Language rules to improve academic writing

INTRODUCTION

Writing is considered a way of expressing our thoughts and ideas in real words which allows us to enhance our communication skills. Content writing may have different styles and patterns of doing certain things which can be enhanced without following any rules. Here, comes academic writing which is considered a whole new and different thing. Academic writing is not the same thing as content writing. This will always have some rules and regulations that have to be followed by the writers. It may seem to be a difficult task, but if the writer follows the basic rules of academic writing he can easily ace the task without getting overwhelmed. This article will lead towards the basic language rules that will improve academic writing skills which results in a great task.

 

WHAT IS ACADEMIC WRITING?

Academic writing is a form of a writing field that allows expressing thoughts and ideas in the academic world.  Academic writing is a whole different type that moves the context towards a formal tone and structured pattern. The topic here only includes the field of study that helps the students or readers to learn more about the education field.

Basic features of academic writing shall contain:

  1. Structured pattern- the content which has a structured pattern can be referred to as academic writing.
  2. Formal tone- the tone must be a formal one. Using day-to-day language in academics is not a great way to deal.
  3. Precise language- the contents shall be clear, concise, and precise.
  4. Evidence- evidence here referred to as proof of the source or references. The writing shall be backed with the required credits to the sources.
  5. Critical analysis- reading and researching important articles and analyzing them is a task that is considered mandatory. The content must be a critical analysis.

CONCEPT

As mentioned in the above lines academic writing is considered a difficult task that shall be done with proper knowledge and rules of academic writing. Lack of knowledge about the basic rules of academic writing may result in a disastrous task. But if the writer masters this one, the outcome must be an excellent one. Let us now discuss some of the basic language rules that will improve academic writing.

BASIC LANGUAGE RULES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

Before moving forward, academic writing is writing that allows the writers to express their thoughts about knowledgeable things which later should be read majorly by students, teachers, and other members of the academic community. That reflects that the content must be in great form. To improve the way of writing in academics there are certain rules which help the writers to improve their way of writing.

To be an academic writer, one must masters the skill of writing which can be done easily if one adheres to the below-mentioned language rules:

  1. It should contain a formal tone

The foremost rule in academic writing is to have a formal writing tone. Academic writing shall be written in a well-mannered formal tone which will help in improving the style of writing. Following this basic rule will give better results and make the assignment worth reading by the audience.

  1. It should be well structured or planned

The second rule to apply here is that academic writing should be in a structured manner. As it is a piece of work that falls under the academic field, it should be in a proper well-structured way. The writing should be done with great planning and baked up with the required pieces of evidence also.

  1. It should be focused

Content writing is said to be a vast term that includes different styles and patterns. But academic writing is a different form of writing. It should be focused on the title which indicates that unnecessary details must be avoided. Academic writing must be in a precise way that shall be understood by the readers easily and does not acquire much of their time.

  1. It should be recommended and backed up by evidence

Academic writing does not allow the writers to put everything in the work which is available in the sources. Academic writing only allows the recommended thoughts and ideas that are logical in nature and should be backed by any kind of evidence. Reading anything about the topics and putting it together is not a form of academic writing, it should be referenced by the sources that make the assignment real and logical.

  1. Get to the point

As we know, academic writing falls into the education sector which directly means that readers belong to the same sector as well.  Without getting delayed, the writer must get straight to the facts and points as the audience already knows about the basic terminology.

  1. Take a stand

Content writers must have an approach towards the end. As the audience will always like to know the writer’s point of view. Presenting the ideas and arguments in our writing style will give a positive impact on the readers and it can be considered one of the best strategies in content writing.

  1. Must edit before finalizing

Edit is the main thing in academic writing. After summarizing the assignment one should always edit the extra words or sentences that are not relevant to the particular assignment the sentences must be persuasive that is understood by the audience. . Not only this, but one should also edit the format, style, font, etc.

  1. Proofreading

Proofreading is a must thing to improve academic writing. Proofreading will always show the best results to the targeted audience. It shall be the last step of academic writing which may seem tiring; still, it will be worth the wait.

 

Other rules which shall be considered while doing academic writing:

  • Only use the common vocabulary that can be understood by everyone easily.
  • Do not use repetitive sentences in academic writing.
  • Always avoid everyday language tone.
  • Use necessary punctuation.
  • The writing must be concise, clear, and direct.
  • Do structure the sentences in a clear way

COMMON MISTAKES WHILE DOING ACADEMIC WRITING:

A great thing always comes with lots of effort. Writing is also one of those things which comes up with several mistakes but later can be learned easily. Here are some of the common mistakes which are done while doing any academic content writing which must be avoided.

  • No proper introduction in the assignment- introduction is the necessary element of any form of writing. Readers must know what they are reading and where will it lead. This is one of the common mistakes that many writers do not start with an introduction or with a poor form of introduction. This mistake shall be avoided while doing academic writing.
  • Make it descriptive- one of the major issues while doing academic writing is writers generally make the assignment too descriptive. This cannot be considered in this form of writing. Academic writing must be in a precise and direct manner which shall be done with proper referencing.
  • Using long sentences- the sentences must not be small or too long. It should be clear in nature and should be understood easily.
  • Using poor grammar- one of the common mistakes of academic writing is using wrong or poor grammar.

GRAMMAR PLAYS AN IMPORTANT PART IN ACADEMIC WRITING:

English is a language that is backed up by many rules. Every student must be aware of basic grammar rules which should be followed while writing or speaking. Grammar plays a vital role in academic writing also. Grammar should be used correctly while writing hence the whole task will result in disaster.

Using grammar poorly can affect the writing skills which will show in the later results. The basic ways in which writers can improve their grammar skills are-

  1. Should be aware of basic grammar rules.
  2. Use the punctuations correctly
  3. Avoid fragmented sentences
  4. Use reasonable vocabulary
  5. The verbs and the subjects of the sentences must agree with each other.

CONCLUSION

Academic writing is a different style of writing which helps the writers to express their views in the field of academics. That reflects that the major audience will belong to the education sector, which is why the basic rules must be followed by the writers.

The above article has mentioned different ways in which one can improve the writing styles of academic writing. Everything must be done according to the rules, as do the writing tasks. These are some of the basic rules of language that shall be implied to all the writers which will help in creating great work for the targeted audiences.

Academic writing is a tricky thing which makes the work demanding. But by adhering to some of the basic language rules it can turn into great artwork. The writers can ace and can have masters in the work by having proper knowledge about the writing skills.