Writing style

Academic writing is formal and structured. It should communicate clearly and unambiguously. This guide will provide advice on writing with clarity, precision and structure.

As different subject areas have their own conventions, do refer to programme handbooks for specialist guidance. You can also look at publications, such as research journals, in your area to see their writing style. If English is not your first language, or you would like to access more information and activities on academic writing, you can also get more advice from the links below. If you are a University of Reading student and English is not your first language, the In-sessional English Support Programme (IESP) provides training courses in academic writing skills, speaking skills, and pronunciation practice. There is a small charge for students not paying full overseas fees.

Click here for a printable guide on this topic (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

• Write formally and with clarity
• Write concisely and with precision
• Write for a purpose
• Structure your writing
• Referencing your work

Write formally and with clarity

Writing should be formal, but it does not need to be pompous.To maintain formality, There are various colloquialisms and shortened forms to avoid:

• Avoid shortened forms:

Shouldn't, it's for it is

• Avoid popular phrases or cliches such as:

at the end of the day; in a nutshell; when it comes to the crunch

Replace with: finally, in summary, in a crisis

• Avoid casual everyday words such as really, okay, maybe.

Think b4 u rite! :>)  One recent poll of students at a US university found that an average student in the class would write 42 pages for class in a semester but more than 500 pages of email. In our everyday lives we are used to communicating by writing texts, emails and notes. These have their own conventions, such as using abbreviations ("txt"), using symbols (" :>)"), figures (4 rather than four) and not writing in sentences. When writing formal essays and reports we have to take extra care that our texting and emailing habits do not creep in by accident.

Correct use of grammar and punctuation are important. They show that you care about your work and have adopted a disciplined attitude to writing academically. They also help to make sure your meaning is understood. Most common mistakes by inexperienced writers include: incomplete sentences; the wrong use of semicolons and colons; the wrong use ofapostrophes; nouns and verbs where singular /plural do not agree; and inconsistent use of tenses.

For more, see our guides on Grammar and Punctuation.

Good writing makes a point clearly and may illustrate it to help the reader's understanding. To avoid rambling, plan the points that you wish to convey and the evidence that you will use to illustrate. Include only necessary detail.

When presenting a point of view, such as a line of argument for an essay, decide on the main points that you want to communicate. Plan one main point per paragraph. A paragraph can be planned (like a mini- essay) as follows:

1. Sentence introducing the point
2. Sentence making the point with necessary detail.
3. Illustration of point using reference: research example, case study, figures, etc.
4. Critical analysis of point
5. Sentence summing up the point and showing how it addresses the question or contributes to your argument.

Where abbreviations and acronyms are required to avoid repetition, ensure that, on first mention, the unabbreviated term appears together with the abbreviation or acronym, for example:

First mention: "An article in the AJPh (American Journal of Philology) reported..."

Subsequent mention: "Writing in the AJPh, Brown concluded that..."

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Write concisely and with precision

Do not be tempted to use complex language or expressions that are not your own, just to make your writing appear "academic". Use straightforward language. Your reader needs to understand the information or ideas that you are conveying.

Communicate succinctly without losing vital information or meaning. It is often easier to write fluently and then to edit out unnecessary words and phrases.

Some editing tips to reduce word-count: Go through a paragraph that you have written and cross out any words, or phrases or even a sentence that may be unnecessary. (Or 'grey it out' – change the text colour of the words you might remove to light grey.) Read it again to see if you have lost anything essential to the information or meaning. If you have not, then delete it permanently. Replace phrases with single words meaning the same: The researcher wanted to find out / The researcher enquired

Some academic writing, such as scientific research methodology, needs to be precise. A reader may need to have all the information required to understand exact conditions of a scientific study and to replicate it. Using simple sentences can be helpful.

Avoid using non-quantifiable descriptions, such as :

The company's production rate was high./The company produced 16,00 units per week.

The wind was strong./The wind measured 6 on the Beaufort scale.

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Writing with a purpose

Academic writing has a purpose.It may provide background information, the results of other peoples' research, the critique of other peoples' research, your own research findings, your own ideas based on academic research conducted by others, etc. It may be a combination of a few of these.

• Decide on your purpose and what you intend to convey.If there is a brief follow it.If there is a given question, make sure that you answer what has been asked. Write down your main points.( Mind-mapping can help with this.)

• Decide on the audience for whom you are writing. If you are writing a university assignment, pretend that you are writing for an intelligent colleague from a related academic field, rather than for your professor who knows everything

For most subject areas the writing is expected to be objective. For this the first person (I, we, me, my) should be avoided.

So     I analysed the data    becomes   The data was analysed

However, writing passively isn't always suitable. For instance, if you are asked to write a reflective piece, you will need to refer to your own actions and experiences. The important thing is to consider the purpose of your writing - that will help you to decide how to write it.

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Write to a structure

Structure is important in academic writing - it helps to make your ideas clear, guides the reader's comprehension and can strengthen your arguments. Some academic writing, such as scientific reports, has a given structure. Just find out what is required under each heading and keep to it. Other writing (such as essays) requires the writer to select and organise the material they are writing and so develop a structure.

Usually in the introduction the writer sets out the structure so that the reader knows what to expect and the order in which it will be presented. The order in which information is presented should be logical so that the reader can follow the thinking, ideally with just one point or idea per paragraph.In addition the ideas should flow or be linked so that the reader is drawn through an explanation or argument, rather than stopping and starting at each new point.The conclusion to the piece should draw together all the points or ideas and come to a conclusion.

For more on structuring your work, see our guides to Planning & structuring your essay and Structuring your report.

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Referencing your work

In academic writing you are responsible for the writing you produce.If you are using research or ideas based on work by others (books, journals, websites) you must reference everything fully and in a standardised way. If you fail to do this, you are implying that the ideas etc. are your own and then you may be accused of plagiarism.

For more, see our guides to Using references in your work and Avoiding accidental plagiarism.

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For more on aspects of this topic, see...

Grammar

Punctuation

Effective proof reading

Improve your understanding of grammar and punctuation - an excellent site with clear explanations and plenty of online exercises to test your understanding (University of Bristol).

The Internet Grammar of English - an interactive course on English grammar aimed at university students. Free to access from any .ac.uk domain (University College London).

The Academic Phrasebank - a bank of phrases commonly used in academic writing (University of Manchester).

Spelling It Right - free printable worksheets for spelling practice.

English Grammar Exercises - interactive exercises to help you improve your grammar (Higher Education Academy/Anglia Polytechnic University).

Learn English - if English is not your first language, this British Council website has language practice activities for adult learners.