Academic writing
However, the exact style, content, and organization of academic writing can vary depending on the specific genre and publication method.
Despite this variation, all academic writing shares some common features,[2][page needed] including a commitment to intellectual integrity, the advancement of knowledge, and the rigorous application of disciplinary methodologies.
Academic writing often features prose register that is conventionally characterized by "evidence...that the writer(s) have been persistent, open-minded and disciplined in the study"; that prioritizes "reason over emotion or sensual perception"; and that imagines a reader who is "coolly rational, reading for information, and intending to formulate a reasoned response.
"[3] Three linguistic patterns[4][page needed] that correspond to these goals across fields and genres, include the following: The stylistic means of achieving these conventions will differ by academic discipline, seen, for example, in the distinctions between writing in history versus engineering, or writing in physics versus philosophy.
"It establishes limits and regularities...who may speak, what may be spoken, and how it is to be said; in addition, [rules] prescribe what is true and false, what is reasonable and what foolish, and what is meant and what not.
To effectively communicate and persuade within their field, academic writers are motivated to adhere to the conventions and standards set forth by their discourse community.
It is important for academic writers to familiarize themselves with the conventions of their discourse community by analyzing existing literature within the field.
Such an in-depth understanding will enable writers to convey their ideas and arguments more effectively, ensuring that their contributions resonate with and are valued by their peers in the discourse community.
The conventions for marking intertextuality vary depending on the discourse community, with examples including MLA, APA, IEEE, and Chicago styles.
[22] While the need for appropriate references and the avoidance of plagiarism are undisputed in academic and scholarly writing, the appropriate style is still a matter of debate.
For instance, one's GPA may be influenced by writing performance in a class and the consequent grade received, potentially stirring negative emotions such as confusion and anxiety.
The structure of higher education, particularly within universities, is in a state of continual evolution, shaping and developing student writing identities.
[31] External factors can also prevent enjoyment in academic writing including finding time and space to complete assignments.
[32] Overall emotions, lack of confidence, and prescriptive notions about what an academic writing identity should resemble can hinder a student's ability to succeed.
[33] A commonly recognized format for presenting original research in the social and applied sciences is known as IMRD, an initialism that refers to the usual ordering of subsections: and Standalone methods sections are atypical in presenting research in the humanities; other common formats in the applied and social sciences are IMRAD (which offers an "Analysis" section separate from the implications presented in the "Discussion" section) and IRDM (found in some engineering subdisciplines, which features Methods at the end of the document).
