The Process of Academic Writing Can be Tedious but this could help
Either you are writing as part of college assessment exercise or conducting research, learning the basics of academic writing is crucial
A lot goes into writing scholarly articles or essays for both assessment purposes and the process of conducting a research project or thesis, a prerequisite for obtaining a B.Sc. or M.Sc. respectively, hence my desire to bridge the gap in helping starters learn the art and craft of this genre of writing. As is obtainable in many disciplines, the presentation of data or findings is paramount to continued study using well-defined structure or format. At the undergraduate level, regular assignments requiring students take a stand on a topical issue related to the course is common, the use of argumentation in the presentation of well-researched opposing views characterize this form of writing.
Before diving deep, it is important to state that most body of work in the academics take on a particular format viz-a-viz Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Moreso, is the demand for references, whilst making a thesis statement, thesis generally refer to your proposition on the topic of which you are called upon to debate — more or less you stand on the matter. This will be followed by several arguments or supporting texts to validate your standpoint while leaving room for contrary opinions on the subject matter.
As part of preparation for the task of academic writing, certain elements need to be considered before starting out. The rigour of research, processing data and presentation of same can be tedious at the initial stage but can be mastered overtime.
Writing Style
The formal non-conventional format of academic writing is somewhat intimidating for a start but with exposure to writing style domicile in your discipline, the hurdle can be crossed easily. The genre connected to scholarly writing is a combination of argumentative, descriptive and expository depending on the context or topic in consideration but most importantly, argumentative style of writing stands out as proposition must be supported by subsequent paragraphs. The use of flowery words in writing is entirely alien to this kind of writing, rather an objective tone is adopted such that nothing personal is play any part of the statements even personal bias must be subjected to verifiable evidences.
Audience
Truthfully, the audience for scholarly writing is quite limited unlike writing for the newspaper or engaging in a creative process of putting together words to serve the masses. Such books or articles can be picked up and digested, while anyone searching for information may read through a scholarly essay, yet the value of such article is predominantly for fellow scholars or researchers, policy makers and perhaps a fraction of the populace who might find your writing appealing.
Peer-review
One important component of academic writing is the question of peer-review, such that other experts in the field peruse over a work to be sure certain standards are considered while conducting a research work. This is particularly of importance to students interested in getting on a career in the academics, research work must be reviewed before their publication.
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I’m open to consultation on scholarly writing offering top-notch advise from several years of research, writing and consulting, kindly send a mail to jeremiahanietie@gmail.com