Distinguishing Features of Academic Writing (Essay Writing)

• Characteristics of Academic Writing:

  1. Clear and limited focus
  2. Logical structure
  3. Evidence-based arguments
  4. Impersonal tone
• Academic Writing is an important skill. It is used to explain some ideas or research findings and to persuade readers that your explanation or theory is the correct one.
• Key Features of Academic Writing:

  1. Content - the main idea of the text
  2. Organization - the way ideas are arranged into paragraphs
  3. Language - the academic style of using words, grammar, and punctuation marks appropriately to convey meaning.
• Essays: Is a prose composition which closely resembles a conversation. It deals with a subject from a personal point of view. An essay is an extended piece of writing that presents and supports a thesis or proposition. The word 'essay' is derived from the Latin word 'exagium', which means the presentation of a case. When you write an essay, you are making a case for the validity of a particular point of view, analysis, interpretation, or set of facts

  or procedures.
• Reports: These are stories on newspapers, radio, or television about important events or gives information about something. It is a specific form of writing that is organized around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events that have occurred within an organization, or findings from a research investigation.
• Literature Reviews: A kind of text that explores and comments on other studies that have been conducted about a specific topic or issue. Reproduction of these reviews is not allowed, except by quality of a book, movie or film, performance, product, etc. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research about a particular product or topic.
• Case Study: A published report about a person, group, or a situation in real life that provides a deeper and more complete understanding of a complex concept under study. A case study can be defined as an intensive study about a person or a group of people or unit which is aimed to generalize over several units.
• Reflective Writing: A type of writing where one relates ideas or concepts to his/her experiences in life. It gives the writer insights that may lead to further learning. Reflective writing is used in an academic setting to examine one's response to a new experience or piece of writing.
• General Characteristics of Academic Writing:

  • Focused - answers the research problem or question on a topic
  • Clear - clarity or vividness of words used
  • Coherent - logical and well organized; easy to understand.
  • Process-oriented - writing academic texts observes the following steps: 1. Analyze facts; 2. Planning arguments with evidences; 3. Gathering data or conducting researches; 4. Drafting; 5. Editing or revising of content, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• An essay is a type of academic writing about a single subject. It presents the comments or opinions of the writer on a particular subject. Most that you often encounter as a student include, but are not limited to book reviews, magazine articles, and newspaper editorials.
• There are two kinds of essay based on its style. A formal essay is carefully organized and serious in tone, while an informal essay is written in a casual, conversational style.
• Kinds of Essay According to Paragraph Development:

  • Descriptive Essay-creates an impression in all effect or image about the subject.
  • Narrative Essay - discusses a course or series of events.
  • Contrast Essay - develops the relationship of two or more things.
  • Persuasive Essay - convinces the reader to agree with an opinion backed up by a strong supporting detail.
  • Argumentative Essay - addresses controversial issues where disagreements occur.
• 1. Introduction - presents the main points
  2. Body - consists of two or more paragraphs that support or explain the main point of the essay.
  3. Conclusion - summarizes the main point and brings the essay to a close