Academic Writing: Structure, Citation, Grammar Rules

Posted on Apr 20, 2025 in Primary Education

Essay Structure Breakdown

The Structure of the Essay
The Introduction
- The Opening Statement
- Background Information
- The Thesis Statement
The Body
The Conclusion

Citation Formatting Examples

Journal Article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Name of the Periodical, volume(issue), page#–page#. https://doi.org/xxxx
Book: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of the book (7th ed.). Publisher. DOI or URL
Chapter in an Edited Book: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of the book chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of the book (2nd ed., pp. page#–page#). Publisher. DOI or URL

Essential Grammar Components

Verbs: Action and Statement Words

A word that expresses action or otherwise helps to make a statement.

Understanding Pronouns

Personal or Subject Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, they, we, you
Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
Possessive Pronouns: Shows possession: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs
Reflexive Pronouns: When the object of a sentence refers back to the subject: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Demonstrative Pronouns: Highlight something previously mentioned or clear in context: this, that, these, those
Interrogative Pronouns: Used to ask questions: what, who, which, whom, whose
Relative Pronouns: Used to connect a clause to another noun or pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that
Distributive Pronouns: Indicate members of a group separately, not collectively: each, every, either, neither, everyone, anybody, none, any
Indefinite Pronouns: Refer to non-specific people or things: anybody, anyone, somebody, someone, nobody, no one, everybody, everyone, anything, something, nothing, everything

Describing with Adjectives

An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun.

Quality: Describes the quality of a person or thing. Examples: The brave lady saved the people. The room was bright.
Quantity/Number: Indicates how much or how many. Examples: He ate two apples. There were few children playing in the park.
Proper: Derived from proper nouns (often capitalized). Examples: Marlon is fond of Chinese cuisine. Edward is a French citizen.
Possessive: Shows ownership. Examples: This is my book. They are going to drive home in their car.

Modifying with Adverbs

An adverb describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It tells us how, where, when, how much, and with what frequency.

An adverb can specify:

How? Examples: quietly, peacefully, carefully, badly, closely, well, fast, quickly
Where? Examples: above, abroad, away, back, here, outside, behind, down
When? Examples: now, yesterday, later, yet, already, tonight, then
How much? Examples: quite, fairly, too, very, just, absolutely, enormously, almost
How often? Examples: always, never, frequently, sometimes, seldom, rarely, normally

Using Prepositions Correctly

A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence (e.g., location, time, direction).

Examples:

The book is on the table.
The children climbed the mountain without fear.
The spider crawled slowly along the railing.
The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.

Common prepositions include: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, concerning, down, during, except, excepting, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, regarding, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without.

Expressing Emotion: Interjections

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express strong emotion or surprise. It is often set apart from the rest of the sentence by an exclamation point or a comma.

Examples: Goodness, what a cute baby! Wow! Look at that sunset! Ow! Yikes! Ouch!

Connecting Ideas: Conjunctions

A conjunction connects words, phrases, or clauses.