The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. Academic writing is…Īcademic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. Whether your goal is to pass your degree, apply to graduate school or build an academic career, effective writing is an essential skill. However, most academic writing shares certain key principles intended to help convey information as effectively as possible. For example, in scientific writing it’s crucial to clearly and accurately report methods and results in the humanities, the focus is on constructing convincing arguments through the use of textual evidence.
The large final research project undertaken at the end of a degree, usually on a topic of the student’s choice.Īn outline of a potential topic and plan for a future dissertation or research project.Ī critical synthesis of existing research on a topic, usually written in order to inform the approach of a new piece of research.Ī write-up of the aims, methods, results and conclusions of a lab experiment.Ī list of source references with a short description or evaluation of each source.ĭifferent fields of study have different priorities in terms of the writing they produce. Type of academic textĪ fairly short, self-contained argument, often using sources from a class in response to a question provided by an instructor.Ī more in-depth investigation based on independent research, often in response to a question chosen by the student. For students, the most common types of academic writing assignments are listed below.