It is obvious that continued writing of academic papers, followed by individual feedback from an academic instructor, is indispensible for the development of students’ writing skills. Good writing is, after all, a matter of relevant experience.
There are also many online services designed for free self-study and self-improvement in the area of academic writing. Several websites offer interactive exercises that can considerably improve understanding of some of the key concepts related to academic writing - such as formal language use, technical writing, types of paragraphs, and proper use of vocabulary. Here’s a list of the most remarkable sites.
This website contains numerous exercises connected with identifying the functions of sentences comprised in a paragraph. There are also exercises connected with logical organization of paragraphs, appropriate incorporation of sources, and defining paragraph functions. All the exercises should be preceded by a close reading of attached tutorials. There is an automatic key to every exercise as well as detailed explanation of why a particular answer was incorrect.
This site contains very detailed and highly authoritative tutorials on academic writing as well as several self-testing options in the area of constructing paragraphs, linking words, proper capitalization, and numerous ESL challenges such as article usage, punctuation, and style.
This service offers further instructions on the proper use of specific vocabulary as well as tips on how it should be applied to essay writing. Tasks range from word-building to identifying differences between particular essay glossaries – to name just a few. All exercises are preceded by useful and quick tutorials.
Parapal Online English Exercises
This is a great resource for foreigners or native speakers of English who wish to review the basics of academic language. It is possible to choose from several proficiency levels and complete exercises connected with vocabulary as well as composition of academic papers.
This site contains diversified exercises which are focused on identifying formal paragraphs and vocabulary as well as different types of language – from technical to personal, or emotional. It is recommended for University students and participants of academic writing courses.
The above links are a good starting point for students who feel that academic writing is still somewhat daunting. The exercises can be completed anew after several weeks. Students should take notes of rules they were unaware of as well as all the incorrect answers. In the long run, exercises of this type will have a considerable impact on developing excellent essay writing skills.
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