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What are the categories of academic writing?

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Learn about categories of academic writing. Read this blog, you will find all the essential information that you require. 

4 categories of academic writing

Academic writing is divided into four categories: descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical. Each of these types of writing has its own set of linguistic traits and objectives.

Many academic papers will necessitate the use of multiple types of punctuation. In an empirical thesis, for example, you might write:

• You will use critical writing to demonstrate where there is a gap or opportunity in the available research when writing the literature review.

• The techniques section should be mostly descriptive, summarising the procedures used to acquire and analyse the data.

• The outcomes part will be mostly descriptive and analytical because you will be reporting on the data you collected.

It’s more analytical in nature since you link your findings to your research questions, but it’s also convincing because you offer your interpretations of the findings.

Descriptive

The descriptive essay is the easiest type of academic writing. Its major objective is to provide the reader with facts or information. Summarizations include things like an article summary or a report on the results of an experiment.

For strictly descriptive work, there are various alternative forms of directions that might be supplied. ‘Identity,”report/record/summarize/define,’ and a variety of others are among them.

Analytical

A university-level text that consists only of descriptive language is unusual. Similarly, the majority of academic writing is analytical. You must not only recount the facts and information you have gathered, but you must also reorganise the facts and information you have gathered into categories, groups, parts, sorts, or relationships while writing analytically.

These categories or linkages may already exist within the discipline in some cases, but you will need to develop them explicitly for the sake of your book in others. A comparison of two theories can be broken down into various parts, such as how each theory approaches the social context, how each theory approaches language learning, and how each theory might be used in practice, for example.

“Analyze,” “compare,” “contrast,” “related,” “examine,” and “compare and contrast” are all standard directives for an analytical activity.

Try the following to make your writing more analytical:

• Devote a substantial amount of time to planning. To see which groupings work best, brainstorm facts and ideas and experiment with different groupings based on patterns, parts, similarities, and contrasts. To organise your data, you could use colour coding, flow charts, tree diagrams, or tables.

• Give your newfound relationships and categories a descriptive name. Consider the following pros and disadvantages.

Make one of the analytical categories the focal point of each section and paragraph.

You may help your reader comprehend the overall structure of your essay by using topic sentences and a succinct introduction.

Persuasive

Most academic writing tasks need you to take at least one step beyond analytical writing, which is frequently persuasive writing. Persuasive writing includes all of the qualities of analytical writing (that is, information + reorganisation of information) with one significant distinction: it is personal. Persuasive essays are common, and persuasive elements can be found in a research paper’s discussion and conclusion.

A point of view in academic writing might take the shape of an argument, a recommendation, an interpretation of findings, or a critique of others’ work. To be persuasively convincing, each claim you make in persuasive writing must be backed up by some type of proof, such as a reference to study findings or published sources.

“Argue,” “assess,” “explain,” and “take a position” are some examples of persuasive assignment instructions.

To assist you in coming to your own conclusion on the facts or ideas:

• Investigate the perspectives of other researchers on the subject. Who do you think is the most convincing?

• Examine the data or references for patterns to see if they may be applied. Where does the evidence appear to be the most compelling?

• Provide a variety of possible interpretations. What are the consequences of each of these options in the actual world? Which are the most likely to be beneficial or useful in the long run? Which of them are encountering problems?

• Have a debate about the facts and opinions with someone else. Are you in agreement with what they’re attempting to convey?

Consider the following to expand on your point of view:

• List the various justifications for your position.

• Consider the various types and sources of evidence you might be able to use to back up your claim.

Examine the various ways in which your point of view differs from, and is similar to, that of others in the field of inquiry.

• Think about different ways to divide your point of view into pieces. Cost-effectiveness, environmental sustainability, and the scope of real-world applicability, for example, are all crucial factors to consider.

When presenting your case, keep the following points in mind:

• In your text, you build a logical argument in which all of your individual claims support your overarching point of view.

• If you present clear examples, your reader will comprehend your logic for each argument.

> You are correct in all of your hypotheses.

• You have proof to back up each and every claim you make.

Your evidence is compelling and instantly applicable to your argument.

Critical

Critical writing is common in academic settings, as well as in research, postgraduate, and advanced undergraduate writing. It combines all of the elements of persuasive writing with the inclusion of at least one opposing viewpoint. Critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view on the same issue or topic, including your own, rather than articulating your own point of view on the same issue or topic.

You may explain a researcher’s interpretation or argument and then analyse the merits of the argument to prove your point, or you could present your own different interpretation.

Critical writing activities include, for example, critiques of journal articles or a literature review that highlights the benefits and drawbacks of existing research. There are various forms of critical writing instructions, including “critique,” “argue,” “disagree,” “evaluate,” and “discuss.”

You must complete the following tasks:

· accurately summarise the entire work or a section of it The identification of the fundamental interpretations, assumptions, or techniques could be included in this.

• be able to express an opinion on a work in progress Providing suitable forms of opinions could involve, among other things, pointing out problems in the work, suggesting a more effective technique, and/or defending the work against other people’s critiques.

• provide proof to back up your point of view Many types of proof, including as logical reasoning, references to authoritative sources, and/or research data, may be appropriate for use depending on the nature of the assignment and the discipline.

Critical writing necessitates excellent writing skills. You must have a thorough awareness of the topic and issues at hand. You must create an essay structure and paragraph structure that allows you to compare and contrast many points of view while constructing your own evidence-based argument.

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