Welcome to Introduction to Academic Writing. This textbook explores writing as a human phenomenon, focusing on the principles and practices of academic writing at the post-secondary level in Canada. It is written for the age of Generative AI, and several chapters explicitly explore the impact of this emerging technology on writing.

Introduction to Academic Writing takes a pragmatic approach to writing, informed by current scholarship in the field of writing studies. Guiding the development of this textbook were the following principles:

• Writing is an inherently human phenomenon, but Generative AI will change how we approach writing tasks. Students need to know how Generative AI works and how to use it responsibly and effectively. Students should be aware of the potential dangers of Generative AI technologies, such as learning loss and the potential disruption to social relationships and institutions.
• Writing is difficult for many writers. Writing — and especially academic writing — is a complex cognitive process closely related to critical thinking. Successful writers cultivate a growth mindset that enables them to navigate these complexities. Understanding the writing process – particularly the need for feedback and revision – also helps writers manage the challenges that writing poses.
• Writing is a social activity. Understanding the social nature of writing enables us to make strategic choices, even in academic writing. This textbook highlights discourse and disciplinary communities at the university and their different approaches to academic writing.
• Writing is a rhetorical activity. Writers write for particular audiences to attain specific goals. Identifying and mastering particular rhetorical strategies or moves in academic writing makes the process of learning this type of writing less daunting.

Who Is This Textbook for?

This textbook was created for WRS 102: Writing in the Disciplines at the University of Alberta. It is suitable for first-year university students who have basic knowledge of argumentative writing and are writing at the university level for the first time. It is suitable for first-year writing or composition courses in writing or academic writing.

Writers who face particular challenges with academic writing may find this textbook helpful as a guide.

Other authors and instructors are welcome to adopt and adapt this material, provided they do so in accordance with the provisions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

What Will You Find in This Textbook?

The textbook is divided into five sections and a conclusion.

In the first part of the textbook, we explore writing in general. Section 1: Why Do We Write? introduces students to essential questions about human writing in the age of Generative AI. Section 2: The Writing Process provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the writing process from idea generation to proofreading.

In the second part of the textbook, we focus on academic writing. In Section 3: What is Academic Writing?, we examine the key characteristics of academic writing and its relationship to the university’s goal of advancing human knowledge. In Section 4: Working with Sources, we look in depth at one of the defining features of academic writing–integrating the voices and ideas of other writers. The chapters in this section help to build skills related to finding, evaluating, and integrating academic sources. The final section, Section 5: Important Moves in Academic Writing, covers some additional strategies necessary to master academic writing.

The textbook concludes with a list of key takeaways for writers.

Who Wrote This Textbook?

This textbook is an Open Educational Resource, available for free online. It contains material written exclusively for this textbook by the author (Nancy Bray) and material written by others licensed under Creative Commons licenses that the author of this textbook has edited. A list of the contributors is included at the end of each chapter.

The author utilized two large language models (Perplexity and ChatGPT) to develop ideas, verify that nothing significant had been overlooked, and refine the learning objectives for each section. Grammarly was used to correct grammar and punctuation errors.

What Are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

This textbook is an Open Educational Resource.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are digital resources available for free on the web. OER can take many forms, including textbooks.

This OER textbook is:

• openly accessible (free) and available to all students on the web.
• designed to be accessible using standard web browsers, mobile devices, screen readers and other assistive technology
• available in multiple formats
• printable
• downloadable

What are Open Education Alberta and Pressbooks?

This textbook has been published by Open Education Alberta using the Pressbooks platform.

The Open Education Alberta (OEA) Pressbooks program promotes the development of shared Open Educational Resources (OER) through access to a shared hosted Pressbook platform licensed by The Alberta Library (TAL). Thirteen Alberta institutions are currently participating.

Pressbooks is a digital-publishing software platform that facilitates the sharing of open-access and accessible materials.