A List of Useful Academic Writing Advice

The question is where to start when that academic paper is due? It may help if you follow a general guideline of professionals thoughts on how to write academically. Here is a list of those that may help you.

• First choose a subject that you have knowledge about and are interested in. This makes writing the paper a lot easier.
• Make sure your topic is easily researchable and there is lots of material available on it. There is a lot more information available on things to do in New York City than there is on the migratory habits of the extinct Southern Australian Earthworm.
• Write in third person only. This makes the paper look professional and makes it easier to read.
• Do not use slang or colloquial language. These can change the point of your paper dramatically if a reader is not familiar with the slang terminology.
• Avoid stereotypes. These can turn off a reader in an instant.
• Sexist and suggestive language should be avoided. Not all nurses are women and not all doctors are men.
• Mention race or ethnicity only when it is relevant to the topic.
• When doing research note the sources used to supply the information as they may be required to be acknowledged in the paper.
• Organize your research materials into a useful and sensible order.
• Make an outline before you start to write. This helps to bring out the useful information in your research and also helps to establish the best order in which to present it in the paper.
• Make a rough draft of the academic paper and leave a large space between lines. This allows for notes and corrections to be easily added in the margins.
• Present the paper to a classmate or friend to see what they think. Ask them to be impartial and honest in their critique. Take their advice very seriously.
• Make a second rough draft using the corrections and suggestions and add any new opinions of yours which have changed. Thoroughly check for spelling mistakes, poor grammar, sentence fragments and bad punctuation.
• Create the final draft.

All the techniques for writing a good academic paper are too numerous to list here but can be easily found in books and on the internet. This list will serve as a good quick start guide if you use it along with some good common sense. Use it often and soon it will become second nature in your academic writing.