10 Ways to Improve your Academic Writing

 

There are several things you must pay attention to when writing your research paper or an essay for a class. We usually focus on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. However, these are just the tip of the iceberg when writing academic papers. Here are a few tips that can help you improve your academic writing.

1. Start with an outline - An outline helps to frame your writing. When you know what you are going to write, from the headings to the sections you want to include, it helps make the task simpler. Using headings and subheadings in your writing can be a way to structure your writing, make it easier to read and help you and your reader focus on specific ideas.
2. Use active voice - Instead of saying "the study was conducted by the researcher" say, "the researcher conducted the researcher." Avoid using passive voice in your writing.
3. Avoid writing informally - Academic writing is meant to be formal and impersonal. 
4. Avoid using contractions - We normally use contractions when speaking or in other styles of writing. However, when it comes to academic writing, avoid using contractions. Instead of "didn't" use "did not."
5. Stay away from using jargon and colloquial expressions - This makes it easy for anyone who may not be familiar with the jargon or colloquial expression to read your paper and understand what you meant.
6. Be concise, avoid wordiness - Academic papers are meant to be concise. Using a lot of words does not make it sound more intellectual. Make sure to say what you mean and avoid using a lot of words.
7. Explain acronyms that you use - There are acronyms that we are familiar with but there are similar acronyms that have different meanings. A way to avoid any misunderstanding is to define or explain your acronym.
8. Avoid writing long sentences - There are writers who cannot get away from writing long sentences. If your sentence is longer than two lines, please revise. There is no reason for this. To avoid this, find ways to break up that sentence into two sentences. This will make it easier for your reader to follow.
9. Use transitional phrases - This helps with the flow of your paper. Transitional phrases also connect ideas and make for a more cohesive paper.
10. Edit, edit, edit - Always edit your work. It is not something you do once, nor twice or even three times. Editing is continuous. You may need to step away from your paper for a few hours or a day or two and come back and edit your work. Some people edit as they write and others edit after they have completed their work. Editing is instrumental to writing a great academic paper.

Academic writing takes practice and practice makes perfect. A great tip is to keep a copy of writing tips next to you as you write and during your proofreading or editing process, you refer to it and make any necessary changes. These are a few tips to help you write better papers, all the best.