What is academic writing, and when you are told you’re going to write “academically,” what expectations or feelings does that set up for you?

Hey! You’re doing great! I know there’s a lot to get through on this module, and you’re rocking it!

This is our first Journal assignment. Whereas many of the assignments are focused on the materials that we are learning right at that moment, journal assignments are more of a reflection on your trajectory through the course as a whole. Sometimes these assignments will have you to think on your progress, and sometimes these assignments will have you take stock of what you know on a topic before you engage with the material.

That’s what this one is.

Here is your prompt. Please respond with a well-developed paragraph:

What is academic writing, and when you are told you’re going to write “academically,” what expectations or feelings does that set up for you?

A few notes:

• I am not asking you to Google something, or to find some specific “official” definition. I want to know your answer to this prompt. It won’t work if it’s not honest.
• On the next page after this, I’m going to talk about my answer to this question. This, however, does not invalidate yours. Because once again, I’m not asking for THE ANSWER. I’m asking for a reflection of your experiences. Your experiences are not my experiences, so why should your answer be the same?
  
• Although you can advance this module without submitting this assignment, you will get the most from this writing if you do it before you read on. That way, by the time you get to the end of the semester, you’ll be able to see if your thoughts, attitudes, or knowledge on this topic has changed.