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An Academic writing guide for scholars

An Academic writing guide for scholars
An Academic writing guide for scholars

 

An Academic writing guide for scholars

In essence, academic writing is the writing you must complete for your university courses. Academic writing assignments go by a variety of names depending on your educators (essay, paper, research paper, term paper, argumentative paper/essay, analysis paper/essay, informative essay, position paper, etc.), but they all have the same objectives and standards.

Why are essays required of students? What is the purpose of academic writing?

The truth is that academic papers are a form of torment all their own. They are liked since the torture is not carried out by the instructors. Typically, students punish themselves by procrastinating and being incompetent while writing their papers.

For that reason, this guide was prepared. It is not intended for a paper to be agonizing.  An academic writing assignment is meant to provide you the chance to research a topic from your course that interests you. You are free to select a subject, there are blank pages available for you to write your own thoughts on, and there is an audience waiting to read what you have to say.

In an academic writing project, you will begin by formulating a sound question, look for and evaluate possible solutions, and then select one or more of your own best responses to present in your paper. Your essay will discuss your ideas and research findings while logically and empirically supporting your response. Therefore, the purpose of academic writing is not to demonstrate your extensive knowledge of a subject, but rather to demonstrate your comprehension of it and your capacity for critical thought.

Furthermore, you will learn how to conduct research, evaluate information, organise, argue, respond to arguments from others, analyse, and clearly explain oneself in writing (including in English). By the way, employers value all of these skills.

Here are the top fifteen  academic writing rules

  1. Provide clear Objectives. Your essay should provide an answer to the query you choose as its subject. You have a goal thanks to your query. The three most typical goals of academic writing are persuasion, analysis/synthesis, and information.

2. Academic writing with a persuasive intent: This aims to persuade readers to accept your position on a certain issue. As a result, you will select one response to your question, defend it with logic and evidence, and work to sway the readers’ opinion of the subject. Position papers and argumentative essays are examples of persuasive writing tasks.

3. Analytical purpose: In analytical academic writing, the goal is to clarify and assess several solutions to your question before selecting the best solution(s) in accordance with your own standards. Assignments that require analysis frequently look into causes, consider effects, gauge effectiveness, evaluate potential solutions to issues, establish connections between distinct concepts, or evaluate the arguments of others. When you combine all the components and develop a unique response to the question, you fulfil the “synthesis” portion of the goal. Analyses and critical analyses are two examples of these assignments.

4. Informative purpose: The goal of informative academic writing is to provide readers to fresh information about your subject by outlining potential solutions to your inquiry. In contrast to an analytical topic, you strive to broaden the readers’ perspective rather than impose your own on them in this case.

Examples of assignments with predetermined purposes are provided above. For other assignments, you will be required to select a purpose when selecting a topic (research paper, term paper). Additionally, some tasks could have two objectives. Your paper’s aim will always be obvious at the outset, and for it to be successful, it must be accomplished.

  1. Audience Participation: Academic writing is intended for a particular audience, as is the case with any writing. Consider your audience to be other students with the same level of understanding as yourself, unless your instructor specifies otherwise. They are interested in your topic because they are students in the field, but they might not be as interested in reading a paper. Therefore, you will need to intrigue them with your writing and engage them with your ideas. Assume that they share your scepticism, thus you will need to apply the necessary logic and proof to persuade them of your thoughts.

6. Clearly Stated Position: Even when written for informational purposes, academic writing is more than merely a list of facts or a summary of the sources. Although you will discuss other people’s theories and studies, the aim of your article should be to demonstrate your own opinions. Your essay will contain and back up a unique idea you have on the subject. Your response to the question is contained in what is referred to as the thesis statement.

7. A particular focus: Your paper’s body paragraphs and individual sentences will all contribute to the development of your argument. There won’t be any extraneous, irrelevant, uninteresting, or contradicting content (your work may incorporate opposing or alternate points of view, but you’ll address and evaluate them in order to support your own).

8. Logical arrangement: There is a typical structure for academic writing. An introduction, body, and conclusion are standard components of academic essays and articles. Each paragraph flows naturally into the one after it.

The introduction draws the reader in, gives context, and informs the reader of what to expect. The thesis statement is also present.

9. The thesis statement is supported by the body paragraphs. The thesis is supported by one primary idea in each body paragraph, which is identified in the topic phrase. The paragraph then provides evidence and logical reasoning to back up each statement. The preceding and following sentences are related to one another. The relationship between ideas is obvious to readers without having to search for it.

10. The conclusion restates the paper’s thesis and important ideas while demonstrating to the reader the importance of the research’s conclusions.

11. Solid support: There will be enough pertinent evidence in each body paragraph to back up the topic sentence and thesis statement. Facts, illustrations, descriptions, firsthand accounts, expert opinions and quotes will all be included in this assistance.

12. Detailed and Clear Explanations. This is very crucial. You, as the author, must perform all the legwork for the reader. Your ideas, logic, and organisational structure should not need the reader to work hard to understand them. English readers expect everything to be done for them; your ideas and methods of thinking should be described in detail.

13. Effective Research Use: Your essay should cite a range of recent, excellent, expert, and academic sources. Your research will be included into your work, not provided separately, as you will utilise it to bolster your own arguments. That implies that the introduction, evaluation, justification, and citation of sources will all be done. The APA Style Guide 2010 provides comprehensive coverage of this subject.

14. Proper APA style: Regarding in-text citations, the reference list, and format, all academic publications should adhere to the recommendations made by the American Psychological Association in the Research and APA Style Guide 2010 (APA Style Guide).

15. Writing Format: You should always use your own language because this is your job. Avoid attempting to write in the style of a dry, stilted academic piece. Utilize your normal conversational manner as you would in a classroom setting. Your writing ought to be easy to read, brief, and clear. The absence of any grammar, spelling, punctuation, or vocabulary errors in academic writing is also crucial. Errors give the reader the impression that you don’t care.

 

Lastly, this rule shall take precedence over all other principles:

ALWAYS OBSERVE YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S INSTRUCTIONS: Each instructor has a purpose for assigning you a task, and each instructor may have different expectations. To get the most out of an assignment, follow the instructions provided by your teacher.

Read more:

https://blog.authorassists.com/2022/09/21/7-tips-for-writing-about-academic-research-on-wordpress/

https://blog.authorassists.com/2022/07/13/improve-your-writing-with-this-simple-tip/