Academic Writing

                           Academic Writing

                                Written by Ari Julianto


A. Academic writing should be
1. Analytic
concerned with real facts and details, rather than general aspects.

2. Objective
based on things which can be seen or measured, rather than on personal feelings.

3. Intellectual
based on an enlightened judgement of complex ideas and information, rather than an appeal to emotions.

4. Rational
using clear thinking to make decisions and judgements based on reason, rather than passionate arguments against a doctrine or belief.


B. The language of academic writing
Some of the main characteristics of the language of academic writing include:
- Frequent use of passive verb forms;
- Impersonal pronouns and phrases;
- Qualifying words and phrases;
- Complex sentence structures;
- Specialised vocabulary, style and presentation.

C. Style of academic writing
Academic writing has a characteristic style:
- It is serious, rather than conversational;
- It is impersonal, rather than personal;
- It is formal, rather than colloquial.

D. Presentation of information in academic writing
Information is presented in recognisable sequences:
For example, events are recorded in chronological order (from earliest to most recent); Points are made and expanded through examples;
Points are arranged hierarchically in ascending or descending order;Details or outcomes are compared or contrasted.