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AWE - a guide to Academic Writing in English
Welcome to this new project. It is meant to help students who have difficulties - or whose teachers tell them they have difficulties - in writing. The target audience in students working in Higher Education in the UK, and therefore using British English. The intention is to provide a helpful tips which students can access with as little difficulty as possible in order to answer questions like "Why has my tutor marked this wrong?", "What's the difference between 'been' and 'being'?" and "Is it spelled 'prejudice' or 'predjudice'?" (prejudice is right). (For more, see how A.W.E. is written.)
It would be impossible to answer every potential question. So AWE aims to provide some more general answers too. If you cannot find the individual word that you are concerned with, use your imagination to search the database. (It aims to include links to explanations of all the technical terms that it uses, like 'noun', metaphor and so on. It may even be possible to teach yourself the elements of the theory of grammar by following links through the database.)
Each item has been written to appear on a single computer screen. There are many links, so that readers can follow particular queries, paths or interests as much - or as little - as they want. To learn the theory of grammar, for example, may require you to link to hundreds of pages in turn. But each new item of knowledge will appear on one screen, and you can stop at any time, in order to resume later. Or not - you, the reader, are in charge of your learning - and the speed at which you learn. See AWE - getting started for more.
You can also have a great influence on the project. AWE is currently in its first, experimental, trial. Your reports on what is successful (and unsuccessful) and your requests for specific items will contribute to the next version. Note that the ability to edit what is here, or to write new material, is restricted to the research team. 'Ordinary' readers (students) can only make suggestions through e-mail. However, you may be able to join the research team, though numbers have to be limited. See the page on how to contribute to AWE.
The current version of AWE uses MediaWiki software. See AWE software for more.
More information for those new to the project can be found at A.W.E.. There are also acknowledgements, and an an account of the Research Team.
The following has been left, for now, to provide easy access to support materials.
Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
