As a blogger I write for a living. It’s interesting to see how styles vary on different blogs. It is important to hone this skill whilst still in full time education. As a student anyone who wants to secure good grades has to learn to write well. Being a good writer is a skill that takes a lot of practice. It’s worth putting in that extra effort as it can help secure higher grades. Being able to write well is a skill that will help you in various areas of life. Writing letters, communicating with clients and colleagues will all be easy for you. But, it is not always enough to just be able to write well. You will also need to be able to adapt your style of writing to suit specific situations. For example, academic writing differs somewhat from everyday writing. If you are a student who is planning to go on to university, starting to change the way you write now will make it far easier to adapt and do well, once you get there.
You’ll Normally Have to Quote Your Sources
For most academic papers, you are required to include citations and you need to use the right format. So it is important to get into the habit of capturing the relevant details, at the research stage. Then familiarise yourself with the tools that will help you to get the job done faster. There are some really good reference / citation creators out there. So, learn how to use them to save yourself time and make citation creation as easy as possible. There are some really good reference / citation creators out there, and even tools like an AI detector can be useful for ensuring originality. So, learn how to use them to save yourself time and make citation creation as easy as possible.
Making Good Research Notes is Essential
It is a good idea to get into the habit, while still at school, of noting down your sources. You do not need to include them in your essay, but you could create a list of them. This will come in handy when you need to write about the subject again. Potentially, you could use your sources index to quickly go back to the documents you initially used and glean further information from them. This is part of the process of learning how to make good research notes. There is nothing worse than wasting hours going over old ground trying to find a fantastic statistic that you have now lost. This note-taking for research purposes article contains some really good advice. When you write an academic paper, almost regardless of what type it is, you need to be able to back up your arguments. Facts and figures help you to do this. They enable you to present strong arguments. Learning to become an effective note-taker is essential.
Most Academic Papers are Only Seen by a Small Audience
When you write an academic piece, you are usually doing so for a small audience. Typically, you will be writing for your professor, thesis marker and other academics. This means that the language you use and how you develop your arguments is going to be different. Reading other people´s papers as part of the research process will help you to uncover important facts and arguments. But, perhaps, more importantly, it will also help you to adopt the right voice, to write in a way that will appeal to an academically-minded audience. Being aware of and learning some of the skills you will need during further education will make it far easier for you to settle into academic life. It will also help you to achieve higher marks than you would otherwise do.
What advice would you give to those writing a paper?
Enjoyed this Post?
Subscribe to Melanie’s Fab Finds RSS feed to see my latest posts. Posts will include recipes, reviews, etc. and as a result, you will hear about my new posts and competitions first!
Watch our fab product reviews on YouTube x
Discover more from Melanie's Fab Finds
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I have learnt so much over the years of blogging and my writing has improved so much. The advice I was given when I started was to write like I was having a conversation with somebody.
The approach can vary from piece to piece depending on subject matter etc.
Gosh this takes me back! I haven’t done any academic writing in such a long time and it really is a different kettle of fish!
It sure is. So many rules to follow and research to be done.
Reading this took me right back to the days of writing papers for my college course. It feels like a million years ago.
I hope now my writing style has improved.
My advice is research, research, research but be careful to make sure you make it your own x
Research is important. Many fail to write good papers due to the lack of effort they make with this.
I am a medical writer when not doing other work, so totally get what you say … it’s something totally different
The style of writing can differ depending on what you are writing.
There are so many different styles of writing, but my favourite is storytelling, which is perfect for blogging but definitely a no no for academic writing. Academic writing is very stripped back.
It’s a totally different form of writing from blogging. Many more rules to follow.
This takes me back to university! My sister-in-law is currently doing a degree and it’s such a lengthy process, but she’s really enjoying it 🙂
I’m glad she is enjoying doing it. it’s a lot of work but normally worth it.
I really enjoy writing and like finding a style to fit the appropriate audience. Great tips.
Thanks Fran. Writing can be fun!
Great post with lots of interesting insights. I haven’t written an academic paper in years now so this takes me back!
Glad you found the post interesting Vicky.
This takes me back! With three degrees and two dissertations under my belt, I’ve had my fair share of academic writing. I remember how laborious it was getting all those sources in – sometimes the footnotes were longer than the rest of the page!
Ha, yes those can be pretty lengthy.
Great advice. I’ve always loved to write, and now its my job.
Glad to hear you are doing something you enjoy.
I have not written a paper since I finished my last studies 6 years ago. My advice would be clear and concise with lots of facts
That’s great advice to those preparing to write papers.
If you want your writing to not be ignored it has to be referenced.
I used to colour-code the notes I’d made when reading and quoting other academic papers. The colours applied to a point I was making / subject under discussion. I found this helped a lot when writing up the assignment as I’d invariably read too much around the subject, LOL!
I’m in the middle of writing my third year project and hoping to get it published so thanks for the advice
I agree entirely especially note your sources as you go along – I used to waste so much time going back at the end to try to find them. I found it helpful to have a skeleton draft to make sure I stayed on point.
Some of the blogs I come across could certainly benefit from more discipline and some of the principles used in academic writing. No one benefits from fake news and views and while we are all richer for listening to different points of view they should be based on truth and not guesswork.
Useful information especially for students at university. The structure is so important and good attention to sources.
Its been a long time since I wrote an academic paper – thanks for the refresh!
Wonderful advice, I have told my daughter who does a lot of writing
My son is doing A’Levels at the moment so I will say that he should quote sources when he does his essays.
I totally agree with keeping a list of your sources. This is useful for anything where you need to write about a subject. For example, I often need to write small pieces for my Spanish homework. I always keep a note of my sources, mostly because I know that if I found useful information on one website or from one particular book, I am likely to find the same source useful again in the future.
Split infinitives are now acceptable, however, i do wordsearch for “_to_” and remove them. For journal submissions, they define the formula they want you to index the references in (dangling preposition). So its worth reading that very carefully first before having to re do them all. Title in italics, page number in bold or whatever. Soooo glad I don’t have to be so precise any more.
aah this almost make me miss writing essays at university!
I havent wrote in academic fashion since university but i will have to when i do chemotherapy course