What is Academic Writing?

Writing is an essential skill, which a person requires having in order to survive through various contexts of life. Academic writing, on the other hand, does many things that go beyond personal writing. According to the findings of Goodson (2012), academic writing is a process that entails synthesis of ideas and utilization of formal voice, deductive reasoning, and perspective of the third person. It is more or less concerned with what the writer thinks about and the kind of evidence that supports that kind of thinking.

Academic writing differs from other forms of writing like public and business writing in a number of ways. For instance, in terms of promptness, students write in accordance to the instructions of their instructors. In this case, instructors take charge when it comes to designing the assignments. In regard to the purpose of writing, students engage in academic writing for learning purposes and demonstration of what they know. Public or business writers, on the other hand, do write in order to make things occur (Goodson, 2012). Besides, in regard to audience, students write for their instructor; the one main reader. Public and business writers, on the other hand, write for various groups of people such as stakeholder who may have varying interests and needs.

There are various genres that students should consider while doing academic writing. They include oral reports, term papers, essays, journals, literature reviews, research proposals, book reviews, case studies, research dissertations, book reports, and lab reports (Goodson, 2012). Before students start working on any piece of academic writing, it is significant for them to keep in mind the subject of discussion, the purpose, the audience, the message, the context or occasion, and the type of document or genre that should be utilized.

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