Introduction to academic writingProducing written work as part of a university exam, essay, dissertation or another form of assignment requires an approach to organisation, structure, voice and use of language that differs from other forms of writing and communication. Show
Academic writing is a language that no one is born speaking. Understanding more about the conventions of your discipline and the specific features and conventions of academic writing can help you develop confidence and make improvements to your written work. Academic writing is part of a complex process of finding, analysing and evaluating information, planning, structuring, editing and proofreading your work, and reflecting on feedback that underpins written assessment at university. Here we focus on the key principles of academic writing as a way to communicate your ideas using appropriate language, structure and organisation. 301 Recommends: Academic Writing Digital WorkshopTry out our interactive digital workshop to explore the key principles of good academic writing. Academic languageAcademic writing is defined by conventions rather than rules. This means that they are flexible and adaptable at least some of the time. The point is not for you and your peers to produce identical pieces of work, but to provide a shared framework of communication that allows specialists within a field to access information, ideas and concepts quickly and easily. It goes without saying that academic writing uses a more formal register than everyday communication. The following are four important conventions to follow that will help you to hit the right level of formality in your writing: Use formal languageAcademic writing tends to adopt formal language derived from Latinate, rather than Anglo-Saxon roots. This distinction is particularly evident in the use of verbs in academic language. In general, phrasal verbs are used when speaking (eg in presentations), whilst Latinate verbs are used in academic writing (eg essays). Phrasal language is more informal, whilst Latinate verbs sound 'posher' and more formal. Phrasal verbs tend to come in two parts: they use a verb together with an adverb or preposition. There is often a one-word equivalent, which usually comes from Latin root, reflecting the origins of formal English among educated Romans and the Church. Examples include:
Why is this useful? Latinate verbs use fewer words, so can help you develop a more concise writing style. Latinate verbs can also be more specific than their phrasal equivalents, for example, the phrasal verb 'set up' has several Latinate equivalents:
You may wish to use a mixture of phrasal and Latinate verbs in your writing, and to tailor it to your assignment. For example, if writing a more informal blog post, you may want to use more phrasal language. Some common examples of academic verb use include:
Awareness of how and when to use different registers of language can help to improve the level of formality of your writing. Avoid contractions and abbreviationsAcademic writing tends to avoid the types of contractions and abbreviated language that you might use in other forms of communication. In some cases, this is obvious, but in other cases, where abbreviations have become commonly used forms of words, it can be more difficult to spot. For example:
However, some commonly used abbreviations or acronyms relating to the discipline will often need to be used to enhance the clarity of your writing and reduce the word count. In these cases, it is important to use the full form of the abbreviated name or phrase in the first instance, including the abbreviation in parentheses. For example:
Certain extremely commonly used acronyms have become part of common usage and do not require further explanation within a text. For example, AIDS, laser, radar, scuba. Write objectivelyAcademic writing tends to strive for an appearance of objectivity. Although you will no doubt have an informed opinion or theory that you are trying to get across in your writing, it is important to build a compelling objective case for your ideas using evidence and data. Secondary sources should be used to build a foundation of background thinking, ideas and theories to support your approach. All secondary sources (books, journals, webpages, conference presentations, films, audio recordings, etc.) should be referenced using the standard system recommended by your department. A bibliography of all referenced works should be included at the end of your assignment, ordered alphabetically and formatted using the recommended standard system. Visit the library referencing pages for more information, examples and tutorials. Primary sources include any information or data that you have found, collected or generated to illustrate your arguments or explore your hypotheses. Primary sources may include texts that you are analysing, survey responses, experimental data, artefacts and much more. When writing about primary and secondary sources, it is usually better to avoid using the first person ('I' or 'we' forms), as your focus should be on an objective interpretation of that evidence. The first person is most commonly used to indicate where you are going beyond an objective analysis to put forward your own informed opinions, for example as part of a discussion section or conclusion. Some principles of using the first person include:
Note: always check department guidelines on the use of first-person forms in your writing. 301 Recommends: Manchester University Academic Phrasebank The Academic Phrasebank is a repository of the most commonly-used phrases in published academic work, organised according to purpose and function. Explore the Phrasebank for ideas on how to express yourself using established academic language. Paragraphs and flowParagraphs are the building blocks of your written work, and a good essay or assignment will organise the content clearly at a paragraph level. However, in a piece of academic writing paragraphs can be tricky to structure due to the complexity of ideas that you are likely to be working with. The following structure is not the only way to write a paragraph, but it is a common model that is used in academic writing to build sources and evidence into your writing in a critical and analytical way. Writing good paragraphs: structureMost paragraphs of academic writing tend to follow a similar organisational structure:
The final sentence is often the most important part of a paragraph as it clarifies your interpretation of the topic area and identifies how it contributes to your overall argument. Watch this short study skills hacks video for more information. Writing good paragraphs: unityA paragraph will usually discuss only one idea as outlined in the first sentence, the topic sentence. If you find a paragraph drifting away from this controlling idea, it is time to split it into more than one paragraph:
Writing good paragraphs: flowThe skill of structuring your writing and building effective connections between paragraphs is one that will allow you to develop and sustain a compelling argument in your written work. By setting out your ideas and evidence with a natural flow, you will make your work much more readable. This important technique will help you work towards higher levels of attainment in assignments and help to improve the quality of your everyday writing. Paraphrasing and quotingWhen you are producing a piece of writing at university, you will often want to talk about what someone else has written about the topic. There are four distinct ways of doing this.
There are many reasons for quoting or paraphrasing in your own work, but essentially these techniques allow you to show your understanding of current knowledge about the topic you are studying and respond to that knowledge in your work. Remember that you will need to cite and reference all of the sources that have informed your work. It is a complex linguistic skill to incorporate others’ work smoothly and efficiently into your own by quoting or paraphrasing. Skilful use of sources and selective quoting and paraphrasing are important elements of the critical writing process, which is in greater detail on the critical thinking pages – see Legitimation Code Theory for more ideas. It is also a key skill of academic writing that will help to ensure that your work does not include elements of plagiarism. For more information on plagiarism, including suggestions on how to avoid it, see the following resource from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. As with other aspects of working with sources, it is important to follow your department's specific guidelines about these skills. When to quote and when to paraphraseYou should direct quote
You should paraphrase
Writing to a word countIf you find you often go over the word count on an assignment, there are several possible causes and solutions. In this online resource, we will think about the purpose of the word count, the reasons why we might go over it, and strategies to tackle it. Why is there a word count?Word counts are part of the challenge of academic writing for several reasons:
Why do we go over the word count?First of all, it is important to remember that being over the word count is better than having a blank page. The ideas are down on the page but might need refining. There are several reasons why you might have exceeded the word count:
Writing to a word countWriting to a word count involves careful planning and organisation to make sure that you get your main points across. The following points might help you to stay within the parameters that you are aiming for:
Remember: Having a more concise academic writing style gives you more words to use on things that are important, eg critical analysis and discussion. It’s not just about cutting the odd word here and there to get you under the word count. The following are some simple tips to make sure you stay within your word count: Dos
Don'ts
Useful resourcesInternal ResourcesDisability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS) – Paraphrasing University of Sheffield Library – Information and digital literacy skills tutorials Department of Physics and Astronomy – Paraphrasing resource English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) – Seminar recording: Punctuation in academic writing ELTC – Seminar recording: Academic vocabulary ELTC – Seminar: Nominalisation External ResourcesManchester University – Academic phrasebank UCL Institute of English – Word count Gunning Fog Index Calculator – Online tool Purdue Online Writing Lab – Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising Wisconsin Writing Centre – Paraphrasing vs. quoting Using English for academic purposes – Writing paragraphs |