This guide provided by Arcada Library helps you to understand and apply the common praxis in academic writing and brings together all forms and specific instructions used in Arcada University of Applied Sciences.
What is Academic Writing
The goal of academic writing is to communicate complex ideas to other scholars in a formal, structured, and precise way acceptable in the context of a specific field. Distinct signs of academic writing are for example citations, bibliography, and acknowledgment of previous works. In particular, the academic writer can assess how he or she is situated in the context and what is the current state of affairs in a particular research field.
Most academic texts are written in a rational, informative, reasoned style. The text is comprised of presenting well-justified facts and observations as well as critical analysis. The writer seeks to explain to others how he or she has come to the results and how they connect to previous research. To know is to make others understand – this premise can help the writer to write for an audience in a formulated, effective, and suitable style.
Start with Reading
To go ahead, start with these simple suggestions:
- Know your background: in order to write good academic prose, one must be familiar with the most acknowledged research and research questions in the field. Read e.g. an article that presents the current state of affairs in your field!
- Start with reading: one of the easiest ways of starting to write is to check how others have succeeded in it
- Choose your goal: how important this skill is for you in your future career?
- Choose your audience: imagine that you are writing for a colleague you admire or for your favorite academic journal
- Choose your critic: ask for help when editing and re-writing
- Choose your strategy: is it helpful to start with the easiest or most difficult parts? What is the best strategy for you to succeed in your writing?
All of these suggestions can be helpful simply because they presume reflection. We hope you enjoy your writing process and keep in contact with your supervisor and the library whenever you need it!
Academic Writing as a Tool in Your Personal Career
Good academic writing is one of the key skills if reaching for a career in research. However, the same skills apply also for many other professions where explaining ideas and describing them in textual mediums is commonplace. Academic writing provides a highly advanced context to organize one's ideas. If one can master that, it will be easier to apply excellent communication and textual skills in the everyday working life and answer to the complexity of the post-information age.
In the wordle above that describes academic writing, the words community and discourse are most highlighted. To be recognized as a leading professional, others in your field need to appreciate your position. This is still commonly done via academic success that is a distinguished method of proving others one's skills and possibilities. Hence, academic success is often seen in parallel of career success.