Academic Writing

Academic writing can fall into many sub-categories. It can range from papers written by a student for a grade, to papers written by a teacher to test a student’s knowledge. Since the category is so broad, we will focus on the typical usage of the term, papers written by an academic (student). Anyone who has taken the equivalent of a High School English test has written an academic paper.

To some extent, even the simplest essay can be termed as such. But, the truest application of the term is found in the thesis, or “term paper”. The formula for this type of academic work consists of three to four major parts. First, the writer chooses a thesis (an idea about something). Secondly, they will research various reliable sources for data that will either support their thesis or refute it. If the assigned paper is argumentative, they will try to debunk any antagonistic data. If the paper is a simple research exercise, they will draw conclusions from the accumulated data and then state whether or not their thesis is proven true or false.

Since many thesis papers are written as argumentative papers, using verifiable sources and furnishing those sources with the use of footnoting and bibliographies is essential. Academic writing doesn’t end in High School or even college. Many doctorate thesis are written later in a writer’s career, making this sort of writing an essential in all author’s repertoires.