Many students (perhaps including this reader, yes you!) dread academic writing. Students—both undergraduates and even postgraduates—see academic writing as a difficult, complicated, and mentally-draining task. However, academic writing is a big part of a student’s life.
It is through writing that students articulate knowledge and express intellectuality. So, as a student, whether you like it or not, you cannot avoid having to write essays, research papers, theses, dissertations, literature reviews, research proposals, and/or lab reports… to name a few!
But don’t worry. While academic writing can be perceived as demanding, there are some top tips that can help to guide students in academic writing and make the process as simple as possible, and, hopefully, even enjoyable.
The following academic writing tips will help you churn out impeccable documents.
Curious? Let’s get into it.
Academic Writing Tip #1: Remove fear
Perhaps the most important thing is to first remove any fear you have about academic writing. As Stephen Richard said, “Fear can make a moth seem the size of a bull elephant“. Academic writing is not as complicated and difficult as it might appear. It is a moth, don’t make it appear like a bull elephant.
Take a deep breath, calm your nerves, and remove your fear.
Academic Writing Tip #2: Know what you want to write about
Before you start writing any type of academic document, ensure you have a full grasp of what you want to write about. Perfunctory or incomplete knowledge is not enough. Be clear as to what you want your writing to address. This sets the foundation of your document.
Surprisingly, many students start writing without fully understanding what they want to write about. This, of course, affects the quality of the output.
Before starting to write your document, ask yourself: “What issue(s) do I want to address with this writing?” If you don’t answer this question before you write, you’ll find yourself stuck mid-way into your task. Furthermore, without this clarity, it will be difficult to know which materials to consult.
Finally, not having a proper grasp of what you are about to write will make you frustrated. Frustration only makes writing more challenging, so avoid this emotion at all costs!
Academic Writing Tip #3: Read extensively on the topic you want to write about
Ever heard of the Latin maxim—”nemo dat quod non habet” which means “you cannot give what you don’t have”? This maxim applies here. You can’t write about something if you haven’t read enough about it.
Before you start writing, read and research extensively on the topic or subject matter you are going to write on.
Reading before writing is important because:
• it helps you to gain greater clarity on your work; and
• it generates more ideas relevant to the scope and content of your work.
There are many sources of information out there to consult prior to writing: relevant textbooks, articles, and journals, to name a few. Make use of the library and work with the research librarians in your field.
Reputable academic research databases are a key ‘go-to’ resource where you can access relevant journals and articles.
Examples of reputable databases are:
• Scopus https://www.scopus.com/home.uri
• Web of Science https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/web-of-science/
• PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
• ERIC https://eric.ed.gov/
• IEEE Xplore https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/home.jsp
• Science Direct https://www.sciencedirect.com/
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) https://doaj.org/
However, make sure that you focus on reading relevant literature. Don’t get bogged down with irrelevant material that isn’t useful for the writing task at hand.
Bonus tip:
Struggling to find more material relevant to the subject matter you want to write about? Check the bibliography/reference list of the material you have already accessed. Many of these referenced materials are likely to be useful for your writing. This is a quick way to access more information.
Academic Writing Tip #4: Collate your material
After reading, collate all the relevant material that you found relating to the topic you are planning to write on. This not only helps in a practical sense, but it also helps to organize your mind, gearing it up to begin the writing process.
Academic Writing Tip #5: Determine the style of your academic writing
Before being to write, it is important to determine the style relevant to your academic writing. This will help you to determine your linguistic flow when writing your work.
Ask yourself these questions:
• Is this academic writing persuasive, analytical, or descriptive?
• In this writing, am I to reflect, discuss, compare, critique, or analyze?
The answers to these questions will guide you as to the tone, structure, and overall style required for your writing.
Academic Writing Tip #6: Organize your thoughts and have a structure
Academic writing needs to be well structured. You don’t want to write something that makes a mockery of your intellectuality because there is no flow of thought. Haphazard and poorly-organized work overshadows your content, no matter how great that content is.
So, before you start writing, organize your points and plan how you will present these. Having a clear plan for the structure of your document helps to make the writing coherent, concise and to give it that X-factor: scholastic aura.
Academic Writing Tip #7: Start writing
Finally, now that you’ve done the groundwork, you can start writing. But note, there are two drafts to write: the first draft and the second draft.
In the first draft, just write. Simply write freely as things come to mind. You are writing for yourself here. Don’t worry about slips and typographical errors. These will be corrected in the second draft. The key here is to get your points down on paper.
The second draft is where you tidy your writing up and make corrections to the first draft. This second draft is to be written with the reader in mind. Ask yourself, “If I were the reader of this academic work, would I understand it and would my interpretation of it be what the writer intends it to be?”.
Academic Writing Tip #8: Handling writer’s block
It is entirely possible that, after researching your topic and sitting down to write, your mind may go blank. This can also happen part-way through the writing process. Don’t panic. This is normal and is called “writer’s block”.
All academic writers encounter blocks. Knowing how to deal with writer’s block is the key thing here. If you encounter writer’s block, you should:
• Take a break from writing. Go for a walk. Grab a coffee. Ring a friend. Do something to relax your mind. Come back to your writing later when you are feeling more refreshed
• Change your location. Try out a new working space, go to another spot on campus, try working from a café, or even outside in the fresh air if you can.
• Find someone who understands, or is at least sympathetic to, what you are going through. Talking freely to someone about your struggle can help you feel more positive and know that you are not alone in this process. Alternatively, if your university has a writing center, they may be able to match you up with a writing buddy.0
• Remove distractions. When trying to write, switch off your phone and get rid of anything you think will distract you from the task at hand. Once you’ve written something reasonably substantial, reward yourself with a break doing something you enjoy.
• Do additional research. Sometimes, writer’s block occurs because you don’t have enough knowledge about what you are writing on. If this is the case, get researching again.
Academic Writing Tip #9: Adhere to grammatical rules
Academic writing is a type of formal writing and must be presented as such. Grammatical errors will detract from your content so spend the time to remove these or get a professional academic editing service to proofread your document for you. Always stick to grammatical rules when writing academic documents.
Common grammatical mistakes made in academic writing include concord errors, misplaced modifiers, wrong usage of words, run-on sentences, and incorrect use of punctuation marks.
Get familiar with the nuances of grammar. Avoid blunders—they can dent your intellectual reputation.
You can check out some basic grammar rules here: https://championediting.com/basic-english-grammar-rules-for-esl-students/
Academic Writing Tip #10: Ditch unnecessary words
Two words here: Be Concise.
Academic writing should not contain a barrage of unnecessary words. Ditch the superfluous vocabulary and jargon. Avoid using long-winded, redundant phrases. If a simple word can replace a term without altering the meaning, then use it.
For example, rather than writing “the flu spread rapidly but people got over it”, write “the flu spread rapidly but people recuperated”. One-word equivalents should always replace phrasal verbs.
Remember, academic writing is not a contest to write the most words. Write to communicate, not to increase your word count.
Academic Writing Tip #11: Don’t use contractions
In your first draft, you may inadvertently include contractions. That’s ok. But these need to be removed when it comes to the second draft. The formality of academic writing means that contractions are not used. Change can’t to cannot, hasn’t to has not, won’t to will not, etc.
This error may seem trivial, but it reeks of mediocrity and can make your writing questionable. It is a very prevalent error among students, so do your best to avoid making this mistake.
Academic Writing Tip #12: Don’t repeat yourself
Don’t repeat words or points. It is very common to see academic writing laced with repetition. Good academic writing is concise and precise. Say it once, say it well, and don’t say it again.
Academic Writing Tip #13: Avoid using lengthy and complex sentences
Sentences should be clear, concise, and easy to digest, even when the subject matter is complex. However, many students and even scholars write unnecessarily long and complex sentences, making them difficult to read and understand.
When writing your sentences, bear these rules in mind:
• A sentence should generally not exceed an average of fifteen-twenty words.
• Include a combination of long, medium, and short sentences in your writing.
• Always aim to use simple sentences to make your work easy to read and understand.
Academic Writing Tip #14: Use the active voice, not the passive voice
The active voice is generally preferred in academic writing. Why? The reason is simply that the active voice conveys thoughts clearer than the passive voice. The passive voice makes a sentence more complex while the active voice keeps it concise and understandable.
For example, rather than writing “the rate of chemical change in the body is increased by enzymes”, it is better to write “enzymes increase the rate of chemical change in the body”.
Academic Writing Tip #15: Evade or be careful with using the pronoun “I”
Generally, avoid using the pronoun “I” or at least minimize its usage to the bare minimum. In the sciences, the use of “I” in academic writing is prohibited. Ditto for some humanities subjects which often regard themselves to be affiliated with the sciences.
However, some academic disciplines do allow the use of “I” in academic writing. Even so, use the pronoun sparingly. In such disciplines, it is advisable that you use the pronoun “I” specifically when you want to make a submission or express an opinion. Such submissions or opinions must be based on a justified premise, and not just represent a random statement.
Academic Writing Tip #16: Be factual and logical
Academic writing is not a sort of writing where you can throw about unsubstantiated assertions. Be factual and logical. Always give evidence or state the premise on which you predicate any position or submission you make.
Academic Writing Tip #17: Don’t use Wikipedia as a source of information
It doesn’t look good for a student (or anybody) writing academic documents to use Wikipedia as a source of research information. Although Wikipedia ranks highly on Google, it is not a reliable source of knowledge.
Did you know that anybody in the world can edit the content on Wikipedia? On the web, stick to areas that provide more reliable information, such as Google Scholar, Google Books, Microsoft Academic, and of course the databases listed earlier in this article.
Academic Writing Tip #18: Use the proper citation style
Citations are generally important in academic writing and proper citation is a key indicator of quality. Properly and comprehensively citing your work adds depth to your research and genuineness to your writing.
Ensure your academic writing is properly cited and your citation style is in line with the specified format. If you’re writing a manuscript for journal publication, know the citation style of the journal. Ditto for your thesis or dissertation. Popular citation styles are MLA, APA, Chicago, IEEE, and CSE.
Academic Writing Tip #19: Avoid plagiarism like the plague
Do not plagiarize. Just. Don’t. Do. It. This point cannot be stressed enough.
When you copy or glean an idea from other academic work, always acknowledge this by referencing the work. Never pass off another person’s work or idea as your own. The academic world vehemently rebukes intellectual theft.
The consequences of plagiarism include:
• having to pay a fine;
• bringing disrepute on the offender;
• shadowing doubt on the genuineness of the offender’s current, previous, and even future academic writing; and
• the offender losing his or her studentship or serving other disciplinary punishments such as suspension for a definite period.
Academic Writing Tip #20: Don’t forget to proofread
Writing all done? Great job! But before you celebrate, don’t forget to do a final proofread to detect any hidden errors in your writing.
Think of proofreading as polishing your writing. Focus on the small, but still important, things, such as missing letters in words, or missing words in sentences; the incorrect or inconsistent use of commas, semi-colons and dashes; wrong page numbers in cross-references; errors with numerals; and errors with text headings. Reading your writing aloud can help to detect these errors. You can also ask a colleague to take a look—another set of eyes often proves helpful.
In conclusion, the more you write, the more you’ll master the nuances of academic writing and the easier it will become. With time, you’ll garner the expertise that comes with experience.
So, next time you sit down to write an academic document, implement the tips in this article, and before long, you’ll be marveling at your result.