How to Develop Academic Writing Skills

How to Develop Academic Writing Skills
Table of Contents
  1. How to Develop Academic Writing Skills
  2. Understand and Use Proper Grammar
  3. Stick to the Vocabulary You Know
  4. Develop Your Writing Style
  5. How to Start Writing a Paper
  6. What Every Essay Should Have
  7. Always Cite Your Sources
  8. Other Things to Consider

As we grow older and progress through our education, essays we need to write become more difficult. Many students are especially afraid write an essay, since their grades depend heavily on the quality of their papers and presentations. 

Although it might seem a bit daunting, academic writing skills are not that hard to develop. For this reason, we have written a guide to support you when it comes to improving your academic writing skills.

Understand and Use Proper Grammar

Before you even start writing, you need to make sure you are using proper grammar. This is important as proper grammar will make you sound professional and people will take you more seriously. It is also wise to test yourself and practice or do some research if you are not sure your grammar is on point. 

Another very important point is proper punctuation. Learning when to use a comma or a full stop will help you become a great writer and give you the ability to better present your ideas.

Additionally, you can use online editing and proofreading tools to create papers that meet academic writing demands. These tools can also help you format and paraphrase sentences in your paper and teach you to convey your ideas in a better way.

Stick to the Vocabulary You Know

When working on a project, we often want to show off in front of our professors by using as many “big” words as we can. This can work well in many cases. But what happens if they ask you to explain a word for them and you can’t do it? To avoid such scenarios, it is best to stick to the words you know. 

On the other hand, “big” words can help you convey information better, so try learning and fully understanding their meanings. That will display your experience and your ability as a writer.

Develop Your Writing Style

Everyone has their own writing style, whether they notice it or not. Also, different types of school projects demand different writing styles. For example, thesis statements are written a bit differently than case studies. For this reason, it is wise to do some research and get acquainted with different writing styles.

Another good tip is to write in the same manner as you speak. First of all, you need to know your target audience and write as if you were explaining the topic in person. Just imagine you are talking to your professor and think about how you would explain your thesis to them.

This will be helpful later on when you analyze the article you have written. Regardless of the style you choose to convey information, always remember to keep the language formal.

A great way to develop your writing style, as well as get to know other styles, is to read as much as you can. Reading academic content others have written can help you develop your academic writing skills faster.

Also, try writing as much as you can since that will help you gain experience that will be valuable when you need to write a paper.

How to Start Writing a Paper

When starting a paper, it is smart to make an article structure. This outline of the assignment should contain an introduction with the main question you are trying to answer in your thesis, different points you want to write about, and a conclusion.

After that, you can begin writing — it isn’t that important where you start. The beginning is the hardest part for most students, but it doesn’t have to be the first thing you write. If you are having trouble, leave it for later and focus on the main body of the article. 

Whatever you write in the first stage can be changed later. After you write everything you can easily change the structure of the paper, paraphrase the sentences, etc. With a little bit of practice, you will gain valuable experience and start writing high-quality papers more quickly.

What Every Essay Should Have

The introduction usually consists of the main thesis and the statement you are trying to prove. It is used to introduce the readers or listeners to the point you are trying to make in your presentation.

The main body consists of different points that should provide the reader with the arguments supported by evidence. Make sure you fully understand these arguments and analyze the evidence objectively. Always use the evidence that directly supports your thesis and get rid of anything that is not relevant to it. Remember to be thorough in your research.

Lastly, the conclusion should wrap up and summarize everything you talked about and state whether the statement from the introduction is correct or not. It should also contain key evidence that supports the opinion of the author. The conclusion is as important as the rest of the paper, so pay as much attention to it as you did to the other parts.

Always Cite Your Sources

When you are writing an academic paper, you have to make sure to cite your sources. These papers are scientific, which means they demand strong evidence. You can easily do this by mentioning the authors and titles of articles you took the information from. Sources are important because they give credibility to your content.

Other Things to Consider

There are a few other things you can do to make your paper more appealing to the readers: 

  • Use the active voice to make the tone of your essay stronger.
  • Vary your sentence structure and write sentences of different lengths to avoid being monotonous.
  • Avoid repetition.
  • Be concise.

By following these steps and with a bit of practice, you can easily improve your academic writing skills. If you still have problems, you can always use custom essay writing services that can help you pass your essay assignments with ease.