what are the five types of academic writing based on style

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Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, academic writing – how to write for the academic community.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

Academic writing refers to the writing style that researchers, educators, and students use in scholarly publications and school assignments. An academic writing style refers to the semantic and textual features that characterize academic writing and distinguish it from other discourses , such as professional writing , workplace writing , fiction , or creative nonfiction . Learn about the discourse conventions of the academic community so you can write with greater authority , clarity , and persuasiveness (and, in school settings, earn higher grades!).  

What is Academic Writing?

Academic writing refers to all of the texts produced by academic writers, including theoretical, empirical , or experience-based works. Examples:

• Students at the high school and undergraduate level write essays, book reviews, lab reports, reviews of literature, proposals–and more . These assignments often presume an audience of a teacher-as-examiner
• by proposing a new theory, method, application
• by presenting new empirical findings
• by offering new interpretations of existing evidence .

Different academic fields have distinct genres , writing styles and conventions because each academic field possesses its own set of rules and practices that govern how ideas are researched , structured , supported , and communicated . Thus, there is no one single style of academic writing. Rather, there are many different writing styles a writer might adopt , depending on their aims of discourse , media , writing tools, and rhetorical situation .

Related Concepts: Audience – Audience Awareness ; Discourse Community – Community of Practice ; Discourse Conventions ; Elements of Style ; Genre ; Professional Writing – Style Guide ; Persona ; Rhetorical Stance ; Tone ; Voice

Differences aside, there are a number of discourse conventions that academic writers share across disciplines. These conventions empower writers to establish authority and clarity in their prose –and to craft pieces that can be understood and appreciated by readers from various academic fields as well as the general public.

Features of Academic Discourse

• Academic writing tends to be  substantive  rather than superficial,  anecdotal ,  vague or underdeveloped.  For example, a paper on climate change would not just describe the observed changes in temperature, but might also delve into the scientific theories that explain these changes, the evidence supporting these theories, the potential impacts of climate change, and the debates within the scientific community
• Academic writing prioritizes evidence and logical reasoning over anecdotal observations , personal opinions, personal beliefs emotional appeals
• Members of the academic community expect authors to provide evidence for claims . When academics introduce evidence into their texts, they know their readers expect them to establish the currency, relevance ,  authority , accuracy , and purpose of any evidence they introduce
• Academic writers are careful to support their claims with evidence from credible sources, especially peer-reviewed , academic literature.
• Academics are sensitive to the ideologies and epistemologies that inform research methods.
• For example, when a psychology student studies the effects of mindfulness on anxiety disorders, they would need to understand that their research is based on the assumption that anxiety can be measured and quantified, and that it can be influenced by interventions like mindfulness training. They would also need to understand that their research is situated within a particular theoretical framework (e.g., cognitive-behavioral theory), which shapes how they conceptualize anxiety, mindfulness, and the relationship between them.
• Academic writing is expected to be objective and fair–and free of bias . This means presenting evidence in a balanced way, considering different perspectives , and not letting personal biases distort the analysis.
• It also involves recognizing the limitations of the research and being open to criticism and alternative interpretations .
• Academic writers are very careful to attribute the works of authors whom they’re quoting , paraphrasing , or summarizing . They understand information has value , and they’re careful to discern who the major thought leaders are on a particular topic . They understand they cannot simply copy and paste large sections of copyrighted material into their own work, even if they provide an attribution .
• Academic writers must also abide copyright laws , which protect the rights of authors and creators. This means, for example, that they cannot simply copy and paste large sections of copyrighted material into their own work, even if they provide a citation . Instead, they can use smaller excerpts under the principle of “fair use,” or they can seek permission from the copyright holder to use larger portions.

Organization

Academic writing is typically organized in a deductive way (as opposed to inductively ). Many genresof academic writing have a research abstract, a clear introduction , body, conclusions and recommendations.

Academic essays tend to have an introduction that introduces the topic, the exigency that informs this call to write. reviews pertinent research, and explains the problem — hypothesis, thesis, and rhetorical situation. the context and states the purpose of the writing (aka, the thesis! ), the body develops the arguments or presents the research, and the conclusion summarizes the main points and discusses the implications or applications of the research

Typically, the design of academic documents is plain vanilla, despite the visual turn in communication made possible by the ubiquity of design tools. Unlike professional writing, which tends to be incredibly visual, academic writing tends to be fairly traditional with its focus on alphabetical text as opposed to visual elements.

• Plain Design: Academic documents, such as research papers, theses, or scholarly articles, typically follow a minimalist design approach. They primarily consist of black text on a white background, with a standard, easy-to-read font. This “plain vanilla” design reflects the focus of academic writing on the content rather than the presentation. The aim is to communicate complex ideas clearly and without distraction.
• Limited Use of Visuals: Unlike in professional writing or journalism, visuals such as images, infographics, or videos are not commonly used in academic writing. When they are used, it’s usually to present data (in the form of graphs, charts, or tables) or to illustrate a point (with diagrams or figures). The visuals are typically grayscale and are intended to supplement the text rather than replace it.
• Structured Layout: Academic writing tends to follow a structured layout, with clearly marked sections and subsections. This helps to organize the content and guide the reader through the argument. However, aside from headings, there is usually little use of design elements such as color, bolding, or varied fonts to highlight different parts of the text.
• Lack of Interactive Features: With the transition to digital media, many types of writing have become more interactive, incorporating hyperlinks, multimedia, or interactive data visualizations. However, academic writing has been slower to adopt these features. While academic articles often include hyperlinks to references, they rarely include other interactive elements.

However, as digital media and visual communication become increasingly prevalent, we may see changes in the conventions of academic design.

• Academic writing tends to be formal in persona , tone , diction . Academic writers avoid contractions , slang, colloquial expressions, sexist use of pronouns . Because it is written for specialists, jargon is used, but not unnecessarily. However, the level of formality can vary depending on the discipline, the genre (e.g., a research paper vs. a blog post), and the intended audience . For instance, in sociology and communication, autoethnography is a common genre , which is a composite of autobiography , memoir, creative nonfiction, and ethnographic methods .
• In the last 20 years, there has been a significant move toward including the first person in academic writing. However, in general, the focus of discourse isn’t the writer. Thus, most academic writers use the first person sparingly–if at all.
• Academic writers use the citation styles required by their audiences .
• Specialized Vocabulary: Academics often use specialized vocabulary or jargon that is specific to their field. These terms can convey complex ideas in a compact form, contributing to the compressed nature of academic prose. However, they can also make the writing less accessible to non-specialists.
• Complex Sentence Structures: Academic writing often uses complex sentence structures, such as long sentences with multiple clauses, or sentences that incorporate lists or parenthetical information. These structures allow academic writers to express complex relationships and nuances of meaning, but they can also make the writing more challenging to read.
• Referential Density: Academic writing often refers to other works, theories, or arguments, either explicitly (through citations) or implicitly. This referential density allows academic writers to build on existing knowledge and engage in scholarly conversation, but it also assumes that readers are familiar with the referenced works or ideas.

1. When is it appropriate to use the first person?

Use of the first person is now more commonplace across academic disciplines. In order to determine whether first person is appropriate, engage in rhetorical analysis of the rhetorical situation .

Recommended Resources

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• First-Person Point of View
• Using First Person in an Academic Essay: When is It Okay?
• A Synthesis of Professor Perspectives on Using First and Third Person in Academic Writing

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• Academic Writing Style
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• Glossary of Research Terms
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Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like specialist languages adopted in other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts within a community of scholarly experts and practitioners.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

The accepted form of academic writing in the social sciences can vary considerable depending on the methodological framework and the intended audience. However, most college-level research papers require careful attention to the following stylistic elements:

I.  The Big Picture Unlike creative or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohesive and possess a logically organized flow of ideas; this means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be narrative links between sentences and paragraphs so that the reader is able to follow your argument. The introduction should include a description of how the rest of the paper is organized and all sources are properly cited throughout the paper.

II.  Tone The overall tone refers to the attitude conveyed in a piece of writing. Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate narrative tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, state the strengths of your arguments confidently, using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  Diction Diction refers to the choice of words you use. Awareness of the words you use is important because words that have almost the same denotation [dictionary definition] can have very different connotations [implied meanings]. This is particularly true in academic writing because words and terminology can evolve a nuanced meaning that describes a particular idea, concept, or phenomenon derived from the epistemological culture of that discipline [e.g., the concept of rational choice in political science]. Therefore, use concrete words [not general] that convey a specific meaning. If this cannot be done without confusing the reader, then you need to explain what you mean within the context of how that word or phrase is used within a discipline.

IV.  Language The investigation of research problems in the social sciences is often complex and multi- dimensional . Therefore, it is important that you use unambiguous language. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Do not use vague expressions that are not specific or precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.], abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], or 'a.k.a.' ["also known as"], and the use of unspecific determinate words ["super," "very," "incredible," "huge," etc.].

V.  Punctuation Scholars rely on precise words and language to establish the narrative tone of their work and, therefore, punctuation marks are used very deliberately. For example, exclamation points are rarely used to express a heightened tone because it can come across as unsophisticated or over-excited. Dashes should be limited to the insertion of an explanatory comment in a sentence, while hyphens should be limited to connecting prefixes to words [e.g., multi-disciplinary] or when forming compound phrases [e.g., commander-in-chief]. Finally, understand that semi-colons represent a pause that is longer than a comma, but shorter than a period in a sentence. In general, there are four grammatical uses of semi-colons: when a second clause expands or explains the first clause; to describe a sequence of actions or different aspects of the same topic; placed before clauses which begin with "nevertheless", "therefore", "even so," and "for instance”; and, to mark off a series of phrases or clauses which contain commas. If you are not confident about when to use semi-colons [and most of the time, they are not required for proper punctuation], rewrite using shorter sentences or revise the paragraph.

VI.  Academic Conventions Among the most important rules and principles of academic engagement of a writing is citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references as either footnotes or endnotes. The academic convention of citing sources facilitates processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time . Aside from citing sources, other academic conventions to follow include the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, properly spelling out acronyms when first used in the text, avoiding slang or colloquial language, avoiding emotive language or unsupported declarative statements, avoiding contractions [e.g., isn't], and using first person and second person pronouns only when necessary.

VII.  Evidence-Based Reasoning Assignments often ask you to express your own point of view about the research problem. However, what is valued in academic writing is that statements are based on evidence-based reasoning. This refers to possessing a clear understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that exist within, and often external to, your discipline concerning the topic. You need to support your arguments with evidence from scholarly [i.e., academic or peer-reviewed] sources. It should be an objective stance presented as a logical argument; the quality of the evidence you cite will determine the strength of your argument. The objective is to convince the reader of the validity of your thoughts through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing. This is particularly important when proposing solutions to problems or delineating recommended courses of action.

VIII.  Thesis-Driven Academic writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or position applied to the chosen topic of investigation, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions applied to investigating the research problem. Note that a problem statement without the research questions does not qualify as academic writing because simply identifying the research problem does not establish for the reader how you will contribute to solving the problem, what aspects you believe are most critical, or suggest a method for gathering information or data to better understand the problem.

IX.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking Academic writing addresses complex issues that require higher-order thinking skills applied to understanding the research problem [e.g., critical, reflective, logical, and creative thinking as opposed to, for example, descriptive or prescriptive thinking]. Higher-order thinking skills include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images. Think of your writing this way: One of the most important attributes of a good teacher is the ability to explain complexity in a way that is understandable and relatable to the topic being presented during class. This is also one of the main functions of academic writing--examining and explaining the significance of complex ideas as clearly as possible.  As a writer, you must adopt the role of a good teacher by summarizing complex information into a well-organized synthesis of ideas, concepts, and recommendations that contribute to a better understanding of the research problem.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Roy. Improve Your Writing Skills . Manchester, UK: Clifton Press, 1995; Nygaard, Lynn P. Writing for Scholars: A Practical Guide to Making Sense and Being Heard . Second edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2015; Silvia, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007; Style, Diction, Tone, and Voice. Writing Center, Wheaton College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of research jargon is language specific to a particular community of practitioner-researchers . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to words and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and psychology, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research domain of a each discipline may have subtle differences based upon how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terminology [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. These can be found by either searching in the USC Libraries catalog by entering the disciplinary and the word dictionary [e.g., sociology and dictionary] or using a database such as Credo Reference [a curated collection of subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides from highly regarded publishers] . It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but you should avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Problems with Opaque Writing

A common criticism of scholars is that they can utilize needlessly complex syntax or overly expansive vocabulary that is impenetrable or not well-defined. When writing, avoid problems associated with opaque writing by keeping in mind the following:

1.   Excessive use of specialized terminology . Yes, it is appropriate for you to use specialist language and a formal style of expression in academic writing, but it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of complex or obscure words or writing complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your paper is more about style than substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about. Focus on creating clear, concise, and elegant prose that minimizes reliance on specialized terminology.

2.   Inappropriate use of specialized terminology . Because you are dealing with concepts, research, and data within your discipline, you need to use the technical language appropriate to that area of study. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--do not just guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries by searching the USC Libraries catalog or the Credo Reference database [see above].

Additional Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of. These problems include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. These words can be interpreted as being used only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem. Limit the use of personal nouns to descriptions of things you actually did [e.g., "I interviewed ten teachers about classroom management techniques..."]. Note that personal nouns are generally found in the discussion section of a paper because this is where you as the author/researcher interpret and describe your work.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demand the reader to "do this" or "do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations or goals leading to specific outcomes. Note that an exception to this can be found in various forms of action research that involve evidence-based advocacy for social justice or transformative change. Within this area of the social sciences, authors may offer directives for action in a declarative tone of urgency.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they can be open to interpretation. Your writing should be direct and concise using standard English.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and developing a narrative that does not have confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper, be sure to look for and edit any vague or imprecise statements that lack context or specificity.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them as 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing, this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item arranged in separate paragraphs? Also, be careful using numbers because they can imply a ranked order of priority or importance. If none exists, use bullets and avoid checkmarks or other symbols.
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study. In fact, some description or background information may be needed because you can not assume the reader knows the key aspects of the topic. However, the content of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem rather than background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experience. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be an effective way of introducing the research problem or engaging your readers in understanding its significance. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone.  A quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it or using a different quote to convey the same meaning. Consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, but the source had grammar, spelling, or other errors. The adverb sic informs the reader that the errors are not yours.

Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Eileen S. “Action Research.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education . Edited by George W. Noblit and Joseph R. Neikirk. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020); Oppenheimer, Daniel M. "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly." Applied Cognitive Psychology 20 (2006): 139-156; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Research Proposals. English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style. College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1.   Clear Writing . The act of thinking about precedes the process of writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from the literature they have reviewed before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2.  Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before they have a command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Writing Center on campus if you need help. Proper punctuation and good proofreading skills can significantly improve academic writing [see sub-tab for proofreading you paper ].

Refer to these three basic resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style or the St. Martin's Handbook ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3.  Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor expresses a preference to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style or not, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide rules on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to a style of writing helps with the narrative flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, your familiarity with it will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, critically assess the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and it explains what that problem is from the outset.
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it.
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published about this problem or others related to it and noted important gaps in the research.
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing.
• The paper includes a description of how and why particular evidence was collected and analyzed, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used.
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.
• Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need for further study.
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Boscoloa, Pietro, Barbara Arféb, and Mara Quarisaa. “Improving the Quality of Students' Academic Writing: An Intervention Study.” Studies in Higher Education 32 (August 2007): 419-438; Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; Candlin, Christopher. Academic Writing Step-By-Step: A Research-based Approach . Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2016; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way: 1.  "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis." 2.  "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb.

Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the consequences of that action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Consult with your professor about using the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some strongly discourage its use!

Active and Passive Voice. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus. Drexel University; Passive Voice. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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Academic style

Explore the key features that make up academic style.

Academic style is more than just a writing convention; it can also help you to think more logically and clearly as you work on an assignment.

Below are some tips on how to incorporate four key features of academic style into your writing: objectivity, formality, precision and hedging

Objectivity

Academic writing presents and evaluates issues and arrives at an objective position; a position that focuses on and is informed by research and reasoning rather than personal feelings and opinions.

Personal pronouns, especially ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’ are usually avoided, as these are often associated with subjective views that are influenced by personal preferences or biases.

This statement sounds a bit like a personal opinion:

You can demonstrate that climate change is a real phenomenon by studying alterations in Antarctic ice layers.

To help establish an objective distance from the topic, instead of using a personal pronoun, you could try:

• Using the topic as the subject Alterations in Antarctic ice layers demonstrate that climate change is a real phenomenon.
• Using a passive verb The reality of climate change can be demonstrated by studying alterations in Antarctic ice layers.
• Using ‘it’ as an empty subject It can be demonstrated that climate change is a real phenomenon by studying alterations in Antarctic ice layers.

Avoiding ‘I’ does not mean you cannot express your own opinion. Your own evaluation of the material is still extremely important; however, you can communicate this by using evidence or logical argumentation.

Academic writing is very explicit and provides the reader with all the information they need to understand your meaning. This is in contrast to written or spoken English in less formal contexts, which often relies on readers or listeners to supply extra information that completes the message.

To make your writing more formal, try to:

• Replace informal words that are associated with ‘chatty’ spoken styles ( such as contractions) with more formal vocabulary
• Avoid rhetorical questions the reader cannot answer
• Use full words instead of contractions
• Avoid unspecified categories
• Avoid colloquial language

For example, this passage contains some informal words (going, good, tell, though, really), a rhetorical question (How good…?), a contraction (can’t), a vague category (etc.) and a colloquialism (first-class, top notch, check out):

• The investigation has been going for four years. How good has it been? At this stage, researchers can’t tell , because they still need to check out the data to account for differences in age, gender, socio-economic-status, etc. Once that work is done though , the information will be really first-class .

Using the tips above, you could improve this passage by using more formal vocabulary, removing the rhetorical question, writing words in full, elaborating on the vague category and removing the colloquialism as seen below:

• The investigation has been underway for four years. Researchers cannot yet determine the effectiveness of the project because it is necessary to first analyse the data to control for age, gender, socio-economic status and other demographic variables . Despite this, the information collected is expected to be highly valuable for future studies.

Online learner’s dictionaries that provide examples of how words are used in context can help you determine the formality of specific words. If a word has many possible meanings, or appears in many idioms, it is more likely to be informal.

To communicate your meaning precisely, you should try to:

Include a sufficient high level of detail and specificity

The amount of detail you provide depends on the purpose of your work, but you should always try to avoid ambiguity.

The following sentence is very broad and general, which makes it sound like a personal opinion.

• Most people didn’t like changing trains on the way to work, but they still thought it was better than taking a bus.

How many people are ‘most’? How strong is their dislike of changing trains? In what way are trains better than buses?

To make it more precise, the writer could specify exactly which group of people they are referring to, what their preferences were, and the degree of strength of those preferences.

• While the majority of the survey respondents indicated their dislike of changing trains on their commute to work, they preferred taking two trains to taking one bus , which they perceived would be slower overall and less comfortable , or both .

The additional detail in the sentence above clearly makes the message more precise.

Choose verbs that express concepts succinctly

Certain verbs are considered too imprecise for academic writing, in that they do not provide detailed, exact meaning we require. These include verbs that are commonly used in less formal contexts, particularly those with many possible meanings and multi-word verbs.

Verbs with many possible meanings include ‘do’, ‘make’, ‘put’, ‘keep’, ‘have’ and ‘get’. For example, some of the many possible meanings of ‘get’ are:

• Receive (get an email)
• Obtain (get a better view)
• Bring (get a bucket and mop)
• Buy (get a new shirt)
• Arrive (get there at 7pm)

If you use the single verb that expresses exactly what you mean by ‘get’, your writing will be more precise.

The researchers got results from a large participant group

The researchers obtained results from a large participant group

Multi-word verbs are verbs that require more than one word to create meaning, including phrasal and prepositional verbs, for example:

Cut off, find out, give up, hand out, let down, pick out.

Again, try to use a single verb with the same meaning instead, such as:

Discontinue, discover, quit, distribute, disappoint, select.

Use a dictionary and/or a thesaurus to find suitable alternatives for imprecise or multi-word verbs.

Hedging language in academic writing is used to express caution and avoid strong, unqualified statements that may be easily disproven.

To avoid generalisations, you can:

• Use a quantifier (e.g. few, many, some)
• Use adverbs or adverbial phrases (e.g. occasionally, often, usually)
• Use modal verbs (e.g. can, may, might, would, could)

The following claim is quite strong:

Leading a sedentary lifestyle causes chronic health conditions.

You could avoid overstating the relationship using the hedging tips above as follows:

Extended physical inactivity can contribute to a range of chronic health conditions and may have a negative effect on mental health.

Cautious but inclusive statements, like the one above, may be challenged but not easily dismissed.

This page outlines some tips to help you incorporate four key features of academic style into your writing. Another way to become familiar with these features is to look for them in the academic texts you are reading in your studies.

• How do authors express their views objectively?
• What formal and precise vocabulary is used?
• How do authors avoid making generalisations?

The more you look for these aspects of writing in academic texts you are reading, the more easily you will be able to incorporate those features into your own writing.

Looking for one-on-one advice?

Get tailored advice from an Academic Skills Adviser by booking an Individual appointment, or get quick feedback from one of our Academic Writing Mentors via email through our Writing advice service.

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Academic writing

• Thinking about grammar
• Correct punctuation
• Introduction

Write formally and with clarity

Write concisely and with precision, write for a purpose.

• Descriptive, analytical and reflective writing
• Effective proof reading

Useful links for academic writing

• Study Advice Helping students to achieve study success with guides, video tutorials, seminars and one-to-one advice sessions.
• Improve your understanding of grammar and punctuation an excellent site with clear explanations and plenty of online exercises to test your understanding (University of Bristol).
• Academic Phrasebank Use this site for examples of linking phrases and ways to refer to sources.
• Learn English (British Council) High quality resources to help improve your English
• English for Uni (University of Adelaide) Engaging learning resources which aim to make difficult grammar and academic writing concepts easier to understand
• Grammar Resource Course on aspects of English grammar which are often a problem for students (University of Hull)
• English for Academic Purposes: Grammar Detailed explanation of how English grammar works with lots of exercises to put your knowledge into practice.

- formal, because informal writing is not always understood in the same way by every reader;

- structured, because complex ideas need to be controlled to produce an unambiguous statement;

- precise, so that none of its ideas can be challenged;

- appropriate, so that it communicates to its audience in the most effective way.

As different subject areas have their own conventions, do refer to programme handbooks for specialist guidance. You can also look at publications, such as research journals, in your area to see their writing style. If English is not your first language, or you would like to access more information and activities on academic writing, you can also get more advice from the links below. If you are a University of Reading student and English is not your first language, the Academic English Programme (AEP) provides training courses in academic writing skills, speaking skills, and pronunciation practice.

• Academic English Programme (AEP) If you are studying in English as a second or additional language, the Academic English Programme offers courses, webinars and 1:1 consultations to help you improve your academic English while you study. The Academic English Programme (AEP) is free to all fee-paying international/EU students.

Writing should be formal, but it does not need to be pompous. To maintain formality, there are various colloquialisms and shortened forms to avoid:

Avoid shortened forms:

Shouldn't, it's for it is

Avoid popular phrases or cliches such as:

at the end of the day; in a nutshell; when it comes to the crunch

Replace with: finally, in summary, in a crisis

Avoid casual everyday words   such as :

really, okay, maybe.

Correct use of grammar and punctuation is important. They show that you care about your work and have adopted a disciplined attitude to writing academically. They also help to make sure your meaning is understood. The most common mistakes by inexperienced writers include:

• incomplete sentences (missing a verb or needing information in the previous sentence to make sense;
• the wrong use of semicolons and colons;
• the wrong use of apostrophes (check whether the s is there to indicate possession or a plural);
• nouns and verbs where singular /plural do not agree (try proof reading aloud to spot this);
• and inconsistent use of tenses (always use the past tense when you are reporting on something that was done).

See the pages on Grammar and Punctuation in this guide for more on this.

Good writing makes a point clearly and may illustrate it to help the reader's understanding. To avoid rambling, plan the points that you wish to convey and the evidence that you will use to illustrate. Include only necessary detail.

When presenting a point of view, such as a line of argument for an essay, decide on the main points that you want to communicate. Plan one main point per paragraph. A paragraph can be planned (like a mini-essay) using the PEIL format:

P: Sentence introducing the point with any necessary detail.

E: Illustration of point using evidence : research example, case study, figures, etc.

I: Interpretation of the evidence. What does it mean?

L: Concluding sentence summing up the point and linking to the question or your argument.

Where  abbreviations and acronyms  are required to avoid repetition, ensure that, on first mention, the unabbreviated term appears together with the abbreviation or acronym, for example:

First mention: "An article in the American Journal of Philology (AJPh) reported..."

Subsequent mention: "Writing in the AJPh, Brown concluded that..."

Do not be tempted to use complex language or expressions that are not your own, just to make your writing appear "academic". Use straightforward language. Your reader needs to understand the information or ideas that you are conveying.

Communicate succinctly without losing vital information or meaning. It is often easier to write fluently and then to edit out unnecessary words and phrases.

Some academic writing, such as scientific research methodology, needs to be especially precise. A reader may need to have all the information required to understand exact conditions of a scientific study and to replicate it. Using simple sentences can be helpful.

Avoid using non-quantifiable descriptions, such as:

The company's production rate was high <--replace with--> The company produced 16,00 units per week.

The wind was strong <--replace with--> The wind measured 6 on the Beaufort scale.

Structure is also important in academic writing - it helps to make your ideas clear, guides the reader's comprehension and can strengthen your arguments. Some academic writing, such as scientific reports, has a given structure. Just find out what is required under each heading and keep to it. Other writing (such as essays) requires the writer to select and organise the material they are writing and so develop a structure.

Usually in the introduction the writer sets out the structure so that the reader knows what to expect and the order in which it will be presented. The order in which information is presented should be logical so that the reader can follow the thinking, ideally with just one point or idea per paragraph. In addition the ideas should flow or be linked so that the reader is drawn through an explanation or argument, rather than stopping and starting at each new point.The conclusion to the piece should draw together all the points or ideas and come to a conclusion.

Academic writing has a purpose. It may provide background information, the results of other peoples' research, the critique of other peoples' research, your own research findings, your own ideas based on academic research conducted by others, etc. It may be a combination of a few of these.

• Decide on your purpose and what you intend to convey. If there is a brief, follow it. If there is a given question, make sure that you answer what has been asked. Write down your main points.(Mind-mapping can help with this.)
• Decide on the audience for whom you are writing. If you are writing a university assignment, pretend that you are writing for an intelligent colleague from a related academic field, rather than for your tutor who knows more about the topic.

For most subject areas the writing is expected to be objective. For this the first person (I, we, me, my) should be avoided.

So      I analysed the data     becomes    The data was analysed

However, writing passively isn't always suitable. For instance, if you are asked to write a reflective piece, you will need to refer to your own actions and experiences. The important thing is to consider the purpose of your writing - that will help you to decide how to write it.

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Writing and Citing

• Academic Writing: Dos/Don'ts
• Citation Managers
• Formatting Papers This link opens in a new window
• Helpful Websites
• Literature Review
• Plagiarism & Ethics
• Style Manuals
• Writing, Grammar, etc.
• Writing Center Guides & Examples

Basic Components of Academic Writing

When students hear the terms  academic writing  or  speaking in a scholarly voice , they are often unsure of what to do or what to avoid. This page provides some basic guidelines and tips for writing essays, lab reports, theses, and dissertations. 

"Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays, research papers, and dissertation in an academic style."

• See more Academic Writing Tips from scribbr.com

Academic Writing: Dos and Don'ts

The following graphic provides a good list for writing your paper using a scholarly voice:

While the list above represents a sound guideline, here are a few additional tips:

Write in a clear, plain, style:  A typical mistake of newbie researchers is to use a super complex vocabulary or a ton of technical jargon, some of which they don't even understand. Use technical terms as appropriate, otherwise they are considered overkill (and you can't explain them). Also, plain does not mean dull, rather, express your ideas in a clear intelligent manner while also avoiding contractions, slang or casual language. 

Regarding the usage of first person pronouns: There are some professors and types of assignments, particularly within qualitative methods, that encourage the use of the first person. 

Pay attention to tenses!:  For example, when writing in APA style, note that any references to prior studies should be in the past tense and while the tip states the future tense is rarely used, an appropriate place for it could be in a discussion or future implications section.

A couple of tips that aren't mentioned:

Avoid speaking in absolutes:  Particularly when drawing conclusions--whether it's your own results or studies that support your paper--avoid words such as prove, always, or never (i.e., The study's results  clearly prove ...and instead use...The research  suggests ...).

Avoid using the words  It  and  This :  Whenever you write the words  it  or  this , in most cases what they refer to are probably clear to you but vague to the reader. It and this should only be used to support what directly proceeded the  what . 

• Avoid beginning a new sentence or paragraph with It or This. In other words, if you use either of these words, ask yourself  is it clear what IT or THIS actually is?  In many cases, you'll find you can drop it or this altogether and instead substitute clearer wording.
• Example 1:  For the purposes of this handout ... OK, as the  what  is clearly identified.
• Example 2:  This proves it beyond a reasonable doubt... Not OK, because of THREE words: it, this and proves. First,  what happened  for 'it' to be   proven beyond a reasonable doubt and second, what is  it ? Lastly, avoid absolutes like proves:  The results of numerous prior studies suggest  that self-regulated learners...

An overuse of the words  That  and  The :   That  and  the  are frequently overused in a sentence, so read it back to yourself and decide if either are necessary. You should be alerted if either term appears more than twice in a sentence. This  page  provides excellent examples of  that  for improving your scholarly voice (courtesy of Walden University). 

The more  that  you read and write, the easier it --- What is IT?! --- Your comfort level with scholarly writing --- will become. One of the most recommended ways to improve your academic writing skill is by reading similar types of published works and replicating  the  researchers' syntax, organization of content, and writing style.

Lastly, don't forget about the Writing Center! You can visit the  Writing Center  by appointment or drop into the  Learning Commons  with or without an appointment to receive help with your academic writing. Virtual services are also available for students who are not on campus. 

Additional Resources and helpful links:

• Sample Papers from the APA

Additional Recommendations for Doctoral Students

• Doctoral students can check with your school for and ask for the Dissertation Style Guide for your program. Style guides are also generally available in the program's doctoral handook, which is usually available online. 
• Doctoral students also have dedicated libguides and library liaisons to assist in their research needs. 
• The video below is part of a Leadership Lab series from the University of Chicago Department of Social Sciences. In January of 2023, the  Chronicle of Education recommended the following video and stated: "Lawrence McEnerney (who recently retired after four decades of service), has become something of a public figure. His lectures on YouTube have been viewed over a million times. In the dynamic, charismatic style of a TED Talk speaker or megachurch pastor, McEnerney tells his audience that good writing is not about following “rules,” or even working through one’s ideas, but creating “value” for readers."

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Writing academically: Academic style

• Academic style
• Personal pronouns
• Contractions
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• Using sources in your writing

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“The judgments that are made about a piece of academic writing are part of the whole process of deciding upon the quality of a person's learning and, in turn, the class of degree they should be awarded.” Andy Gillet, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala,   Successful Academic Writing

The style of academic writing is a little different to most other types of writing. It should be formal yet not over-complicated, persausive yet balanced and objective yet allow your own 'voice' to come through. The seven tips below should help you ensure you are getting the right tone.

Tip 1 - Use formal language

Academic writing needs to be in a formal style - not written as we speak. This means avoiding the three Cs:

• Contractions (isn't, didn't could've etc);
• Clichés (in the nick of time, this day and age etc)
• Colloquialisms (kids, mums, loads of, cool etc).

Also, try to use more formal words for some commonly used spoken words. For example, use 'quotation' rather than 'quote', 'many' rather than 'lots of' and 'obtain', 'acquire' or 'become' instead of 'get'.

If you are unsure about the choice of words, it may help you to use a built-in thesaurus when using a word processor for your writing. In MS Word, right click on a word and choose Synonyms - you will be given a list of words with similar meanings and you can also click on the Thesaurus option for more choices. You may then want to check for the precise meaning and usage of a certain word in a dictionary. Over time, you will build up your own academic vocabulary.

Tip 2 - Use academic caution

Academic writing needs to be cautious rather than definite. Instead of writing ’this proves that the approach was completely wrong’, you should write something like ‘this could suggest that the approach was inappropriate’.

Words indicating caution include: ‘tends’, ‘suggests’, ‘could’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘possibly’, ‘probably’, etc. These can make statements less forceful. One possible way of avoiding making generalisations is to ask yourself, ‘Is this always the case?’ For example, consider the statement ‘Vulnerable adults live in poor housing’ . This may not always be true. It may often be true but it would be better to be cautious and say ‘Vulnerable adults may live in poor housing’.

Sweeping statements and generalisations should also be avoided. Rather than writing ‘Teenagers do not respect their parents’, a phrase like ‘Many teenagers have been shown to lack respect for their parents’ would be better.

The use of what is called litotes  can be helpful when wanting to be cautious. This is where you use a negative with a negative adjective. For example, ‘It is not unlikely that further research will prove that...’ Be sparing with these though as they can make an argument less clear.

Tip 3 - Be clear

Think about your readers and make it as easy as possible for them to follow your ideas. Your work will be read by your tutor(s) or supervisor. Does it express your ideas with clarity ? Remember that tutors will have many assignments to read; make their work easier by writing as clearly as possible. It will benefit you and them.

Clarity in academic writing requires a logical structure . There is no point in carrying out appropriate research and having a good grasp of a topic if you then write your findings in an unstructured way. It would be very much like writing instructions for someone to go from A to B but giving them in the wrong order, muddling up the junctions and landmarks. The person reading them and trying to follow them would end up confused.

You write essays to show your understanding of a subject. However, use your common sense when giving explanations of concepts etc. It might be necessary at first year undergraduate level to prove to your reader that you do have a sound understanding of certain basic ideas relating to your subject. On the other hand, at postgraduate level it would be taken for granted that these were understood.

Long sentences can be confusing for the reader. In addition, there is a greater chance that grammatical mistakes will creep into them. Do not fall into the mistaken belief of thinking that academic writing must consist of long, complex sentences. It is often better to use shorter sentences. Do not be afraid to use them as they can add clarity.

Tip 4 - Back up your points with evidence

Every point you make in academic writing needs to be backed up by evidence from reliable sources. This can be in the form of other reading you have undertaken (articles, books, reports etc) or your personal experience (generally from placements you have been on as part of your course).

You are allowed your own ideas - but only if you can show how you have developed them. What makes you think about something the way you do? All your sources must be cited in your writing and listed at the end of your document.

See our Referencing your work SkillsGuide for help on how to cite within the body of the document and format your final reference list.

Tip 5 - Give a balanced viewpoint

When you can, it is important to include examples of ideas that disagree with what you are saying, as well as ones that support it. This will give your work balance and show that you have read widely and thought about the subject from different angles.

Providing a balanced argument is an important element of critical thinking and writing. Our Critical Writing SkillsGuide has a page on Alternative viewpoints which gives advice on incorporating these into your writing.

Tip 6 - Be objective

Whilst you must show commitment to your argument and attempt to persuade the reader of your viewpoint, avoid words that are overly emotive like dreadful, horrendous, stunning, adorable. Keep it objective and impersonal.

Wrong : The conditions were really horrendous. It is no wonder that so many of the poor children suffered such dreadful diseases.

Right : The conditions were poor and were likely to have contributed to the high levels of childhood infectious diseases that were observed.

Tip 7 - Admit to limitations

You are studying huge subjects and often have to focus on a very small part of a much bigger picture. Admitting limitations to what you can include shows that you are acknowledging that you cannot cover everything.

University study is often looking at new and pioneering research where there are no easy answers - as your writing progresses, you also needs to acknowledge the limited extent of human knowledge.

Expressions such as ‘For the purpose of this essay, the following limited definition will be used: ...’ or ‘The length of this essay means that only a limited number of examples can be discussed...’ can be very useful to show you are aware of limitations in your writing.

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A Guide to Academic Writing: The Main Structures and Styles

Source: Unsplash

By Mrs  Hazar Korkmazoglu , Lecturer in Business, LSST Elephant and Castle campus and Fatma Hazal Sari , Lecturer in Health, LSST Elephan t and Castle campus    

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in professional settings such as university and scholarly publications , whi ch must be grammatically correct, clear and simple ( Scribbr , n.d . ; McMillan and Weyers, 2011 ) . There are certain do ’ s and don’ts in academic writing , learning these is a gradual process and a skill you will develop over practice .  

It is important that you are careful and follow the professional advice , here are some introductory guidance:  

Assignments at university challenge you to write in different forms ( McMillan and Weyers, 2012 ). Y ou are required to read books, journals, articles and other academic publications to complete your assignments which can be in the form of an essay, report, presentation, case study and dissertation. T his blog focus es on the two main structures of ac ademic writing that you will most frequently need to use throughout your academic journey.  

What are the two different s tructures of academic writing ?

Essay writing is one of the most common forms of an assessment (Burns and Sinfield, 2016). It usually requires you to answer a question, discuss concepts and issues in depth. When writing an essay, you will be required to be analytical and think critically. Which gives you a flexibility in the way you produce arguments, using evidence, analysis and interpretation to support your argument.  

A traditional essay has three basic components:  

-Introduction: What is the essay going to be about? Provide the reader with some background information.  

-Main body: Present the information, the argument or key points of your response in greater detail.  

-Conclusion: What are the consequences of your findings? Sum up your answer, reinforce the position outlined in the introduction, and summarise your findings.  

           (Creme and Lea, 2008; McMillan and Weyers, 2012)  

2. Report  

Report writing is commonly used within academia. During your academic journey, you may be required to write many different types of reports, such as business reports, lab reports, research reports or maybe other types. A report is a formally structured set of findings of an investigation that is set in a clear and logical way, which also communicates with the reader in a professional manner.  

A report generally has three main functions:  

- To explain why something was done  

- To describe how it was done  

- To summarise and conclude the outcome of a particular  action, or set of actions  

         (Creme and Lea, 2008)  

The content and structure of your report will be determined by the assessment brief and module learning outcomes, which will identify a set of instructions and requirements for your research process (Reid, 2018). At this stage, you should start planning how you will structure your report to meet the assessment requirements.  

The structure of a report follows:  

- Executive summary: A summary of the findings in your report to allow the reader to have an idea of what to expect.  

- Introduction: An explanation of what you will discuss and any background information you think the reader must know.  

- Main body: Explains all of your findings under a variety of headings and sub-headings. The main body makes up a majority of the report and may take up pages, whereas the introduction and conclusion may only be a few paragraphs.   

- Conclusion: Where you bring together all the findings of your report and come to a definitive interpretation.  

            (Ellis, 2021)  

The differences between reports and essays  

It is important that you are able to distinguish the difference between an essay and a report, as you need to understand why you may need to write one and not the other.   

In summary, essays are more descriptive, subjective and evaluative, whereas, a report is descriptive, objective and analytical (Surbhi, 2020). Sadly, you cannot choose which structure you want to write your assessment in. This is decided by the awarding body, which is the university you are studying at. However, you need to develop strong writing skills within both structures, as both essays and reports will be mandatory within your academic and professional career.   

The purpose of both structures is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate:  

- Your knowledge and understanding  

- Your ability to research a specific topic to meet the assessment criteria

- Your ability to use references and evidence to support your arguments/findings  

- Your ability use the correct structure of academic writing  

      (McMillan and Weyers, 2012)  

The Different Academic Writing Styles  

Now that we’ve gone over the different structures of academic writing, let’s dive into the different writing styles that you will need to use in your assignments.   

Descriptive , analytical, critical/evaluative and reflective writing are the four essential elements of academic writing. What writing style you should mainly use will depend on the nature and context of each assignment. Assignment guidelines will typically define how to address a topic, and may specify the appropriate writing style. However, generally, there needs to a balanced use of the different writing styles. In a successful academic assignment, you will need to include a certain amount of description, but the majority of your writing will need to be analytical and critical .   

In order to successfully meet the assessment criteria, it is very important that you know the key differences between the different writing styles and understand how to use them correctly.  

Descriptive Writing:  

Think of descriptions as the backbone of all academic assignments. Descriptions convey information about a subject, however, they do not engage in any kind of analysis or reasoning, nor do they make judgements or draw conclusions about the information they contain. When you write descriptively, you present background information that is necessary for the reader to understand what they are reading, and you support your arguments rather than develop new ideas.  

Analytical Writing:  

The main purpose of analysing is to compare and contrast. To be able to present the full picture of any chosen subject, you must try and find information from more than one source. By compiling results from previously published studies, you will be able to identify frequent patterns and contrasts, explore relationships, and potentially provide new responses to the subject in question.  

Critical Writing:  

Throughout your studies, you will come across the term “critical” quite frequently, for example critical thinking, critical writing or critical review. Critical writing entails constructing a reasoned argument or point of view that is supported by credible evidence. In other words, you are not only gathering existing information, but you are also developing your own argument and incorporating your understanding of the subject at issue, therefore participating in academic literature.  

Reflective Writing:  

Reflection is a tool that encourages you to draw on prior experiences to improve your future performance. When you write a reflective account, you analyse “ what, why and how” something happened, aiming to identify how you can achieve better outcomes in the future.  

Although you have been advised not to write in the first person in academic assignments, this style of writing is more “personal”, and frequently requires you to write in the first person. If you have been asked to write a reflection or personal narrative, you can use phrases like “I had the experience of …”, “I learned …”, “In my future encounters, I will pay more attention to …”. However, please note that although you can use personal pronouns like "I" and "we" when discussing your opinions and feelings, you still need to use formal academic language in reflective writing.  

How to choose the correct writing style   

All academic writing styles serve a fundamental purpose, and must be used correctly according to assignment requirements. If you're unsure whether you have used the appropriate writing style or not, below are some questions you can ask to guide you to observe your writing to ensure it is in the right style, and if it is not, to transition your writing from one style to another.   

For example, if you only rely on providing facts about a topic when you are asked to write a reflective account, you may get feedback from your lecturer informing you that your writing is too descriptive and not critical enough. In this case, try asking questions like “What did I notice or realise?”, “How can I deduce from the information I have gathered?” to modify your writing to meet the assessment criteria. Likewise, when you are working on a literature review, if you find that your writing seems very opinionated and persuasive, you may want to ask questions such as “How do the parts fit into the whole?”, “What is the main point?” to help you objectify your writing.

It would be a mistake to assume that a guidance on academic writing is irrelevant to you. Regardless of field of study, academic interests, or level, you’ll be required to complete a variety of different assignments, such as reports, critical reviews, or reflective essays - which will all call for different structures and writing styles.

If you are interested in reading further about how to manage your studies and how you can improve your academic writing skills, you can find a range of resources here at LSST, such as library, one-on-one support from your lecturers, and academic support.

References:

Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2016). Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University. SAGE Publications Ltd. 6 th edition. London.

Crème, P. and Lea, M. R. (2008). Writing at University: A guide for students. Open UP Study Skills. 3 rd edition, England.

Critical Thinking, by Learning Development with Plymouth University, 2010 ( https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student- life/services/student-services/learning-development). Copyright 2006 by Learning Development, University of Plymouth.

Ellis, M. (2021). ‘How to Write a Report: A Guide’. Available at: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-report/ [Accessed on 30 th September 2022].

McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2011). How to Write Essays & Assignments. Pearson Education Limited. 3 rd edition. England.

McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2012). The Study Skills Book. Pearson Education Limited. 3 rd edition. England.

Reid, M. (2018). Report Writing. Palgrave. 2 nd edition. United Kingdom.

Scribbr (n.d.). ‘What is Academic Writing Do’s and Don’ts for Student’ . Available at: https://www.scribbr.com/category/academic-writing/ [Accessed on 27 th September 2022].

Surbhi, S. (2020). ‘Difference Between Essay and Report’. Available at: https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-essay-and-report.html#google_vignette [Accessed on 30 th September 2022].

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Organizing Academic Research Papers: Academic Writing Style

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

Academic writing refers to a particular style of expression that scholars use to define the boundaries of their disciplines and their areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like the specialist languages adopted in other professions such as law, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas for a group of scholarly experts.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

I.  The Big Picture Unlike fiction or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohensive and possess a logical flow of ideas, which means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be links between sentences and paragraphs so the reader is able to follow your argument.

II.  The Tone Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, confidently state the strengths of your arguments using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  The Language Clear use of language is essential in academic writing. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Avoid vague expressions that are not specific and precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.] abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], and contractions, such as, "don't", "isn't", etc.

IV.  Academic Conventions Citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references are very important aspects of academic writing. It is essential to always acknowledge the source of any ideas, research findings, or data that you have used in your paper. To do otherwise is considered plagerism.

V.  Evidence-Based Arguments Your assignments often ask you to express your own point of view on research problem you are discussing. However, what is valued in academic writing is that your opinions are based on a sound understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that are currently being debated in your discipline. You need to support your opinion with evidence from academic sources. It should be an objective position presented as a logical argument. The quality of your evidence will determine the strength of your argument. The challenge is to convince the reader of the validity of your opinion through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing.

VI.  Thesis-Driven Analysis The writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or “thesis” on the chosen research problem, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions posed for the topic. In contrast, simply describing a topic without the research questions does not qualify as “academic writing.”

VII.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking One of the main functions of academic writing is to describe complex ideas as clearly as possible. Often called higher-order thinking skills, these include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of jargon is language specific to a particular sub-group of people . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to terms and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and philosophy, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research work of a discipline may have subtle differences based on how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terms [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Key Problems to Avoid

• Excessive use of specialized terminology .  Although academic writing represents a formal style of expression, it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of big words and complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your writing is more style over substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about.
• Inappropriate use of specialized terminology .  Because you are dealing with the concepts, research, and data of your subject, you need to use the technical language appropriate to the discipline. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--don't guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries. These can be found by searching the library catalog , by entering, for example, the phrase "sociology and dictionaries."

Other Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of . These include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us, etc.] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. Using these words can be interpreted by the reader as being done only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demands the reader "Do this" or "Do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they are often open to interpretation; be direct and concise.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and contain no confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the research design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper be sure to look for and edit any vague statements that lack context.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item?
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study and, in fact, some description is needed because you can't assume the reader knows everything about the topic. However, the body of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem and not background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experiences. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be a effective way of engaging your readers in understanding the research problem. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it. Otherwise, a quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If you believe the quote is important to understanding the meaning of the work as a whole , consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted word or text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, complete with any erroneous spelling or other nonstandard presentation.

Academic Writing . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Cornell University; College Writing . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Rsearch Proposals . English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing . The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.  

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1. Clear Writing . Thinking about precedes writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from their sources before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2. Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before thay have command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Jandrisevits Learning Center on campus if you need a lot of help. Proper punctuation use and good proofreading skills measurably improve academic writing [see subtab for proofreading you paper ].

Invest in and always refer to these three types of resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3. Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor requires you to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide guidance on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to one style of writing helps the flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, familiarity will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, ctitically assess the quality of the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and explains what that problem is from the outset,
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it,
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published [or not] about this problem or others related to it,
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing,
• The paper includes a description of how and why the particular evidence was collected, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used,
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea,
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem,
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant,
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion, and
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Academic Writing . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Cornell University; College Writing . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing . The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Jandrisevits Learning Center (JLC)!

Academic Support Services at the JLC include 1-on-1 tutoring with Professional and Peer tutors; group study sessions for particular courses by Classroom Learning Assistants (CLAs); monthly workshops on specific academic and life skills; specialized Learning Labs in math, critical reading and writing, accounting, and math; and online writing support (OWL).

Another Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way:

• "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis."
• "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb. Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Check with your professor about writing in the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some discourage its use.

Active and Passive Voice . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus . Drexel University; Passive Voice . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Emily Bongiovanni

This chapter will help you:

• Recognize patterns and best practices in academic writing
• Understand the types of scholarly articles

Introduction to Academic Writing

There are various outlets for research dissemination, including conference posters, presentations, and scholarly articles. However scholarly articles are generally considered the most highly regarded type across disciplines. Scholarly, or journal, articles are published through academic journals. Scholarly articles are written by experts or scholars in a field and provide original research or analysis. They are written for an audience of other scholars or experts in the same discipline. Most scholarly articles are peer reviewed, meaning they are reviewed by experts in the field before they are published.

Types of Scholarly Articles

The main types of academic articles are original research articles and review articles. However, you might find content in scholarly journals that fall outside of these types, such as an editorial piece or book review. In addition to scholarly articles found in academic journals, conference proceedings are another type of scholarly work that uses an academic writing style.

Table content reused from UC Merced LibGuide Writing 101 under CC-BY-NC license.

Academic Writing Style

Academic writing (or scholarly writing) is the style of writing that is used for scholarly publications, including articles, posters, and reports. This type of writing is formal, concise, and takes an unbiased approach. Academic writing provides relevant evidence to support any claims. This type of writing avoids informal language, like slang or conversational phrases, and long-winded or emotional text. Academic writing is well-structured and uses section headings and paragraph breaks to help readers follow along. This style is generally consistent regardless of the type of scholarly article.

The scholarly voice

Academic writing usually is in the third-person, rather than first-person. Authors should avoid referring to themselves and their personal thoughts. Any arguments presented should be evidence-based and presented from an objective stance, backed with cited evidence.

Sentences should be simple and direct. Authors should avoid using overly complicated or “fancy” words just for the sake of trying to make the work sound more sophisticated. On the other hand, authors should also avoid slang and causal expressions.

In academic writing, authors cite others to support any claims. Properly attributing other’s work, or citing, is a fundamental component of academic writing and academic integrity. Proper citations or references are needed to avoid plagiarism, as well as to give credit where credit is due.

There are hundreds of citation styles and editions. Many professional societies, such as the American Psychological Association (APA) or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) provide the standard citation style for the field. These different styles reflect the best practices of scholarly communication in that discipline. For example, some styles use an in-text citation style that mentions the authors name and date of publication in the in-text citation. Other styles might instead refer to a source with a number, e.g. [2], which corresponds to a citation in the reference list.

Anatomy of a Scholarly Paper

The structure and components of an article are dictated by the type or article and any formatting requirements from the publisher or journal or by the discipline’s style guidelines. The most common sections of a scholarly paper are outlined in the table below:

Some of these sections may not be included in a paper or may be combined depending on the type of paper and requirements from the publisher. Additional sections may be included as well, such as an appendix or acknowledgements section. Journals and conferences will typically provide clear expectations and guidelines for the sections that should be included.

Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are a common section of an article and a necessary step for successful research. They are both a product and a process. A literature review summarizes and synthesizes key works in the field. It uses a narrative structure that allows readers to understand how previously published work relates to one another and provides a concise road map on further research. The goal of a literature review is to outline relevant literature that leads to your research, but it does not include your new research.

In addition to serving the readers, a literature review is also for you, the author, to gain breadth and depth of understanding in your field of research. It helps you understand how your research fits into the scholarly conversation and how it is reflected in the literature.

A literature review is not a list, editorial option, or description of your own research.

Literature review process

Conducting a literature review is an ongoing process. It is usually described as a linear process, as it is below, but it is really a complex feedback process.

• Define scope – The boundaries of a literature review usually follow the boundaries of the research. However, be prepared to change those boundaries as you make new discoveries or as conditions change.
• Identify literature – Explore the literature and discover, learn, and pursue new concepts. See Chapter 2 for information on finding and evaluating literature.
• Analyze findings – Evaluate results and discard or relocate less relevant items. Conduct a “quick read” to get to a subset of papers you will read in depth.
• Summarize and synthesize – Begin to make connections and integrate information. Use a narrative structure so readers are easily able to follow ideas as they read.

Understanding the Importance of Citations

Citations are more than just a nuisance to include in a paper. In addition to getting credit, there are other reasons why authors want to be cited for their work. Citations play a role in the scholarly conversation and how scholars interact with each other. Citations are tracked through various tools to assess the impact of a work or author, which can support the author’s scholarly identity and progress toward promotion.

Citations also demonstrate that you, as the author, have researched this topic and have authority to join the scholarly conversation. They also provide identifying information (title, author, etc.) that allow readers to track down and explore the references cited.

Without a good workflow with literature, it can be easy to accidentally plagiarize. See Chapter 4 on citation management software, which supports organizing literature and citing.

Tips for Academic Writing

• Don’t use fancy words for the sake of sounding sophisticated
• Use clear and concise language
• Organize your writing logically
• Always support claims with evidence. Academic writing is not about sharing opinions, but presenting new information founded in evidence.
• Always cite your sources of information. Utilizing the scholarly record and noting where it has been used creates a solid foundation upon which your research builds.

Practice identifying best practices in academic writing. Find a scholarly article from an academic journal and observe the best practices for academic writing in action:

• Is the abstract informative?
• How is the paper organized? What sections do you see?
• Is the paper well-cited with a reference list?
• Is it written in third person with little to no use of “I or “we”?
• Is there a literature review? It is easy for you as the reader to understand how this research fits into the larger scholarly conversation?

Navigating the Research Lifecycle for the Modern Researcher Copyright © 2022 (1st Edition) by Emily Bongiovanni is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Master the 4 Types of Academic Writing

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

If you live in the academic writing world, you know that scholarly writers express their ideas in a wide variety of ways. But did you know that all academic writing can be categorized into 4 essential styles?

To excel in each, you must be familiar with each of the 4 academic writing styles: descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical . 

Let's dive into how you can master each of the 4 types of academic writing so that you're in a great position to write your next paper or proposal. 

Want to improve your academic essay writing skills ? 

Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing finds its way into nearly every type of academic writing. 

In almost every academic essay, there's an opportunity to summarize or describe an event, situation, incident, case study, or phenomenon, and this is what descriptive writing is—the opportunity to report, define, or record facts or information.  

With descriptive writing , the ability to appeal to the five senses when describing an event or phenomenon is paramount. Your word choice should be relevant but also vivid—for example, using the word "stallion" instead of "horse."

As with all academic writing styles, you don't want to use too much jargon or too many complex words that might confuse your reader. But with descriptive writing, you do want to use words that paint a picture and leave the reader with something that appeals to their senses.

While certain elements of descriptive writing can be found in many types of essays, it's less common in argumentative essays because they focus on taking a stance on an issue rather than describing vivid details.

Descriptive writing is used when: 

Summarizing the results of an experiment

Sharing findings from research you've done on a topic

Describing a specific problem 

Reporting a case study on a group or person

Creating a profile of a group or person

Key characteristics: 

Describes subjects in a way that appeals to the reader's five senses

Uses figurative language like similes and metaphors to help the reader feel what is being described

Uses language that is clear and relevant to your primary theme

Analytical Writing

Analytical writing is a type of academic writing that investigates the significance of facts or details and presents an argument or claim backed by evidence. 

The purpose is to uncover the deeper meaning of an idea through evaluation and critical analysis. Analytical writing answers the questions "Why?", "How?", and "So what?"

Most often, analytical writing is used to analyze a text, movie, issue, idea, or process. Perhaps one of the most important things to remember about analytical writing is that you must break up your topic into smaller pieces and analyze those pieces to shed light on a larger picture.

For example, if you're writing an analytical essay on a novel, you might assess smaller aspects of the book and use your analysis to determine whether the author succeeded in achieving their overall goal, providing evidence to support your argument.

If you need more help, check out The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing .

Types of analytical essays : 

Cause-and-effect: In this type of essay, you write about an event, situation, or process that causes something.

Compare-and-contrast: In this type of essay, you discuss the similarities and differences between things.

Classification: In a classification essay, you divide certain ideas or objects into categories. 

Process: A process essay explains the steps taken to achieve something. 

Definition: A definition essay offers an explanation of a certain idea or concept. 

Key characteristics : 

Is clearly outlined and well structured

Is supported by evidence or research

Has a thesis statement

Persuasive Writing

The purpose of persuasive essay writing is to convince the reader to believe or do something. 

In persuasive writing, logic and reason are used to prove that a certain idea is more plausible or legitimate than another. 

Unlike writing an argumentative essay, which presents a balanced view of both sides of an issue, a persuasive essay favors the author's point of view.

Check out How to Write a Persuasive Essay for more information.

Persuasive writing is used when: 

Trying to get your audience to agree with you

Convincing readers to buy services or products, as in advertising and copywriting 

Attempting to change political and social trends

Key characteristics :

Clearly explains the aspects of your issue that you aim to address 

Presents facts that support your point of view, such as statistics or other researched information

Has an organized structure that builds the argument in a linear fashion—from least important to most important

Has a strong conclusion that persuades your audience of your point of view

Critical Writing

Critical writing is used in various academic writing styles to analyze or evaluate a specific text from your point of view. 

This doesn't mean you must be critical in the way that you would be critical of a movie you didn't like. 

Writing critically is more about analyzing the work than making a judgment about it. 

Critical writing allows you to find your academic voice and develop your own critical analysis of a text. 

Critical writing is used when: 

Discussing movies, novels, poems, or video games

Discussing world events or sociopolitical issues

Presenting research methods and making arguments

Presents why other writers' conclusions should be either accepted or rejected

Presents your own argument with evidence that supports your conclusion

Acknowledges that your own evidence and conclusion have limitations

Academic writing is the best way to contribute complex ideas to the scholarly community. 

Check out  4 Examples of Academic Writing  on our blog. 

Choosing the correct type of academic writing will ensure that your ideas are conveyed clearly and effectively. 

No matter which academic writing style you choose, a proofreader or professional editor can help you enhance it.

Gain Confidence in Your Work

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample, about the author.

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing turn into a great one after the editing process. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained nearly 20 degrees collectively. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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Guide to Academic Writing Styles

Do you jot down notes? Keep a diary? In those cases, your writing is only intended to communicate important matters to your future self. In other cases, you’re writing to communicate with others. Instead of giving them a bunch of scribbled-down words, you probably strive to use proper grammar and syntax to ensure you're understood and you've presented yourself as credibly as possible.   To supplement basic rules of properly written English, academic writing styles provide you with more formal tools and standards to properly make your case and avoid misunderstanding. Find out more about common academic writing styles—MLA, Chicago, and APA, the most common styles used in the United States—to learn how they're used and why they're so important.

Writing Styles: The Difference Between APA, Chicago, and MLA

What is apa style .

APA stands for American Psychological Association. As a writing style, it comes from the organization's publication guide. This guide concentrates mainly on citations and style. Because it's mostly used by people in scientific and medical disciplines, the manual also has sections about formatting qualitative and quantitative data.

Why is Chicago Style? 

The Chicago Manual of Style is commonly used in arts, humanities, social sciences, and publishing. While it contains instructions for citations and style, it also covers usage and offers frameworks for proofreading or editing. Because the manual offers comprehensive guidance, you may see this style used in a variety of publications, ranging from blog posts to novels.

What is MLA Style? 

The MLA Handbook is a guide focused entirely upon source citations. MLA does also publish a companion website to offer assistance with other writing-related topics. Typically, students use MLA for essays in English or fine arts.

What is AP Style? 

While we’re on the topic of writing styles, you should know that many writers follow another famous style guide, AP. Not to be confused with APA, AP refers to the "Associated Press Stylebook" and is used by journalists. Rather than focusing upon citations and other aspects of academic writing, AP offers insight into preferred abbreviations, spelling, capitalization, and which terms to use in certain contexts. You might find AP style in journalism, blogging, and some business communications.

Commonalities and Differences Between Writing Styles

One common guidance offered by the academic guides—MLA, Chicago, and APA—is that each requires using the serial comma. The serial comma (aka the Oxford comma or Harvard comma) puts a comma before the last conjunction in a series or list. For example, this blog offers a short summary of the MLA, Chicago, and APA. The comma before the “and” in that sentence is a serial comma. The AP recommends leaving it out.   For titles, APA and AP capitalize every word with at least four characters. In contrast, Chicago and MLA never capitalize prepositions that aren't the first word. So, "The Man without Gravity" would pass Chicago and MLA style, but APA and AP would use uppercase for without.   You can find plenty of other differences between the style guides. Deviating from the rules doesn't necessarily mean that you've used improper English grammar or syntax. But consistently adhering to one style for a particular writing task does have its benefits.

Benefits of Different Writing Styles

As a student or a professional, it's most important to understand the benefits of adhering to the accepted style for the writing task you have. These styles help avoid ambiguity and promote clarity and consistency. Again, deviating from a style doesn't always signify a poor use of language. It does, however, mean breaking the accepted rules for the assignment. For example, writing styles can help your reader understand the difference between facts and expert opinions and your interpretation. For most writing assignments, you'll need to blend both but make certain that you're clear about which is which.   Of course, you can also greatly improve your academic and professional careers by selecting and using the correct style. In school, your professor will tell you which one to use in class. If you make too many mistakes, you may lose points from your grade, even though you did a great job on the content of your assignment. As an employee, you may use the style your employer chooses or the accepted one for your professional field. If you ignore the style's rules, your employer might penalize you, and perhaps worse, you could lose credibility in your profession.   Sometimes, you may have the discretion to choose which style you adhere to. For instance, as you begin to recognize the differences in writing styles, you might notice that a lot of websites rely upon AP, but some use Chicago. Webmasters could be choosing a style based on whether their web pages have a more journalistic or academic slant. They also might pick a style that they believe will best resonate with their audience. By understanding how various styles differ, you can choose the writing style that will best serve your needs.   Students have found unmatched academic opportunities at Cumberlands for well over a century. Highly qualified teachers have both academic credentials and experience in their fields. Students also enjoy affordable tuition rates, financial assistance, and knowing they attend a school that relies upon its sense of honor about all things. To get your academic career off to the right start, apply online or request more information about your preferred field of study.

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General Education

A piece’s writing style can help you figure out what kind of writing it is, what its purpose is, and how the author’s voice is unique. With so many different types of writing, you may think it’s difficult to figure out the specific writing style of a piece or you'll need to search through a long list of writing styles.

However, there are actually just four main types of writing styles, and together they cover practically all the writing you see, from textbooks to novels, to billboards and more.  Whether you’re studying writing styles for class or trying to develop your own writing style and looking for information, we’ve got you covered.

In this guide, we explain the four styles of writing, provide examples for each one, go over the one thing you need to know to identify writing style, and give tips to help you develop your own unique style of writing.

The 4 Types of Writing

There are four main different styles of writing. We discuss each of them below, list where you’re likely to see them, and include an example so you can see for yourself what each of the writing styles looks like.

Writers who use the narrative style are telling a story with a plot and characters. It’s the most common writing style for fiction, although nonfiction can also be narrative writing as long as its focus is on characters, what they do, and what happens to them.

Common Places You’d See Narrative Writing

• Biography or autobiography
• Short stories
• Journals or diaries

“We had luncheon in the dining-room, darkened too against the heat, and drank down nervous gayety with the cold ale. ‘What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon?’ cried Daisy, ‘and the day after that, and the next thirty years?’    ‘Don’t be morbid,’ Jordan said. ‘Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.’ ‘But it’s so hot,’ insisted Daisy, on the verge of tears, ‘and everything’s so confused. Let’s all go to town!’ - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

You can quickly tell that this passage from the novel The Great Gatsby is an example of narrative writing because it has the two key traits: characters and a plot. The group is discussing eating and drinking while trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day.

As in this example, narrative writing often has extended dialogue scenes since the dialogue is used to move the plot along and give readers greater insight into the characters.

Writers use the expository style when they are trying to explain a concept. Expository writing is fact-based and doesn’t include the author’s opinions or background. It’s basically giving facts from the writer to the reader.

Common Places You’d See Expository Writing

• Newspaper articles
• Academic journals
• Business memos
• Manuals for electronics
• How-to books and articles

“The 1995/1996 reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) into Yellowstone National Park after a 70 year absence has allowed for studies of tri-trophic cascades involving wolves, elk (Cervus elaphus), and plant species such as aspen (Populus tremuloides), cottonwoods (Populus spp.), and willows (Salix spp.). To investigate the status of this cascade, in September of 2010 we repeated an earlier survey of aspen and measured browsing and heights of young aspen in 97 stands along four streams in the Lamar River catchment of the park’s northern winter range. We found that browsing on the five tallest young aspen in each stand decreased from 100% of all measured leaders in 1998 to means of <25% in the uplands and <20% in riparian areas by 2010. Correspondingly, aspen recruitment (i.e., growth of seedlings/sprouts above the browse level of ungulates) increased as browsing decreased over time in these same stands.” -”Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction” by William J. Ripple and Robert L. Beschta

This abstract from an academic journal article is clearly expository because it only focuses on facts. The authors aren’t giving their opinion of wolves of Yellowstone, they’re not telling a story about the wolves, and the only descriptions are number of trees, streams, etc. so readers can understand the study better.

Because expository writing is focused on facts, without any unnecessary details or stories, the writing can sometimes feel dense and dry to read.

Descriptive

Descriptive writing is, as you may guess, when the author describes something. The writer could be describing a place, person, or an object, but descriptive writing will always include lots of details so the reader can get a clear and complete idea of what is being written about.

Common Places You’d See Descriptive Writing

• Fiction passages that describe something

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or eat: it was a hobbit hole and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted...” - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is the opening passage of the novel The Hobbit . While The Hobbit is primarily an example of narrative writing, since it explores the adventures of the hobbit and his companions, this scene is definitely descriptive. There is no plot or action going on in this passage; the point is to explain to readers exactly what the hobbit’s home looks like so they can get a clear picture of it while they read. There are lots of details, including the color of the door and exactly where the doorknob is placed.

You won’t often find long pieces of writing that are purely descriptive writing, since they’d be pretty boring to read (nothing would happen in them), instead many pieces of writing, including The Hobbit , will primarily be one of the other writing styles with some descriptive writing passages scattered throughout.

When you’re trying to persuade the reader to think a certain way or do a certain thing, you’ll use persuasive writing to try to convince them.  Your end goal could be to get the reader to purchase something you’re selling, give you a job, give an acquaintance of yours a job, or simply agree with your opinion on a topic.

Common Places You’d See Persuasive Writing

• Advertisements
• Cover letters
• Opinion articles/letters to the editor
• Letters of recommendation
• Reviews of books/movies/restaurants etc.
• Letter to a politician

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’ - “This was their finest hour” by Winston Churchill

In this excerpt from his famous “Their finest hour” speech, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is clearing trying to convince his audience to see his viewpoint, and he lays out the actions he thinks they should take. In this case, Churchill is speaking to the House of Commons (knowing many other British people would also hear the speech), and he’s trying to prepare the British for the coming war and convince them how important it is to fight.

He emphasizes how important the fight will be (“Upon this battle depends the survival of the Christian civilization.” and clearly spells out what he thinks his audience should do (“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties…”).

Common Writing Styles to Know

Each of the four main types of writing styles has multiple subsets of styles within it. Here are nine of the most common and important types of writing you’ll see.

Narrative Writing

Character voice.

Character voice is a common writing style in novels. Instead of having an unknown narrator, the audience knows who is telling the story. This first-person narrator can help the reader relate more both to the narrator and the storyline since knowing who is telling a story can help the reader feel more connected to it. Sometimes the narrator is completely truthful in telling what happens, while other times they are an unreliable narrator and will mislead or outright lie to readers to make themselves look better. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout is the narrator) and The Hunger Games (Katniss is the narrator) are two examples of this writing style.

Stream-of-Consciousness

This writing style attempts to emulate the thought process of the character. Instead of only writing about what the character says or does, stream-of-consciousness will include all or most of the characters thoughts, even if they jump from one topic to another randomly or include incomplete thoughts.

For example, rather than writing “I decided to take a walk to the ice cream shop,” an author using the stream-of-consciousness writing style could write, “It’s pretty hot out, and I feel like I should eat something, but I’m not really that hungry. I wonder if we have leftovers of the burgers Mom made last night? Is Mom staying late at work tonight? I can’t remember if she said. Ice cream would be a good choice, and not too filling. I can’t drive there though because my car is still in for repairs. Why is the repair shop taking so long? I should have listened when David said to check for reviews online before choosing a place. I should text David later to see how he is. He’ll think I’m mad at him if I don’t. I guess I’ll just have to walk to the shop.”

James Joyce and William Faulkner are two of the most well-known writers to have regularly used the  stream-of-consciousness writing style.

Epistolary writing uses a series of documents, such as letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, or even text messages to tell a story. They don’t have a narrator, there’s just whoever purportedly gathered the documents together. This writing style can provide different points of view because a different person can be the author of each document.

Well-known examples of epistolary writing include the novels Dracula  (written as a series of letters, newspaper articles, and diary entries) and Frankenstein (written as a series of letters).

Expository Writing

You’ll find this style in textbooks or academic journal articles. It’ll focus on teaching a topic or discussing an experiment,  be heavy on facts, and include any sources it cited to get the information. Academic writing often assumes some previous knowledge of the topic and is more focused on providing information than being entertaining, which can make it difficult to read and understand at times.

Business writing refers to the writing done in a workplace. It can include reports, memos, and press releases. Business writing typically has a formal tone and standard formatting rules. Because employees are presumably very busy at work, business writing is very concise and to the point, without any additional flourishes intended to make the writing more interesting.

You’ll see this writing style most commonly in newspaper articles. It focuses on giving the facts in a concise, clear, and easy-to-understand way. Journalists often try to balance covering all the key facts, keeping their articles brief, and making the audience interested in the story.

This writing style is used to give information to people in a specific field, such as an explanation of a new computer programming system to people who work in software, a description of how to install pipes within a house for plumbers, or a guide to new gene modifications for microbiologists.

Technical writing is highly specialized for a certain occupational field. It assumes a high level of knowledge on the topic, and it focuses on sharing large amounts of information with the reader. If you’re not in that field, technical writing can be nearly impossible to understand because of the jargon and references to topics and facts you likely don’t know.

Descriptive Writing

Poetry is one of the most challenging styles of writing to define since it can come in many forms. In general, poems use rhythmic language and careful word choice to express an idea. A poem can be an example of descriptive writing or narrative writing, depending on whether it’s describing something or telling a story. Poetry doesn’t need to rhyme, and it often won’t follow standard grammatical or structural rules. Line breaks can, and often do, occur in the middle of sentences.

Persuasive Writing

Copywriting.

Copywriting is writing that is done for advertising or marketing purposes. It’s attempting to get the reader to buy whatever the writer is trying to sell. Examples of copywriting include catalogs, billboards, ads in newspapers or magazines, and social media ads.

In an attempt to get the reader to spend their money, copywriters may use techniques such as descriptive language (“This vanilla was harvested from the lush and exotic island of Madagascar"), exciting language (Stop what you’re doing and learn about this new product that will transform your life!”) and exaggeration (“This is the best cup of coffee you will ever taste!”).

Opinion 

People write opinion pieces for the purpose of stating their beliefs on a certain topic and to try to get readers to agree with them. You can see opinion pieces in newspaper opinion sections, certain blog posts, and some social media posts. The quality of opinion writing can vary widely. Some papers or sites will only publish opinion pieces if all the facts in them can be backed up by evidence, but other opinion pieces, especially those that are self-published online, don't go through any fact-checking process and can include inaccuracies and misinformation.

What If You’re Unsure of a Work’s Writing Style?

If you’re reading a piece of writing and are unsure of its main writing style, how can you figure which style it is? The best method is to think about what the purpose or main idea of the writing is. Each of the four main writing styles has a specific purpose:

• Descriptive: to describe things
• Expository: to give facts
• Narrative: to tell a story
• Persuasive: to convince the reader of something

Here’s an example of a passage with a somewhat ambiguous writing style:

It can be tricky to determine the writing style of many poems since poetry is so varied and can fit many styles. For this poem, you might at first think it has a narrative writing style, since it begins with a narrator mentioning a walk he took after church. Character + plot = narrative writing style, right?

Before you decide, you need to read the entire passage. Once you do, it’ll become clear that there really isn’t much narrative. There’s a narrator, and he’s taking a walk to get a birch from another man, but that’s about all we have for character development and plot. We don’t know anything about the narrator or his friend’s personality, what’s going to happen next, what his motivations are, etc.

The poem doesn’t devote any space to that, instead, the majority of the lines are spent describing the scene. The narrator mentions the heat, scent of sap, the sound of frogs, what the ground is like, etc. It’s clear that, since the majority of the piece is dedicated to describing the scene, this is an example of descriptive writing.

How Can You Develop Your Own Writing Style?

A distinctive writing style is one of the hallmarks of a good writer, but how can you develop your own? Below are four tips to follow.

Read Many Different Styles of Writing

If you don’t read lots of different kinds of writing, you won’t be able to write in those styles, so before you try to get your own writing style, read different writing styles than what you’re used to.  This doesn’t mean that, if you mostly read novels, you suddenly need to shift to reading computer manuals. Instead, you can try to read novels that use unreliable narrators, stream-of-consciousness writing, etc.

The more you read, the more writing styles you’ll be exposed to, and the easier it’ll be able to combine some of those into your own writing style.

Consider Combining Multiple Types of Writing Styles

There’s no rule that you can only use one style for a piece of writing. In fact, many longer works will include multiple styles. A novel may be primarily narrative, but it can also contain highly descriptive passages as well as expository parts when the author wants the readers to understand a new concept.

However, make sure you don’t jump around too much. A paper or book that goes from dense academic text to impassioned plea for a cause to a story about your childhood and back again will confuse readers and make it difficult for them to understand the point you’re trying to make.

Find a Balance Between Comfort and Boundary-Pushing

You should write in a style that feels natural to you, since that will be what comes most easily and what feels most authentic to the reader. An academic who never ventures outside the city trying to write a book from the perspective of a weathered, unschooled cowboy may end up with writing that seems fake and forced.

A great way to change up your writing and see where it can be improved is to rewrite certain parts in a new writing style.  If you’ve been writing a novel with narrative voice, change a few scenes to stream-of-consciousness, then think about how it felt to be using that style and if you think it improved your writing or gave you any new ideas. If you’re worried that some writing you did is dull and lacking depth, add in a few passages that are purely descriptive and see if they help bring the writing to life.

You don’t always need to do this, and you don’t need to keep the new additions in what you wrote, but trying new things will help you get a better idea of what you want your own style to be like.

The best way to develop your own writing style is to expose yourself to numerous types of writing, both through reading and writing. As you come into contact with more writing styles and try them out for yourself, you’ll naturally begin to develop a writing style that you feel comfortable with.

Summary: The 4 Different Styles of Writing

There are four main writing styles, and each has a different purpose:

If you’re struggling to figure out the writing style of a piece, ask yourself what its purpose is and why the author wants you to read it.

To develop your own writing style, you should:

• Read widely
• Consider mixing styles
• Balance writing what you know and trying new things

What's Next?

Literary devices are also an important part of understanding writing styles. Learn the 24 literary devices you must know by reading our guide on literary devices.

Writing a research paper for school but not sure what to write about?   Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you. 

Are you reading  The Great Gatsby for class or even just for fun?  Then you'll definitely want to check out our expert guides on the biggest themes in this classic book, from love and relationships to money and materialism .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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7 Types of Academic Writing With Examples

What is Academic Writing? 

Academic writing is a kind of writing that is characterized by being objective, concise, and clear and is used to convey complex ideas and arguments. Academic writing is used in many different contexts, including essays, research papers, dissertations, academic journals, textbooks, and other scholarly publications. In order to be effective, it is needed in academic writing to adhere to a set of conventions and standards, such as using proper grammar and citation styles and sticking to a clear and logical structure.

Academic writing is often a collaborative effort between researchers and writers and is subject to peer review and editing. This process helps to ensure that the final product is accurate, reliable, and of high quality. 

Types of Academic Writing

Academic writing is a type of written work that is commonly used in academic settings and is characterized by a formal tone, the use of evidence and sources, and a clear structure. There are several different types of academic writing, each of which serves a different purpose and requires a different approach. 

Below are some of the most common 7 types of academic writing with examples:

1. Narrative Writing:

Narrative writing is one where a story is being told. It usually has a personal tone and is written in the first person, using "I" or "we." The purpose of this writing is to share an experience or event that has impacted the writer's life in some way, allowing the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the writer's thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.

In narrative writing, the writer will typically use personal experiences, anecdotes, or fictional events to illustrate a point or make an argument. 

For example, the above could be described as a personal experience, such as a memorable trip, and use that experience to reflect on a larger issue or theme.

Narrative writing can be based on real-life events or fictional stories, and they often use descriptive language and sensory details to create a vivid and engaging picture for the reader. They also typically follow a clear chronological order and have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Here is an example of narrative writing:

Example: Conquering a fear 

I have always been afraid of heights. The thought of standing on a tall building or looking over the edge of a cliff makes my heart race and my palms sweat. I have tried to overcome this fear many times, but nothing seemed to work. That was until I took a trip to the Grand Canyon.

As soon as we arrived at the Grand Canyon, I was struck by its beauty. The vast expanse of the canyon and the deep chasms that cut into the earth were both awe-inspiring and intimidating. I was nervous about hiking to the bottom of the canyon, but I was determined to overcome my fear.

As we began our descent, I was filled with a mixture of excitement and fear. The trail was narrow and steep, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. However, as I continued on, I realized that I was actually enjoying the experience. The breathtaking views and the sense of accomplishment I felt with each step helped me to push through my fear.

When we finally reached the bottom of the canyon, I was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. I had done something that I never thought I would be able to do, and I had done it without letting my fear get the best of me.

2. Descriptive Writing:  

Descriptive writing is a type of writing that is used to describe a person, place, object, or experience. The purpose of this type of writing is to help the reader to visualize the experience and feel as though they were actually there. The writer needs to use vivid language and sensory details to bring the subject to life for the reader.

For example, if you were writing descriptive writing about a beach, you might want to describe the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the feel of the sand between your toes, the smell of salt in the air, and the sight of the seagulls flying overhead. By providing these sensory details, the reader is able to imagine the experience and feel as though they are actually at the beach.

It is important to note that descriptive writing should not just be a list of facts and details. Instead, the writer should use the details to create a vivid image in the reader's mind and to evoke an emotional response. The writer should also aim to create a connection between the reader and the subject of the writing.

3. Expository Writing: 

Expository writing is a type of writing that explains and clarifies a subject or an issue. The goal of this type of writing is to inform the reader about the topic in   a clear, concise, and objective manner. Expository writing does not aim to persuade the reader or present the writer's opinion, but instead, it provides the reader with information that is well-researched and well-organized.

For example, if you were writing about climate change, you might begin by defining what climate change is and explaining the various causes and effects. You might then go on to discuss the scientific evidence supporting the existence of climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate its impact. Your writing might also provide an overview of the current state of the climate and the efforts that are being made to address the issue.

Another example of an expository writing might be about the history of the internet. In this writing, you might begin by discussing the origins of the internet and how it has evolved over the years. You might then go on to discuss the various technologies that have contributed to the growth of the internet, including the development of the World Wide Web, social media, and e-commerce. Your writing might also provide an overview of the current state of the internet and its impact on society.

4. Argumentative Writing:  

An argumentative writing is a type of writing that presents a thesis or claim and then uses evidence and logic to support that thesis. The purpose of an argumentative writing is to persuade the reader of the writer's point of view. 

For example, an argumentative writing might argue that schools should ban junk food, and then provide evidence and statistics to support this claim. 

5. Compare and Contrast Writing: 

A compare and contrast writing is a type of writing that compares two or more things and then discusses their similarities and differences. The purpose of a compare and contrast writing is to help the reader understand the similarities and differences between two or more things. For example, a compare and contrast writing might compare and contrast two different types of music, such as rock and classical. Following is an example of Compare and Contrast 

Example: Comparison of Online Learning and Traditional Classroom Learning

Introduction- 

• Definition of online learning and traditional classroom learning
• Thesis statement: Online learning and traditional classroom learning have similarities and differences that affect student  learning outcomes.

Body Paragraph 1: Similarities

• Both types of learning require a teacher and a curriculum.
• Both types of learning require assignments, exams, and grades.

Body Paragraph 2: Differences

• Online learning provides flexibility in  scheduling and location.
• Traditional classroom learning provides face-to-face interaction with teachers and peers.

Body Paragraph 3: Similarities

• Both types of learning require students to be self-motivated and disciplined.
• Both types of learning can be tailored to individual learning styles.

Body Paragraph 4: Differences

• Online learning can lack the structure and social support of traditional classroom learning.
• Traditional classroom learning can be less accessible to students with disabilities or who live far from campus.

Conclusion -

• Recap  of similarities and differences between online learning and traditional classroom learning.
• Final thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.

6. Cause and Effect Writing:  

A cause-and- effect writing is a type of writing that explains how one thing leads to another. The purpose of cause-and-effect writing is to help the reader understand how and why things happen. For example, cause-and-effect writing might explain how climate change is causing sea levels to rise, and the effects that this is having on coastal communities.

Example:   The Causes and Effects of Climate Change

Introduction:

Climate change is a global phenomenon that has become a major concern in recent years. This writing aims to explore the causes and effects of climate change.

Body Paragraph 1: 

The primary cause of climate change is human activities, including burning fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which trap heat and cause the planet to warm.

Body Paragraph 2: 

The effects of climate change are widespread and varied, including rising sea levels, more frequent and severe natural disasters, and changes in weather patterns that impact agriculture and food security.

Body Paragraph 3: 

The effects of climate change also have economic and social impacts, such as the displacement of people due to flooding and drought, and the economic costs of responding to and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, climate change is a complex phenomenon with far-reaching effects on the planet, people, and the economy. Addressing the causes of climate change and adapting to its effects will require global cooperation and concerted action.

7. Persuasive Writing:  

Persuasive writing is a type of writing that tries to convince the reader to agree with the writer's point of view. The purpose of persuasive writing is to persuade the reader to take a particular action or to adopt a certain viewpoint. For example, persuasive writing might argue that schools should require students to wear uniforms, and then provide evidence and arguments to support this claim.

Here's an example of persuasive writing:

Title: The Benefits of Exercise for a Healthy Life

Regular exercise is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. This writing argues that exercise not only improves physical health but also has numerous mental and emotional benefits.

Body Paragraph 1:

Exercise is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It improves cardiovascular health, strengthens muscles, and boosts immunity.

Exercise is also beneficial for mental health, reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improving cognitive function. It can boost self-confidence, increase motivation, and reduce stress levels.

Exercise is an excellent way to socialize and meet new people. It can provide a sense of community and belonging, whether it's through group fitness classes or team sports.

Body Paragraph 4: 

Exercise can be enjoyable and fulfilling, providing a sense of accomplishment and pride. It can be a source of inspiration and motivation, helping individuals achieve their goals and live more fulfilling life.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, regular exercise offers numerous benefits for physical, mental, and emotional health. Whether it's through sports, outdoor activities, or gym workouts, exercise is an essential component of a healthy and happy life . So, it's time to prioritize exercise in our daily routines to enjoy its many benefits.

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• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples

The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples

Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

Argumentative and expository essays are focused on conveying information and making clear points, while narrative and descriptive essays are about exercising creativity and writing in an interesting way. At university level, argumentative essays are the most common type. 

In high school and college, you will also often have to write textual analysis essays, which test your skills in close reading and interpretation.

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Table of contents

Argumentative essays, expository essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, textual analysis essays, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of essays.

An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement —a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations ) and analysis.

Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. This is the most common type of essay at college level—most papers you write will involve some kind of argumentation.

The essay is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• The introduction provides your topic and thesis statement
• The body presents your evidence and arguments
• The conclusion summarizes your argument and emphasizes its importance

The example below is a paragraph from the body of an argumentative essay about the effects of the internet on education. Mouse over it to learn more.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

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An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a topic. It doesn’t require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of the topic.

Expository essays test your familiarity with a topic and your ability to organize and convey information. They are commonly assigned at high school or in exam questions at college level.

The introduction of an expository essay states your topic and provides some general background, the body presents the details, and the conclusion summarizes the information presented.

A typical body paragraph from an expository essay about the invention of the printing press is shown below. Mouse over it to learn more.

The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg, who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the Protestant Reformation.

A narrative essay is one that tells a story. This is usually a story about a personal experience you had, but it may also be an imaginative exploration of something you have not experienced.

Narrative essays test your ability to build up a narrative in an engaging, well-structured way. They are much more personal and creative than other kinds of academic writing . Writing a personal statement for an application requires the same skills as a narrative essay.

A narrative essay isn’t strictly divided into introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should still begin by setting up the narrative and finish by expressing the point of the story—what you learned from your experience, or why it made an impression on you.

Mouse over the example below, a short narrative essay responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” to explore its structure.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

A descriptive essay provides a detailed sensory description of something. Like narrative essays, they allow you to be more creative than most academic writing, but they are more tightly focused than narrative essays. You might describe a specific place or object, rather than telling a whole story.

Descriptive essays test your ability to use language creatively, making striking word choices to convey a memorable picture of what you’re describing.

A descriptive essay can be quite loosely structured, though it should usually begin by introducing the object of your description and end by drawing an overall picture of it. The important thing is to use careful word choices and figurative language to create an original description of your object.

Mouse over the example below, a response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” to learn more about descriptive essays.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

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Though every essay type tests your writing skills, some essays also test your ability to read carefully and critically. In a textual analysis essay, you don’t just present information on a topic, but closely analyze a text to explain how it achieves certain effects.

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis looks at a persuasive text (e.g. a speech, an essay, a political cartoon) in terms of the rhetorical devices it uses, and evaluates their effectiveness.

The goal is not to state whether you agree with the author’s argument but to look at how they have constructed it.

The introduction of a rhetorical analysis presents the text, some background information, and your thesis statement; the body comprises the analysis itself; and the conclusion wraps up your analysis of the text, emphasizing its relevance to broader concerns.

The example below is from a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Mouse over it to learn more.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Literary analysis

A literary analysis essay presents a close reading of a work of literature—e.g. a poem or novel—to explore the choices made by the author and how they help to convey the text’s theme. It is not simply a book report or a review, but an in-depth interpretation of the text.

Literary analysis looks at things like setting, characters, themes, and figurative language. The goal is to closely analyze what the author conveys and how.

The introduction of a literary analysis essay presents the text and background, and provides your thesis statement; the body consists of close readings of the text with quotations and analysis in support of your argument; and the conclusion emphasizes what your approach tells us about the text.

Mouse over the example below, the introduction to a literary analysis essay on Frankenstein , to learn more.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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At high school and in composition classes at university, you’ll often be told to write a specific type of essay , but you might also just be given prompts.

Look for keywords in these prompts that suggest a certain approach: The word “explain” suggests you should write an expository essay , while the word “describe” implies a descriptive essay . An argumentative essay might be prompted with the word “assess” or “argue.”

The vast majority of essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Almost all academic writing involves building up an argument, though other types of essay might be assigned in composition classes.

Essays can present arguments about all kinds of different topics. For example:

• In a literary analysis essay, you might make an argument for a specific interpretation of a text
• In a history essay, you might present an argument for the importance of a particular event
• In a politics essay, you might argue for the validity of a certain political theory

An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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• The Scientist University

The Fundamentals of Academic Science Writing

Writing is an essential skill for scientists, and learning how to write effectively starts with good fundamentals and lots of practice..

Nathan Ni holds a PhD from Queens University. He is a science editor for The Scientist’s Creative Services Team who strives to better understand and communicate the relationships between health and disease.

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Writing is a big part of being a scientist, whether in the form of manuscripts, grants, reports, protocols, presentations, or even emails. However, many people look at writing as separate from science—a scientist writes, but scientists are not regarded as writers. 1 This outdated assertion means that writing and communication has been historically marginalized when it comes to training and educating new scientists. In truth, being a professional writer is part of being a scientist . 1 In today’s hypercompetitive academic environment, scientists need to be as proficient with the pen as they are with the pipette in order to showcase their work. 

Using the Active Voice

Stereotypical academic writing is rigid, dry, and mechanical, delivering prose that evokes memories of high school and undergraduate laboratory reports. The hallmark of this stereotype is passive voice overuse. In writing, the passive voice is when the action comes at the end of a clause—for example, “the book was opened”. In scientific writing, it is particularly prevalent when detailing methodologies and results. How many times have we seen something like “citric acid was added to the solution, resulting in a two-fold reduction in pH” rather than “adding citric acid to the solution reduced the pH two-fold”?

Scientists should write in the active voice as much as possible. However, the active voice tends to place much more onus on the writer’s perspective, something that scientists have historically been instructed to stay away from. For example, “we treated the cells with phenylephrine” places much more emphasis on the operator than “the cells were treated with phenylephrine.” Furthermore, pronoun usage in academic writing is traditionally discouraged, but it is much harder, especially for those with non-native English proficiency, to properly use active voice without them. 

Things are changing though, and scientists are recognizing the importance of giving themselves credit. Many major journals, including Nature , Science , PLoS One , and PNAS allow pronouns in their manuscripts, and prominent style guides such as APA even recommend using first-person pronouns, as traditional third-person writing can be ambiguous. 2 It is vital that a manuscript clearly and definitively highlights and states what the authors specifically did that was so important or novel, in contrast to what was already known. A simple “we found…” statement in the abstract and the introduction goes a long way towards giving readers the hook that they need to read further.

Keeping Sentences Simple

Writing in the active voice also makes it easier to organize manuscripts and construct arguments. Active voice uses fewer words than passive voice to explain the same concept. It also introduces argument components sequentially—subject, claim, and then evidence—whereas passive voice introduces claim and evidence before the subject. Compare, for example, “T cell abundance did not differ between wildtype and mutant mice” versus “there was no difference between wildtype and mutant mice in terms of T cell abundance.” T cell abundance, as the measured parameter, is the most important part of the sentence, but it is only introduced at the very end of the latter example.

The sequential nature of active voice therefore makes it easier to not get bogged down in overloading the reader with clauses and adhering to a general principle of “one sentence, one concept (or idea, or argument).” Consider the following sentence: 

Research on CysLT 2 R , expressed in humans in umbilical vein endothelial cells, macrophages, platelets, the cardiac Purkinje system, and coronary endothelial cells , had been hampered by a lack of selective pharmacological agents , the majority of work instead using the nonselective cysLT antagonist/partial agonist Bay-u9773 or genetic models of CysLT 2 R expression modulation) .

The core message of this sentence is that CysLT 2 R research is hampered by a lack of selective pharmacological agents, but that message is muddled by the presence of two other major pieces of information: where CysLT 2 R is expressed and what researchers used to study CysLT 2 R instead of selective pharmacological agents. Because this sentence contains three main pieces of information, it is better to break it up into three separate sentences for clarity.

In humans, CysLT 2 R is expressed in umbilical vein endothelial cells, macrophages, platelets, the cardiac Purkinje system, and coronary endothelial cells . CysLT 2 R research has been hampered by a lack of selective pharmacological agents . Instead, the majority of work investigating the receptor has used either the nonselective cysLT antagonist/partial agonist Bay-u9773 or genetic models of CysLT 2 R expression modulation.

The Right Way to Apply Jargon

There is another key advantage to organizing sentences in this simple manner: it lets scientists manage how jargon is introduced to the reader. Jargon—special words used within a specific field or on a specific topic—is necessary in scientific writing. It is critical for succinctly describing key elements and explaining key concepts. But too much jargon can make a manuscript unreadable, either because the reader does not understand the terminology or because they are bogged down in reading all of the definitions. 

The key to using jargon is to make it as easy as possible for the audience. General guidelines instruct writers to define new terms only when they are first used. However, it is cumbersome for a reader to backtrack considerable distances in a manuscript to look up a definition. If a term is first introduced in the introduction but not mentioned again until the discussion, the writer should re-define the term in a more casual manner. For example: “PI3K can be reversibly inhibited by LY294002 and irreversibly inhibited by wortmannin” in the introduction, accompanied by “when we applied the PI3K inhibitor LY294002” for the discussion. This not only makes things easier for the reader, but it also re-emphasizes what the scientist did and the results they obtained.

Practice Makes Better

Finally, the most important fundamental for science writing is to not treat it like a chore or a nuisance. Just as a scientist optimizes a bench assay through repeated trial and error, combined with literature reviews on what steps others have implemented, a scientist should practice, nurture, and hone their writing skills through repeated drafting, editing, and consultation. Do not be afraid to write. Putting pen to paper can help organize one’s thoughts, expose next steps for exploration, or even highlight additional experiments required to patch knowledge or logic gaps in existing studies. 

Looking for more information on scientific writing? Check out The Scientist’s TS SciComm  section. Looking for some help putting together a manuscript, a figure, a poster, or anything else? The Scientist’s Scientific Services  may have the professional help that you need.

• Schimel J. Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited And Proposals That Get Funded . Oxford University Press; 2012.
• First-person pronouns. American Psychological Association. Updated July 2022. Accessed March 2024. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/first-person-pronouns  

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