The quick fix guide to academic writing : how to avoid big mistakes and small errors / Phillip C. Shon.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chapter 1: Understanding the "Big" and "Little" Errors in Your Paper -- "Big" Errors -- "Little" Errors -- Chapter 2: What Am I Supposed to Do In My Paper? -- The Lone Wolf Claim -- Formulating a Research Question -- Types of Writing Assignments -- Chapter 3: How to Synthesize the Literature Organizing your own RCOS -- Interpreting RCOS: A Student Example -- The Infiniteness of Synthesis -- Chapter 4: How to Develop a Critique of Previous Literature Critiquing Ice Cream, Hamburger, and a Movie -- Three Questions that Lead to an Appropriate Critique of Previous Literature -- A Haven for CPLs and GAPs -- Chapter 5: How to Produce a Claim Differentiating between ROF and ROA -- The Citationality of the ROF and ROA -- Building an Argument and Creating Main Sections -- The Scope of Claims in Non-empirical Papers -- Chapter 6: How to Write an Abstract, Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion How to Write an Abstract -- How to Write an Introduction -- How to Write a Discussion -- How to Write a Conclusion -- A Note on Data and Methods -- Chapter 7: Conclusion: A Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Model of Social Science Writing

Providing you with a quick set of writing rules to follow, this tried and tested guide uses a unique and easy to follow grid-based system. Packed with advice on understanding (big and little) common errors made in academic writing, it helps you identify patterns in your own writing and demonstrates how to reshape or re-evaluate them - and raise your writing game in any academic context.