The importance of academic writing

Academic writing, or scholarly writing, helps scholars present ideas, analyze research and
construct an effective argument. Though the purpose of scholarly writing can vary among
disciplines, this style of writing has many common features. If you work in academia, you
may benefit from knowing the characteristics and categories of scholarly writing to help you
publish your original work.

In this article, we define scholarly writing, describe some of its general characteristics and list
seven categories of scholarly writing.

What is academic writing?

Academic writing is a formal style of writing that researchers and educators use in scholarly
publications. It focuses on evidence-based arguments and logical reasoning to guide a reader's
understanding of a subject. Writers can use this format to identify and analyze a concept and
propose a theory or rational conclusion. Professionals may use scholarly writing differently
depending on their field. For example, scientists use this type of writing to explain their
research and support their findings, while literary critics use scholarly writing to make a
convincing argument through fact-based research.

Characteristics of academic writing

Common characteristics of scholarly writing often include:

Formal tone and style

Scholarly writing uses a formal style that shows the writer's knowledge and expertise in the
subject area. Writers typically use the third-person point of view throughout scholarly writing
to show objectivity. Formal writing has a serious tone to give credibility to the ideas the writer
is presenting.

Objective argument

Academic writing aims to make an objective argument using evidence. Writers support their
statements and key points using facts and evidence-based research. They use data and analysis
to present an argument objectively, without stating their own beliefs or assumptions.
Use of resources

Writers use scholarly writing to show their knowledge of the subject. They support their
conclusions with evidence and cite those resources, often including a bibliography with their
work. A bibliography lists all the scholarly articles, books or other resources a writer
references throughout the text. It's important to cite sources in scholarly writing because it
gives credit to others for their research and helps to support the major points of the text.

Logical structure

Scholarly writing's clear and logical structure can help readers follow the text and make
connections between related concepts. It has an introduction and a conclusion and a well-
defined thesis statement. A thesis statement is a summary, typically in the introductory
paragraph, that defines the key point or argument of the text. The body of the text supports the
thesis statement, and the conclusion summarizes the idea and explains its significance.

Free of errors

It's important for scholarly writing to be clean, consistent and free of errors so that readers
view the text as a credible source. Scholarly writing uses specific language to convey key
points. It also follows grammatical rules and remains consistent with stylistic conventions,
such as spelling, punctuation and verb tense.

7 categories of academic writing

Here are seven categories of academic or scholarly writing:

1. Chapters

Scholarly writers may submit chapters for an edited volume or collection, which features
submissions from different authors. These edited publications can offer different viewpoints
on a single topic or idea. These chapters follow other styles of academic writing but may
provide less background because readers are likely to have some knowledge of the subject
already. Often, the writers of these chapters have already published scholarly documents on
the topic, and they may submit shorter versions or similar pieces of writing for the collection.

2. Essays
An essay is a short piece of writing, usually between 1,500 to 2,000 words, that presents an
idea or argument. Typically, an essay aims to convince the reader of an idea using research
and analysis. The writer provides context on the subject to help support their argument.
Academic writers often publish their essays in scholarly journals.

3. Research articles

A research article provides an in-depth analysis of the author's independent research. It clearly
explains the researcher's processes and methods to show how they arrived at a conclusion. It
usually references other data and resources to reinforce the findings of the research. Writers
often submit these articles to academic journals or similar publications. Many times, peers in
the industry review these articles before their publication.

4. Technical reports

A technical report explains the progress or results of technical research. Often, researchers
write these reports to submit to the sponsor or organization funding the research project. It
may include recommendations based on the results of the research. These documents rarely
go through a peer-review process. For this reason, researchers often use these reports as a
primary draft that they can later refine before submitting their work to scholarly publications.

5. Annotated bibliographies

An annotated bibliography is a comprehensive list of sources on a topic that includes brief

descriptions or evaluations of each source. It summarizes these sources, usually in a paragraph
format, so that a reader can understand the general context of each one. For example, the
writer may include the source's principal argument, conclusion and reliability. These
bibliographies are independent documents that can give the reader an overview of the research
and findings on a specific topic.

6. Theses

A thesis, sometimes known as a dissertation, is a document that summarizes the author's

research on a specific topic. Typically, those pursuing an advanced degree, such as a master's
degree or doctorate, submit a thesis at the end of their program as a requirement for
graduation. It usually builds on existing research to contribute new knowledge or theories on
the topic. These are typically lengthy documents between 6,000 and 20,000 words. Often,
writers choose to structure a thesis using chapters to break up their key points.

7. Literary analyses

A literary analysis evaluates a literary work, such as a book or collection of poetry. Authors of
a literary analysis persuasively communicate their interpretation of an idea or concept in the
literature. This analysis often provides enough background and context of the work to support
the author's argument. It usually focuses on one specific part of the literary work, such as a
character or theme.

Academic writing tips

If you use an academic writing style, here are some tips to remember:

Cite all the resources you use

It's critical to cite any sources that you use in scholarly writing using a consistent style. This
makes it easy for the reader to understand how you interpreted other people's work to arrive at
your conclusion. Depending on your academic field, you can use style guides from various
associations as a reference to help you format these citations. Citing your sources correctly
can help show that your work results from independent thinking and analysis.

Write concisely and summarize

Though some academic works, such as a thesis, can be lengthy documents, it's important to
keep your writing concise to summarize your key points. This can help readers follow your
argument, particularly when you're writing about complex topics. Look for places in your
writing where you may repeat concepts you stated previously or where you use redundant
phrases. When possible, divide sentences of more than 25 words into two or more sentences.
This can improve the readability of the text and make it easier for readers to understand your
ideas.
Genre is the form of your writing (a business letter, memo, report).

Genres help us communicate better both as readers and as writers. As a reader, you can
understand text more easily by developing genre awareness. For example, when you pick
up a biography, you know it’s going to tell the life story of a real person, so you approach it
with a different set of expectations than you would a novel, which tells a fictional story. If you
mistook a biography for a novel, you’d fundamentally misconstrue what you were reading.
On the writer’s end, genre awareness helps to plan, organize, and craft the text better, because
each genre embodies a set of rules and guidelines for fulfilling a specific purpose and meeting
readers’ expectations.

A medium is the way in which a piece of writing is delivered (email versus a mailed paper
copy, for example). Genre and medium are both determined by audience and purpose.

What does medium mean in an essay?

Medium (or the plural "media") is the means or way an author uses to present a
composition to their audience. This can be through a written essay, a video, an email, or a
social media post, to name a few.