Academic writing skills

By Lisa Qothrunnada_1906400633_Class-D

Academic writing is writing that uses academic language and includes science,
arguments based on logic and evidence that supports these arguments. Examples of academic
writing include reports, papers, essays, articles, dissertation, and others. some of this type of
writing is written with the aim of reporting research results, answering questions, discussing
topics of interest, updating research conducted by other people on the same topic. in writing
academic writings, the writing style varies depending on the institution and the creativity of a
writer. When we doing academic writing it is necessary to pay attention to the following
points, namely, (Fitzmaurice & O’Farrel, 2004) (Bailey, S., 2003)
1. Organized your writing
In writing academic papers, we must first know the rules of the game that we will use
for writing. Rules or writing styles differ depending on the institution and creativity of the
author and the guidance provided. The structure used is also different for each institution. An
example of a commonly used structure or writing framework is a short essay that includes an
Introduction, Main Content, and finally a Conclusion. While long essays usually contain an
introduction, main content, literature review, case studies, discussion, conclusions, references
and attachments.
In writing academic papers, we must first know the rules of the game that we will use
for writing. The rules or writing styles differ depending on the institution and the creativity of
the writer and the guidance provided. The structure used is also different for each institution.
An example of a commonly used writing structure or framework is a short essay that includes
an introduction, main content, and finally a conclusion. While long essays usually contain an
introduction, main content, literature review, case studies, discussion, conclusions, references
and attachments. Furthermore, the writer can enter the writing stage which is divided into 4
stages, namely planning, writing, editing, and reviewing. The first step is planning, at this
stage we must make the best use of our time to gather ideas or discussion topics and
understand the arguments we want to write about. The next step is writing, in this case we
can start with free writing. Freewriting itself is an activity of writing on a topic without any
planning or concern for writing rules and quality of writing. Free writing is useful to help
improve the author's thinking and get the author's ideas out and help the writer to focus on
one topic.
 The third step is editing. When editing, there are several things that we must pay
attention to, namely text components such as the citation we write, use of punctuation, use
italics and bold, use of abbreviations, short sentence length, paragraph length, and the
suitability of the discussion between one sentence and another. If there is a discrepancy, we
must immediately edit the text and replace it. In addition, we also have to pay attention to
sources in our writing, mostly using sources such as journals and reports.
The last stage is a review, at this stage we have to read and examine whether the
writing we have written is good in all aspects such as the suitability of the content to the
structure. For example, whether the introduction has mentioned the main issues to be
discussed, and in the main body, it has covered all the content to be conveyed, and in the
conclusion whether it is enough to summarize all the points in the writing. At this stage we
must also pay attention to the suitability between sentences and paragraphs so that they
become integrated paragraphs.
(Fitzmaurice & O’Farrel., 2004) (Bailey, S., 2003)
2. Grammatical range and accuracy
Grammar is very important in writing to maintain harmony and make it easier for
readers to understand our writing so this must be considered according to the applicable
grammar rules. Such as sentence patterns, verbs used, adjectives and proper conjunctions.
According to Billingham (2005), every mistake will make a bad impression on the
author. So it must be ensured that the document is truly accurate both in terms of grammar,
punctuation, spelling, names of people, places, organizations, numbers, dates, page numbers,
consistency of punctuation marks, abbreviations, use of capital letters, as well as numbering
in pictures and table. According to Buttry (2016) the accuracy of academic writing can be
maintained by asking effective questions, taking notes, collecting source documents,
verifying information, checking facts in content and questioning information. In addition,
Billingham (2005) also argues that accuracy can be maintained by looking for ambiguity,
using the tradition of checking evidence, using checklists, working in teams, finding out one's
own weaknesses and creating and using style guides.
( Billingham, 2005 dalam Paudel, P., 2019) (Buttry., 2016 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
3. Vocabulary & common English idioms
To write well requires a lot of knowledge about vocabulary, especially formal
vocabulary if the writing we are going to write is academic writing which of course we can
master with reading and writing exercises. Things that we must learn to increase our
vocabulary include adjectives, nouns and verbs.
The following are some guidelines for developing a good writing style:
1. Do not use idiomatic or colloquial vocabulary, for example: kids, boss. But use
standard English, for example: children, manager.
2. The vocabulary used must be correct. Recognize the difference between rule and law,
weather and climate.
3. Write correctly if the writing is related to a fact or figure. We must avoid uncertain
words, for example: about. We better use approximately.
4. At the conclusion must use tentative language. Don't use absolute sentences, for
example: unemployment causes crime. Instead, use a more careful word, for example:
unemployment may cause crime or tends to cause crime.
5. Avoid your personal attitude word: fortunately, very, wonder.
6. Don't use the verb form: don’t, can’t . Use full form: Do not, cannot.
7. Do not use the passive voice more than the standard, it should not be used
excessively.
8. “ Avoid the following:
 like for introducing examples. Use such as or for instance.
 thing and combinations nothing or something. Use factor, issue or topic.
 lots of. Use a significant / considerable number.
 little / big. Use small / large.
 ‘get’ phrases such as get better / worse. Use improve and deteriorate.
 good / bad are simplistic. Use positive / negative, e.g. the changes had several
positive aspects.” (Bailey, S., 2003)
9. “Do not use question forms such as Why did war break out in 1914? Instead use
statements: There were three reasons for the outbreak of war . . .” (Bailey, S., 2003)
10. Avoid numbering sections of text, except in long reports and essays.
11. Avoid using the dll or the like.
12. Avoid using two-word verbs such as go on or bring up if there is a suitable synonym.
Use continue or raise.
(Bailey, S., 2003)
4. Checking & editing
Checking and editing is a process carried out to double-check a written draft that has
been made to be more standardized, and free from errors, as well as to provide an academic
aspect so that it is ready for publication. Brookes and Marshall (2004) define editing as an
activity to change things that are not perfect to be more perfect by removing those
imperfections. Meanwhile, according to Ricci (2016), editing is a process of correcting and
adapting certain academic texts. Nordquist (2018) also argues that editing is a writing process
carried out to improve drafts and prepare them for publication by correcting each type of
error and making more words and sentences. clearer, more precise, more effective,
understandable to the reader and the context. Failure to make these edits creates the risk of
misinformation or even miscommunication. According to edits of Billingham (2005) and
McCrindle (2016) very important in academic writing because too achieve consistent;
accurate formatting and layout text; to show the proper atmosphere of a document; to refine
the concept; examine clear written ideas; make it easy to record accurate research findings; to
avoid mistakes; make writing as short as possible but still meaningful, build a good flow of
logic and argument; maintaining uniformity and correctness in quotations with certain styles
example: APA, MLA, Harvard; to check for redundancy; and to entice readers to keep
reading. (Brookes and Marshall., 2004 dalam dalam Paudel, P., 2019) (Ricci, 2016 dalam
Paudel, P., 2019) (Nordquist., 2018 dalam Paudel, P., 2019 ) ( McCrindle., 2016 dalam
Paudel, P., 2019) ( Billingham, 2005 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
Following are things that need to be considered for editing, namely layout and design /
structure (format), language and content, document style and reading of evidence for
mechanical and other aspects (Paudel, P., 2019)
 Editing a Layout or Format
In academic writing, the choice of layout or format has usually been agreed upon by
each institution. But general terms usually include cover pages, table of contents, body
sections, references and attachments.
 Choose a template
The template itself is a basis for the report or writing that we want to make. The form
also follows the rules or agreements of each institution.
 Written numbers and digits
Any number that begins a sentence, title or text title, common fractions are written in the
written word. But for other provisions such as numbers 10 and above, numbers representing
mathematical statistical functions, numbers representing time, date, age, score, scale are
written in numbers (APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Abbreviation
 For writing abbreviations, APA (2010) suggests reducing the writing of abbreviations and
symbols in writing because this can confuse the reader with unfamiliar abbreviations. For this
reason, abbreviations are only used if they are universal or familiar to the reader. Also do not
use excessive and insufficient abbreviations in the text. He must decide whether to write the
full form of the expression each time or spell it at first and afterwards the abbreviations in its
occurrence. (APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Space, Font, Margins and Running Head
Based on the APA (2010) style the common font is Time New Roman with a size of 12 and
page margins are one inch from the top, bottom, left and right sides of each page. In the body
text, double line space with two spaces after the period at the end of the sentence. Each
paragraph is spaced one and a half inches from the left margin and all text is left aligned.
(APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Italics, Underline and a Bold Face
Italics, underline, and bold in academic writing are rarely used. Only paper titles can be bold
or italicized and in references, book and journal names are italicized or underlined. (Paudel,
P., 2019)
 Heading
The existence of headings is very important for organizing ideas and for highlighting
important items in a piece of writing. APA (2010) suggests five levels of headings that appear
in academic papers appear as: (APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
Level of headings Format
1 Centered, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading
2 Flush left, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period
4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending
with a period
5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period.
 Tables, Pictures and Descriptions
Tables and images are numbered and must be given a title, based on APA (2010) numbers
and headings (captions) are placed on top of the table in normal circumstances and captions
are italicized while image numbers and captions are placed under images whose image
numbers are italicized and captions are presented. (APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P.,
2019)
 Page numbering
The page number must be visible from the first page of the introduction to the end of writing.
Usually the introduction is written with romanization (i, ii -) while the main text is numbered.
The page number is not stated in the title page (cover page) (APA, 2010). (APA Mannual,
2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Footnotes and endnotes
Based on APA (2010) footnotes are not used but if the authors do suggest they are placed at
the bottom of the page using a smaller font size (10) and single spacing. (APA Mannual,
2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Quotations and References
To add an academic impression and make writing free from plagiarism, references and
citations are needed. In making references and quotations, many styles can be used depending
on the agreement of our institution. (Paudel, P., 2019)
 Quote
A quote is an idea that we take from other writers. Therefore we must include the name of the
original author to honor him. The rules for writing citations also vary depending on the style
we choose. (Paudel, P., 2019)
 Paraphrase and summarize
according to the APA style guide (2010) when paraphrasing the author must mention the
original author's last name and year of publication which does not require page numbers.
(APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
 Formal language
based on AllasAptictUnivrsity (2015) explains that academic writing must avoid the use of
cliches, jargon, slang, and abbreviations. (AllasAptictUnivrsity., 2015 dalam Paudel, P.,
2019)
 Sentence structure
In writing sentences should be done in a structured manner with coherent and coherent
text so that readers can understand the reading well. In academic writing, complex sentences
are usually used, but simple sentences must be included so that the reader can understand
them. In writing this sentence structure consists of several formulas that need to be studied
further.
(APA Mannual, 2010 dalam Paudel, P., 2019)
Other things that must be considered include avoid false parallelism, which is the
irregular use of the same ideas; brevity that means short, according to Billingham (2005)
when creating a short text, it must be considered the purpose of the text and the reader's
comprehension so that it must be ensured that all content is relevant; don't beat around the
bush; get rid of unnecessary words; and use verbs instead of nouns. (Billingham., 2005 dalam
Paudel, P., 2019)

Sources
Fitzmaurice & O’Farrel. (2004). Developing your academic writing skills. Academic Practice
and elearning Trinity College Dublin
Bailey, S. (2003). Academic writing: A practical guide for students. Psychology Press
Paudel, P. (2019). Editing as a Craft in Academic Writing. Nepal: Lecturer, Department of
English Education, Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara ,Nepal. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332422956_Editing_as_a_craft_in_Academic_
writing.