Style and Substance/Joseph Couch 1

Introduction Academic Writing with Style and Substance

Offering Opinions and Exchanging Ideas

Understanding the Difference Much writing on the Internet, for high school, and for general purposes contains the personal opinions of writers. As a result, some of the phrases below are very common in these writing situations: “To me,” “I think” “Personally,” “For me,” “It is this writer’s opinion”

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While everyone has a right to a personal opinion, relying on opinion in college writing usually means hiding behind that right rather than facing the fact that others can question a writer’s ideas. As a result, the common defense of “that’s my opinion” does not matter much as a reason to support an essay’s ideas. What does matter for a class that requires a textbook such as this one is writing that shows critical thought and (often) outside research. The first step towards writing with these qualities is an understanding that it does not stand alone as an opinion. In fact, college-level writing acknowledges and engages with the ideas of others who have also often done some critical thinking and outside research on the topic. Essentially, college professors want essays that exchange ideas with other readers and writers rather than present ideas on the level of opinions. This is not to say that a student’s ideas do not count in college writing. The process to a completed paper does often begin with one’s own point of view, and professors encourage students to have their own opinions. Understanding that a personal opinion only begins the process, however, is the first step towards improving one’s writing. An Academic “Argument” The word argument often brings to mind attorneys battling in a courtroom or employees demanding a raise. As in these scenarios, a writer of an academic paper also wants to