How to Improve Your Writing Style in Academic Research
Academic writing is one of the many skills that students develop at university. Whether you are pursuing a graduate or a post-graduate degree you will be assigned various academic writing tasks such as essay writing, proposal writing, dissertation writing and much more. Despite being good at academic research many students are not able to clearly communicate their ideas in their dissertation. To create a good quality and engaging dissertation students need to enhance their academic writing skills. If you are struggling with your academic writing, follow the below tips that will tell you how you can improve your writing style in academic research.
Understand the basics of academic writing
Academic writing is significantly different from informal writing. While writing an academic essay or dissertation, you need to ensure the use of clear, concise, well-defined and carefully-structured language. Some of the basic things that you must take care while writing an academic paper include grammar, spelling, punctuation and word usage. Writing skills can have a huge impact on the reader’s mind. A well-written dissertation will not only keep the reads engaged till the end but will accurately present all the ideas, thoughts and arguments of the researcher.
Paying attention to the basic rules of academic writing will save you from making errors. If you are unsure about your writing you can either proofread your dissertation or take external help. You can take academic writing help either from your friends, tutors, peers or relatives. Getting feedback on your writing from others will make it easier for you to point out mistakes and improve them before final submission.
Practice writing to develop confidence
One of the best ways to improve your academic writing skills is by practising writing daily. When you write daily you develop a writing technique. This technique can be helpful in writing your final thesis. Once you are assigned an academic task, try to start working on it immediately. As you write you will understand the different academic requirements and will get time to discuss them with your peers. Writing daily also helps students in concentrating on their work and makes them feel comfortable in describing their thoughts.
However many students who also work for full-time or part-time jobs along with university, do not get enough time to practice their writing. In such a case, you can seek professional dissertation writing help. Several online companies offer dissertation writing services to students who are struggling to work on their research. Apart from writing a dissertation or an essay, these services also offer academic research help to students who are unable to find time for their research in between their busy schedule.
Develop critical writing
A key factor of academic writing is to develop the ability to write critically. Most university students do not completely understand the meaning of critical writing and try to stuff their dissertation with academic jargon. As this might significantly reduce your chances of getting good grades you must start thinking critically while writing your dissertation. To be able to write critically, you must clearly present your evidence and argument that leads readers to a conclusion. Additionally, try to balance the use of reasons that show your approval and disapproval with the conclusions of existing researches. Recognising the limitations of your research, evidence and conclusion will show reader’s that you are willing to get feedback from other researchers and are open to perceiving your research from a different angle.
Avoid repetition of information
High-quality academic writing is concise. You might observe that different academic assignments such as research papers, essays, case reports and dissertations have word limits. Universities set minimum word limits on academic assignments to encourage students to use concise and clear language. To match the minimum word count, many students try to stuff their dissertation with unnecessary use of words. Students often repeat themselves by either repeating the same information in different sections or by paraphrasing the information already available in tables. As readers are in search for new but relevant information in every section of a dissertation, repeating information might degrade the quality of your research. To maintain the word limit, try to split your research into different sections and plan each section to ensure a smooth flow of information.
Organise your dissertation
To make your academic writing more appealing focus on organising your research logically. Most of the subject fields have a standard structure for academic PhD dissertation. As per this structure students first have to write the introduction followed by literature review, methodology, analysis, results and conclusion. However, students need to organise these sections logically to maintain a seamless flow of information. When you establish a relationship between two sections, you help readers to read the information in one section and connect it to the results in the other section. Moreover, when you are trying to present more than one calculation in your research, try to follow a similar sequence of headings in different sections. This will avoid any confusion and will make your dissertation appear more organised.
Use appropriate academic conventions
Different fields of study follow a different set of conventions for academic writing. Based on your subject you must check the conventions suitable for your academic writing and get yourself familiar with them. These conventions are often used for defining a specific terminology, recognising acronyms, using abbreviations and for using phrases in between text. Correct use of conventions demonstrates clarity of thoughts and a good understanding of subject knowledge. Ask your supervisors and seek help in PhD writing if you are unsure about academic conventions in your field of study.
Conclusion
Academic writing is a skill that students develop over time with systematic practice. Apart from learning the basics of academic writing, you will also need to get accustomed with all the university standards and academic conventions in your subject area. While you might get anxious about your academic writing, do not procrastinate. Instead set realistic goals and strive to improve your academic writing skills over a period of time.