our types of academic writing

our types of academic writing

Exploring the Various Types of Academic Writing

1. Introduction to Academic Writing

While being widespread in various spheres of scientific activity, academic writing is oftentimes mistaken for some other types of written work by learners and scholars unacquainted with in-depth requirements. Thus, when composing academic texts, scholars employ various stylistic and linguistic means available in the language of science that differ significantly from those used in other types of discourse. In addition, academic writing, in contrast to other types of writing, is quite formal. It is not characterized by the expression of feelings and absence of individuality. Instead, various means of reporting someone else’s results, verbalizing one’s own position on the matter, and reformulating previously articulated thoughts should be used. The essence of this paper is to compare the features that academic writing has with writing in other styles and to make an attempt to find out the essence of academic writing by introducing different scholars’ ideas on the question in order to systematize existing types, forms, and functions of academic writing.

Academic writing can be characterized as representing largely monodiscursive, written, explicit content that is an integrated part of furthering the knowledge-building objective of postsecondary education. Generally, this kind of writing introduces an area of inquiry, reveals a series of findings of the inquiry, presents diverse interpretations of findings, examines, represents, and refines opposing points of view about the issue being studied. Academic writing is used not only for college and university journals but also for conferences and seminars, academic assignments, scholarly essays, exploration pieces, articles in academic or professional magazines, or essays on a blog site. It is essential to say that academic writing does not only include objective information, but it also presents students’ knowledge and arguments from various course types.

2. Descriptive and Expository Writing

Descriptive writing – Descriptive writing is often done in fiction writing. It is used to help the reader picture and experience the characters, scenes, and events in the story or narrative. While the author may engage in some dialogue, the amount is often limited, with most of the writing in the form of description. Its purpose is to describe characters, events or subjects, to communicate a mood or feeling, or to paint a picture of a person, place or thing for the reader.

Expository writing – Expository writing uses explanation to inform, teach, layout or explain a topic of discussion. It often has step-by-step instruction and generally uses words such as “for example”, “proof”, and “because”. Its purpose is to explain a point, to define an unfamiliar term to the reader or clarify a topic to make it clearer.

Narrative writing – Narrative writing is another form of fiction writing. It focuses on a series of events and is usually written in a sequence of events. Narrative writing deals with people and events in a fictional or factual story that conveys a specific meaning. The author of narrative writing can include photographs, sketches or drawings within their writing to convey a message. The purpose of narrative writing is to show the reader a moral lesson, to share an insight or share a personal experience, such as the author’s reaction to his or her surroundings or a personal event.

3. Argumentative and Persuasive Writing

Argumentative and persuasive writing includes the following types of documents: argument essays, in which the writer introduces and argues for a position, using defined support such as case studies or other documentation; persuasive letters, usually written to influence the audience’s views in a specific direction, and sales literature, which may include both a position argument as well as persuasion. These types rely almost entirely on using detailed sample cases (which depend on the writer’s ability to find and use detailed and accurate research) as the support for the claims made. Since argument and persuasion are so closely related, it is often difficult to tell the difference.

Argumentation is the main way that people change the way that others see things. It is used in almost every kind of communication, although argument vaporizes as it disappears into literary analysis, scientific documentation, etc., when the goal is impersonal and objective. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such anonymity, since writing based on “transpersonal” texts is usually much less biased and much more believable, although the need for trustworthiness and neutrality should be borne in mind.

Persuasive writing places the writer much more directly at the center; this makes critical thinking and interpretation much more important. In the business literature, persuasion is analyzed as an attempt at attitude change and as an insult to the audience, with invitations or incentives to the audience enhanced for acceptance. Ethical issues are usually considered, and often the influence attempt is analyzed or even quantified. Frequently, all three views are integrated into a single essay, which helps the persuasiveness and the completeness of the communication. Since the borders among these types are so fuzzy and variable, it is always difficult to be sure that each has been approached properly. So, it is important to attempt to present strong support, no matter what type of writing is under preparation.

4. Analytical and Critical Writing

Analytical and critical writing are among the common types of writing in many academic settings. Analytical writing refers to developing a scholastic argument, new knowledge, or new understanding through evaluation, explanation, and interpretation of evidence or information. This writing type is similar to descriptive writing, but it involves a higher level of analysis of relationship, unit of observation, and other information. On the other hand, critical writing can be viewed as a more scientific approach that highlights the evidence and reasoning gaps in others’ analytical writing. In educational settings, critical writing is used to give students the tools to synthesize their own views and explain the evidence that supports these views. Both analytical and critical writings encourage students to focus on their argument and approach to a given subject, emphasizing communication, collaboration, and language development.

In both paper writing types, the teacher expects students to provide evidence of full engagement with course material and to use their knowledge to construct high-quality writing for their peers. A key feature of these writing assignments is using real-world or disciplinary-relevant prompts that feature pressing issues, dilemmas, and controversies rather than invented prompts that may seem relevant only to the profession or the individual student. Using the same prompts during the curriculum allows educators to sift through their curriculum and consider the broader range of knowledge and skills they hope to develop through the paper assignment, as well as to provide assistance for students who struggle with the course content. The educators noticed that the prompts were particularly useful in encouraging students to take ownership of their academic work by providing a structured forum for students to engage each topic, present course information in their own words, and reflect on their own learning process, objectives, and strategies.

5. Research and Scientific Writing

Writing a research paper is a significant aspect of academics and shouldn’t be avoided on account of one’s anxiety. In fact, the process of writing a research paper can be one of the more rewarding experiences one may encounter in academics. What is more, many students will continue to do research throughout their careers, which is one of the reasons this topic is so important. Becoming an experienced researcher and writer in any field or discipline takes a great deal of practice. There are few individuals for whom this process comes naturally. Remember, even the most seasoned academic veterans have had to learn how to write a research paper at some time in their career. Therefore, with diligence, organization, practice, a willingness to learn (and to make mistakes!), and, perhaps most important of all, patience, a student will find that she can achieve great things through her research and writing.

It is neither a report, which is a summary of a report, nor a review, which is a survey of the report. Research paper assignments are very typical in undergraduate study programs. In order to write a good college research paper, one must be very much aware of a research paper structure. The research paper writing begins with writing a title page. On the title page, the student is required to state the topic of the research paper, its subject, the author, and the name of the university. After a title page, the student is required to create a table of contents where a reader can easily see and understand what the main research paper is all about. After the table of contents, the student is required to write an abstract. An abstract is a very concise statement that allows the reader to understand what the research paper is about.