What is academic writing?

Academic writing is the ability to explain your thoughts through a short and convincing text. It is one of the essential factors of successful studies at university and at international levels.

With the help of academic writing, scholarly communication between the different countries is carried out. Its standards are guided by the leading editors of the most competent publications all over the world.

Everyone should learn these standards to facilitate their path in climbing the career ladder in any field.

Academic Writing Genres

There are two types of academic writing genres: primary and secondary.

Examples of primary writing are scientific articles, dissertations, monographs and academic review.

Examples of secondary writing are the description of a scientific project, thesis, abstract, Scientific Discussion, and encyclopedia article.

  • In a scientific article, the author gives the results based on his research that involves logical reasoning and understanding.
  • A dissertation is usually prepared for a master’s degree.
  • The review is used to analyse the scientific text, and it gives a critical assessment of the work.
  • The monograph is prepared after a sufficient amount of heterogeneous information.
  • An abstract is the brief statement of any primary source like article and dissertation, and it lists the issues discussed in the topic.
  • Scientific discussion is all about discussing scientific problems and their solutions.
  • Journalism is used to publish an expert point of view in a broad public field.

All these genres are different from each other based on language features, composition, and speech specificity.

At the same time, they are united by the following features:

  • Clarity
  • Accuracy
  • Uniqueness of thoughts

Related: Difference between a research paper, dissertation & thesis

Features of the academic style of writing

Features of academic writing should be taken into account while writing. Academic writing usually an introduction part, a central portion, and a traditional conclusion.

  • The introductory part of the writing briefly explains the topic and introduces the reader to the course of things.
  • In the central part, the other mention the research on the topic and presents his thoughts related to the problem being studied.
  • In the end, conclusions are drawn, and predictions are made.

During the sentence construction, the author must consider for which audience he or she is writing. He must use specialized terminology and abbreviations of the terms to attract to make the writing compelling. The author should fully disclose the topic so that there should be no question left while reading. When writing, the author must strictly follow the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. One of the top-rated tool used for this purpose is Grammarly. This tool checks the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and suggests to correct them. This technique facilitates understanding and removes the ambiguity from the document.

In academic writing, it is advisable to use the citation refer to the work of other researchers, scholars, and scientists. Using citation is a good practice which demonstrates the breadth of the research and its completeness. When you refer to other’s research, their essence should be added so that the reader can understand what purpose the author gave this solid example.

Academic Writing

Tips for academic writing

Here are some useful tips for academic writing:

1. You must know what you are writing about

Before start writing, the first thing you must have in your mind is what you want to say and what it is about. So, before using your creative mind, ask yourself these basic questions:

  • What am I going to write?
  • What is it about?
  • Why do I want to write it?
  • Who is my text for?
  • How do I want to communicate it?

2. You must be aware of the duplicate content

You cannot copy someone’s idea and present it as your thoughts. It will be a terrible practice if you use duplicate content for your work. Try to make your work as unique as possible by using synonyms and thesaurus. Be authentic and give your hundred percent when you are about to start writing. Before publishing your work, check if your content is not duplicate by using plagiarism detector tools such as the copyright detector tool on the internet. If you found any of the sentences as plagiarized, try to make it unique by paraphrasing techniques like:

  • Writing it in own words as per your understanding
  • Change the synonym of the word
  • Change active voice sentence into passive voice and vice versa
  • Change the structure of the sentence
  • Add new information and rewrite the content

3. Learn how to use punctuation

Punctuation marks are very vital to give clarity and fluidity to your thoughts; therefore, they must be used properly. Some of the essential punctuation marks are the following:

  • The comma indicates a slight pause in the whole idea. It is used to separate two or more views and to limit the clarification of your thought.
  • The semicolon is used to indicate a pause in the sentence without assuming that it is ended.
  • Two dots are used at the end of a specific sentence, when you want to write a textual quote when you want to add numbering when directing a letter and before expressing a statement.
  • Ellipsis is used as an unexpected pause in the sentence because of fear expectations, irony, or doubt.
  • Exclamation marks are used to show the surprise, give an order, and emphasize an idea.
  • Question marks indicate doubt or questions related to the topic.
  • Quotation marks are used for highlighting expressions, for quotations, pointing the incorrect terms, enclosing the meanings or translations, and citing titles of literary work.

4. Expand your vocabulary

Expand the vocabulary to add the variety in your writing. By combining rich vocabulary, you will not only give versatility to your article, but it will also attract the reader’s mind.

Add variety to the reading

To know more words or to expand your vocabulary, you need to read more, but do not only sting with high literature. So, read more and more novels, post on social networks, blogs, and magazines that meet your interest.

Learn the meaning of obscure words

Do not hesitate to ask the other persons if you are unable to understand the meaning of a certain word. Do not be lazy to look into the dictionary of those words, which are not understandable. There is nothing to feel shame if you are unaware of some words. It is way much better than pretending that you know everything and losing the chance of learning something new.

Note down the interesting words

Always carry a notebook with yourself and note down the interesting words that you listen to or read. Besides taking notes, regularly view them, practice them, and draw conclusions.

Write a personal diary or blogs

Keep writing your diary or blog as practice makes the man perfect. Every day, describe your thoughts, experiences, and events in detail to enrich the vocabulary. Firstly, writing is a great way to keep track of the words you have learned. Secondly, if you write, it’s even better just to remember new words.

Communicate with the people unlike you

You probably noticed that when your colleague or someone close from your company finds another job or meets with new people, his way of communication changes. His manner of conversation totally changes as he uses unusual phrases. Every new person in your life changes you; therefore, strive to expand your circle. It will help you in increasing your words stock. So, do not repel those who are different from you.

Learn a foreign language

If you learn and use foreign languages, you will become more careful with grammar, syntax, and spellings, and you will begin to select the words very carefully. Besides, when you learn a foreign language, you also learn a mechanism for memorizing new words and add them to active vocabulary.

5. Use links and references

Use links and references when you about to write on some topics. By using these, the reader will realize how well you have studied and researched the subject and then write it in your words.

6. Use necessary adjectives

Quality adjectives serve to make the topic more descriptive, but using too many adjectives make the article overwhelming. So, before adding them to your topic, ask yourself if they are essential.

7. Be consistent in numbering

Write tens and hundred in letters, and use numbers when you are listing the headings. Use Roman numeration when:

  • Indicate the centuries
  • The series of popes, emperors, and kings
  • Denomination of festivals and congresses
  • Dynasties in certain cultures

8. Be precise and accurate

Try to avoid using vague and ambiguous words that repel the minds of the reader. Use words and sentences that look more effective and authentic.

Related: Importance of Guide/ Co-Guide for your Research Paper

Conclusion

Academic writing is also called the non-fiction writing produced as a part of academic research; its primary purpose is to increase the understanding of the readers. So, it must be remembered that mastering academic writing is necessary for everyone, including:

  • University Students
  • Graduate Students
  • Scientists
  • Teachers
  • Researchers

If these people intend to publish their work in journals, they will get a more positive response from the editorial staff.