INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING

WHAT IS ACADEMIC WRITING?

Academic writing is a form of writing that is formal, objective and technical.

1. Formal:

It avoids casual or conversational language such as contractions (e.g.: isn’t, doesn’t,

wouldn’t) or informal vocabulary (e.g.: live vs. reside, set up vs. establish, hopeless vs. futile).

2. Objective (Impersonal):

It avoids direct references to people or feelings and emphasises on objects, facts and ideas.

3. Technical:

It uses vocabulary that is specific to an academic discipline such as business, humanities,

natural and applied sciences, or social sciences .

For example, phoneme, morpheme, constituent, thematic role, etymon are the technical
vocabulary used in linguistics (or the scientific study of language) which is a branch of the
humanities.

Exercise 1

Complete the table below with the formal alternatives of the informal words listed.

Informal word Formal word

cheap

empty

give
 get

think about

look at

look into

buy

go against

all right

a lot of

begin

TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

Academic writing can be divided into four types: descriptive, analytical, persuasive and critical.

1. Descriptive Writing

• Descriptive writing is expository and informative. It presents facts or details to the

reader but does not interpret their meaning.

• Characteristics:

- states facts or recounts events

- gives an overview of a particular topic

- observes and reports the characteristics of a person, place, thing or phenomenon

- explains a theory or idea

- states the what, who or where – but not the why, how or so what
 • Example:

In nursing, the theory of cultural competency states that nurses should be

aware of their own internalised biases and should approach patients in an
open-minded, non-judgemental manner. This explains what a theory
says.

2. Analytical Writing

• Analytical writing is evaluative and critical. It goes beyond the descriptive presentation
of facts or details to the reader; it evaluates and investigates their significance instead.

• Characteristics:

- engages with and applies theoretical concepts

- evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of ideas

- unpacks the significance of evidence

- synthesises and engages with sources to support an create an overall argument

- answers the why, how or so what – goes beyond the what, who or where

• Example:

By practicing cultural awareness, a nurse can foster trust with patients of

diverse backgrounds and overcome any communication barriers which may
hinder accurate symptom reporting and diagnosis. This shows why a
theory is relevant.

3. Persuasive Writing

• Persuasive writing has all the features of analytical writing with the addition of your
own point of view.

• Most essays are persuasive, and there is a persuasive element in at least the
discussion and conclusion of a research article.

• Points of view in academic writing can include an argument, recommendation,

interpretation of findings or evaluation of the work of others.
 • In persuasive writing, each claim you make needs to be supported by some evidence,
for example a reference to research findings or published sources.

• The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: argue, evaluate,

discuss, and take a position.

4. Critical Writing

• Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate

writing.

• It has all the features of persuasive writing, with the added feature of at least one
other point of view.

• While persuasive writing requires you to have your own point of view on an issue or
topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view, including
your own.

• For example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or argument and then
evaluate the merits of the argument, or give your own alternative interpretation.

• Examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal article, or a

literature review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of existing research.

• The kinds of instructions for critical writing include: critique, debate, disagree and
evaluate.
 TYPES OF ACADEMIC TEXT

Academic texts can be divided into seven types: essay, research paper, thesis or dissertation,
research proposal, literature review, lab report and annotated bibliography.

Type Description

• A short piece of writing that focuses on a particular

topic
Essay
• Written especially by students as part of the work
for a course

• A piece of writing that provides analysis,

Research paper interpretation and argument
• Written based on in-depth independent research

• An extensive piece of writing that focuses on a

particular topic
Thesis or dissertation • Written especially for a higher college or university
degree

• A concise and coherent summary of a proposed

research
Research proposal • Includes the central issue(s) or question(s) to be
addressed and the current state of knowledge and
debates on the selected topic

• An overview of the previously published works on a

specific topic or research question
Literature review
• Written as part of a thesis, dissertation or research
paper
 • A report that conveys the aim, methods, results and
conclusion of a scientific experiment
Lab report
• Commonly used in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) fields

Annotated bibliography • A list of source references with a short description

or evaluation of each source

FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

There are seven distinctive features of academic writing: structured, evidenced, critical,
balanced, precise, objective and formal.

1. Structured:

• Academic writing is well-structured.

• The structure is determined based on the type of text. For example:

- a lab report has 8 sections, arranged in this order: title, abstract, introduction,
methods and materials, results, discussion, conclusion and references; and

- an essay has 3 sections, arranged in this order: introductory paragraph (which

includes a thesis statement), body paragraphs (which include a topic sentence
each) and concluding paragraph.

• Academic writing should be coherent (the progression of the writing is logical) and
cohesive (the connection between different parts of the writing is clear).

2. Evidenced:

• Claims made in academic writing should be supported by evidence.

• Different academic disciplines use different types of evidence. For example:

- in arts disciplines, published sources are the main evidence; while

 - in science disciplines, empirical data such as statistics or other experimental
results are the main evidence.

• Academic writing relies on sources from experts in the field; therefore, it is important
to appropriately reference the sources through the use of in-text citations and
reference list.

3. Critical:

• Academic writing does not only describe facts or details; it analyses and evaluates
them.
• An academic writer should make judgement about these facts or details before
deciding whether or how to integrate them into his own writing.
• This is known as critical writing, and it requires a great deal of research in order for the
writer to develop a great depth of understanding of a topic.

4. Balanced:

• Academic writing should be balanced.

• It is important for academic writers to make decisions about their stance on a particular
subject or the strength of the claims they are making.
• Writers could use caution or hedging language to soften their claims and statements,
to make them less direct and to limit or qualify them.
• Below are examples of hedging language:
 • On the other hand, writers could use boosters to emphasise or strengthen statements.
• Boosters are less common in academic writing, but they are used to strengthen the
position when writers are absolutely committed to their statements.
• Some examples of boosters include certainly, indeed, always, undoubtedly, in fact,
clearly, actually, obviously, know, prove, conclusively, definitely, evidently, absolutely,
and firmly.

5. Precise:

• Academic writing should use clear and precise language to ensure the reader
understands the meaning.
• A technical term should be used when it conveys the meaning more precisely than a
similar non-technical term.
• If a technical term is not commonly used by others in the same discipline, it needs to
be defined so that it will be understood by the reader.

6. Objective:

• Academic writing is objective. This means the emphasis is placed on the arguments and
information, and not the writer.
• Due to this, academic writing tends to use nouns and noun phrases more than verbs
and adverbs.
• It also tends to use more passive voice rather than active voice. For example:

- The sandwich was eaten. The subject receives the action (passive voice)

- I ate the sandwich. The subject performs the action (active voice)

7. Formal:

• Academic writing is more formal than everyday writing.

• It tends to use longer and more complex sentences.
• It avoids contractions and colloquial words or expressions that are common in spoken
language.
 References

Academic writing. (n.d.). University of Leeds.

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing

Hedges: Softening claims in academic writing. (n.d.). The Writing Center.

https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/hedges-softening-claims-in-academic-writing

Smith, S. (2021, June 5). Academic writing. EAP Foundation.

https://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/what/

The structure of academic texts. (2021, June 3). Linnaeus University.

https://lnu.se/en/library/Writing-and-referencing/the-structure-of-academic-texts/

Writing. (2021, September 29). The University of Sydney.

https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/writing.html