Sunday, November 25, 2012

What Is Academic Writing?

Academic writing refers to a particular form of expression. The different sorts of academic writings include formal tones; exercise third-person rather than first-person, clear focus on the facts of the topic and not just opinions, and using precise technical terms. Writers employing the formal academic style avoid slang, colloquial speech, and abbreviations (unless necessary).

Academic writing is formal form of writing to show concept and understanding of a particular topic. Many students who are beginners at academic writing have difficulties in differentiating between formal writing and informal writing. They take way out to informal writing, since it’s easier and more familiar. Students, usually Freshmen, writings can easily be understood since the sentence structures and other characteristics of informal writing include the use of colloquialisms and jargon, writing in the first person or making “I” statements, making direct personal statements, and imprecise word choices.

Just as you won’t ever wear shorts and a t-shirt to a wedding, there’s always a time and place for informal writing. The most common form of Informal writing can be found in Text messages i.e. “u there?” or “wat u doin 2nite?” This is done to convey swift questions and save message size. In contrast, the most formal writing of all can be found in all sorts of legal documentations.

Informal writing is acceptable when you are writing entries in your diary, on a blogs, personal writing, letters or emails to people you know well personally. Nevertheless, students working on papers for school, college application essays, scientific papers, research papers, conference presentations, and dissertation or thesis proposals generally utilize a more formal style.

Here are examples of informal and formal writing:

Informal writing: I think he’s a gonna lose the game, he ain’t good at the sport.
Formal writing: It was confirm that the player will lose the game; since he wasn’t good at the game.

In our first example, it is clearly visible that this is an informal way of writing. The writer speaks in the first person, using the word “I”, and states an opinion. The author employs the slang term “gonna” and “ain’t”, which are unsuitable in a formal context. The writer also uses the contraction “he’s”. If this were in the middle of a paragraph, it may be easier to understand to whom the author is referring. Taken as a simple statement, however, it’s impossible to know whether the writer thinks his best friend, his dog, or a sports man is a loser!

In our second example, is suitable for use at an academic level, this is a formal style of writing and is what usually what professors might expect at the college level. It is clearly written in third-person, the sentence omits references to the writer and focuses on the issue. The use of the semi-colon—sometimes discouraged by professors as an antiquated punctuation mark, but still used in formal documents—creates a strong, formal feel when properly used here to introduce a list.

Essay Writing

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