Academic writing

Writing academically, regardless of subject area, is a process that must take time and therefore also requires planning. Academic writing is to plan your writing, find out how the text should be formulated and structured and what each part should contain.

An academic text differs greatly from the texts you write in high school. When you start studying at the university, you will read literature and listen to lecturers using words other than you may be used to. Pretty soon, you need to use the words and terms to communicate within your subject area, for example when writing a report or an examination.

A part of academic writing is structuring the text according to the tradition of your particular subject area. There is a difference in how to write and structure a text between health science and engineering. You also need to critically review and use different sources and cite the sources correctly.

The more you read research and publications in your subject area, the greater understanding you will get about formulating and structuring your writing.

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.