Academic Writing Basics

Language and writing are both cultural.

It is for this reason that writers must be aware of their audience while writing. Whether a written content is good or bad, can only be determined according to the reader’s cultural background. 

Needless to say, writers must take into consideration their readers and how the written output can have an impact on many aspects of their lives. The same is true regardless of the type of content you are planning to produce. 

But, how can writers convince their readers to believe in what they write?

This is when credibility plays a significant role. When you have credibility as a writer, the audience will find it easy to believe in the information that you convey through your writings. 

If you want to boost your credibility as a writer, you have to keep in mind your responsibilities as a writer. 

What are the responsibilities of an academic writer?

Be responsible for the MEANING of the text that you write. Writers have to use the right tools, resources and everything that is needed to make the written output convey credible “meaning” to the reader. 

Writers also need to guide the readers in understanding the written text that they produced. Therefore, the information that the writer shared must be written in an organized way. The ideas presented must be logically sequenced to make the entire meaning of the text more comprehensible for ordinary readers. 

How do academic writers present information in a logical manner?

The basics - INTRODUCTION, BODY and CONCLUSION must not be ignored.

Writers have to create an outline to be able to plan well what should be included in the introduction, main body and the conclusion. 

Any form of written content must have an introduction. From essays, emails, to theses and dissertations, all of these require a good introduction. 

What makes up a good introduction?

• Background information

Writers need to provide background information in the introduction so that readers will have an idea of what type of information they are about to consume. 

You should mention how a certain problem came to existence, as well as the scope of your topic. It is also important to tell the readers the extent to which the same issue has been studied by experts. 

Do not forget to state the gaps from previous information which you are aiming to fill or address in the current paper that you are writing. 

• Definition of terms

Depending on the topic that you are about to present, the introduction should define terms. This is a must especially if you are looking to discuss an event, or an object that is not yet widely known to the general public. 

• Description of the problem

• Purpose of the written text

Note that writers have to take into consideration the length of the written output, the target audience, and the purpose of the content. All these must be considered as soon as the introduction is written. 

• Thesis Statement

The introduction should also include the thesis statement, which serves as the central idea of the entire text. 

The MAIN BODY:

The main body must provide information that supports the thesis statement mentioned in the introduction. Every sentence in the main body must be presented in a logical manner and must connect to the thesis statement. 

Academic writing in English usually has the so-called “linearity”, because the ideas presented flow in a linear manner. The information flows from one idea to another which makes it easy for the readers to understand the content of the entire article. 

The CONCLUSION:

All the ideas that the writer presented in from the introduction to the main body should come together in the conclusion. The writer will leave the reader with the main idea of the information presented earlier. 

The conclusion has to be concise and brief, and therefore must be direct to the point. Most of all, the takeaway message has to be stated clearly. 

However, academic writing is not just about following a specific structure when laying out the necessary information. Writers need to possess credibility. 

Feel free to click on this link - “Issues that Affect A Writer’s Credibility” to learn more about improving your credibility as a writer.