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Academic Convention Essay When analyzing readings and writings of academic discourse, readings and writings found outside the college setting, there are common patterns and disciplines that are evident in these writings. In her essay titled “Teaching the Conventions of Academic Discourse” English professor Teresa Thonney argues that “there are shared features that unite academic writing and that by introducing these features to first year students we provide them with knowledge they can apply and refine in each new discipline they encounter”(Thonney 347). By saying this, she believes that showing these conventions to undergrad students, it will prepare them to read and write academic texts. In her essay, she discusses six standard moves that she finds while analyzing twenty-four research articles, articles which were randomly selected from peer-reviewed journals. In order to validate Thonney’s claims, I will analyze an academic research paper titled “Is Fast Food Addictive?” published in Current Drug Abuse Reviews (2011), written by Andrea K. Garber who works in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at UCSF and by Robert H. Lustig who works in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at UCSF. In this research paper, Garber and Lustig argue that the consumption of fast food can be addictive, supporting this claim with evidence and data. In this essay, I will describe the overall structure of the text, referencing Thonney, and describe how it furthers Garber and Lustig’s argument. I will also identify and discuss three academic conventions that the authors incorporate as well as how these conventions influence the intended audience. This study illustrates claims made by Thonney and demonstrates that academic research papers to share common patterns and traits. According to Thonney, “Academic writers emphasize evidence, often in tables, graphs, and images” (Thonney 356). Academic writing is mainly judged on the evidence provided, and these writers use various

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