All about Academic Writing Writing is such a skill that is used in many situations in our lifetime. Be it, drafting a job application/ requesting grants for NGO/making your daily to do list. However, Academic writing is very different from the basic writing. It has set of rules and practices to be followed. Academic writing means writing a document in a given academic setting. The academic setting is different for each publication. Academic writing is used by Authors, PhD students, Researcher for writing books, essay, thesis and research and by companies rendering Academic Editing and Proofreading Services . The difference between Personal Writing and Academic Writing
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Personal Writing Ideas can be expressed freely. Not bound to any predetermined rules. Is done to communicate feelings, opinions, news, etc. No particular process to abide by. There isn’t any strict vigilance, but the written content must be readable and good quality. A reader should understand your message clearly.
Academic Writing There is a structure to be followed when presenting the ideas and the ideas must be supported by author citations. Done for defining theories, scientific progress, exploring new events and so on. There is a strict governance process to be followed. There is a key emphasis laid on tone, punctuation, grammar and spelling. (Only manuscripts with error free English language and grammar are accepted. Most of the Researchers prior publishing their research paper for peer review get their papers Edited and Proofread from companies offering English Editing & Proofreading Services .)
Documents where academic editing is used o Essays o Reports o Research paper or research article o Referencing o Books o Academic journal o Dissertation and Thesis o Abstract o Explication All these documents have some kind of structure to be followed. For example, in an essay there is a beginning, middle and an end. Mentioned below is common university structure for the following:
Essay Structure -
The essay begins with an introductory paragraph where the reader must be informed about the topic of discussion and its body that is the middle section of the essay (usually states the evaluation of the topic which is being discussed)
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Middle part explains in detail about the topic and the statements summarized in the introduction.
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Final paragraph known as conclusion summarizes the entire points mentioned in your essay. There closing paragraph should ensure that your essay has an impact/addresses the issues discussed/ can be used by others for further studies and advancement. Report Structure - A report usually identifies the problems and lists the corresponding solutions for those problems. - A report has four sections. Introduction, Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations. - The conclusion and recommendations must be listed down using the bullet points. Referencing Structure - Referencing differentiates academic writing from other writings. Whenever a judgment is made then you are required to provide a support document for the mentioned opinion. This supportive document must contain the published work of an Author. - Listing down the cited work adds to the credibility of your work as well gives an indication that you have read and are well-informed about the ideas of others pertaining to your subject area. - How valuable is your referencing that depends on that particular discipline. For example: A reference from American Psychological Association (APA) is considered of high value when used in psychology or social science. In addition, Academic tone, Audience and Grammar are also considered when writing for academics. Like several writings, academic writing follows a certain language, word choice and phrasing. The tone differs depending on the subject area. A typical aim of academic writing is to be Objective, Concise and Formal. Also, when writing it is important to know that your audience is an intellectual community who are well informed about the topic. Therefore, take immense care of your English Language, Grammar, Punctuation, Content and Context. As a poorly written academic paper is NOT acceptable. For those who are Non-Native Speakers, it is advisable they get their academic papers Edited and Proofread from companies that offer Academic Editing and Proofreading Services . This would support the Non-Native Speakers to have a highly polished research paper and making it publish ready .