Academic Writing
Throughout a person’s educational career, he or she has done some type of academic writing in high school and college. In fact, basic academic writing can start as early as elementary and middle school. From learning the basic elements of academic writing, students then apply these concepts in advanced from of academic writings throughout the upper level classes. Academic writing is a form of writing which is hated by most students as it forces them to follow certain guidelines in which their writings are primarily judged off of how well they followed certain rules. Students like me inevitably learn it and are compelled to apply such elements to their writings. So why is academic writing important? Well, maybe because it helps us think critically and allows us to write with a purpose in mind. However, academic writing is more self-centered as topics written using the elements of it covers more sensitive and serious topics rather than humor or creativity. As a result, we are essentially shown to please a smaller group of people who understand and judge our views. Larger groups of people who don’t have familiarity on a certain topic would not be considered ideal audiences for that form of academic writing as they wouldn’t be able to analyze the sensitivity and the understanding behind it. The seriousness of the topic and number of people a certain topic in academic writing is directed towards is what differentiates it from other forms of writing. In other words, academic writing prevents students from using most of their creativity as it compels them to follow a strict order in which they can express their claims. My experience with academic writing has been neutral as the amount of times I have done it through my career has helped me gain enough practice to excel at it, while the elements of it makes me dislike it as it compels me to make my writing highly structured using various methods learned throughout my college and high school career.
Academic writing is centered around many elements such as structure, intellectual thoughts and ideas, the tone it is presented and viable audiences. The structure for most academic writing follows a similar format. This means that these types of writing start off with a beginning where the topic first gets introduced. Then the middle part is when claims are introduced with factual support using various references. It then ends with a conclusion by restating the claim and providing closing sentences which will cause the audience to change their perception about a certain topic or oppose it and share their views. Academic writing is primarily based around sending a message based on theoretical thoughts and ideas. These are concepts that can’t be described simple words. Rather, these ideas need an explanation which may need multiple sentences or sometimes pages to explain it clearly. Joshua Rothman uses Kristof’s statement to explain how academic writing is a “culture of exclusivity.” (Rothman) This means that these abstract ideas are only intended to serve the proper audiences. A proper tone is important to highlight important information that the audiences should be aware of. A viable audience is someone who has strong knowledge about a topic presented and has views that can relate or oppose the writer’s views. Hence, academic writing is directed towards a small group of people who are mostly intellectuals grasping theoretical topics and contribute to them by sharing their experiences. Without changes in tone, the writing wouldn’t look appealing which can prevent audiences from understanding the writer’s concepts in a way he or she intended to express. Lastly, there has to be a purpose for academic writing as it focuses on strict topics. Without a goal or purpose in mind, the writer will be unable to express his thoughts in a clear manner which cannot be properly understood by the audience. Therefore, the writing becomes invaluable when attempting to spread a message.
Having done academic writings my whole life, especially during my freshman year of college helped me adjust to the elements and structures. Initially academic writing was my most hated task to accomplish. Since academic writing can be based around closed or open prompts with theoretical analysis and ideas, it required critical thinking skills which I lacked in the beginning. Each claim needs factual evidence and the evidence needs to be backed up using additional explanations which provides a detailed analysis of the claim. The difficult part was finding the right evidence which connects to the claim properly and explaining how it connects the argument; it requires thinking beyond the text and the prompt. Using an organized structure, each which build off another is another vital aspect which I found difficult. Academic writing forced me to refrain my creativity in college as I was forced to write a certain way. I found this frustrating day by day in the beginning as I was compelled to follow an abstract guideline which made me avoid trying new techniques with my writing or adding creativity. However, with enough practice, I learned the skills needed to excel in academic writing. The best advice that I can offer to any incoming student who have to write college papers using the elements in academic writing is to keep practicing. Understanding the task in the beginning plays a crucial role in writing a good paper. It is best for the writer to know his or her purpose for writing and how he or she is going to deliver that message to the audience in a clear and organized manner. As long as one can understand and analyze texts to use them as evidence when arguing a claim, he or she will be off to the right start. The most crucial past is supporting the claim with relevant evidence and explaining how the evidence connects to the claim. Also another important aspect noted by Lennie Irvine is “whenever the author is moving from one main point to the next, the
Author needs to clearly signal to the reader that this movement is happening.” (Irvine) From providing a smooth transition, the reader will be able to understand the author’s points in a clearer manner, thus allowing a better opportunity to get main points across efficiently.
Academic writing, though intimidating and frustrating, can become easier with enough practice. There is a strict guideline that one must follow which can be confusing and abstract. However, once the writer understands how to approach the task, he or she can organize where to place the claims and how to explain each of them using evidence.