Study Skills for Higher Education: Examining Academic Writing Features

This essay provides a detailed exploration of the key features of academic writing, emphasizing their importance for students in higher education. It critically evaluates seven essential features, including structure, evidence, critical analysis, balance, precision, objectivity, and formality. The essay discus...Read More

Study Skills for Higher
Education
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Table of Content
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Academic writing is determined as a formal style of writing which is used by students at
universities and scholarly publications. Journal articles, books and academic topics as well as
practices are the common platforms where academic writing is encountered. Some of the
examples of academic practice are essay writing, research papers and dissertation in academic
style. This is an essay which will be reflecting and discussing the key features of academic
writing as well as the importance of those features for an individual and students. The essay will
be conducting a critical survey and evaluation of seven key features of academic writing by also
identifying the importance and both positive as well as negative factors related to it (Altınmakas
and Bayyurt, 2019).
MAIN BODY
Academic writing is considered as a very important and essential skills for students and
graduates for showing their professional careers. It has to be written in a proper structure with a
clear and concise features and presentation. The structure of an academic writing content or
project is derived from the genre of writing and depends upon it. For instance if individual is
writing a report the need to have a proper introduction for it reflecting upon the aim of the the
report carrying forward with the appropriate discussion. Academic writing is done in a logical
and coherent manner where different parts of writing are presented clearly and in connection
with the aim of the research.
Academic writing has numerous features and characteristics, along with it there is a purpose
in academic writing which is to be further explained and evaluated in order to present the notion
critically. The most common purpose of an academic writing piece is to explain the notion of the
research topic as well as its finding in the correct manner in order to persuade readers towards
the explanation and the theory presented in the writing. Academic writing is specifically
dependent upon describing a particular object, notion, activity or place (Badley, 2019).
It also said that academic writing is similar to writing processes as it follows the same type
of text but what makes it different from other writing pieces is the specific conventions takes
place within it in terms of content, structure and style. There are different types of academic
writing and the common types of them which are used by students and are useful for universities
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are essays, research papers, research proposals, literature review, annotated bibliography and
dissertations.
Academic writing is always aimed to convey information in the most impossible and
unbiased manna therefore it is always supported as a formal and unbiased practice. It is highly
clear and precise which makes it efficient and effective for students as the language in shows that
the reader knows exactly what is written and what’s the meaning of this statement. In different
words academic writing avoids wake language. Another characteristic of an effective academic
writing peace is its focused and well structured alignment towards the content, the topic and the
main purpose.
According to the case study the seven most important features of academic writing are
structured, evidenced, critical, balanced, precise, objective and formal. Some of these
features of academic writing are discussed above and others will be discussed further in detail by
highlighting towards their importance.
An academic writing piece to be well-structured and aligned towards the mean objective and
the critical aspect of the report (Giltrow, Gooding and Burgoyne, 2021). It is evident that every
academic written piece cannot have a similar structure therefore most often the structure of such
content is dependent upon the topic I am the type of the academic writing practice. An essay or a
report or research paper for a literature review cannot have a similar structure because their aim
and purposes are different. This represents the importance of structure in a academic written
piece. The structure of a particular academic written resource is what differentiate them from one
another and help the readers to properly seek what you are looking for from the resource.
The second most important feature of academic writing is the evidence. An individual
writing a respective academic resource presence number of opinions and arguments in relation to
the notion of the resource as well as the purpose it is being developed for. Hence in order to
make the academic written piece worthwhile and useful it is important that the writer presents
the evidence of the arguments as well as a opinion that is being reflected. Also providing
evidence for the key arguments is important for an academic writer to present in their resource as
it helps them in working ethically and avoiding plagiarism. The evidences in an academic
resource are provided in the reference section and decided by in text citations at the end of the
data where the argument is related to.
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The third key factor of academic writing is critical evaluation and analysis. An academic
writing is a detailed and descriptive piece of resource which not only describe a respective topic
on ocean but also provide critical aspects of it. In simple terms it means that an academic written
piece not only describe a provide fact about an notion but it also provides detailed critical
evaluation looking over both positive and negative of it and providing the readers to develop a
fair opinion. This is the reason why academic writing is also known as critical writing.
The next feature is balanced academic writing, in other words an academic resource is a key
for students and people to explore and to develop appropriate opinions. Therefore it is important
that an academic piece of writing is discussing and considering all sides of the issue and
providing clear as well as unbiased opinion or views. Moving forward, the next feature of
academic writing is related to its balance and unbiasedness. The feature is preciseness and clarity
of an academically written resource (Hyland and Jiang, 2017).
It is already mentioned that academic writing is a practice which needs to be clear and
precise with the usage of an appropriate language rather than making vague statements and
presenting generic arguments. It is essential for an academic writer to write their piece properly
by using appropriate language, critical arguments and being crystal clear rather than being vague.
Language of resource which is needed and used by multiple researchers and readers needs to be
technical and academic. The vocabulary which is being used by the writer needs to have subject
specific words data used in in a way which conveys the meaning more precisely to The reader of
what the writer wants to write and is talking about.
Moving further, the second last important feature of academic writing is being objective. An
important factor which is needed to be focused by the academic writer while writing the resource
is to make sure that the article or the resource is based an emphasising upon the arguments and
the important data rather than themselves. Any written piece is effective and known as academic
when it is critically focused and structured as per its purposes which makes it objective. This is
the reason by an academic writing most commonly uses number of nouns and phrases rather than
verbs and adverbs. Moving along it also tend to use more passive structures and voice CE rather
than having an active voice.
The last and the most important feature or characteristic of an academically written piece is
formal. As mentioned above in the essay, academic writing is more of a formal and intellectual
practice rather than informal practice. This is a study resource their readers will find longer
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words and appropriate sentences. An academic writing is performed in a formal manner their
language, structure and presentation all are more formal rather than informal. Making use of
informal statements and language makes the academic writing vague and ineffective.
These are some of the common features and characteristics of academic writing which are
discussed in the case study and which are actually prominent as well as important for every
academic writer to focus upon as it provides The reader a chance to properly understand and
identify what exactly the writer is trying to say and convey. Academic writing is always based
upon a particular and for fulfilling it the writer have to focus upon the mentioned features of
academic writing and present a successful article or resource in front of the people (Strobl and et.
al., 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above essay and the discussion conducted in it it is clearly represented that
academic writing is a critical but important practice which holds number of features that are
essential for the writers using the practice to fulfil and look over while they are conducting it.
Academic writing is an essential resource for students and universities which is why it is being
critically examine and the developed over the years in the best possible manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Altınmakas, D. and Bayyurt, Y., 2019. An exploratory study on factors influencing
undergraduate students’ academic writing practices in Turkey. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes. 37. pp.88-103.
Badley, G. F., 2019. Post-academic writing: Human writing for human readers. Qualitative
Inquiry. 25(2). pp.180-191.
Giltrow, J., Gooding, R. and Burgoyne, D., 2021. Academic writing: An introduction. Broadview
Press.
Hyland, K. and Jiang, F. K., 2017. Is academic writing becoming more informal?. English for
Specific Purposes. 45. pp.40-51.
Strobl, C. and et. al., 2019. Digital support for academic writing: A review of technologies and
pedagogies. Computers & Education. 131. pp.33-48.
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