A C A D E M I C W R I T I N G I S V E RY D I F F E R E N T T H A N P E R S O N A L W R I T I N G. I T H A S I T S O W N S E T O F R U L E S A N D G U I D E L I N E S. A S C O M PA R E D T O P E R S O N A L W R I T I N G, A C A D E M I C W R I T I N G I S D I F F I C U LT A S I T D E A L S W I T H A M O R E F O R M A L A P P R O A C H T O WA R D S W R I T I N G. A C A D E M I C W R I T I N G H A S A T H E M E W H E R E E V E RY T H I N G I S R E L E VA N T T O O N E M A I N T O P I C W I T H O U T U N N E C E SS A RY O P I N I O N S, R A M B L I N G S A N D R E P E T I T I O N O F FA C T S. T H E P U R P O S E O F A C A D E M I C W R I T I N G I S N O T T O E N T E RTA I N, B U T T O I N F O R M . A C A D E M I C W R I T I N G I S O F T E N J U D G E D O N A F E W Q UA L I T I E S. S O M E O F T H E M A R E D I S C U SS E D I N T H I S A RT I C L E .

Qualities of Good Academic Writing

Structure

A good academic format requires some sort of structure. It should have a beginning, middle and an end. You should know what format you need to use and how to execute the given topic. Academic writing is more complex than spoken language as it requires more focus on sentence formation, grammar, vocabulary, phrases and spellings.

Make It Formal Academic writing is much more formal than any other form of writing. You

should avoid using words and terms that are ordinary and can harm your academic writing.

Make It Objective Unlike personal writing, academic writing needs to be objective. It should

focus more on the topic and the data rather than what the writers’ opinion on the matter is. You should let the information you provide speak for you, rather than doing it yourself.

Make It Precise You have to be precise about the facts and figures in academic writing. You

can’t assume facts on your own just because they help you come to a conclusion. Don’t use words like “a lot” “many” etc. instead, use exact numbers.

Make It Explicit

You should be clear about what you are writing. Your words and sentences should be understood by the reader. The writer should be able to connect the information provided by them. You can do that by using words such as “therefore”, “however”, “furthermore” etc.

Make It Accurate You need to be accurate about what you are writing. You need to know the

meaning of all the words you use no matter how simple or complicated. And you must be aware of where and how to use a certain word in a sentence. Using the accurate word at the accurate place can make your academic writing look perfect.

Hedging Although you can’t be biased when it comes to academic writing, you can however,

state your opinion. You need to be sure how you want to portray a certain topic before you even start writing about it. This is known as hedging.

Justification In any kind of academic writing, you must be able to provide justification or

evidence for any opinion or statements you make. You are responsible for all the data you provide, and you must be able to back it up with an explanation.

These are just a few of the qualities of academic writing. There are many more that can help you know more about academic writing, but it’s always better to start from the basics.