ACADEMIC WRITING

B.Sudha, Professor
Department of Banking Management, Alagappa University
•India's Export Trends & Prospects
for Self - Sustained Growth in 1964.

•The Third Pillar

•I Do What I Do
•Fault Lines

•How I Taught My Grandmother to

Read and Other Stories
•Wise And Otherwise
 Academic ● Formal writing style / Style of
Expression
Writing ● Communicates ideas, information and
research to the wider academic
“Good writers are those who keep the community.
language efficient. That is to say, keep it ● Evidence-based arguments
accurate, keep it clear” ● Logical reasoning
– Ezra Pound
Purpose of academic writing

To communicate research findings, theories, and ideas in a clear and

concise manner to a specific audience of professionals or scholars in
a particular field.

To contribute new ideas or perspectives to the larger academic

community.
Points to remember

 One clear research problem.

 Importance of the problem
 Gaps in the research.
 Evidence to support your argument
 Description of how and why particular evidence was collected and analyzed.
 The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.
 Indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.
 Consider counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.
 Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.
 Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need
for further study.
 The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Other aspects of academic
writing in the social sciences
“A good style must first be
clear”
-Aristotle
● Avoid Personal nouns
● Avoid directives
● Avoid Informal, conversational
tone using slang and idioms.
● Avoid descriptions of tangential
issues
● Use personal experience only as
an example
 What to include in academic writing
What to avoid in academic writing

Contractions Full words

Informal English Formal English

“but” “however”

Flowery language Straight facts

Vague expressions like “going to” required Replace with “will”

Personal experience Keep to the objectives of the article

Unnecessary wordiness Keep it short and succinct

Emotive and grandiose language Unbiased

Second person pronouns

Ginger Software | English Grammar & Writing App
 ● Clear Writing
Improving Academic Writing
● Use active voice
“One day I will find the right words,
● Mix it up in terms of
and they will be simple.”
punctuation
-Jack Kerouac
● Excellent Grammar
● Consistent Stylistic Approach
● Cite all the resources you use
Basic punctuation practices

Punctuation Component Do Do Not

 Use to split up sentences  Overuse (can make your writing more

Comma (,)
 Use where there is a pause confusing)

Colon (:)  Use before listing items

 Confuse colons and semicolons

 Use to join sentences with directly
Semicolon (;)
related information

 Use when something belongs (Mike’s

test tube)  Confuse with plurals (test tubes, not
Apostrophe (‘)
 Use when contracting (we’ve, she’d, test tube’s)
I’m)

 Use after words ending in y

 Use to link compound words (25-mile
Hyphen (-)  Use if the same meaning is achieved
race)
without one
Four major types of academic writing

Descriptive Analytical Persuasive Critical

•Analytical writing will •Persuasive articles are •Critical writing
•This is the include descriptive those where the writer
sets out to persuade also seeks to
simplest form writing, but it requires
the reader of their persuade the
careful sorting and
of academic reorganization of point of view through reader but in this
academic argument type of writing, the
writing. The facts into categories
and based on solid
based on writer examines
objective of relationships. research. Such an
other opinions
Analytic writing will article does not just
such writing include such verbs as present the and conclusions.
is to present “compare”,
information, the writer This is typically
must argue his used in a literature
“contrast”, and, of
the facts. course, “analyse”.
position using review.
supporting evidence
Essential elements of academic writing
Once you have
More noun-based Facts and figures are Clear to the reader how decided on the
phrases than verb-based given precisely the various parts of the genre, the structure
phrases text are related is easily determined

Accuracy Organisation
Complexity Formality Precision Objectivity Explicitness

Use vocabulary
Main emphasis should be on the accurately, with narrow
Avoid colloquial
information that you want to give specific meanings
words and and the arguments you want to
expressions make, rather than your personal
opinion
JOURNAL
A journal is a scholarly publication containing
● A journal is a written
articles written by researchers, professors and
record of your thoughts, other experts. Journals focus on a specific
experiences, and discipline or field of study.
observations.
Various types of journal publications

Academic and Trade journals

scientific journals

• Trade journals
publish topical
issues and
professional
• Main objective
matters related
is to report and
to a particular
disseminate
field and are
original
primarily
research and
intended for
study findings.
members of a
specific
business or
profession.

Cloned journals is
“hijacked journals.”
“Writing is an exploration.
You start from nothing and
learn as you go.”
-E. L. Doctorow
● Hijacked journals are fake or
duplicate websites of genuine
journals using the title, ISSN, and
other information of the genuine
journal
Predatory journals—also ● Publications that claim to be
called fraudulent, legitimate scholarly journals, but
misrepresent their publishing
deceptive, or pseudo- practices.
journals
 Common Characteristics of Predatory Journals

 Claims to be a peer reviewed open access publication but does not provide adequate peer
review.
 May advertise an unrealistic timeline for publication.
 Publishes all articles for which authors pay.
 Publishes articles that have many grammar mistakes.
 Editorial board includes people who do not exist
 Aggressively targets potential authors through emails.
 May state that offices are in one country but contact details are in another.
 Solicitation emails contain grammatical errors of phishing scams.
 Lack of transparency about acceptance process
 Requires authors sign away their copyright to the article at the time of submission, making it
impossible for the author to submit the article to another publisher.
 Publishes articles submitted before the authors have signed the publishing agreement, then
refuses to take the article down if the author withdraws the submission.
 Removes articles or entire journals from the web without warning or informing authors.
Sr.No. Journals in Group II Cloned Journals
(Included in UGC-CARE List) (Not Included in UGC-CARE List)
1 Title - Adalya Title - Adalya Journal

Language : Turkish, German, English Language : English

Publisher : Koc Universitesi Suna and Inan Kirac Publisher: NA
ISSN : 1301-2746 ISSN : 1301-2746
URL : https://akmed.ku.edu.tr/en/adalya/ URL : https://adalyajournal.com/

2 Title - Aegaeum Title - Aegaeum Journal

Language : French Language : English

Publisher : Peeters Publishers Publisher: NA
ISSN : 0776-3808 ISSN : 0776-3808
URL : URL : http://aegaeum.com/
https://www.peeters-leuven.be/search_results.php?f
ilter=books_series&lang=en

3 Title - Aut Aut Title - Aut Aut Research Journal

Language : Italian Language : English

Publisher : La Nuova Italia Editrice Publisher: NA
LaTeX templates

Many academic journals provide LaTeX templates for authors to

submit articles (also known as publications or papers) for review.

These templates typically mimic the layout of the articles published

by the journal and allow the author to preview their written work in
this final layout.

Due to copyright restrictions, the templates provided in this category

cannot be edited by LaTeX Templates and are available exactly as
they are offered by their respective journals.
 Writing for Different Audiences

• Write for your • By minimizing Reduce

• Stick
Useto easy
•Keep
Optit for
short and
short simple Remember
specific your Limit
the the
useuse
of of unnecessary use
sweet words with
vocabulary target audience technical jargon of adjectives and
sentences audience. specialized
shorter adverbs
containing just • Consider their terms, you
syllables.
one idea or knowledge of extend your
• This appeals
thought. the subject work to a
to various • These words
• Break up and their larger
readers, not are
lengthy, English skill audience.
just those with sentence filler
complex level • If you must
an extensive s and make it
sentences into • Regardless of use them,
vocabulary. more difficult
brief, easy-to- the length of define them
• It also makes for your
read ones. the document clearly so
the subject readers to
• This is or the difficulty readers
matter seem understand
beneficial for of the topic, without any
more the context of
those who the text should prior subject
approachable your text.
want to get the be easy to knowledge
and
gist of the follow, and can
understandabl
topic without your readers understand
e, despite its
overanalyzing should learn the context
complex
it. something they’re used
nature.
 ● Capitalization
● Punctuation
Writing ● Parts of Speech
● Abbreviations
mechanics ● Spellings
● Eliminating Repeated words
Writing rules that every writer ● Choosing the right words
must follow while preparing ● Writing Regularly
reports ● Reading consistently
● Reviewing and revising
 Types of Writing Styles
1. Narrative Writing
Narrative writing is a style that allows the writer to tell a story.
Novels and short stories
Memoirs
Creative essays
Feature stories
Presentations or speeches
2. Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing involves capturing every detail of the place, person, or scene you’re writing about. The goal is
to really immerse the reader in the experience, making them feel like they are there.
3. Persuasive Writing
Statistical evidence, such as hard facts or studies
Anecdotal evidence, such as personal experiences or interviews
Testimonial evidence, such as quotes from experts in the subject
Textual evidence, such as passages from books or primary sources
4. Expository Writing
Expository writing exists to explain a subject or inform about a particular topic area. The goal is simply to teach
the reader something.
5. Creative Writing
The goal of creative writing is really to find new ways to tell stories that can surprise and delight readers.

Research
proposal
A research proposal is a highly
structured document that describes
your study's topic and explains how
you plan to investigate a specific
inquiry.
● A research proposal describes what you
will investigate, why it’s important, and
how you will conduct your research.
● The format of a research proposal varies
between fields, but most proposals will
contain at least these elements:
● Title page
● Introduction
● Literature review
● Research design
● Reference list
Steps to write an effective research proposal

1. Include a title page

This page typically shows the basic details of your project, such as its proposed title, your name, the current
date, your supervisor's name, the institution hosting the project and the name of your department. Be sure to
organize these elements logically by using a clear format and certain design attributes, like a bold font. It
may be helpful to connect with your department leader to verify any requirements for this page.
2. Develop an abstract
An abstract is a one-page document that summarizes the key points of your full body of work in 150 to 300
words.
Aims: State the purpose of your research project and include your primary objectives.
Methods: Show the procedures you adopted to choose research subjects, collect evidence and best answer
your initial inquiry.
Hypotheses: Briefly discuss what new information your team hopes to discover or conclusions they expect
to make while analyzing evidence in the future.
Projected effects: State how the results of a research project can help develop an academic field or
improve a specific group of individuals.
3. Write an introduction
Describe the concepts central to your research inquiry and provide contextual information that
may help others understand your project more efficiently.
4. Include background information
Describe key details about the rationale of your research proposal.
5. Develop research questions
Depending on the scope of your research, you can create one primary inquiry or a series of
questions that clearly connect to a central idea.
6. Compose a problem statement
A problem statement is a description of how your project might resolve the issues presented in a
research question or add new observations.
7. Develop a literature review
A literature review to demonstrate how existing knowledge can serve as a foundation for your
research. It can also show how your project fits into these various discussions between scholars
and why your study can add an original claim.
8. Describe your research methodologies
Research methodologies describe the practical steps of your project and how you're approaching
them, including which data collection tools and procedures you prefer to use.
9. Add a conclusion
Summarize all previous information and highlight the importance of your proposal.
10. Develop a bibliography
An institution or company may require you to complete a bibliography, which is a list of articles,
video clips and other texts you discussed or referenced in your research proposal.
12. Include budgeting information
If your study requires funding from an external source, consider including financial details in
your research proposal. Based on the instructions of a funding organization, you can develop a
budget that describes the costs of every project component and why these items can help you
achieve your research goals. Here are some specific items to address in a budget for a
research proposal:
Travel expenses: If your team commutes to a specific location to interview subjects or collect
physical data, your project may have additional costs.
Research materials: You might purchase certain tools to support your efforts, like a software
program for data collection.
Research personnel: Depending on the scope of a project, you may hire assistants to conduct
certain tasks, like organizing data or transcribing discussions.
 The layout of the report should be as

○ the preliminary pages;

○ the main text,and

Layout of the ○ the end matter.

report In its preliminary pages the report should

carry title followed by acknowledgements
and foreword. Then there should be a
follows: table of contents followed by a list of
tables and list of graphs and charts, if any,
given in the report.
 ● In the introduction, state what the
The Introduction topic is about, introduce your
research question(s) or hypothesis. It
Chapter should contain a clear statement of
the objective of the research and an
explanation of the methodology
adopted in accomplishing the
research. The scope of the study
along with various limitations should
as well be stated in this part.
 Introduce the topic
 Define key terms and concepts
 Give background and context for the topic (this may include a brief literature review)
 Review and evaluate the current state of knowledge in the topic (this may include a
brief literature review)
 Identify any gaps, shortcomings and problems in the research to date
 Introduce your research question(s) or hypothesis
 Briefly describe your methodology and/or theoretical approach
 Explain the aim of your research and what contribution it will make to the topic
 Give an overview of the chapter outline of the thesis.
 The main body of the report
should be presented in
Main report logical sequence and broken-
down into readily identifiable
sections.
 ○ Researcher should again put down the
results of his research clearly and
precisely. In fact, it is the final summing
THE CONCLUSION up.
CHAPTER ● A clear answer to your research question or
hypothesis
● Summary of the main findings or argument
● Connections between your findings or
argument to other research
● Explanation and significance of the findings
● Implications of the findings
● Limitations of the research and methodology
● Recommendations for future research
 Bibliography,i.e.,
At the end of the report, appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data.

list of books, journals, reports, etc., consulted, should also be

given in the end. Index should also be given specially in a
published research report.