Guide to Enhancing Academic Writing

Most people aren’t natural “writers.” As you progress in the academic ladder, the level of quality for each essay you are required to produce increases. Most students forget the principle lessons of writing excellent scholarly articles and today we’ll be covering some of the fundamentals to ensure that you’re always increasing the quality of your work.

Before we jump into tips, let’s first review the different types of academic writing.

Types of Academic Writing:

Depending on the writing style you wish to incorporate into your essay – based on your audience and the purpose of your paper, you’ll be forced to write differently. There are situations where one style would be better suited for your particular project.

Let’s review various types of academic paper writing.

·         Argument Papers

These assignments require you to take a position on a particular topic. It involves more of a practical writing approach. Within the first thesis statement of the essay, you’ll be delivering the central premise of the argument. You’ll need to be implementing logic and reasoning to support your arguments.

Always remember to write openly about the central premise. Provide tangible evidence that supports your position within the thesis and develop your conclusion based on the supporting evidence.

·         Research Papers

A research paper could either be focused on your research or write up an analysis of other research previously conducted. These kinds of articles usually contain formal segments within the essay including the introduction, review of existing literature, analysis, discussion of results as well as the conclusion.

Always remember to develop a clear and focused question (hypothesis) as well as identify relevant sources you can use. Thoroughly analyze the results you found within your sources and describe how you’re the results of the research addresses your central hypothesis.

·         Expository Papers

It is very similar to an argument paper. With a descriptive writing, you’ll be required to research a concept or an idea and provide supporting clauses. Usually, these types of articles follow the five-paragraph format which includes; the introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your professors will often require you to write an expository essay to see whether you have learned a particular subject,

Will you be comparing and contrasting concepts, work on a causality approach or focus on process or procedure? Also, you’ll want to keep your thesis statement to the point. Similar to the papers mentioned above, it is of the utmost importance to always provide evidence or supporting clauses within your article to give weight to the idea expose. Within your conclusion, you’ll also be focusing on bringing back the arguments in a concise manner.

·         Exam Essays

Exam essays are usually much shorter than the other articles on this list. Many times professors utilize exam essays, similar to an expository essay, to judge your understanding of a particular topic. To prepare for these kinds of papers, you’ll need to read the material provided by the instructor thoroughly. Additionally, if you’re allowed to bring notes, be sure to participate in class to find out exactly what you’ll need.

When writing the exam, always read the question carefully. You need to identify keywords such as “compare” or “criticize” which will change the direction of your paper. Next, before writing anything, work out a rough outline to allow you to make sense of the critical concepts you’d like to include. If the exam is time-sensitive, you should be creating checkpoints to see whether you’ll have enough time to go over your work before handing it in.

TIPS and TRICKS:

• There’s a couple of tips and tricks you can apply to all of the styles mentioned above.
• Set aside enough time to go through the work thoroughly.
• Prepare your outline and your research before writing.
• When you write the first draft, don’t worry too much about anything, just write without prejudice.
• Once you have finished the first draft, let the paper sit a few days as to allow your mind to have a fresh perspective once you do start editing.
• Edit with scrutiny. See which ideas do not express enough, where you could add or remove segments to make the essay flow better.
• Once you have finished editing the first draft, start over again writing the paper from scratch. You should have to digest enough information to allow your brain to create compelling arguments without having to reference the first draft.
• Once more, set the second draft aside and then commence editing.
• Once you have written the second draft, let someone else read it over once more and provide you with insight on where to clarify, what doesn’t make sense and so forth.

Write the essay one final time; this will ensure that you have incorporated all of your edits and feedback to increase the overall quality of your work.