Academic Writing Skills Guide: Key Features of Academic Writing

In academic writing it is important to be accurate and specific as this will ensure a clear flow in your writing. You should convey information as efficiently and precisely as possible, so it is important to pay attention to details such as your choice of words and phrases and the accuracy of your grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

There should also be accurate and specific acknowledgement of the sources from which ideas have been taken (see further advice on referencing).

The language and vocabulary you use are key to communicating your ideas. It is important to know the meanings of words, particularly subject specific words, so you can use them accurately. Avoid using vague and general phrases or imprecise language as you risk confusing the reader and weakening your discussion. Lecturers want to see evidence in your assignments that you can express yourself clearly, concisely, and logically.

Avoid vague phraseology such as the examples below:

Avoid Unnecessary Academic Expressions and Complexity

One of the biggest misconceptions about academic writing is that it is complicated writing which uses complex language; however, this is not the case. Academic writing should not be overly complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

While there will be a need to use subject-specific terms in your writing, you should aim to be clear and concise rather than wordy or over-complicated. Use plain language - you do not have to search for a more academic-sounding word when a simple one will do.

Be Concise

Thinking about the message and purpose of each sentence and paragraph can help you explain your points. Aim for one main idea per sentence and keep your sentences to a reasonable length (generally not more than 25 words). Long sentences can be difficult to follow and this may distract from your point. 

Using the minimum number of words to express a point keeps the meaning clear and can also help you stay within the designated word count for your assignments. Producing clear written work within a word limit is an important skill to develop in college.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are two-part/multiple-part verbs that often take a preposition and are one of the features of informal language. While some phrasal verbs may be appropriate, many may be seen as less formal than single-word verbs. Avoiding phrasal (two-part) verbs in academic language can help you develop a more concise writing style.

Negative Expressions

You can also switch around negative expressions to make your wording more concise.

In your assignments, lecturers want to see you developing your own opinions and coming to your own conclusions based on your reading and research. Critical writing requires you to move beyond a description or summary of other people's ideas.

It is important to answer the ‘so what’ question. Why is this information important / significant in the context of what you are writing about? You should be analysing and evaluating the information in relation to the question / assignment title you have been given.

While you inevitably need to describe what an author/researcher said or did, you need to go a step further by interpreting this information, adding some comment which shows what your analysis of the evidence is and why this information is relevant to your discussion.

While academic writing does not need to use long words or complicated sentences, it does need to have an element of formality. Using academic language means following a more formal style which differs from the casual language we use in everyday conversations or on social media.

So, when writing assignments you should try to avoid using informal words and colloquial expressions as these do not look very professional and can actually weaken the argument you are trying to make. Informal language can also make your writing appear as if it is only your impression rather than an academic piece of work bringing together your research, analysis and critical thinking.

Therefore, your choice of words for an academic assignment should be more considered and careful which helps your writing to be more credible and authoritative. 

Most of the time you will be expected to use the third person as it enables you to show that you have an authoritative and well-reasoned argument. Writing in an objective or impersonal way enables you to sound more convincing or persuasive as this style of writing is unbiased and it is based on the evidence you have read and researched from good quality sources; therefore, you refer to what ‘the assignment/research’ will do, rather than what you will do.

When personal beliefs or emotions influence your writing, it is subjective and thus less convincing. Avoiding personal pronouns does not mean you cannot express your own opinion. Your own evaluation of the material is still extremely important; however, you communicate this by using evidence and logical arguments. In other words, the emphasis is placed on the arguments and information, rather than on the writer. 

Before you begin writing, check the plan to make sure it matches the assignment requirements and repeat these checks as you draft and redraft your assignments. Your plan should show:

	The logical order in which you will address different aspects of the assignment question
	The key point that you wish to make about each one
	The evidence you will include to support each one

Further advice on planning and structuring your writing is available in the following pages (Planning & the Writing Process: Planning Your Writing, Beginning Your Writing: Structuring Your Assignment; Paragraphs, Introductions & Conclusions)

Writing a good assignment is strongly linked to the way your argument is phrased. In college you will come across words or phrases you might not be familiar with, such as subject specific terms or technical language.

As a result, some students think they have to adopt an overly sophisticated vocabulary in order to write in an academic tone. This can make the prospect of writing an assignment even more daunting. However, in the beginning, you can adapt the vocabulary you already know into a more formal and academic manner and over time incorporate more subject-specific terms as you learn them.

Learn by Reading

The best way to gain a more accurate understanding of the language required in your assignments is through reading. Reading textbooks and journal articles in your area of study is one of the best ways of developing your own academic style of writing. Get familiar with your course readings to help you develop language appropriate to your subject as well as taking note of the terminology used by your lecturer.

Reading widely around your subject will help you understand how others write about a topic. What sort of words and phrases do they use? You could keep a list of useful words and phrases which you can include in your own writing. Pay attention to the spelling of words used commonly in your subject and in academic writing generally.

A useful resource to consult for assistance in academic phrasing and vocabulary is the University of Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank which contains suggestions and examples suitable for many aspects of writing in college. 

One of the main characteristics of academic writing is that you must support your writing with evidence from good quality sources and reference these rather than solely rely on personal opinion and experience.

You need to make sure that any claim you make is supported with suitable evidence. This means that when you give your own opinion, it will be based on what another author has said in a good quality source. In an academic context, your opinion will be more valid if it is based on published evidence, for example, explaining how or why you are convinced (or not convinced) by what someone else has written. 

Without the use of such evidence, you are asking your reader to simply accept what you say to be true without anything to back up your opinion. Evidence is vital for building a convincing academic argument. No matter how strong your logic is, no matter how good your writing style, if you make statements without trustworthy evidence to support them, you will undermine your argument.

It is important that the evidence you use comes from good quality sources, such as textbooks and peer reviewed journals. Avoid using Google to find information unless your lecturer says otherwise. Instead, use resources recommended and featured by your lecturer on their Moodle page as well as library resources.

Using evidence from good quality sources can:

• add substance to your own ideas
• allow the reader to see what has informed your thinking
• demonstrate your understanding of the general concepts and theories on the topic
• show you have researched widely

When using evidence from other sources, you will be expected to reference any information or ideas you use. All your sources must be cited within your writing and listed at the end of your assignment. If you fail to do this, you are implying that the ideas are your own and then you may be accused of plagiarism.

A well written assignment draws together ideas and information from a number of different sources and analyses these. Your lecturer needs to know not just what you have read but what you think about what you have read. Although, it is important to do research and include information from outside sources in academic writing, you need to do more than just present the words and ideas of others. You need to analyse and evaluate the evidence and tell the reader why the information is important and/or significant in the context of the overall discussion.

If you include information from outside sources with no comment from you, it is no longer your paper; it is just a summary of what others have stated. It is important to use research to support your ideas, not replace them. 

Your use of evidence should do the following:

Clearly support the individual points which contribute to your argument	Indicate what other scholars have written or said about your topic - and how their views relate to your argument	Demonstrate different perspectives in the debate/issues you are writing about, but ultimately show that there is stronger evidence to support your argument rather than other opinions

Due to research and theories being developed and updated all the time, in academic writing there are few definites or absolutes. Therefore, academic writing tends to be cautious, using degrees of certainty or probability, rather than absolute certainty. Any claims that are made in your writing should be presented as possibilities rather than being stated definitively - this is known as hedging language.

Using cautious language is important because:

• You will not have read all possible evidence relating to the topic and as there are different viewpoints, it is unlikely that you will be able to back/prove a claim beyond doubt or debate
• There may not be a correct answer, just a slightly more likely answer; the results of individual studies are rarely conclusive and findings may later be shown to be inaccurate, based on false assumptions or incorrect interpretations
• New data is being created all the time through new research; what is known can change as new discoveries are made
• Data is often open to different interpretations