Tag: academic writing

academic writing skills

Tips to Improve Your Academic Writing Skills

Posted on | by Jimmy Carter

A lot has been said about whether the academic writing skills is innate or learned. However, whether or not one has a flair for writing by birth and regardless of the fact that not everyone aspires to be a writer by profession, all students have to take up writing assignments such as essays, thesis, research papers, dissertations, etc. during their academic journey. And since these assignments are a prerequisite to pass a course, you’re required to perform a good job at it.

How to Improve Your Academic Writing Skills

Here, we’re sharing some tips for students to improve their academic writing skills. Read on.

Academic writing skills tips

Master the Linguistic Intricacies

Linguistic intricacies such as grammatical and sentence construction rules are a prerequisite of any academic assignment. You have to use the right voice, tone, and style of writing as in descriptive, analytical, critical or persuasive. In addition to that, you have to incorporate the style guide advised by your supervisor, as in the size of the font for title, headings, and body, and citation and referencing rules, etc.

Make Use of Online Tools

There are plenty of online tools such as spelling and grammar checker, plagiarism checker, and also the handy citation tools that can make your life (and assignment) a whole lot easier. Using these tools, you can eliminate typing and grammatical errors, plagiarism, as well as build your bibliography in a smart and convenient manner.

Don’t Drift Away from Your Main Argument

Academic assignments can be pretty lengthy, and it is normal for a student, especially the first-timers to lose their track during the writing discourse. The plenty of information may make you overwhelmed and tempted to include even that bits of knowledge that won’t contribute any value to your work. Don’t do that. Weave your argument around the core topic.

Research, Research, Research!

Research and Evidence

Research is the cornerstone of any academic assignment. In fact, all academic assignments start with research. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all information you’re going to find online or any other resources for that matter will add any value to your work. Therefore, rather than setting on in a blind hunt for research, look for credible resources where you can get some meaningful information.

Avoid Redundancy

You’ll find plenty of information while doing research for the different sections of your assignment. However, stuffing all of that information in your work will only make it look haphazard, repetitive and make no sense to the reader. Therefore, be very selective and concise with the information you choose to include in your academic assignment.

Use the Right Vocabulary

Academic writing requires a straightforward vocabulary with concise sentence structures. You may be tempted to use a flowery language, but remember that academic writing is not a test of your vocabulary. Therefore, be selective with your choice of words and make sure they convey the right message.

 

So, there you have it – some essential tips to improve your academic writing skills. Do you have anything to share? Let us know in the comments section below. Happy writing!

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Academic Writing

The Various Types of Academic Writing and How to Approach Them

Posted on | by Jimmy Carter

Academic writing is broadly categorized into four types, each with its unique objectives, structural and linguistic specifications.

If you’re a college or university student, you must have already come across a few assignment projects and will be doing a lot more until the completion of your diploma or degree program.

Whatever academic stage you’re currently at, here’s an insight into the four major types of academic writing. Read on.

Types of Academic Writing

Descriptive

This is the most basic and simplest type of academic writing. As the name suggests, it is characterised by a description or statement of facts, figures, or general or specific information.

In other words, descriptive writing gives one the flexibility to narrate an elaborate account of their perception of an event, an object, a person, or an experience, etc.

Analytical

analytics-academic writing

Analytical writing is a significant component of most academic assignments. Unlike descriptive writing which mostly revolves around stating a fact, event or experience, analytical writing requires you to make comparisons between two entities on certain grounds or categories. One is required to assess, examine and compare and then present their inferences.

Persuasive

Persuasive Writing-academic writing

 

In addition to descriptive information and comparative analysis, persuasive writing requires their point of view about the subject to be included. This is a more research-intensive form of academic writing, compared to its descriptive and analytical counterparts. It requires you to put forth your claims towards the end of the assignment and support by research-based facts, figures and evidence.

Critical

Critical writing can best be described as a more advanced and research-intensive form of analytical writing. You are required to discuss more than one point of views – which should include yours too.

Contradictory to persuasive writing where one point of view is defended, in critical writing, you discuss the strengths and weaknesses, merits and demerits of a viewpoint, debate with counterarguments, explain how the counterarguments are valid or invalid, and then present an alternative interpretation.

How to Approach the Different Writing Types

No matter it’s a descriptive, analytical, persuasive, or critical essay you’re working on, keep the following tips in mind to do a better job at it:

  • A thorough and in-depth understanding of the topic and its underlying and associated issues is a must. Start with research, and allocate ample time for information gathering.
  • Get as specific as you can while choosing a topic. The broader the scope of the topic, more difficult it will become to tie up your findings in conclusion.
  • Start with a plan. Create a skeleton of your essay and associate each segment or category with a deadline. This will help keep you on the track and ensure smooth and timely completion of the assignment.
  • Keep your style sheet in check. Take time to understand the format and specifications to apply them throughout.

So, there you have it – an insight into the different types of academic writing. We hope you find it useful. Let us know in the comments section below.