Read this blog to know Ways for Improving academic writing. This blog will provide you with all the knowledge you need about academic writing secrets.
When you’re emailing or messaging a friend, you don’t give much thought to the quality of the writing; instead, you focus on the contents. Similarly, your accent or pronunciation is unimportant while conversing with friends or having casual chats. When it comes to writing a research proposal, an assignment, or an academic paper, however, you are likely to be concerned: you are concerned about making mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, or word usage; you are concerned about making a good impression on your readers; and you want to convey your views and information to your readers clearly and concisely—much like you are concerned about your voice, dress, and posture when giving a speech.
Academic writing differs from everyday writing because, as the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English1 puts it, “academic language is a combination of formal and informal language.”
• succinct
• formal, formal
• specific,
• cold, impersonal
• hesitant, and
• meticulously planned
6 Ways for Improving academic writing
If you want to improve your academic writing, you should be aware of these distinctions, which are illustrated with examples in this article.
1. Reduce word waste by converting abstract nouns to verbs and avoiding needless expressions.
The best academic writing is succinct. Word limits apply to research articles, short messages, case reports, and a variety of other categories used by journals, which is why you should avoid repeating text.
When it comes to action verbs, avoiding the preposition ‘on’ is a simple way to avoid using too many words: instead of writing ‘We conducted an expedition,’ say ‘We explored.’ Replace the sentence ‘80% of the seeds germinated’ with ‘80% of the seeds germinated,’ and the phrase ‘the incubation temperature for the culture was 29 degrees Celsius’ with ‘the culture was incubated at 29 degrees Celsius.’ Such nouns are referred to as ‘zombie’ nouns by Helen Sword, who has undertaken extensive research on academic writing2. Check out her fascinating video.
Redundant expressions – Why use two words when one will enough, and why use two phrases when they both convey the same message? “The bulk of the specimens were blue in color,” for example (despite the fact that they couldn’t possibly have been blue in shape!) ‘Roots penetrate to a depth of 5 meters in the soil’ (the act of penetrating is sufficient), or ‘the differences were statistically significant at the 1% level’ (delete statistically). Avoid using the words for example, including, or comparable to with the word, etc. because these terms imply that the list isn’t exhaustive, but rather illustrative.
2. When writing, avoid utilizing abbreviations or colloquial phrases.
Although contractions like isn’t, can’t, and ‘phone, for example, frequently suggest informality, use isn’t, can’t, and telephone to convey formality instead.
Even though using colloquial expressions correctly (or, to use an informal expression, ‘getting them right’) can help you stand out as a skilled communicator, keep in mind that research papers are written for an international audience, and many of your readers may not understand you because colloquial expressions are always local and specific to a given variety of English (British, American, Australian, and so on, each of which also has many regional varieties).
3. Use precise words or phrases to convey the substance of what you’re trying to say.
Outstanding academic achievement Good science, like good English, is precise. In actuality, science is distinguished from other disciplines of study and endeavor by its emphasis on numbers, measuring, and counting. Every subject has its own technical vocabulary, which evolves over time to communicate the thoughts, physical objects, events, and other characteristics of that subject that are unique to that subject; selecting the correct term also demonstrates your knowledge of that subject: A typographer knows the difference between a font and a typeface, as well as the terms kerning and tracking; a dairy farmer knows the difference between a heifer and a cow, and an entomologist knows the difference between an insect and a spider.
4. Maintain a detached and impartial tone in your voice.
Although a good academic English sentence is impersonal, this does not mean it is boring or dull. Although the use of the first person in research papers is becoming more common – and in some cases, encouraged – the passive voice is still preferred in many more journals (for example, “the observations were recorded” rather than “we recorded the observations,” “it is widely believed” rather than “many researchers believe,” “a survey was conducted” rather than “we surveyed,” and so on). The passive voice is sometimes preferred because the focus is on the action rather than the performer; in these cases, what was done is usually more important than who did it.
Using adjectives like ‘interesting’ and remarkable is an even more serious violation of the standard than writing in an impersonal tone: let your readers decide whether or not they find your results fascinating or remarkable in their own words.
5. Qualifiers should be taken in moderation and in small doses.
While scientists seek truth, they recognize that there are rarely universal truths; as new facts are uncovered, what was previously thought to be true may become outdated or even contradictory. New elements of the material universe are being revealed by advanced microscopes and other sensitive equipment and analytical processes that were previously difficult to find using old approaches. For these reasons, emphatic language is prohibited in science: while it makes for good advertising or marketing writing, it is frowned upon in research articles, which are littered with terms like “to our knowledge,” “under laboratory conditions,” and “it is likely that.”
However, such tentative language, or ‘hedging,’ should not be overused: a statement should only contain one qualifying phrase at most. If you want to express something is possible, indicate it, or suggest it, don’t use the terms “may” and “possible,” “indicate it,” or “suggest it,” as in “It may be possible,” “These observations may indicate,” or “Such features most likely imply.” Hedging too much lowers the quality of your writing.
6. Make your paper easy to read by organizing it in a logical manner.
Academic writing should have a logical structure and be organized in a logical order. Authors in many professions, including medicine, are required to use the IMRaD3 framework (introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion). However, even within such a framework, some level of organization is required. It’s a good idea to utilize the same heading sequence in the results section as you used in the techniques section. This allows readers to more easily read the specifics of one experiment and make the connection between those details and the results of the same experiment.
Many academic papers, on the other hand, are organized in a sequence that proceeds from broad to specific and culminates with the study’s precise goals or questions being answered.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that writing is a skill that can be mastered with enough practice.
Academic writing has its own set of norms and standards; reviewers want you to be familiar with these norms and standards, and if you are, you will make a better impression on them. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
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