How to Write Academically
Spend time researching., Look at Examples., Research, Research, Research., Draft., Sentence structure., Use a thesaurus., Use your research., Review your draft., Polish your work.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Spend time researching.
Look up writing guides for the subject area you are going to write in.
Different areas of study can have different styles of writing or expectations.
A lot of these guides are available on university websites or if you're an enrolled student often are available to download from a university library websites. -
Step 2: Look at Examples.
Quickly the idea of having previous academic work on the internet for students to look at has exploded but so to has the cost of accessing this material.
There are usually samples for free but it costs to view the whole thing.
This exercise is to get you used to the structure, jargon and expression of academic writing so consider if you need to pay for it to achieve this goal. , One of the biggest cruxes of academic writing is no matter what the discipline you are writing in, if you making a statement or assertion in your piece of writing you need academic sources to back you up.
You cannot leave an assertion out there in an academic piece as your opinion you need sources, and it is far better to have these sources before you commence writing as it puts you in a good mind flow. , Now you have a good sense of how others writes and through your research of your topic you should have a sense of what you want to say.
Now it is time to put fingers to keyboard and start drafting.
Remember this is only a draft so don't spend time polishing sentence structure we will get to that. , Writing academically is an art as stated before and the art comes in saying in what you want to say in the style of the discipline you are studying.
Some areas of study encourage robust explanations of things, which require a lot of words to say something short others require a succinct answer of a certain calibre which means saying something long very quickly.
Make sure each sentence has a purpose and a reason for being there.
It need to inform the reader of something or support something you have said.
Words are precious in academic writing and need to be treated as such. , This will be an invaluable tool while you are writing.
When you think a sentence is too matter of fact or not matter of fact enough for the style of writing then a thesaurus can help hone the craft. , Whenever you are making a statement or assertion about your area of study this is the appropriate place to insert the academic source you have to support this, it isn't important now to have referencing exact as we will come back to it, but as long as you know what source you need to use and the exact spot. , If possible have another academic writer look over your work.
If you have friends at university not in the same course ask them, of if your parents have an academic background try them.
If you don't have these resources for a small fee you can post a job to review your paper on a freelancer website where academic writers can review your work.
Getting a second opinion can be crucial in providing insight and picking up typos you or spell check miss. , This is where the dreaded referencing comes in, the bane of any academic work but crucial to ensuring academic honesty and integrity in the work.
This is also where it is recommended you read aloud your work because this highlights where certain words don't go together or don't say what you want them to.
Also wherever possible once your polishing is done, sleep on it and have a look in the morning because a big break like that can refresh your perspective. -
Step 3: Research
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Step 4: Research
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Step 5: Research.
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Step 6: Draft.
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Step 7: Sentence structure.
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Step 8: Use a thesaurus.
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Step 9: Use your research.
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Step 10: Review your draft.
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Step 11: Polish your work.
Detailed Guide
Look up writing guides for the subject area you are going to write in.
Different areas of study can have different styles of writing or expectations.
A lot of these guides are available on university websites or if you're an enrolled student often are available to download from a university library websites.
Quickly the idea of having previous academic work on the internet for students to look at has exploded but so to has the cost of accessing this material.
There are usually samples for free but it costs to view the whole thing.
This exercise is to get you used to the structure, jargon and expression of academic writing so consider if you need to pay for it to achieve this goal. , One of the biggest cruxes of academic writing is no matter what the discipline you are writing in, if you making a statement or assertion in your piece of writing you need academic sources to back you up.
You cannot leave an assertion out there in an academic piece as your opinion you need sources, and it is far better to have these sources before you commence writing as it puts you in a good mind flow. , Now you have a good sense of how others writes and through your research of your topic you should have a sense of what you want to say.
Now it is time to put fingers to keyboard and start drafting.
Remember this is only a draft so don't spend time polishing sentence structure we will get to that. , Writing academically is an art as stated before and the art comes in saying in what you want to say in the style of the discipline you are studying.
Some areas of study encourage robust explanations of things, which require a lot of words to say something short others require a succinct answer of a certain calibre which means saying something long very quickly.
Make sure each sentence has a purpose and a reason for being there.
It need to inform the reader of something or support something you have said.
Words are precious in academic writing and need to be treated as such. , This will be an invaluable tool while you are writing.
When you think a sentence is too matter of fact or not matter of fact enough for the style of writing then a thesaurus can help hone the craft. , Whenever you are making a statement or assertion about your area of study this is the appropriate place to insert the academic source you have to support this, it isn't important now to have referencing exact as we will come back to it, but as long as you know what source you need to use and the exact spot. , If possible have another academic writer look over your work.
If you have friends at university not in the same course ask them, of if your parents have an academic background try them.
If you don't have these resources for a small fee you can post a job to review your paper on a freelancer website where academic writers can review your work.
Getting a second opinion can be crucial in providing insight and picking up typos you or spell check miss. , This is where the dreaded referencing comes in, the bane of any academic work but crucial to ensuring academic honesty and integrity in the work.
This is also where it is recommended you read aloud your work because this highlights where certain words don't go together or don't say what you want them to.
Also wherever possible once your polishing is done, sleep on it and have a look in the morning because a big break like that can refresh your perspective.
About the Author
Andrea Taylor
Writer and educator with a focus on practical creative arts knowledge.
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