Academic Writing

Academic Writing

In academia, writing and publishing is conducted in several sets of forms and genres. This is a list of genres of academic writing. It is a short summary of the full spectrum of critical & academic writing. It does not cover the variety of critical approaches that can be applied when writing about a subject. However as Harwood and Hadley (2004) and Hyland (2004) have pointed out the amount of variation that exists between different disciplines may mean that we cannot refer to a single academic literacy.

Writing in these forms or styles is usually serious, intended for a critical and informed audience, based on closely investigated knowledge, and posits ideas or arguments. It usually circulates within the academic world ('the academy'), but the academic writer may also find an audience outside via journalism, speeches, pamphlets, etc.

Typically scholarly writing has an objective stance, clearly states the significance of the topic, and is organized with adequate detail so that other scholars could try to replicate the results. Strong papers are not overly general and correctly utilize formal academic rhetoric.

While academic writing consists of a number of text types and genres, what they have in common, the conventions that academic writers traditionally follow, has been a subject of debate. Many writers have called for conventions to be challenged, for example Pennycook (1997) and Ivanic (1998), while others suggest that some conventions should be maintained, for example Clark (1997, p136).