Academic writing is the type of writing that is expected of you as a student, whether you are studying at a university or college, or even as a high school student. It is important to learn how to write academic papers, whether you are writing your own or someone else’s. Learning how to write academically will enhance your personal writing skills, and will allow you to apply for jobs in academia or research areas.
Key Points
• Academic writing is more than simply filling up paper after paper with words. There is a lot of formatting and referencing that goes into an academic paper. Learning how to format an academic paper and how to do it correctly will increase the chances of your work being published. If you are ever going to be writing professionally, you need to know how to do it correctly.
• Learning how to write academically will increase your employability. More and more employers are including academic writing as part of their employment requirements, especially in the field of research. Even if you don’t want to become a professional writer, you can still apply the techniques you learn to improve your own personal writing. Being able to write a well-formatted, well-referenced paper will make you stand out above the rest.
• Writing well takes skill. It is not enough to simply write a lot, you need to be able to write well. The same goes for academics. Just because you can write a lot does not mean that you will be able to write well. It is important to learn the craft of writing so that you can become a good writer. There are books that you can read to learn how to write well. Once you have mastered these skills, you can start applying them to your own writing or to other’s academic work.
Types Of Academic Writing
There are many different types of academic writing, and they can all be quite frustrating to learn if you do not know how to do them correctly. The most common types of academic writing are as follows:
• Researches papers: These are generally what you will be doing as a part of your degree. They can either be short papers on a specific topic, or they can be longer pieces of creative or critical writing on a single theme. Researches papers should be detailed but easy to follow. Make sure you have references and that the paper is well-referenced.
• Thesis: This is a lengthy piece of work that you will be writing as part of your degree. It can either be theoretical in nature, or it can be based on extensive research. Every university and college has a different format for theses, so you will need to familiarise yourself with what is required of you. Some common requirements are as follows:
- A thesis statement should be included at the beginning of your thesis. This is a short piece of text that will form the backbone of your entire piece. It should be concise and to the point.
- Your thesis should have a topic sentence (the first sentence of your thesis). This is the sentence that serves as transition to the rest of your paper. Make sure you keep your topic sentence short and sweet.
- Your thesis should end with a hook or an interesting fact that makes the reader want to continue reading.
- Use proper referencing throughout your paper. Make sure you keep all footnotes and citations at the end of your paper. If you use proper referencing, your paper will be much more likely to be accepted by the academic community.
- An outline is very helpful when writing a thesis. It makes the whole process a lot easier to follow, and it ensures that your ideas are well-expressed. Creating an outline for your thesis is an excellent way to start writing. Just remember to add content as you go along – nothing should be scripted!
• Reviews: These are a bit like researchers papers, however, reviewers are often the ones who will be reading and commenting on your paper. They will either be doing so for a class, or they will be asked to review your work as part of their job responsibility. Like with researchers papers, make sure you do proper referencing and that you have included all the necessary details about the subject matter. Reviews can either be positive or negative in nature, so it is important that you have worked hard to create a piece that will be of interest to the academic community.
- A thesis statement should be included at the beginning of your thesis. This is a short piece of text that will form the backbone of your entire piece. It should be concise and to the point.
- Your thesis should have a topic sentence (the first sentence of your thesis). This is the sentence that serves as transition to the rest of your paper. Make sure you keep your topic sentence short and sweet.
- Your thesis should end with a hook or an interesting fact that makes the reader want to continue reading.
- Use proper referencing throughout your paper. Make sure you keep all footnotes and citations at the end of your paper. If you use proper referencing, your paper will be much more likely to be accepted by the academic community.
- An outline is very helpful when writing a thesis. It makes the whole process a lot easier to follow, and it ensures that your ideas are well-expressed. Creating an outline for your thesis is an excellent way to start writing. Just remember to add content as you go along – nothing should be scripted!
• Reviews: These are a bit like researchers papers, however, reviewers are often the ones who will be reading and commenting on your paper. They will either be doing so for a class, or they will be asked to review your work as part of their job responsibility. Like with researchers papers, make sure you do proper referencing and that you have included all the necessary details about the subject matter. Reviews can either be positive or negative in nature, so it is important that you have worked hard to create a piece that will be of interest to the academic community.
• Case studies: These are pieces of work that are usually based on an actual occurrence. They can be quite fun to write, since they often involve drawing on your own experiences to tell a story. However, case studies should be based on actual events that have happened in the past. It is important to make sure you have proper references for all the information and details that you include. Like with other types of academic writing, make sure you have an outline before you start writing.
• Presentations: These are a lot like journalistic pieces or blog posts. You will be presenting something to the academic community – perhaps a research paper, or a case study, or even just a summary of a book you have read. It is often necessary to prepare a presentation before you start writing. Just make sure you have prepared enough material to cover the subject matter, and make sure you have referenced all the information. Presentations are often times quite short, since you are generally not expected to write a whole paper to present a few ideas. Make sure you have a clear plan on how you are going to present your work, and use your outline to create a rough draft.
How To Write An Outline
An outline is very crucial when writing. It is necessary to have an idea of what you are going to write about, and it helps to structure your thoughts and ideas. If you follow a set process when creating your outline, it will greatly improve the quality of your paper. The following steps will help you to create an outline for your thesis, or for any other type of academic paper:
Step one – Select a topic
The first step is to pick a topic. It should be a topic that you are passionate about, and one that you feel will be of interest to a wide audience. For example, if you are writing your thesis on the history of fashion, make sure that you have included everything there is to know about this topic. If you have an idea for a research paper, but you are not certain how to go about investigating it, pick a similar topic and use your thesis to investigate it. Your outline should include everything you need to know about your topic, including any relevant theories, facts, or figures. You should also include a short description of the various historical periods and styles that you will discuss in your paper. Just keep in mind that you are creating an outline, so you do not need to get too carried away and include every little detail about your topic. This will make your outline look more like a rough draft.
Step two – Create a list of themes and concepts
The next step is to create a list of themes and topics that you feel will be important to discuss in your paper. Make sure you have at least fifty, but no more than a hundred, key words or phrases that you can use to search for information. These words and phrases will act as a short-cut to whatever information you need. For example, if you were writing your dissertation on the history of fashion, your key words might include ‘fashion’, ‘wardrobe’, ‘clothes’, and ‘accessories’. When you have created your list of key words, start by reading them aloud and seeing how they fit together. This will help you to see the ‘big picture’ of your topic, and it will give you confidence that you are on the right track. If you find that some of your key words are too broad, add more specific words onto your list. For example, if ‘fashion’ is one of your key words, but you also want to include ‘men’s fashion’ and ‘children’s fashion’, create a separate list for each of these categories. Just make sure you have enough lists to cover your topic.