How to write academic texts

Scholars are well aware of what academic writing is, but for students, it might be hard to master it. Academic writing implies the ability to formulate thoughts briefly and clearly when writing academic papers.

This knowledge is necessary for researchers who want to develop in scientific fields, especially at the international level. Academic style is characterized by a clear structure, clarity of thought, absence of errors in the text.

If you find it hard to approach academic style while being a PhD student, for instance, feel free to get some assistance and address a research paper writer. Professional writers know well how to produce a good academic paper. If you feel capable of writing on your own, you will need to get to know academic writing better. So what is it?

Academic writing is a style of academic writing. It represents the ability to present thoughts in academic papers in a concise and accessible form. This style is distinguished by:

• the presence of certain requirements for the structure of the text and its design;
• the use of a scientific or journalistic style of presentation;
• the ability to argue and paraphrase;
• the ability to correctly insert references and make a reference list.

Academic writing is characterized by a focus on the issue being described rather than an expression of personal opinion. It is preferable to use the third person instead of the first person, avoid the use of colloquial vocabulary, abbreviations, phraseology. Unlike other styles, it is allowed to repeat the same words for a better understanding of the material, synonyms are used less often.

The academic style of narration is used in higher education institutions, to maintain educational and scientific links between countries. It is used by undergraduate and graduate students and more experienced scholars to write reports, term papers, and develop research activities outside their home country.

Editors of international scientific journals are guided by the principles of this style of writing, so it is essential for every scientist who wants to succeed in the world of science and publish scientific work abroad.

Specialists involved in the development of the system of academic writing have distinguished primary and secondary genres of texts. The primary genres are the following:

• Scientific article – the main source of transmission of scientific and technical information, the text contains the results of the scientist’s research, logical reasoning, justification of the obtained data.
• Review – a critical assessment of a scientific work by another authoritative scientist.
• Monograph – a work devoted to a specific topic, which the researcher writes on the basis of a large number of found sources on scientific topics.
• Dissertation – a voluminous scientific work, which is necessary for a candidate for the degree of candidate/doctor of sciences.

Secondary genres are:

• Summary- a text that is similar in meaning to the original source and conveys truthful information, but with the possibility of adding new information.
• Abstract – a summary of the scientific work, reflecting the essence. May take the form of a list of abstracts on the topic or a description of the structure of an article, dissertation.

Despite differences in content, length, and other specifics of writing, all genres of academic writing have a common feature – accuracy, clarity, and consistency of presentation.

Peculiarities of academic writing in English

English academic style is considered to be more complex and structured. It is necessary to observe the structure of the narrative:

• introduction – a clear and short disclosure of the topic in order to introduce the reader to the subject;
• main part – retelling the existing information on the topic under study and presenting your own vision of the problem (this can be a literature review, discussion, consideration of a visual example)
• conclusion – the formulation of conclusions, perspectives, and forecasts of further development of the issue under study.

Sometimes researchers include in the work additional sections: content, references, appendices (https://student-rules.tamu.edu/appendices/), words of gratitude.

In addition, it is necessary to comply with other requirements:

• the idea that the author wants to convey to the reader is clearly formulated, and after reading the topic is fully disclosed, so that there are no questions;
• the main idea of the scientific paper is supported by facts, arguments;
• the text is impersonal, there are no pronouns “I”, “we”;
• the sentences are easily comprehended and understandable from the first time you read them;
• do not forget about grammar.

For those who are just learning what academic writing is and how to master it, there are some helpful recommendations:

• take an academic writing course. You can practice learning the style when writing academic papers, but it is much more effective and quicker to take special courses. It is not necessary to go to classes, there are many programs for distance learning, on which you can study on your own at home;
• learn to write, following all the rules of grammar. In addition to standard grammatical rules, academic writing involves observing style standards. Learn them with the help of special guides that describe the rules of capitalization, citations and references, and lists of literary sources.
• learn by example. Not only regular writing practice, but also reading the scientific works of other scientists will help you quickly master your writing style. After reading a few articles, it will be easier to figure out what academic writing is all about.
• plan and practice. You should start working on a text by preparing. It is necessary to make a plan by which the scientific work will be written, it can be in the form of an outline, a list, a diagram. It will not be superfluous to write a draft, and then edit it until an excellent result. You can ask the help of the supervisor to check the work and indicate comments.
• formulate the main point, support it with facts. The main point is in any scientific work, this is the key idea, around which the work is built. The author formulates a statement and proves it correct in the text.
• getting feedback on the work. Having written an article, essay or other scientific work, it is useful to give the material to read to classmates, colleagues, teachers. A fresh look will help to see typos, errors, and other remarks that are invisible to the author.

The text is unique and any work is checked for plagiarism, so it should be written in your own words, and quotes are made according to the rules with references to the author.