Skills for Success / Academic Skills / Essential Academic Skills
It is the style of writing used at universities and in academic journals and books. It is usually more formal than everyday language because it is trying to be clear and professional. It uses technical vocabulary rather than everyday language because it is more precise. Academic writing is used for presenting and supporting arguments with evidence and references, and because of this it shows more critical thinking than everyday English. It usually follows a standard structure.
It helps you to communicate clearly which will be important for doing successful assignments.
Everyday English: "Regular exercise is good for your heart."
Academic English: "Engaging in regular physical exercise has been shown to improve cardiovascular health (Smith 2020)."
You learn academic writing as you go through your course. You are not expected to know it all from the beginning. Do pay attention to the feedback you get from your tutors. Look at the resources we have on this site to help you with academic writing, academic vocabulary, and referencing - see the links below.
Our Resources Pages for:
Our Mini-modules:
