Academic writing
Academic writing differs from many other types of texts that you write. An academic text is held up to a different standard when it comes to readability and clarity. Here you can read more about, why, what and how you write academically.
Writing academically
Academic writing, no matter which field, aims at communicating correct and factual information to the reader.
Why
Academic writing, no matter which field, aims at communicating correct and factual information to the reader. The reason being that the research has to be described in a reliable way and should be repeatable.
What
An academic text is therefore judged by a different standard than other texts you might write. It is more structured and more formal, but above all, it must be clear and its readibility must be high.
How
Writing an academic text is a process that has to take time, and therefore, also requires planning. Academic writing is to plan your writing, finding out how to formulate and structure the text and deciding what every part should contain.
The writing process
It can be helpful to divide the writing in different phases. It is a good idea to make the prewriting phase a priority. This facilitates the rest of the writing process. Together with your peers you can work with feedback.
Prewriting
- What should you do? (what kind of work)
- What is the task?
- What does the study guide say?
- What type of text?
- What is the requirement for that type of text?
- Who will read the text and in what context?
- Search and collect material (source criticism)
Structuring
- What should the text contain?
- Plan your disposition
- What headlines?
Formulating
- Academic language and style (for example writing clearly and impersonal)
- Rephrase and cite
Revising
- Review the structure and formulations
- Does the text answer the correct things?
- Proofread
Feedback
- Work with feedback a number of times during the writing process, that is, not just at the end when your text is considered done.
- Feedback should be constructive and concrete. It’s not about finding errors in the text you are reviewing.
Writing guides, formatting and templates
Get help from guides and templates for layout and formatting of text, as well as guidelines on how you can develop your academic writing.
Layout and formatting
Here you will find information about layout and formatting of written works.
- Help and training for Word
External link.
Includes videos on layout and formatting of text. - Google Docs
External link.
Create, edit and collaborate in online documents. - LaTex
External link.
LaTex is a tool that you can use to write, edit and publish scientific documents.
- Example report with nonsense text (.pdf)
Pdf, 260 kB.
This example shows how a report can be structured and what headings it can contain.
Writing guides and other tools
Here you can find writing guides and other tools to help you develop your academic writing.
- Academic Writing
External link, opens in new window.
In this open course you will learn more about academic writing, the writing process and feedback. - Writing Guide
External link.
Provides concrete advice on the writing process and how to express yourself. By libraries and writing workshops at four Swedish universities. - Academic writing
External link.
Learn more about general requirements for academic writing. By Karolinska Institutet. - Films on academic writing
External link.
Contains general advice on how to plan your writing as well as more specific tips on outline, structure, language and style. By Lund University. - Frasbanken
External link.
Here are suggestions for phrases that are common in different parts of an essay. By Karolinska Institutet. - Dictionaries and encyclopedias
Opens in new window.
Swedish and English dictionaries and thesauruses.
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