Characteristics of Academic Writing

Most of us are well aware about the definition of academic writing. But do we really know the properties of academic writing? And are we well versed with the qualities of academic writing? If the answer to either of those questions is in the negative, we will talk about the characteristics of academic writing in the following paragraphs.

Third Person Approach

Remember, even though you are writing the research paper or thesis yourself, you cannot refer to yourself as ‘I’ i.e. the 1^st person approach. Everything has to be addressed as if you are the 3^rd person i.e. you would say, “The author elaborates this point as…”

Professional (Formal) Verbiage

Once again, beware that you do not forget that you are writing a professional paper over here. Therefore, block all those receptors in your brain that tell you to ‘go with the flow’ and you end up writing “Dere U r…” instead of “there you are…” Slang & social jargons are a big NO in academic writing.

Purpose

Academic writing has a purpose to it; more than likely, you will either end stating a general purpose for your writing or a more specific purpose which could be exploratory, descriptive or causal; depending on your motive for writing the research paper. Exploration, description and narration are only some of the uses of academic writing.

Referencing Style

Depending on both the academia that you study for and your project coordinator, you will be required to cite reference using any one of the following referencing styles;

• APA: American Psychology Association
• MLA: Modern Language Association
• Chicago Style
• Harvard Referencing Style

Flawless Grammar & Sturdy Writing

Always visualize what you want to say before you actually write it down because you want your writing style to not only be consistent & strong but also free of any sort of grammatical errors; no matter how trivial they might seem to you. Keeping all the above mentioned points in mind will ensure that the final version of your thesis or research paper carries a high probability of acceptance.