“Academic Writing is tedious, tough and time-consuming,” is how I often begin my lectures on the subject of the same name.

Then I continue with: “The term academic writing is a misnomer; every writing must be intellectual, scholarly and hence academic".

This is because, as my mentor puts it, “The theory and the practice cannot be divorced from each other”.

Such is my short disclaimer of an introduction. 

As someone who has authored/co-authored and published at least 300 peer-reviewed articles and books, I often feel sympathy and have a soft spot for my students.

Some are Luxophone, Francophone and Hispanophone.

Others are adult learners who completed their formal education about a decade ago and “do not remember anything”.

About 99 per cent of the cohort, prior to entering the class, would never have heard of a compound name or how to write it, let alone talk about using a semicolon or a dash. 

“You need at least 10 years to master academic writing,” I continue.

And then pause.

Then the comments and murmurs begin.

“Then why do you think we can use one semester to learn it all?” is the usual refrain.

“I have spent at least 10 years in mentorship - learning how to write,” I return. “My purpose in this class is, therefore, threefold. First, to teach you how to study; second, to teach you how to pass the university exam; and third, of course, to teach you how to pass the Academic Writing paper.”

But as my mentor has always said: “You cannot write if you do not read.”

Then I tell my students how I know they are not reading. Some smirk. Others are stiff and scared.

Then I assure them that, according to Facebook/Nielsen research, they each spend about 1.5 hours a day reading on social media.

So yes, they are reading, but not the kind of material that is consistently useful or that will teach them to think logically and write properly.

Since “my people” do not read but must write and pass exams every semester, I recommend Google Docs, an app similar to Microsoft Word that enables voice typing.

This voice typing can help Weekend and Evening students, especially those who do not read any textbooks.

Through voice typing, they can fill the pages according to what they have heard and read.

That strategy also helps them avoid plagiarism because, in voice typing, they only start recording after they have read and put the material away.

Due to the difficult challenges of academic work, Google Docs, supported by Grammarly.com or any other similar app, can help you correct your silly grammatical errors.

In the end, I assure them: “You don’t need to wait for 10 years to learn writing; just enjoy the process and forget about the outcome.”

Every semester, I assure my students, “The grade A scores are to reward you for your effort. No student in my class will get a grade F.”

My overarching objective is that, within the medium term of four years, every student I teach will use the American Psychological Association (APA) Referencing Style (7th Edition) for all their assignments.

That is one sure way to avoid plagiarism and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in our writing.

In a country with the grim statistic of 0.5 publications per lecturer per year, is this not a noble objective to aspire to?   

Establishing writing centres within our universities will also help, since the lecture periods are inadequate and students all over the world are paying for writing services.