Thonney's Got the Keys, Keys, Keys For Successful Academic Writing

Going into this reading, truthfully, I wasn't thrilled. I expected to be super confused and afraid of the truths Teresa Thonney had in regards to first year students writing mistakes and just the fact that it is an academic journal article. I can't be the only one that cringes when I hear those words. Fortunately, I’m glad that my expectations were not met. I really enjoyed reading this!

One thing I enjoyed reading about Thonney’s article was how direct it was. For instance I liked how, even though her introduction was not very interesting or did not provide any sort of anecdote, I appreciate how she got straight to the point by clearly stating her argument. I am aware that Thonney isn't addressing first years as her primary audience so she shouldn't be necessarily impressing me with her introduction but her writing style did remind me of how I’ve been writing essays all my high school years, mainly timed or in class. When I would write to my primary audience, my teacher, I also got straight to the point and did not have a formal introduction with an attention gainer or an anecdote. Thonney mentioned that writing concisely is a form of academic  writers adopting a voice of authority.

I also found it interesting how Thonney wrote about the need for academic writers to respond to what others say about their topic. She discusses how writers need to join a conversation to show how they understand their readers concerns and just use previous research to support their argument. I couldn't help but think of what Rebecca Jones wrote about the what a good argument should consist of. Jones argued that good arguments should not be limited and one sided but that both pro and con should be open to each other’s claims.

Thonney seems to supports Jones’ argument by telling her audience that academic writers acknowledge that others might disagree with the position they’ve taken.  Thonney says that using hedges allows the writer to sound less opinionated in their writing. Personally, I have never noticed the significance of those words and how they can alter the meaning of the entire sentence. I really like this strategy because it gives critics less room to talk negatively about your argument.

While telling her audience the effects of writing concisely, Thonney also define the term lexical words as meaning-carrying words. I’ve always used these words in writing but I never knew they were called something bizarre like lexical words! I just always thought I was shortening my sentence to make it concise. I never knew there was a name for this process. It’s great to know that I was doing this before I knew what the actual term was. In addition, I like how Thonney proves how common lexical words are in various texts such as in scholarly journals and cell biology.

Thonney uses plenty of rhetorical strategies such as exemplification, compare and contrast, and authorities and big names to demonstrate to her readers how vital her conventions are in order for first year students to succeed in academic writing. Her strategies help establish her credibility as an author as well evoke ethos in her readers.