially regarding the word order!

1. The time adverb should be placed at the end of the sentence if there is a need to emphasize on the time during which something occurs.

e.g. Dad, I have already told you I will go home tomorrow!

2. There are adverbs of frequency that are used along with regular time expressions (such as last week, yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after) to show how often actions or events occur. These include usually, often, never, always etc.
3. Adverbs of frequency are usually used together with the main verb of a sentence.

e.g. I always ask myself if I could have done something to avert what had occurred that day.