academic writing and research skills

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Research Skills: What They Are and How They Benefit You

• Published May 23, 2024

Research skills give you the ability to gather relevant information from different sources and analyse it critically in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of a subject. Thus, research skills are fundamental to academic success.

Developing these skills will improve your studies, helping you understand subjects better and positioning you for academic success.

That said, how can you develop important research skills? This will explore what research skills are, identify the core ones, and explain how you can develop them.

What Are Research Skills?

Research skills are a set of abilities that allow individuals to find and gather reliable information and then evaluate the information to find answers to questions.

Good research skills are important in academic settings, as finding and critically evaluating relevant information can help you gain a deeper understanding of a subject.

These skills are also important in professional and personal settings. When you graduate and are working in a professional capacity, you’ll often need to analyse sets of data to identify issues and determine how to solve them.

In personal contexts, you’ll always need to assess relevant information to make an informed decision. Whether you’re deciding on a major purchase, choosing a healthcare provider, or planning to make an investment, you’ll need to evaluate options to ensure better decision outcomes.

Different Types of Research Skills

Research skills are categorised into different sub-skills. The most common types are:

Quantitative Skills

Quantitative skills refer to the ability to work with numerical data and perform mathematical and statistical analyses to extract meaningful insights and draw conclusions. 

When you have quantitative skills, you’ll be able to apply mathematical concepts and operations in research design and data analysis. 

You’ll also be proficient in using statistical methods to analyse data and interpreting numerical data to draw meaningful conclusions. 

Analytical Skills

Analytical skills refer to the ability to gather data, evaluate it, and draw sound conclusions. When you have analytical skills, you’ll be able to systematically analyse information to reach a reasonable conclusion. 

Analytical skills are important in problem-solving. They help you to break down complex problems into more manageable components, think critically about the information at hand, analyse root causes, and develop effective solutions.

Qualitative Skills

Qualitative skills refer to the ability to collect, analyse, and interpret non-numerical data. When you have qualitative skills, you’ll be proficient in observation, interviewing, and other methods for collecting qualitative research data. 

You’ll also be able to analyse non-numerical data, such as documents and images, to identify themes, patterns, and meanings.

Research Skills Examples

The core research skills you need for success in academic, professional, and personal contexts include:

Data Collection

Data is at the centre of every research, as data is what you assess to find the answers you seek. Thus, research starts with collecting relevant data.

Depending on the research, there are two broad categories of data you can collect: primary and secondary.

Primary data is generated by the researcher, like data from interviews, observations, or experiments. Secondary data is pre-existing data obtained from different existing databases, like published literature, government reports, etc. 

Thus, data collection is more than gathering information from the Internet. Depending on the research, it can require more advanced skills for conducting experiments to generate your own data.

Source Evaluation

When doing research on any subject (especially when using the Internet), you’ll be amazed at the volume of information you’ll find. And a lot is pure garbage that can compromise your research work.

Thus, an important research skill is being able to dig through the garbage to get to the real facts. This is where source evaluation comes in!

Good research skills call for being able to identify biases, assess the authority of the author, and determine the accuracy of information before using it.

Time Management Skills

Have you ever felt that there is not enough time in a day for all that you need to do? When you already have so much to do, adding research can be overwhelming.

Good time management skills can help you find the time to do all you need to do, including relevant research work, making it an essential research skill.

Time management allows you to plan and manage your research project effectively. It includes breaking down research tasks into more manageable parts, setting priorities, and allocating time to the different stages of the research.

Communication Skills

Communication is an important aspect of every research, as it aids in data collection and sharing research findings. 

Important communication skills needed in research include active listening, active speaking, interviewing, report writing, data visualisation, and presentation, etc.

For example, when research involves collecting primary data via interviews, you must have sound speaking and listening skills. 

When you conclude the research and need to share findings, you’ll need to write a research report and present key findings in easy-to-understand formats like charts. 

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is the ability to achieve thoroughness and accuracy when doing something. It requires focusing on every aspect of the tasks, even small ones. 

Anything you miss during your research will affect the quality of your research findings. Thus, the ability to pay close attention to details is an important research skill.

You need attention to detail at every stage of the research process. During data collection, it helps you ensure reliable data. 

During analysis, it reduces the risk of error to ensure your results are trustworthy. It also helps you express findings precisely to minimise ambiguity and facilitate understanding.

Note-Taking

Note-taking is exactly what it sounds like—writing down key information during the research process.

Remember that research involves sifting through and taking in a lot of information. It’s impossible to take in all the information and recall it from memory. This is where note-taking comes in!

Note-taking helps you capture key information, making it easier to remember and utilise for the research later. It also involves writing down where to look for important information.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to think rationally and synthesise information in a thoughtful way. It is an important skill needed in virtually all stages of the research process.

For example, when collecting data, you need critical thinking to assess the quality and relevance of data. It can help you identify gaps in data to formulate your research question and hypothesis. 

It can also help you to identify patterns and make reasonable connections when interpreting research findings.

Data Analysis

Data may not mean anything until you analyse it qualitatively or quantitatively (using techniques like Excel or SPSS). For this reason, data analysis analysis is an important research skill.

Researchers need to be able to build hypotheses and test these using appropriate research techniques. This helps to draw meaningful conclusions and gain a comprehensive understanding of research data.

Problem-Solving Skills

Research often involves addressing specific questions and solving problems. For this reason, problem-solving skills are important skills when conducting research. 

Problem-solving skills refer to the ability to identify, analyse, and solve problems effectively. 

With problem-solving skills, you’ll be able to assess a situation, consider various solutions, and choose the most appropriate course of action toward finding a solution.

Benefits of Research Skills

Research skills have many benefits, including:

Enhances Critical Thinking

Research skills and critical thinking are intertwined such that developing one enhances the other.

Research requires people to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, analyse information, and draw conclusions. These activities require you to think critically about the information at hand. Hence, engaging in research enhances critical thinking.

Develops Problem-Solving Skills

Research helps you acquire a set of critical skills that are directly transferable to problem-solving. 

For example, research fosters creative thinking, as it often requires synthesising data from different sources and connecting different concepts. After developing creative thinking via research, you can apply the skill to generate innovative solutions in problem-solving situations. 

Helps in Knowledge Acquisition

Engaging in research is a powerful way to acquire knowledge. Research involves exploring new ideas, and this helps you expand your breadth of knowledge.

It also involves applying research methods and methodologies. So, you’ll acquire knowledge about research methods, enhancing your ability to design and conduct studies in your higher education or professional life.

Why Are Research Skills Important?

Strong research skills offer numerous benefits, especially for students’ academic learning and development. 

When you develop good research skills, you’ll reap great academic rewards that include:

In-Depth Understanding

Conducting research allows you to delve deep into specific topics, helping you gain a thorough understanding of the subject matter beyond what is covered in standard coursework.

Critical Thinking Development

Research involves critical evaluation of information and making informed decisions. This builds your ability to think critically.

This skill will not only help you solve academic problems better, but it’s also crucial to your personal and professional growth.

Encouragement of Independent Learning

Research encourages independent learning. When you engage in research, you seek answers independently. You take the initiative to find, retrieve, and evaluate information relevant to your research.

That helps you develop self-directed study habits. You’ll be able to take ownership of your education and actively seek out information for a better understanding of the subject matter.

Intellectual Curiosity Development

Research skills encourage intellectual curiosity and a love of learning, as they’ll make you explore topics you find intriguing or important. Thus, you’ll be more motivated to explore topics beyond the scope of your coursework.

Enhanced Communication Skills

Research helps you build better interpersonal skills as well as report-writing skills.

Research helps you sharpen your communication skills when you interact with research subjects during data collection. Communicating research findings to an audience also helps sharpen your presentation skills or report writing skills.

Assistance in Career Preparation 

Many professions find people with good research skills. Whether you’ll pursue a career in academia, business, healthcare, or IT, being able to conduct research will make you a valuable asset.

So, researching skills for students prepares you for a successful career when you graduate.

Contribution to Personal Growth

Research also contributes to your personal growth. Know that research projects often come with setbacks, unexpected challenges, and moments of uncertainty. Navigating these difficulties helps you build resilience and confidence.

Acquisition of Time Management Skills

Research projects often come with deadlines. Such research projects force you to set goals, prioritise tasks, and manage your time effectively.

That helps you acquire important time management skills that you can use in other areas of academic life and your professional life when you graduate.

Ways to Improve Research Skills

The ways to improve your research skills involve a combination of learning and practice. 

You should consider enrolling in research-related programmes, learning to use data analysis tools, practising summarising and synthesising information from multiple sources, collaborating with more experienced researchers, and more. 

Looking to improve your research skills? Read our 11 ways to improve research skills article.

How Can I Learn Research Skills?

You can learn research skills using these simple three-point framework:

Clarifying the Objective

Start by articulating the purpose of your research. Identify the specific question you are trying to answer or the problem you are aiming to solve.

Then, determine the scope of your research to help you stay focused and avoid going after irrelevant information.

Cross-Referencing Sources

The next step is to search for existing research on the topic. Use academic databases, journals, books, and reputable online sources.

It’s important to compare information from multiple sources, taking note of consensus among studies and any conflicting findings. 

Also, check the credibility of each source by looking at the author’s expertise, information recency, and reputation of the publication’s outlet.

Organise the Research

Develop a note-taking system to document key findings as you search for existing research. Create a research outline, then arrange your ideas logically, ensuring that each section aligns with your research objective.

As you progress, be adaptable. Be open to refining your research plan as new understanding evolves.

Enrolling in online research programmes can also help you build strong research skills. These programmes combine subject study with academic research project development to help you hone the skills you need to succeed in higher education.

Immerse Education is a foremost provider of online research programmes.

Acquire Research Skills with Immerse Education 

Research skills are essential to academic success. They help you gain an in-depth understanding of subjects, enhance your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, improve your time management skills, and more. 

In addition to boosting you academically, they contribute to your personal growth and prepare you for a successful professional career.

Thankfully, you can learn research skills and reap these benefits. There are different ways to improve research skills, including enrolling in research-based programmes. This is why you need Immerse Education!

Immerse Education provides participants aged 13-18 with unparalleled educational experience. All our programmes are designed by tutors from top global universities and help prepare participants for future success.

Our online research programme expertly combines subject study with academic research projects to help you gain subject matter knowledge and the important research skills you need to succeed in higher education.  With one-on-one tutoring or group sessions from an expert academic from Oxford or Cambridge University and a flexible delivery mode, the programme is designed for you to succeed. Subsequently, enrolling in our accredited Online Research Programme will award students with 8 UCAS points upon completion.

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• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• Academic Writing Style
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like specialist languages adopted in other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts within a community of scholarly experts and practitioners.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

The accepted form of academic writing in the social sciences can vary considerable depending on the methodological framework and the intended audience. However, most college-level research papers require careful attention to the following stylistic elements:

I.  The Big Picture Unlike creative or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohesive and possess a logically organized flow of ideas; this means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be narrative links between sentences and paragraphs so that the reader is able to follow your argument. The introduction should include a description of how the rest of the paper is organized and all sources are properly cited throughout the paper.

II.  Tone The overall tone refers to the attitude conveyed in a piece of writing. Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate narrative tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, state the strengths of your arguments confidently, using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  Diction Diction refers to the choice of words you use. Awareness of the words you use is important because words that have almost the same denotation [dictionary definition] can have very different connotations [implied meanings]. This is particularly true in academic writing because words and terminology can evolve a nuanced meaning that describes a particular idea, concept, or phenomenon derived from the epistemological culture of that discipline [e.g., the concept of rational choice in political science]. Therefore, use concrete words [not general] that convey a specific meaning. If this cannot be done without confusing the reader, then you need to explain what you mean within the context of how that word or phrase is used within a discipline.

IV.  Language The investigation of research problems in the social sciences is often complex and multi- dimensional . Therefore, it is important that you use unambiguous language. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Do not use vague expressions that are not specific or precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.], abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], or 'a.k.a.' ["also known as"], and the use of unspecific determinate words ["super," "very," "incredible," "huge," etc.].

V.  Punctuation Scholars rely on precise words and language to establish the narrative tone of their work and, therefore, punctuation marks are used very deliberately. For example, exclamation points are rarely used to express a heightened tone because it can come across as unsophisticated or over-excited. Dashes should be limited to the insertion of an explanatory comment in a sentence, while hyphens should be limited to connecting prefixes to words [e.g., multi-disciplinary] or when forming compound phrases [e.g., commander-in-chief]. Finally, understand that semi-colons represent a pause that is longer than a comma, but shorter than a period in a sentence. In general, there are four grammatical uses of semi-colons: when a second clause expands or explains the first clause; to describe a sequence of actions or different aspects of the same topic; placed before clauses which begin with "nevertheless", "therefore", "even so," and "for instance”; and, to mark off a series of phrases or clauses which contain commas. If you are not confident about when to use semi-colons [and most of the time, they are not required for proper punctuation], rewrite using shorter sentences or revise the paragraph.

VI.  Academic Conventions Among the most important rules and principles of academic engagement of a writing is citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references as either footnotes or endnotes. The academic convention of citing sources facilitates processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time . Aside from citing sources, other academic conventions to follow include the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, properly spelling out acronyms when first used in the text, avoiding slang or colloquial language, avoiding emotive language or unsupported declarative statements, avoiding contractions [e.g., isn't], and using first person and second person pronouns only when necessary.

VII.  Evidence-Based Reasoning Assignments often ask you to express your own point of view about the research problem. However, what is valued in academic writing is that statements are based on evidence-based reasoning. This refers to possessing a clear understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that exist within, and often external to, your discipline concerning the topic. You need to support your arguments with evidence from scholarly [i.e., academic or peer-reviewed] sources. It should be an objective stance presented as a logical argument; the quality of the evidence you cite will determine the strength of your argument. The objective is to convince the reader of the validity of your thoughts through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing. This is particularly important when proposing solutions to problems or delineating recommended courses of action.

VIII.  Thesis-Driven Academic writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or position applied to the chosen topic of investigation, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions applied to investigating the research problem. Note that a problem statement without the research questions does not qualify as academic writing because simply identifying the research problem does not establish for the reader how you will contribute to solving the problem, what aspects you believe are most critical, or suggest a method for gathering information or data to better understand the problem.

IX.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking Academic writing addresses complex issues that require higher-order thinking skills applied to understanding the research problem [e.g., critical, reflective, logical, and creative thinking as opposed to, for example, descriptive or prescriptive thinking]. Higher-order thinking skills include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images. Think of your writing this way: One of the most important attributes of a good teacher is the ability to explain complexity in a way that is understandable and relatable to the topic being presented during class. This is also one of the main functions of academic writing--examining and explaining the significance of complex ideas as clearly as possible.  As a writer, you must adopt the role of a good teacher by summarizing complex information into a well-organized synthesis of ideas, concepts, and recommendations that contribute to a better understanding of the research problem.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Roy. Improve Your Writing Skills . Manchester, UK: Clifton Press, 1995; Nygaard, Lynn P. Writing for Scholars: A Practical Guide to Making Sense and Being Heard . Second edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2015; Silvia, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007; Style, Diction, Tone, and Voice. Writing Center, Wheaton College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of research jargon is language specific to a particular community of practitioner-researchers . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to words and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and psychology, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research domain of a each discipline may have subtle differences based upon how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terminology [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. These can be found by either searching in the USC Libraries catalog by entering the disciplinary and the word dictionary [e.g., sociology and dictionary] or using a database such as Credo Reference [a curated collection of subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides from highly regarded publishers] . It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but you should avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Problems with Opaque Writing

A common criticism of scholars is that they can utilize needlessly complex syntax or overly expansive vocabulary that is impenetrable or not well-defined. When writing, avoid problems associated with opaque writing by keeping in mind the following:

1.   Excessive use of specialized terminology . Yes, it is appropriate for you to use specialist language and a formal style of expression in academic writing, but it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of complex or obscure words or writing complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your paper is more about style than substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about. Focus on creating clear, concise, and elegant prose that minimizes reliance on specialized terminology.

2.   Inappropriate use of specialized terminology . Because you are dealing with concepts, research, and data within your discipline, you need to use the technical language appropriate to that area of study. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--do not just guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries by searching the USC Libraries catalog or the Credo Reference database [see above].

Additional Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of. These problems include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. These words can be interpreted as being used only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem. Limit the use of personal nouns to descriptions of things you actually did [e.g., "I interviewed ten teachers about classroom management techniques..."]. Note that personal nouns are generally found in the discussion section of a paper because this is where you as the author/researcher interpret and describe your work.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demand the reader to "do this" or "do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations or goals leading to specific outcomes. Note that an exception to this can be found in various forms of action research that involve evidence-based advocacy for social justice or transformative change. Within this area of the social sciences, authors may offer directives for action in a declarative tone of urgency.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they can be open to interpretation. Your writing should be direct and concise using standard English.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and developing a narrative that does not have confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper, be sure to look for and edit any vague or imprecise statements that lack context or specificity.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them as 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing, this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item arranged in separate paragraphs? Also, be careful using numbers because they can imply a ranked order of priority or importance. If none exists, use bullets and avoid checkmarks or other symbols.
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study. In fact, some description or background information may be needed because you can not assume the reader knows the key aspects of the topic. However, the content of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem rather than background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experience. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be an effective way of introducing the research problem or engaging your readers in understanding its significance. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone.  A quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it or using a different quote to convey the same meaning. Consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, but the source had grammar, spelling, or other errors. The adverb sic informs the reader that the errors are not yours.

Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Eileen S. “Action Research.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education . Edited by George W. Noblit and Joseph R. Neikirk. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020); Oppenheimer, Daniel M. "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly." Applied Cognitive Psychology 20 (2006): 139-156; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Research Proposals. English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style. College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1.   Clear Writing . The act of thinking about precedes the process of writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from the literature they have reviewed before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2.  Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before they have a command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Writing Center on campus if you need help. Proper punctuation and good proofreading skills can significantly improve academic writing [see sub-tab for proofreading you paper ].

Refer to these three basic resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style or the St. Martin's Handbook ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3.  Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor expresses a preference to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style or not, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide rules on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to a style of writing helps with the narrative flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, your familiarity with it will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, critically assess the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and it explains what that problem is from the outset.
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it.
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published about this problem or others related to it and noted important gaps in the research.
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing.
• The paper includes a description of how and why particular evidence was collected and analyzed, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used.
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.
• Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need for further study.
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Boscoloa, Pietro, Barbara Arféb, and Mara Quarisaa. “Improving the Quality of Students' Academic Writing: An Intervention Study.” Studies in Higher Education 32 (August 2007): 419-438; Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; Candlin, Christopher. Academic Writing Step-By-Step: A Research-based Approach . Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2016; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way: 1.  "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis." 2.  "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb.

Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the consequences of that action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Consult with your professor about using the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some strongly discourage its use!

Active and Passive Voice. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus. Drexel University; Passive Voice. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principal tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing

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Written by  Scribendi

What Is Academic Writing?

Academic writing is a specialized form of writing that suits the particular needs of academic writers. Used effectively, it helps scholars express complex concepts, research, and theories clearly to their peers. Learning to embrace this style of writing is essential in academia. However, we all need to start somewhere.

Welcome, friend, to the beginner's guide to academic writing.

In this post, we'll cover the following topics:

Characteristics of Academic Writing

Major types of academic writing.

Finding Your Research Question & Thesis Statement

The Importance of a Strong Structure 

Good Academic Writing Requires an Outline

Always Keep Your Writing Concise 

Style Guides: Don't Wait until the Last Minute

Always edit and proofread your academic writing, parting advice, elevate your writing with professional editing.

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Throughout this guide, you'll see the words "academic writing" and "scholarly writing" being used interchangeably. Both of these terms refer to the same form of writing, and both adhere to the same set of characteristics.

Let's take a closer look at three of the major characteristics of academic writing.

1. Evidence Based

Unlike other forms of writing, academic writing prioritizes logical, evidence-based reasoning. Every conclusion or point that you make should be supported by evidence.

Furthermore, all of these points should work together to support your thesis. Your thesis is the topic or research question that your writing aims to investigate, discuss, prove, or disprove.

Scholarly writing should be formal in tone. This means no contractions, colloquialisms, or slang. It also means that your writing should avoid personal pronouns such as "I." In this style of writing, you should write in the third person.

Furthermore, while you're certainly encouraged to feel passionately about your topic, you should also aim to write in a neutral tone. This means that your writing should avoid inflammatory, judgment-call statements.

Instead, your writing should sound like a rational exploration of the facts and evidence that support your conclusions. Seek to eliminate bias from your writing and remember to thoughtfully engage with your opposition's viewpoints. Don't just dismiss them as "wrong."

3. Properly cited

Proper citations are one of the most important characteristics of academic writing. You should always support any evidence that you call on with clear, orderly citations and references. This not only lends authority to your writing but also helps others locate your sources and further expand on your topic.

Your citations and the overall formatting of your paper may change depending on your assigned style guide ( APA , the Chicago Manual of Style , or MLA , to name a few). Make sure to adhere to the specifications of your specific style guide.

Next, let's take a look at the major types of academic writing that you'll encounter. Unfortunately, part of the reason that the answer to "What is academic writing?" is so long is that the subject is littered with subcategories.

Below, we've listed some of the most common types of scholarly writing and linked them to articles detailing each one. 

• Lab reports
• Book reports
• Theses and dissertations
• Grant proposals
• Literature reviews

These types of scholarly writing can be split into further subcategories. For example, an academic essay might fall into the descriptive, analytical, persuasive, or critical category—each of which might ask you to take a different approach in your writing.

Finding Your Research Question and Thesis Statement

Now that you have a grasp on what academic writing is, let's take a closer look at its elements. We'll begin with the star of the show, the thesis statement. However, in order to create your thesis statement, you'll first need a research question.

Select a topic that interests you and draft an intriguing question about it. That question is your research question. Make it as specific as possible, and as you dig into your research, continue to narrow its scope.

More often than not, the answers you find will become your thesis, which is the statement or question that your writing will investigate, prove, or disprove.

A good thesis statement should demonstrate the following characteristics:

• Evidence based

If you want to learn more about thesis statements, check out our article on  how to write a great thesis statement .

The Importance of a Strong Structure

A good structure is vital in academic writing, and a clear, logical structure will help you present your ideas. Moreover, many forms of academic writing obey an established structure, which the reader will expect you to follow.

For example, many academic essays follow a five-part structure. It's okay to experiment with other structures from time to time, but it is a good one to start with.

A five-part structure involves an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your introduction introduces your topic and situates its importance within your field. It establishes your methodology and introduces your thesis statement.

Your body paragraphs support your thesis in more detail. Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, after which a cycle of introducing subtopics, providing evidence, and reflecting on the impact of that evidence ensues.

Your conclusion should summarize your body paragraphs and reaffirm your thesis. It shouldn't contain any new information. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to finish strong and hammer in your points one last time.

Check out our Ultimate Essay Checklist for additional essay writing advice.

In order to have a strong structure, it's best to create an outline before you start writing. It'll help you keep yourself motivated and on track. It's much easier to write with a plan in mind than to write into a shapeless void.

If you can, leave time for multiple drafts. It may sound unnecessary; however, each draft will give you the time and mental space you need to drastically improve the quality of your writing.

Always Keep Your Writing Concise

Verbose writing is one of the most common issues in academic writing.

Whenever you can, keep things concise . Complex vocabulary and sentences are common in academic writing. However, they aren't everything. Learning to write concisely is a difficult skill to master. However, it has great benefits, including the ability to express yourself clearly.

To begin writing concisely, challenge yourself to first avoid the passive voice. It won't always be possible to use the active voice. However, favor the active voice whenever you can. It shakes up your writing, making it more dynamic and helping to propel the reader forward.

Style guides are intended to make your life easier, not complicate it. Think of them as friendly guides who will help you cite and format your work correctly. Don't wait until the last moment to crack yours open!

Here are three of the most common style guides and the fields they're commonly used in:

• The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), which is used in history, criminology, and business
• Modern Language Association (MLA) style, which is used in the humanities and liberal arts
• American Psychological Association (APA) style, which is used in the social sciences, psychology, business, and economics

Never underestimate the value of editing and proofreading your work. You wouldn't believe the number of errors that can be caught simply by taking a break, refreshing your mind, and settling in to complete an editing or proofreading pass.

In turn, professional editing and proofreading can give you an even stronger boost. When you work closely with a text, it's easy to skim over errors and confusing language. You already know how your writing should go, so it's easy for your brain to fill in the gaps.

You should now have all that you need to step out into the world of academic writing. It's time to take all that you've learned and put it into practice. Make your mark on the world. We'll be rooting for you.

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Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained numerous degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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• Research paper

How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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• How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples
• How to Write Recommendations in Research | Examples & Tips
• How to Write Topic Sentences | 4 Steps, Examples & Purpose
• Research Paper Appendix | Example & Templates
• Research Paper Damage Control | Managing a Broken Argument
• What Is a Theoretical Framework? | Guide to Organizing

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Academic Writing

• Writing Guides

What is Academic Writing?

Features of academic writing, ethical research and citation.

• Essential Writing Practices for Academic Success
• Resources for Writing Consultants and Peer Tutors
• Faculty Toolkit: Embedding Peer Writing Tutorials in Undergraduate Course Assignments
• Faculty Toolkit: Embedding Writing Consultations in Graduate and Online Course Assignments

What is Academic Writing? 🎓✍️

Academic writing is your gateway to the scholarly world. It's how researchers and thinkers share ideas, present arguments, and contribute to knowledge in their fields.

Why It Matters to You as an Emerging Scholar

Academic writing is more than just assignments—it's your ticket to joining the scholarly conversation! Here's how to think about it:

Writing as a Conversation 💬

You're not writing in a vacuum! Your work:

• Builds on existing research
• Adds your unique voice to ongoing debates
• Contributes fresh insights to your field

Writing as a Process 🔄

Embrace the journey:

• Draft, revise, seek feedback, refine
• Each iteration improves your work
• Develops critical thinking skills

Writing as a Social Endeavor 👥

Don't go it alone:

• Collaborate with peers
• Participate in writing circles
• Engage in peer review

Writing as a Disciplinary Undertaking 📚

Learn the rules of your academic "game":

• Understand your field's conventions
• Apply discipline-specific styles and formats
• Meet the expectations of your academic community

Remember, every scholarly voice started somewhere. Your academic writing journey begins here!

Want to dive deeper? Check out these resources:

• Writing is a Conversation
• Writing is a Process
• Writing is a Social Endeavor
• Writing is Discipline Specific

Information adapted from Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab). Purdue OWL is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024 by The On-Campus Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University.

7 Key Features of Academic Writing 🎓✍️

Curious about what makes writing "academic"? Check out this insightful video:

Now, let's break down these features and see how you can apply them in your writing!

1. purpose 🎯.

• What: Inform, analyze, or argue a point in your field.
• Example: Analyzing the effectiveness of a new nursing care protocol.
• Your Move: Always ask, "What's my main goal with this piece?"

2. Audience 👥

• What: Professors, researchers, and peers in your field.
• Example: Writing a psychology thesis for fellow psychology scholars, not the general public.
• Your Move: Consider your readers' background knowledge and what they need to know.
• What: Formal, objective, and precise.
• Example: Instead of "The experiment was a huge success," write "The results indicate a statistically significant improvement in patient outcomes."
• Your Move: Avoid slang, emotional language, and personal stories (unless they serve a specific purpose).

4. Clarity and Precision 🔍

• What: Use clear, specific language for complex ideas.
• Example: Replace "Many people were affected" with "Approximately 65% of study participants reported side effects."
• Your Move: Be specific in your word choice and provide concrete details.

5. Evidence-Based 📊

• What: Support claims with credible sources and data.
• Example: "Smith (2021) found that mindfulness meditation reduced stress levels by an average of 30% in graduate students (p. 45)."
• Your Move: Always cite sources and explain how evidence supports your argument.

6. Structure 🏗️

• What: Logical organization with clear sections and transitions.
• Example: Introduction → Literature Review → Methodology → Results → Discussion → Conclusion
• Your Move: Use outlines to plan your writing and ensure a logical flow of ideas.

7. Language 📝

• What: Formal vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and discipline-specific terminology.
• Example: Using "investigate" instead of "look into," or "demonstrate" instead of "show."
• Your Move: Familiarize yourself with the language conventions in your field.

Remember: These features may vary slightly depending on your discipline and document type. Always check your program guidelines and professor's instructions!

💡 Pro Tip: Practice identifying these features in academic articles in your field. It'll help you internalize the academic writing style!

Video Credit: "What is Academic Writing? 7 Features of Academic Writing" by EAP Foundation. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq4J8bPBcck

Your Research & Citation Launchpad 🚀📚

Conducting ethical research and citing properly aren't just academic requirements—they're your ticket to becoming a respected scholar and professional. Marian's Library Resources LibGuide  is your one-stop shop for ethical research and proper citation!

What's Inside? A Quick Tour 🗺️

This comprehensive guide offers everything you need to excel in your academic journey:

• Search Strategies : Master the art of finding exactly what you need
• Resource Access : Unlock a wealth of books, articles, and databases
• Citation Tools : Become a pro at giving credit where it's due
• Research Support : Get help when you need it most

Why It Matters 🌟

Mastering these resources will:

• Boost your research quality
• Save you time (hello, easier referencing!)
• Showcase your academic integrity
• Prepare you for professional success

💡 Pro Tip : Bookmark the LibGuide for easy access. Your future self will thank you!

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• Writing Worksheets and Other Writing Resources

Nine Basic Ways to Improve Your Style in Academic Writing

About the slc.

• Our Mission and Core Values

1. Use ACTIVE VOICE

Don't say:  "The stepmother's house was cleaned by Cinderella."  (Passive.)

Say instead:  "Cinderella cleaned the stepmother's house."  (Active voice.)

Passive voice construction ("was cleaned") is reserved for those occasions where the "do-er" of the action is unknown.

Example:  "Prince Charming saw the glass slipper that was left behind."

2. Mix it up in terms of PUNCTUATION

Here are a few commonly misused punctuation marks that a lot of people aren't sure about:

The  semi-colon (;)  separates two complete sentences that are complementary.

Example:  "She was always covered in cinders from cleaning the fireplace; they called her Cinderella."

The  colon (:)  is used...

a. preceding a list.

Example:  "Before her stepmother awoke, Cinderella had three chores to complete: feeding the chickens, cooking breakfast, and doing the wash." 


b. as a sort of "drum roll," preceding some big revelation.

Example:  "One thing fueled the wicked stepmother's hatred for Cinderella: jealousy."  


The  dash (--)  is made by typing two hyphens (-). No spaces go in between the dash and the text. It is used...

a. to bracket off some explanatory information.

Example:  "Even Cinderella's stepsisters-who were not nearly as lovely or virtuous as Cinderella--were allowed to go to the ball." 


b. in the "drum roll" sense of the colon.

Example:  "Prince Charming would find this mystery lady--even if he had to put the slipper on every other girl in the kingdom."  


3. Vary your SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Don't say:  "Cinderella saw her fairy godmother appear. She was dressed in blue. She held a wand. The wand had a star on it. She was covered in sparkles. Cinderella was amazed. She asked who the woman was. The woman said, 'I am your fairy godmother.' She said she would get Cinderella a dress and a coach. She said she would help Cinderella go to the ball."

Instead say: (there are multiple correct ways to rewrite this, but here's one)  "Amazed, Cinderella watched as her fairy godmother appeared. The woman dressed in blue was covered in sparkles and carried a star-shaped wand. Cinderella asked the woman who she was, to which the woman replied, 'I am your fairy godmother." The fairy godmother would get Cinderella a dress and a coach; she would help Cinderella get to the ball."

4. Closely related to this, avoid CHOPPINESS

Don't say:  "She scrubbed the floors. They were dirty. She used a mop. She sighed sadly. It was as if she were a servant ."

Instead say : (again, there are multiple ways to do this)  "She scrubbed the dirty floors using a mop, as if she were a servant. She sighed sadly."

5. Avoid REPETITION.

Don't say:  "The stepsisters were jealous and envious ."

Instead say :  "The stepsisters were jealous ."  (...or envious. Pick one.)

6. Be CONCISE

Don't say:  "The mystery lady was one who every eligible man at the ball admired."

Instead say :  "Every eligible man at the ball admired the mystery lady."

7. Use the VOCABULARY that you know.

Don't always feel you have to use big words. It is always better to be clear and use simple language rather than showing off flashy words you aren't sure about and potentially misusing them. This is not to say, however, that you should settle for very weak vocabulary choices (like "bad" or "big" or "mad").

8. But also work on expanding your VOCABULARY.

When reading, look up words you don't know. See how they're used. Start a list. Incorporate them into your writing as you feel comfortable and as they are appropriate.

9. Keep language FORMAL and avoid language of everyday speech.

Don't say:  "Cinderella was mellow and good. She never let her stepmother get to her ."

Say instead:  "Cinderella was mild-mannered and kind. She never let her stepmother affect her high spirits ."

So, essentially, when it comes to working on style, there are three things to remember:

Empower yourself with knowledge..

Learn to punctuate correctly, enhance your vocabulary, etc. Give yourself all the tools there are so that you are free to...

...Mix it up!

Avoid repetition of words and sentence structure. Variance promotes good "flow" and is more interesting for your reader.

"Write to EXPRESS, not to IMPRESS."

Above all, write actively, clearly, and concisely.

Amber Carini

Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkeley

©2002 UC Regents

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

11.1 The Purpose of Research Writing

Learning objectives.

• Identify reasons to research writing projects.
• Outline the steps of the research writing process.

Why was the Great Wall of China built? What have scientists learned about the possibility of life on Mars? What roles did women play in the American Revolution? How does the human brain create, store, and retrieve memories? Who invented the game of football, and how has it changed over the years?

You may know the answers to these questions off the top of your head. If you are like most people, however, you find answers to tough questions like these by searching the Internet, visiting the library, or asking others for information. To put it simply, you perform research.

Whether you are a scientist, an artist, a paralegal, or a parent, you probably perform research in your everyday life. When your boss, your instructor, or a family member asks you a question that you do not know the answer to, you locate relevant information, analyze your findings, and share your results. Locating, analyzing, and sharing information are key steps in the research process, and in this chapter, you will learn more about each step. By developing your research writing skills, you will prepare yourself to answer any question no matter how challenging.

Reasons for Research

When you perform research, you are essentially trying to solve a mystery—you want to know how something works or why something happened. In other words, you want to answer a question that you (and other people) have about the world. This is one of the most basic reasons for performing research.

But the research process does not end when you have solved your mystery. Imagine what would happen if a detective collected enough evidence to solve a criminal case, but she never shared her solution with the authorities. Presenting what you have learned from research can be just as important as performing the research. Research results can be presented in a variety of ways, but one of the most popular—and effective—presentation forms is the research paper . A research paper presents an original thesis, or purpose statement, about a topic and develops that thesis with information gathered from a variety of sources.

If you are curious about the possibility of life on Mars, for example, you might choose to research the topic. What will you do, though, when your research is complete? You will need a way to put your thoughts together in a logical, coherent manner. You may want to use the facts you have learned to create a narrative or to support an argument. And you may want to show the results of your research to your friends, your teachers, or even the editors of magazines and journals. Writing a research paper is an ideal way to organize thoughts, craft narratives or make arguments based on research, and share your newfound knowledge with the world.

Write a paragraph about a time when you used research in your everyday life. Did you look for the cheapest way to travel from Houston to Denver? Did you search for a way to remove gum from the bottom of your shoe? In your paragraph, explain what you wanted to research, how you performed the research, and what you learned as a result.

Research Writing and the Academic Paper

No matter what field of study you are interested in, you will most likely be asked to write a research paper during your academic career. For example, a student in an art history course might write a research paper about an artist’s work. Similarly, a student in a psychology course might write a research paper about current findings in childhood development.

Having to write a research paper may feel intimidating at first. After all, researching and writing a long paper requires a lot of time, effort, and organization. However, writing a research paper can also be a great opportunity to explore a topic that is particularly interesting to you. The research process allows you to gain expertise on a topic of your choice, and the writing process helps you remember what you have learned and understand it on a deeper level.

Research Writing at Work

Knowing how to write a good research paper is a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your career. Whether you are developing a new product, studying the best way to perform a procedure, or learning about challenges and opportunities in your field of employment, you will use research techniques to guide your exploration. You may even need to create a written report of your findings. And because effective communication is essential to any company, employers seek to hire people who can write clearly and professionally.

Writing at Work

Take a few minutes to think about each of the following careers. How might each of these professionals use researching and research writing skills on the job?

• Medical laboratory technician
• Small business owner
• Information technology professional
• Freelance magazine writer

A medical laboratory technician or information technology professional might do research to learn about the latest technological developments in either of these fields. A small business owner might conduct research to learn about the latest trends in his or her industry. A freelance magazine writer may need to research a given topic to write an informed, up-to-date article.

Think about the job of your dreams. How might you use research writing skills to perform that job? Create a list of ways in which strong researching, organizing, writing, and critical thinking skills could help you succeed at your dream job. How might these skills help you obtain that job?

Steps of the Research Writing Process

How does a research paper grow from a folder of brainstormed notes to a polished final draft? No two projects are identical, but most projects follow a series of six basic steps.

These are the steps in the research writing process:

• Choose a topic.
• Plan and schedule time to research and write.
• Conduct research.
• Organize research and ideas.
• Draft your paper.
• Revise and edit your paper.

Each of these steps will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter. For now, though, we will take a brief look at what each step involves.

Step 1: Choosing a Topic

As you may recall from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , to narrow the focus of your topic, you may try freewriting exercises, such as brainstorming. You may also need to ask a specific research question —a broad, open-ended question that will guide your research—as well as propose a possible answer, or a working thesis . You may use your research question and your working thesis to create a research proposal . In a research proposal, you present your main research question, any related subquestions you plan to explore, and your working thesis.

Step 2: Planning and Scheduling

Before you start researching your topic, take time to plan your researching and writing schedule. Research projects can take days, weeks, or even months to complete. Creating a schedule is a good way to ensure that you do not end up being overwhelmed by all the work you have to do as the deadline approaches.

During this step of the process, it is also a good idea to plan the resources and organizational tools you will use to keep yourself on track throughout the project. Flowcharts, calendars, and checklists can all help you stick to your schedule. See Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , Section 11.2 “Steps in Developing a Research Proposal” for an example of a research schedule.

Step 3: Conducting Research

When going about your research, you will likely use a variety of sources—anything from books and periodicals to video presentations and in-person interviews.

Your sources will include both primary sources and secondary sources . Primary sources provide firsthand information or raw data. For example, surveys, in-person interviews, and historical documents are primary sources. Secondary sources, such as biographies, literary reviews, or magazine articles, include some analysis or interpretation of the information presented. As you conduct research, you will take detailed, careful notes about your discoveries. You will also evaluate the reliability of each source you find.

Step 4: Organizing Research and the Writer’s Ideas

When your research is complete, you will organize your findings and decide which sources to cite in your paper. You will also have an opportunity to evaluate the evidence you have collected and determine whether it supports your thesis, or the focus of your paper. You may decide to adjust your thesis or conduct additional research to ensure that your thesis is well supported.

Remember, your working thesis is not set in stone. You can and should change your working thesis throughout the research writing process if the evidence you find does not support your original thesis. Never try to force evidence to fit your argument. For example, your working thesis is “Mars cannot support life-forms.” Yet, a week into researching your topic, you find an article in the New York Times detailing new findings of bacteria under the Martian surface. Instead of trying to argue that bacteria are not life forms, you might instead alter your thesis to “Mars cannot support complex life-forms.”

Step 5: Drafting Your Paper

Now you are ready to combine your research findings with your critical analysis of the results in a rough draft. You will incorporate source materials into your paper and discuss each source thoughtfully in relation to your thesis or purpose statement.

When you cite your reference sources, it is important to pay close attention to standard conventions for citing sources in order to avoid plagiarism , or the practice of using someone else’s words without acknowledging the source. Later in this chapter, you will learn how to incorporate sources in your paper and avoid some of the most common pitfalls of attributing information.

Step 6: Revising and Editing Your Paper

In the final step of the research writing process, you will revise and polish your paper. You might reorganize your paper’s structure or revise for unity and cohesion, ensuring that each element in your paper flows into the next logically and naturally. You will also make sure that your paper uses an appropriate and consistent tone.

Once you feel confident in the strength of your writing, you will edit your paper for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and formatting. When you complete this final step, you will have transformed a simple idea or question into a thoroughly researched and well-written paper you can be proud of!

Review the steps of the research writing process. Then answer the questions on your own sheet of paper.

• In which steps of the research writing process are you allowed to change your thesis?
• In step 2, which types of information should you include in your project schedule?
• What might happen if you eliminated step 4 from the research writing process?

Key Takeaways

• People undertake research projects throughout their academic and professional careers in order to answer specific questions, share their findings with others, increase their understanding of challenging topics, and strengthen their researching, writing, and analytical skills.
• The research writing process generally comprises six steps: choosing a topic, scheduling and planning time for research and writing, conducting research, organizing research and ideas, drafting a paper, and revising and editing the paper.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Academic Writing at the GSD

Decoding the assignment, the literature review.

• From Research to Writing
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You will have many kinds of writing assignments to complete while at the GSD. The file below provides insight into GSD-specific expectations, and the links provide more general support in understanding the skills and strategies needed for academic writing.

• Forms of Writing at the GSD This resource, created by fellow GSD students, can help you identify key features and expectations of the most common forms of writing that you will encounter here. Remember to ask your instructor if you have questions and come to Writing Services for writing support.
• What is "Academic" Writing? This essay is useful for understanding style and method in academic writing.
• Harvard Faculty Explain Analytical Writing Faculty from Harvard College explain analytical writing in this project from the Harvard College Writing Center.
• Advice on Academic Writing This catalog of advice from the University of Toronto was created by writing instructors.
• Scholarly Pursuits (GSAS) This searchable booklet from Harvard GSAS is a comprehensive guide to writing dissertations, dissertation-fellowship applications, academic journal articles, and academic job documents.
• Strategies for Essay Writing This resource from Harvard College Writing Center offers strategies to begin a writing project.
• Anatomy of a Journal Article An infographic of all the main sections of a scientific journal article and what should be in them (from APA but applicable beyond APA).

Successful academic writing starts with identifying the explicit and implicit expectations of the assignment. If you don't understand the assignment, you may not only have trouble starting to write but might put effort into the wrong things. If you are still unsure how to proceed after following these steps, ask your instructor. And if you want support at any point in the writing process, including reading through the assignment, make an appointment with GSD's Writing Services at Frances Loeb Library.

Stated Expectations

Look for these elements in the assignment prompt:

- Is it asking for outside research?

- Are there course texts or materials you will need to include?

- Is there an approximate length requirement?

- Which skills does it want you to demonstrate? Look for the verbs

• Compare or contrast

Unstated Expectations

Some expectations of the assignment may not be mentioned in the prompt, so give some thought to the context of the assignment to figure these out. 

- What kind of theoretical, practical, or disciplinary frameworks or procedures has the professor been modeling in class and assigning for homework? This writing assignment is probably in some way asking you to demonstrate understanding and proficiency in applying them.

- Who is your audience and what is the situation? You will adjust your use of industry terminology and the density of your writing depending on whether you are writing for your instructors or for a broader community. The assignment might not tell you that your writing will be persuasive or evaluative, but if you know your relationship to your audience, you can determine if you need to persuade them with evidence and analysis, help them make their own decision by providing pros and cons for a project, or energize them by helping them imagine the benefits and practicality of a design.

• Understanding Assignments UNC's Writing Center provides a detailed process for decoding assignments, including definitions of many key terms to watch for.
• Tips for Reading Assignment Prompts Harvard College Writing Center's brief overview of steps to take in understanding an assignment.
• Understanding Assignments Purdue OWL's succinct step-by-step guide for understanding assignment prompts.
• How to Read an Assignment Harvard College Writing Center's brief advice on what to do and avoid with examples.

Database search tip : Add the phrase "literature review" to your search to find published literature reviews.

While at the GSD, you may be asked to conduct a literature review for research courses or if you are writing a thesis or dissertation.

What is a literature review? A literature review (or lit review, for short) is a critical analysis of published scholarly research (the "literature") related to a specific topic, which may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings. A literature review may stand on its own or may be inside an introduction to a larger work. It is thorough but not exhaustive--there will always be more information than you can reasonably locate and include, especially as a graduate student. A literature review

• summarizes relevant themes and findings of literature on a topic.
• critically assesses the quality of the scholarly sources (what they do well and what they do not address fully or convincingly).
• draws out the implications of those findings for one's own research question.
• identifies gaps or areas for future work.

What is a literature review's purpose? A literature review establishes a set of themes and contexts drawn from foundational texts and other influences on your project, the "scholarly conversation." With the literature review, you are acknowledging that your scholarship doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What you have to say exists in conversation with what others have said before you, and that while you are going to do something new, you can identify patterns and trends in the literature and know where your contribution belongs in relation to what exists.

What does a literature review look like? Each discipline has its own style for writing a literature review; urban planning and design lit reviews may look different than those from architecture, and design lit reviews will look significantly different than reviews from the biological sciences or engineering. Look at published journal articles within your field and note how they present the information.

• Introduction: most scholarly articles and books will have a literature review of some sort with the introduction. Its precise location may vary, but it is most often in the first few paragraphs or pages.

Dedicated literature review: sometimes people will write a stand-alone literature review as a resource unto itself. You can search for "literature review" and a topic, and you may find that one already exists. However, be mindful not to plagiarize and that this kind of literature review will not be directly aligned to highlight the sources' relation to your project in the way that your lit review should. Still, these literature reviews are useful as models within your field, for finding additional sources to explore, and for beginning to map the general relationships within the scholarly conversation.

• Writing a Literature Review (University of Toronto at Scarborough) Concise information from the Writing Centre, University of Toronto at Scarborough.
• Literature Review Research Matrix Template (Walden University) This Excel template provides pre-generated headings to help organize information in your notes.
• Conduct a Literature Review (University of Arizona) This guide offers a clear explanation of the process of writing a literature review.
• The Literature Review: A Research Journey (Harvard Graduate School of Education) Created by Gutman Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, this guide offers a great introduction to the basics of conducting a literature review in the social sciences.
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Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

Writing skills

No matter how novel your research, or how much time you’ve invested in your work, you still need to pay attention to some basic writing rules if you want to get published.

Our writing skills modules contain some helpful advice so you can ensure poor use of language or sloppy article structure doesn’t let you down.

You will discover the 10 most common mistakes researchers make in their manuscripts, from ambiguity and inconsistency to incorrect referencing. And then, of course, there’s the ethics issue of plagiarism….

We also look at the topic of manuscript language in detail, and offer some advice on where you can find support to improve it.

What you will learn

• Information on common writing mistakes
• Advice on how to avoid those errors
• A guide to correct manuscript language

Modules in Writing skills

How to prepare a proposal for a review article

Writing a persuasive cover letter for your manuscript

How to turn your thesis into an article

5 Diseases ailing research – and how to cure them

Using proper manuscript language

10 tips for writing a truly terrible journal article

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Improving undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ academic writing skills with strategy training and feedback.

• Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

To improve text quality in higher education, training writing strategies (i.e., text structure application, summarization, or language use) and provision of feedback for revising (i.e., informative tutoring feedback or try-again feedback) were tested in combination. The aim was to establish whether first, strategy training affects academic writing skills that promote coherence, second, whether undergraduates and postgraduates benefit differently from feedback for revising, and third, whether training text structure application strategy in combination with informative tutoring feedback was most effective for undergraduates’ text quality. Undergraduate and postgraduate students ( N = 212) participated in the 2-h experimental intervention study in a computer-based learning environment. Participants were divided into three groups and supported by a writing strategy training intervention (i.e., text structure knowledge application, summarization, or language use), which was modeled by a peer student in a learning journal. Afterward participants wrote an abstract of an empirical article. Half of each group received in a computer-based learning environment twice either try-again feedback or informative tutoring feedback while revising their drafts. Writing skills and text quality were assessed by items and ratings. Analyses of covariance revealed that, first, text structure knowledge application strategy affected academic writing skills positively; second, feedback related to writing experience resulted in higher text quality: undergraduates benefited from informative tutoring feedback, postgraduates from try-again feedback; and third, the combination of writing strategy and feedback was not significantly related to improved text quality.

Introduction

The writing performance of freshmen and even graduate students reveals a gap between writing skills learned at school and writing skills required at the college or university level ( Kellogg and Whiteford, 2009 ): writers at school are able to transform their knowledge into a text that they can understand and use for their own benefit. Academic writing requires in addition to that presuming the readers’ understanding of the text written so far to establish a highly coherent text ( Kellogg, 2008 ).

Several studies have shown that to improve writing, it is beneficial to train writing strategies and to support the writing process through feedback ( Graham, 2006 ; Nelson and Schunn, 2009 ; Donker et al., 2014 ). This is also true for higher education ( Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006 ; MacArthur et al., 2015 ; Wischgoll, 2016 ). Writing strategies can help learners to control and modify their efforts to master the writing task ( Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987 ). Feedback for improving writing provides information about the adequacy of the writing product ( Graham and Perin, 2007 ). On the other hand, feedback that interrupts the writing process might be inhibitive ( Corno and Snow, 1986 ). Feedback that is administered adaptively to the current level of needs, can aim to increase the learner’s efforts to reduce the discrepancy between actual and desired performance ( Hattie and Timperley, 2007 ; Shute, 2008 ).

In terms of writing strategies, research pointed out that writers who use summarization strategies can retrieve information to generate new texts and that writers who use text structure strategies can find and assign information ( Englert, 2009 ; Kellogg and Whiteford, 2009 ). In terms of feedback, research pointed out that feedback should be aligned to writing experience ( Shute, 2008 ). Despite the large body of research on writing strategies ( Graham and Perin, 2007 ; Graham et al., 2013 ) and on feedback ( Hattie and Timperley, 2007 ; Nelson and Schunn, 2009 ), little is known about the specific combination of training to apply text structure knowledge or summarization and feedback with different degree of elaboration in higher education. However, we do know that training to apply text structure knowledge as cognitive writing strategy in combination with training to self-monitor the writing process as metacognitive writing strategy can be beneficial for undergraduates’ writing skills and text quality ( Wischgoll, 2016 ). Furthermore, we know that feedback received from outside the self can induce metacognitive activities ( Butler and Winne, 1995 ). Thus, feedback to monitor the writing process is expected to be another means to foster text quality in combination with training a cognitive writing strategy.

The present study investigated the effects of cognitive writing strategies on academic writing skills and of feedback to foster monitoring the writing process on undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ text quality. The application of academic writing strategies such as summarization strategy and text structure knowledge application strategy help the writer to connect information units to generate a text that is easy to follow. Feedback related to practice aims to support the writer in monitoring the writing process while he or she is applying writing strategies. Accordingly, feedback provided in this study is deemed to be metacognitive in nature. (For an overview please see Table 1 .)

Table 1 . Treatments with expected learning outcome.

Observing and Practicing As Means to Acquire Writing Skills

To train writing skills, Kellogg (2008) recommends both learning by observing and learning by doing. He claims that these two training methods complement each other if they are administered in appropriate proportions.

Learning to write by observing is an often practiced method ( Rosenthal and Zimmerman, 1978 ; Bandura, 1986 , 1997 ; Schunk, 1987 , 1991 ), which can be administered by observing a mastery model or a coping model. Zimmerman and Kitsantas (2002) showed that college students improved strongly by observing a coping model who was struggling to deal with challenges. Furthermore, Braaksma et al. (2004) demonstrated that learners improved through cognitive and metacognitive activities such as observing, evaluating, and reflecting on activities while they were observing the model.

Learning to write by doing follows on from observational learning. To develop writing skills, Kellogg (2008) recommends a combination of observational learning and practice with gradually fading support, such as the model of cognitive apprenticeship ( Collins et al., 1989 ), the sociocognitive model ( Schunk and Zimmerman, 1997 ) and especially for writing development, the Self-Regulated Strategy Development framework ( Graham, 2006 ).

Establishing Coherence Promotes Text Quality

Coherence and cohesion are criteria to estimate text quality ( Witte and Faigley, 1981 ). Coherence refers to the mental representations about the situation presented in the text that readers can form depending on their skills and knowledge and related to surface indicators in the text. It is generated by psychological representations and processes ( Witte and Faigley, 1981 ; Graesser et al., 2004 ). Cohesion as it refers to surface indicators of relations between sentences is a text characteristic ( McNamara et al., 1996 ). Lexical and grammatical relationship supports the reader to find and interpret main ideas and to connect these ideas to higher information units ( Witte and Faigley, 1981 ; Graesser et al., 2004 ). Readers can understand a coherent text that lacks cohesion, as they construct a mental representation for the situation ( Witte and Faigley, 1981 ; Graesser et al., 1994 , 2004 ).

In terms of promoting text quality, writing a text requires the establishment of coherence by relating different information units ( Sanders et al., 1992 ; McNamara et al., 1996 ). Characteristically, the interpretation of the related segments provides more information than is provided by the sum of the information units taken in isolation ( Sanders et al., 1992 ; Sanders and Sanders, 2006 ). Once the information units are related to a coherent text, readers can understand the text’s message ( Van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983 ). The more coherently a text is written, the more easily readers can understand it ( McNamara et al., 1996 ). Therefrom the focus for analyzing text quality in this study is reasoned in coherence.

To establish coherence, Spivey (1990) postulates that academic writing involves strategies of organizing, selecting, and connecting. Training a text structure knowledge application strategy or a summarization strategy seems to be a promising means to achieve this: summarization includes intensively reading, selecting main ideas, and composing sentences to generate a coherent text ( Kellogg and Whiteford, 2009 ). Text structure knowledge fosters systematically reading to find propositions, which facilitate composing a coherent text ( Englert, 2009 ). Furthermore, receiving feedback while revising can facilitate the writing process if it is aligned to writing experience ( Shute, 2008 ) and can, thus, promote text quality in terms of coherence.

Interplay of Cognitive and Metacognitive Support to Become an Academic Writer

Especially in higher education, the interplay of cognitive and metacognitive support is important for mastering complex tasks such as academic writing ( Veenman and Beishuizen, 2004 ; Veenman et al., 2004 ). Research has shown that the combination of cognitive and metacognitive support is a promising means to foster learners’ writing development ( MacArthur et al., 2015 ; Wischgoll, 2016 ). Cognitive support can be administered by modeling writing strategies, enabling the learner to observe when and how a certain activity can be accomplished. Metacognitive support can be administered by giving feedback in the writing process, deliberately accompanying learners while they are monitoring their writing process.

Facilitating the Writing Process through Cognitive Writing Strategy Training

Improving text quality in academic writing can be supported by training a text structure knowledge application strategy or a summarization strategy. The former supports the writer in relating main propositions via a genre-based structure that provides some kind of schema to fill in. The latter supports the writer in relating main propositions by selecting and organizing information units.

Text structure knowledge is closely related to reading comprehension and writing performance ( Hiebert et al., 1983 ). On the one hand, the structure of a text helps readers to easily find what they are looking for; on the other hand, the text structure helps writers to coordinate ideas and intention. Englert (2009) confirmed the importance of text structure knowledge training for writers to organize the writing process. Practice supports writers in using the text structure to find information and in assigning their ideas to the corresponding text sections ( Englert and Thomas, 1987 ). The type of text structure also influences reading and writing performance ( Englert and Hiebert, 1984 ). The empirical research article is a frequently used genre in academic writing, which enables the research community to receive research-relevant information in a concise but elaborated style ( Kintsch and Van Dijk, 1978 ; Swales, 1990 ). As the structure is expected and shared in the scientific community, it helps the main propositions of the empirical research article to be developed and arranged. Hence, the text structure supports the reader in following and understanding a text.

In empirical research articles, information from other texts is typically reproduced, and the selection of this information requires summarization skills. Expert writers select such information from different text sources and use it to invent a new text with derived, new information units ( Spivey, 1990 ). For this purpose, expert writers delete redundant information, generalize connected propositions, and construct topic sentences organize information ( Van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983 ). In a study on paraphrasing expository texts, junior college students were able to delete redundant information but displayed significant deficits in generalization and construction ( Brown and Day, 1983 ). On the other hand, Hidi and Anderson (1986) found that experienced writers when writing summaries selected information in a constructive way, by emphasizing an intended message of the text. Summarizing and developing a main thread makes it easier for readers to follow and to understand their writing ( Graesser et al., 1994 ; Li, 2014 ).

As expert writers are able to use stored writing strategies which novice writers are yet to learn, expert and novice writers revise their texts differently ( Sommers, 1980 ; Hayes, 2004 ; Chanquoy, 2008 ): expert writers detect more problems of a text that are related to content and structure and are able to pay heed to the target audience while revising their text ( Hayes et al., 1987 ). Novice writers detect mainly surface errors and focus primarily on the word and sentence level ( Sommers, 1980 ; Fitzgerald, 1992 ; Cho and MacArthur, 2010 ).

In sum, facilitating writing through training strategies to apply summarization or text structure knowledge should be conducive for less experienced academic writers whereas more experienced writers might already rely on stored writing strategies.

Facilitating the Monitoring of the Writing Process through Feedback

To help writers to improve their texts and to develop their writing skills, besides training writing strategies support can also be provided as feedback aligned to the current level of experience ( Kellogg, 2008 ). Shute (2008) reports several types of feedback that differ in the degree of elaboration, for instance try-again feedback with no elaboration, and informative tutoring feedback with intensive elaboration. Try-again feedback points out that there is a gap between current and desired level of performance and offers him or her a further opportunity to work on the task ( Clariana, 1990 ). Informative tutoring feedback is seen as the most elaborated form of feedback. It encompasses evaluation about the work done so far, points out errors, and offers strategic hints on how to proceed. In this process, the correct answer is usually not provided ( Narciss and Huth, 2004 ).

The type of feedback influences learners differently depending on their writing experience. Hanna (1976) showed that low-ability learners benefited more from elaborated feedback than from feedback that provides information about the correctness of the work produced so far. Similarly, Clariana (1990) found that elaborated feedback produced the highest scores for low-ability students, and try-again feedback the lowest. For high-ability learners, Hanna (1976) found the most benefit from feedback without elaboration, such as verification of the work produced so far. Furthermore, his findings indicate that high-ability learners benefit from working at their own pace; and consequently, feedback should not interrupt the work progress. Hence, feedback for high-ability learners should not be elaborated when it is given during the work process ( Clariana, 1990 ).

The results of the aforementioned studies indicate that high-ability and low-ability as well as novice and experienced learners should be treated in different ways. Whereas low-ability and novice learners benefit from support and explicit guidance during the learning process ( Moreno, 2004 ), high-ability and experienced learners need freedom to work at their own pace ( Hanna, 1976 ). Depending on the level of prior knowledge and experience support might be conducive and not. Hence, support should be demanding but not overdemanding for the learner, and provide guidance that meets the learner’s needs ( Koedinger and Aleven, 2007 ). Support that is effective with unexperienced learners but ineffective with experienced learners is called expertise reversal effect ( Kalyuga et al., 2003 ).

In sum, facilitating writing through feedback should be optimally aligned to writing experience: more experienced writers may need modest feedback while writing, whereas less experienced writers may benefit from feedback that offers some kind of guidance.

Combination of Training a Cognitive Writing Strategy and Receiving Feedback

Several meta-analyses reported about the effectiveness of certain writing activities, such as summarization and monitoring, to improve the acquisition of writing skills and text quality ( Graham and Perin, 2007 ; Kellogg and Whiteford, 2009 ); however, we know little about how the recommended writing activities can be combined effectively for writing development in higher education. In a recent study, Wischgoll (2016) tested the combination of training two writing strategies to improve undergraduates’ text quality. She combined the training of one cognitive writing strategy, i.e., text structure application strategy, with training of another cognitive writing strategy, i.e., summarization strategy, respectively, with training a metacognitive strategy, i.e., self-monitoring strategy. Results revealed that undergraduates benefited from training one cognitive writing strategy and one metacognitive writing strategy in terms of text quality more than those who received training with two cognitive writing strategies. This result indicates that combined training of one cognitive and one metacognitive writing strategy can be effective.

The study described here follows the idea that combining support that induces cognitive writing activities and support that induces metacognitive writing activities results in improved text quality. From the studies mentioned in the sections before, we derive that, first, training writing strategies to apply summarization or text structure knowledge can induce cognitive writing activities; second, providing feedback that supports monitoring the writing process to establish coherence can induce metacognitive writing activities.

The Present Study

The first aim of this study was, first, to analyze whether the training of writing strategies affects academic writing skills; more specifically we analyzed first, whether text structure knowledge application strategy training affects the skill to use genre specific structures to find and assign information, and second, whether summarization strategy training affects the skill to reduce text content while maintaining coherence.

Second, it was assumed that undergraduates benefit from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training to apply text structure knowledge more than from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training summarization or language use; more specifically, that feedback during text revision affects undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ text quality differently. We assumed that undergraduates benefit from informative tutoring feedback because it provides guidance while writing, and that postgraduates benefit from try-again feedback because it does not interrupt the application of already acquired writing skills.

Third, it was assumed that undergraduates benefit more from training to apply text structure knowledge and receiving informative tutoring feedback concerning text quality than undergraduates who trained summarization strategy or language use strategy and received informative tutoring feedback.

We also assessed self-efficacy and motivation to discern whether the intervention was accepted by the participants and whether all treatment groups were equally motivated.

The following hypotheses were tested:

H1a Training the text structure knowledge application strategy or the summarization strategy affects the acquisition of academic writing skills more than training the language use strategy ( cognitive writing strategy hypothesis ).

H1b Training the text structure knowledge application strategy affects the skill of using genre specific structures to find and assign information more than training the summarization strategy or the language use strategy ( text structure strategy hypothesis ).

H1c Training the summarization strategy affects the skill of reducing text content while maintaining coherence more than training the text structure knowledge application strategy or the language use strategy ( summarization strategy hypothesis ).

H2a Undergraduates benefit from receiving informative tutoring feedback more than from receiving try-again feedback in terms of text quality of the abstract. Academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising, and adding relevant information while revising are assumed to influence the text quality of the abstract ( undergraduates’ hypothesis ).

H2b Undergraduates and postgraduates benefit differently from feedback while revising concerning text quality of the abstract ( level of graduation hypothesis ).

H3 Undergraduates benefit more from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training to apply text structure knowledge concerning text quality of the abstract than from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training the summarization strategy or training the language use strategy. Academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising, and adding relevant information while revising are assumed to influence the text quality of the abstract ( combination hypothesis ).

Materials and Methods

Participants and design.

Data were analyzed from 212 German-speaking students ( n female = 184, n male = 28). The sample included 179 undergraduate ( n female = 157, n male = 22) and 33 doctoral students (postgraduates; n female = 27, n male = 6) who were majoring in educational sciences ( n = 32), psychology ( n = 74), or teacher education ( n = 96) from the University of Freiburg ( n = 90) and the University of Education of Freiburg ( n = 122) in Germany. The mean age was 24.5 years (SD = 4.5).

The study was advertised with flyers on which the study was offered as a training course on writing academic articles. The course consisted of one session and was not part of participants’ study program. Researchers and participants were not in a relationship of dependency. All participants were aware of taking part in a research project and volunteered to participate. They could either fulfill part of the study program’s requirement to participate in empirical studies or receive 15 Euro per person for participation. The examiner handed out the financial reward in the laboratory after the experiment. Before beginning the experiment, the participants read a standardized explanation about ethical guidelines and provided written informed consent. Participants who declined to provide the informed consent were offered to withdraw from the experiment and still receive the financial reward. None declined or withdrew from the experiment. All data were anonymously collected and analyzed. All participants provided written informed consent for their collected data to be used anonymously for publications. All participants were informed about their results that they could identify via their personalized code. In addition, from references were offered to help them train their specific academic writing deficits.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions of our experimental pre–posttest intervention study: all groups were basically instructed about the structure of an empirical article. Following, one experimental group ( N = 71) received a training on how to apply text structure knowledge, the second experimental group ( N = 70) received a training on summarization, the control group ( N = 71) received a training on language use. In addition, half of each group received either informative tutoring feedback or try-again feedback directed at the writing process.

The experiment was conducted in a 2-h session in a university laboratory. Each participant enlisted for one date. In the session, all participants managed their time individually in a computer-based learning environment without interacting with other participants. Via the computer-based learning environment, all instructions were executed in writing, and all participants’ contributions were stored. The participants were randomly assigned to the treatment conditions in nearly equal numbers. Participants were not informed about the nature of their condition. The procedures of the study are presented in Figure 1 .

Figure 1 . Procedures of the study.

The experiment consisted of two phases: modeling phase and deliberate practice phase. Before the modeling phase, demographic data and self-reported prior knowledge about text structure were assessed. The participants were also tested on academic writing skill as well as on self-efficacy. Following the modeling phase, the participants were tested on their current motivation, and retested on self-efficacy and academic writing skill. Before and after the deliberate practice phase, the participants were tested on coherence skill.

In the modeling phase , the participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions of the experimental pre–posttest intervention study. They received basic training on how an empirical article is structured, after which they received writing strategy training according to their condition (i.e., training to apply text structure knowledge application strategy, text summarization strategy, or language use strategy). The training sessions were presented by a peer model in written learning journals, which the participants read at their own pace. The peer model illustrated and exemplified her own writing experience. She demonstrated aspects where she struggled and offered strategies to master the writing process effectively. In this phase, the participants were not allowed to take their own notes for two reasons: (1) control of time consumption and (2) control of elaboration depth.

In the deliberate practice phase , the participants were asked to write an abstract of an empirical research article. To this aim, all participants were presented with a cartoon about advantages and disadvantages of wearing school uniform. To produce the single text sections (theoretical background, research question, methods, results, and implications), the participants received instructions (e.g., ask a critical question that you want to check in your study) and collected their ideas in the computer-based learning environment. Subsequently, for the writing process half of each group was assigned to the try-again feedback condition and half to the informative tutoring feedback condition. After the peer model provided feedback, the text written so far was presented in the computer-based learning environment for revising. Feedback was twice provided by the peer model: first, after the participants collected ideas, and second, after the participants wrote a draft of the abstract.

Learning Journal

All participants read a learning journal that was presented in a computer-based learning environment by a peer model. For each writing strategy (i.e., text structure knowledge application strategy, text summarization strategy, and language use strategy), the peer model described when the strategy is useful and how the strategy can be applied; she then summarized the strategy and offered prompts for each strategy to master the writing challenge as follows.

The learning journal text structure knowledge application strategy focused on the use of text structure knowledge: (1) what the text is about, (2) what is already known about the topic, (3) how the research was done (please see exemplarily Figures 2 – 4 ), (4) which research results were found and how the authors reached them, and (5) what these results mean and which conclusions can be drawn.

Figure 2 . Questions and answers concerning the orientation in the method section presented in the peer model’s learning journal.

Figure 3 . Function of the method section explained in the peer model’s learning journal.

Figure 4 . Examples for detailed information in the method section presented in the peer model’s learning journal.

The learning journal text summarization strategy focused on selecting and assigning text information: (1) how the topic is embedded in the research field, (2) which passages of a text should be selected and how they should be selected, (3) how to reduce information and redundancies, (4) how to choose keywords, and (5) how to write one’s own text.

The learning journal language use strategy focused on the communication in the science community: (1) what is the intention for communicating in a scientific community, (2) how can the writer prevent misunderstandings (i.e., consistency), (3) how can the writer show objectivity, (4) when and how are “I” formulations used, and (5) when and how are “we” formulations used?

All participants received a standardized feedback (i.e., try-again feedback or informative tutoring feedback) provided by the peer model for the first and the second revision, that is, before they transformed their ideas into a text, and before they finalized their abstract. Both types of feedback focused on monitoring the writing process: informative tutoring feedback provided concrete advices, whereas try-again feedback intended to rely on stored writing plans.

The informative tutoring feedback focused on giving concrete advice regarding writing deficits that are typical for beginning academic writers: (1) delete all redundancies from the text; (2) add information that makes the text easier to understand; and (3) revise the text to develop a whole unit by connecting sentences. For the second revision, the participants received an additional prompt to consider the readers’ perspective.

The try-again feedback focused on encouraging the participants to proceed. The participants received twice the prompt “Please revise the text you have written so far.”

Academic Writing Items

To assess academic writing skills we used a short-scale of an earlier study ( Wischgoll, 2016 ). The items were selected to assess writing skills, which support the development of a well-structured and informative text (i.e., text structure knowledge, application of text structure knowledge, and reduction of text content). One item captured the knowledge about the structure of an empirical article; the participants were asked to arrange headings. Five items captured the skill of applying text structure knowledge; for instance, the participants were asked to assign typical phrases to text sections such as methods or discussion and to give reasons for their decision. Four items captured the skill of reducing text content; the participants were asked, for instance, to name four keywords to adequately express the message of a text.

Coherence Items

Six items were developed to assess the writing skill coherence, which involves establishing meaning in a short passage. For instance, participants were asked to delete a superfluous sentence in the text or fill a gap in the text according to the provided annotation, such as an argument or an example.

Two experienced researchers who have been publishing and reviewing research articles for several years assigned all academic writing skill items to one of the contexts (text structure knowledge, application of text structure knowledge, and reduction of text content). The interrater reliability was excellent [ ICC (31) = 0.80] ( Fleiss, 2011 ). Four similarly experienced researchers judged the content validity of the coherence skill items, with an excellent interrater reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient ICC (31) > 0.90] ( Fleiss, 2011 ).

For all writing skill items, participants’ written answers were rated as correct or incorrect. To ensure reliability of the rating system, two raters conducted the rating independently, and a high level of interrater agreement was achieved [intraclass correlation coefficient ICC (31) > 0.80] ( Fleiss, 2011 ). Disagreement was resolved by discussion in all cases.

Overall Text Quality

Overall text quality was measured for the text written so far at three time points: first, the text after the participants had collected ideas as prompted according to each text section; second, the text after they had written their draft; and third, the text after they had revised their draft and finalized their abstract. Each time, the text quality was rated on a 7-point scale (1 = disastrous , 7 = excellent ) adapted from Cho et al. (2006) as an overall quality (see Wischgoll, 2016 ). The measurement was conducted after the experiment was completed. A student project assistant received about 10 h of training on the quality rating scale, which included practicing the judgment and discussing 40 cases. The abstracts were rated independently, with the research assistant and project assistant being unaware of the participants’ experimental condition and identity. A further 40 abstracts, 19% of the whole sample, were selected to calculate the interrater reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficient was ICC (21) > 0.80, which can be categorized as excellent ( Fleiss, 2011 ). Disagreement was resolved by discussion in all cases.

Text Content Improvement

Text content improvement was measured in the final abstract in comparison to the draft. We took into account the aspects reducing text while revising and adding relevant information while revising . (1) Reducing text while revising . We compared the draft and the abstract to find out whether irrelevant and secondary information was omitted while revising. Each text section was rated according to whether or not the text had been reduced and whether or not this decision contributed to the readability of the text. (2) Adding relevant information while revising . We compared the draft and the abstract to find out whether information that fosters the understanding of the text was added. Each text section was rated according to whether or not the text had been extended and whether or not this decision contributed to the readability of the text.

Additional Measures

Self-efficacy.

The self-efficacy scale focusing on academic writing was constructed using eight items according to the guide for constructing self-efficacy scales ( Bandura, 2006 ). The main aspects of academic writing skills, that is, application of text structure knowledge and reduction of text content, were taken into account. Participants were asked to rate how certain they were that, for example, they “can find certain information in an empirical research article” or “can find a precise and concise title for my Bachelor thesis.” For each written description, they rated their confidence from 0% ( cannot do it at all ) to 100% ( highly certain I can do it ) in 10% increments. The scale was administered before the modeling phase (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87) and after the modeling phase (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.88). This scale was used to check the responsiveness to the treatment.

The following three reduced subscales of the Questionnaire on Current Motivation ( Vollmeyer and Rheinberg, 2006 ) were used to measure how motivated the participants were to develop their writing skills: challenge (five items; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.74), probability of success (two items; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.79), and anxiety (three items; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.73). The participants were asked to estimate their current motivation in relation to their academic writing development, rating each written description on a 7-point scale from 1 ( not true ) to 7 ( true ). The scale was administered after the modeling phase to check for differences between the treatment groups with regard to practicing writing.

For all statistical analyses, an alpha level of.05 was used. The effect size measure partial η 2 [0.01 as a small effect, 0.06 as a medium effect, and 0.14 as a large effect ( Cohen, 1988 )] was used. Normal distribution could be assumed for all analyses. To test the hypotheses, analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were calculated. In terms of testing the acquisition of academic writing skill (hypotheses 1a, 1b, and 1c), we controlled prior knowledge (H1a: pretest outcome on academic writing skills , H1b: prior knowledge of text structure knowledge application , H1c: prior knowledge of summarization skills ); in terms of testing text quality (hypotheses 2a and 3), we additionally controlled text quality of the draft and changes in the text ( reducing text while revising and adding relevant information while revising ); in terms of testing the difference between undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ text quality, a two-way ANCOVA with level of graduation and feedback as independent variables was calculated. Planned contrast was calculated with t -tests to gain information about the specific treatment conditions.

Pre-Analysis

Prior knowledge about text structure.

No differences were found across the conditions concerning “knowing the text structure of an empirical article” (item 1), F (2, 209) = 0.64, p = 0.53 and “arranging the headings of the text sections” (item 2), F (2, 209) = 0.18, p = 0.83.

Academic Writing Skills

Academic writing skills were differentiated into text structure knowledge application skills and summarization skills. In the pretest, no significant differences were found across the conditions for academic writing skills, F (2, 209) = 0.35, p = 0.70, text structure knowledge application skills, F (2, 209) = 0.53, p = 0.59, and summarization skills, F (2, 209) = 1.38, p = 0.25. Table 2 shows the means and SDs for the pretest and posttest in each condition. The average pretest percentage for academic writing skills in the three conditions ranged from 45.2 to 47.5%, implying that the participants had some, but not a great deal of knowledge about academic writing skills. With respect to the subscales of the pretest, the average scores ranged from 32.1 to 37.2% for text structure knowledge application skills , and from 53.1 to 58.3% for summarization skills . Table 3 shows the means and SDs for undergraduates and postgraduates. These results indicate that the participants had only sparse knowledge about text structure and its application, but quite good knowledge about text summarization.

Table 2 . Means and SDs of academic writing skills, text structure knowledge application skills, and summarization skills in the strategy treatment groups.

Table 3 . Means and SDs of academic writing skills, text structure knowledge application skills, summarization skills, and overall text quality of undergraduates and postgraduates.

Significant differences in the pretest were found between undergraduates and postgraduates for academic writing skills, t (210) = −12.12, p < 0.001, r = 0.85, text structure application skills, t (210) = −10.88, p < 0.001, r = 0.55, and summarization skills, t (210) = −5.87, p < 0.001, r = 0.63. As postgraduates outperformed undergraduates, the results confirm the expectations about the difference in writing experience between novice and experienced writers.

Coherence Skill

In the pretest, no significant differences were found across the conditions, F (2, 209) = 0.41, p = 0.67. The results showed a significant difference between postgraduates and undergraduates, F (1, 210) = 26.77, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.11 , with the postgraduates (M = 0.62, SD = 0.22) outperforming the undergraduates (M = 0.41, SD = 0.22). See Table 4 for means and SDs.

Table 4 . Means and SDs of text quality measured at three time points, reducing text and adding relevant information while revising text, and coherence in the feedback groups.

Text Quality

In the collection of ideas, postgraduates significantly outperformed the undergraduates in text quality, t (210) = −2.83, p = 0.007, r = 0.40 and in the draft, t (210) = −3.13, p = 0.003, r = 0.42. Table 3 shows the means and SDs for undergraduates and postgraduates.

A MANCOVA was calculated to assess whether there was a difference in motivation between the treatment groups. Using Pillai’s trace, no significant effect of interest, probability of success, and anxiety, V = 0.033, F (6, 416) = 1.17, p = 0.32, was found.

A dependent t -test was calculated to assess the responsiveness to the treatment; a strong, significant effect was found [ t (211) = −9.03, p < 0.001, r = 0.53]. The participants experienced significantly higher self-efficacy after the treatment (M post = 64.79, SD post = 11.63) than before (M pre = 59.58, SD pre = 12.39). This was true for each treatment group: language use group (i.e., control group) [M pre = 60.46, SD pre = 12.55; M post = 63.80, SD post = 13.07; t (70) = −3.70, p < 0.001, r = 0.40], summarization group [M pre = 59.91, SD pre = 12.48; M post = 65.84, SD post = 9.68; t (69) = −6.36, p = 0.001, r = 0.61], and text structure group [M pre = 58.38, SD pre = 12.22; M post = 64.73, SD post = 11.94; t (70) = −5.68, p < 0.001, r = 0.56]. It also applied when looking at the results separately for undergraduates and postgraduates, M pre = 70.27, SD pre = 8.47; M post = 72.09, SD post = 8.86; t (32) = −2.29, p = 0.029, r = 0.37.

Main Analyses

Hypothesis 1a, strategy hypothesis , proposed that training the text structure knowledge application strategy or the summarization strategy affects the acquisition of academic writing skills more than training the language use strategy. An ANCOVA was calculated using pretest outcome on academic writing skills as control variable.

The results show a significant difference between the treatment groups concerning the acquisition of academic writing skills, F (2, 208) = 5.13, p = 0.007, η p 2 = 0.05 . The academic writing skills in the pretest were significantly related to final academic writing skills, F (1, 208) = 232.20, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.53 . Planned contrasts revealed that acquisition of academic writing skills was significantly lower in the language use group (i.e., control group) than in the group that received text structure knowledge application strategy training, t (208) = 3.16, p = 0.002, η p 2 = 0.05 , and the group that received summarization strategy training, t (208) = 2.02, p = 0.045, η p 2 = 0.02 .

Hypothesis 1b, text structure strategy hypothesis , proposed that training the text structure knowledge application strategy affects the skill of using genre specific structures to find and assign information more than training the summarization strategy or the language use strategy. An ANCOVA was calculated using pretest outcome on prior knowledge of text structure knowledge application as control variable.

The results do not show a significant difference between the three groups concerning the acquisition of text structure knowledge application skills, F (2, 208) = 2.47, p = 0.09. Planned contrasts revealed that acquisition of text structure knowledge application skills was significantly higher in the group that received training to apply text structure application knowledge than in the group that received training to apply language use, t (208) = 2.16, p = 0.03, η g r o u p 2 = 0.02 . No significant differences were found between the group that received summarization training and the group that received training in applying text structure knowledge, t (208) = 1.53, p = 0.13. The third variable, prior knowledge of text structure knowledge application [ F (1, 208) = 178.75, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.46 ], was significantly related to acquisition of text structure knowledge application skills.

Hypothesis 1c, summarization strategy hypothesis , proposed that training the summarization strategy affects the skill of reducing text content while maintaining coherence more than training the text structure knowledge application strategy or the language use strategy. An ANCOVA was calculated using pretest outcome on prior knowledge of summarization skills as control variable.

The results do not show a significant difference between the three groups concerning the acquisition of summarization skills, F (2, 208) = 0.13, p = 0.88. Planned contrasts revealed that acquisition of summarization skills was not significantly higher in the group that received summarization strategy training than in the group that received training to apply language use, t (208) = −0.13, p = 0.89. No significant differences were found between the group that received text structure knowledge application strategy training and the group that received summarization strategy training, t (208) = 0.36, p = 0.72. The prior knowledge of summarization skills [ F (1, 208) = 85.04, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.29 ] was significantly related to acquisition of summarization skills.

Hypothesis 2a, undergraduates’ hypothesis , proposed that undergraduates benefit from receiving informative tutoring feedback more than from receiving try-again feedback in terms of text quality of the abstract. Furthermore, it was assumed that academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising, and adding relevant information while revising influence the text quality of the abstract. An ANCOVA with text quality of the abstract as dependent variable was conducted. Academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising , and adding relevant information while revising were considered as third variables. See Tables 2 – 4 for means and SDs.

The results show a significant difference between undergraduates who received informative tutoring feedback and undergraduates who received try-again feedback concerning the text quality of the abstract, F (1, 172) = 8.980, p = 0.003, η p 2 = 0.05 . The third variables coherence skill [ F (1, 172) = 2.054, p = 0.154], reducing text while revising [ F (1, 172) = 2.289, p = 0.132], and adding relevant information while revising [ F (1, 172) = 1.215, p = 0.272] were not significantly related to the text quality of the abstract. However, academic writing skills [ F (1, 172) = 8.359, p = 0.004, η p 2 = 0.05 ] and text quality of the draft [ F (1, 172) = 26.984, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.14 ] were significantly related to the text quality of the abstract.

Hypothesis 2b, level of graduation hypothesis , proposed that undergraduates and postgraduates benefit differently from receiving feedback while revising the texts they have written so far. A two-way ANCOVA with level of graduation and feedback as independent variables was conducted. See Tables 2 – 4 for means and SDs.

The main effect of feedback for revising was not significant, F (1, 208) = 0.11, p = 0.74. The main effect of level of graduation emerged as significant, F (1, 208) = 62.58, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.23 . The interaction between feedback for revising and level of graduation was significant, F (1, 208) = 4.22, p = 0.041, η p 2 = 0.02 . The findings are presented in Figure 5 .

Figure 5 . Interaction between level of graduation and feedback for revising.

Hypothesis 3, combination hypothesis , proposed that undergraduates benefit more from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training to apply text structure knowledge concerning text quality of the abstract than from receiving informative tutoring feedback after training summarization or training language use. Furthermore, it was assumed that academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising, and adding relevant information while revising influence the text quality of the abstract. An ANCOVA with text quality of the abstract as dependent variable was conducted. Academic writing skill, coherence skill, text quality of the draft, reducing text while revising , and adding relevant information while revising were considered as third variables. See Tables 2 – 4 for means and SDs.

The results show no significant difference between the three treatment groups concerning the text quality of the abstract, F (2, 82) = 2.550, p = 0.084. Planned contrasts revealed no significant differences between the group that received informative tutoring feedback after training to apply text structure knowledge compared to the group that received informative tutoring feedback after training summarization, t (82) = −0.685, p = 0.495. However, planned contrasts revealed that text quality of the abstract was significantly lower in the group that received training to apply text structure knowledge compared to the control group that received language use, t (82) = −2.221, p = 0.029, η p 2 = 0.06 . The third variables coherence skill [ F (1, 82) = 0.679, p = 0.412], reducing text while revising [ F (2, 82) = 0.326, p = 0.570], and adding relevant information while revising [ F (2, 82) = 0.259, p = 0.612] were not significantly related to the text quality of the abstract. However, academic writing skills [ F (2, 82) = 4.135, p = 0.045, η p 2 = 0.05 ] and text quality of the draft [ F (2, 82) = 12.523, p = 0.001, η p 2 = 0.13 ] were significantly related to the text quality of the abstract.

This study investigated the effects of training the cognitive writing strategies summarization and application of text structure knowledge on academic writing skills, and of feedback for text revision to foster undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ text quality. Furthermore, it was tested whether training to apply text structure knowledge and receiving feedback for revising fosters undergraduates’ text quality significantly.

Concerning the cognitive writing strategy hypothesis , it was found that the groups that received cognitive strategy writing training outperformed the control group in terms of the acquisition of academic writing skills. This effect was found for the group that received the text structure knowledge application strategy training in the zone of desired effects ( Hattie and Timperley, 2007 ). Furthermore, the finding underlines the importance of prior knowledge in the form of writing experience, as the pretest outcome on academic writing skills explained over 50% of the variance.

More specifically, first, concerning the text structure strategy hypothesis , the group that received training on how to apply text structure knowledge significantly outperformed the control group in terms of using genre specific structures to find and assign information; however, contrary to the assumption, no differences were found between the group that received summarization training and the group that received a text structure knowledge application strategy training. Furthermore, the importance of prior knowledge was confirmed, as it explained around 50% of the variance. Second, concerning the summarization strategy hypothesis , the group that received training on how to summarize a text did not outperform either the control group or the group that received the text structure knowledge application strategy. The importance was confirmed as the pretest outcome on summarization skills explained nearly 30% of the variance. All groups already had high summarization values in the pretest, which increased further in the posttest.

Concerning the undergraduates’ hypothesis , the results confirm the findings by Hanna (1976) and Clariana (1990) that novice writers benefit from feedback that offers guidance through a challenging task, as it revealed that the undergraduates benefit from receiving informative tutoring feedback more than from receiving try-again feedback concerning text quality of the abstract. Furthermore, the result pointed out that deleting text and adding relevant information were not related to text quality. This result is in line with findings by Brown and Day (1983) and Hidi and Anderson (1986) who could show that the low text quality of beginning academic writers can be explained by deleting text. However, the finding underlines the importance of text revising and prior knowledge of academic writing skills for text quality of the abstract, as both together explained nearly 20% of variance.

Concerning the level of graduation hypothesis , the result is in line with the findings of Hanna (1976) and Clariana (1990) . Indeed, we extend their findings, as we found an expertise reversal effect ( Kalyuga et al., 1998 , 2003 ; Kalyuga, 2007 ). According to this effect, there is an interaction between the level of writing experience and the effectiveness of different instructional methods. In this sense, feedback that is effective for undergraduates can lose its effectiveness and even have negative consequences for postgraduates and vice versa . The text quality of the abstracts drafted by undergraduates who received informative tutoring feedback was higher than that of the undergraduates who received try-again feedback. On the other hand, the text quality of the abstracts drafted by postgraduates who received try-again feedback was higher than that of the postgraduates who received informative tutoring feedback. This insight confirms the assumption that support needs to be tailored to the individual learner’s writing experience and skills: undergraduates need support in monitoring the writing process to control and regulate developing coherent texts, whereas postgraduates can rely on stored writing plans and writing experience while revising their texts repeatedly. As a consequence, support for postgraduates might begin with elaborated feedback after writing ( Shute, 2008 ), which is individually aligned and administered ( Zimmerman and Kitsantas, 2002 ), whereas for undergraduates, elaborated feedback with guidance is already helpful while writing. In both cases, administered feedback should be aligned to the writer’s current prerequisites and needs to ensure that the writer is able to apply the feedback.

Concerning the combination hypothesis , the results did show no differences between the three groups. However, in contrast to the group that received a training to apply text structure knowledge text quality of the control group that received a language use strategy training was significantly higher. This result is unexpected. Whereas the combination of training to apply a text structure application strategy and training a self-monitoring strategy was proved as a promising means to foster undergraduates’ text quality ( Wischgoll, 2016 ), the combination of training a text structure application strategy and providing feedback while revising was it not. Rather, the results indicate, first, that feedback for revising is not beneficial for text quality in combination with a cognitive writing strategy such as summarization strategy or text structure application strategy, and second, that feedback for revising might be promising if it is administered in combination with a less complex writing strategy such as language use strategy.

In sum, the results confirm that undergraduates and postgraduates need support in academic writing. According to the findings of this study, support in text structure knowledge application, summarization, and revision should be aligned to the writing experience.

Hence, undergraduates should be prepared to know and apply the text structure of relevant genres. Although most postgraduates in this study were aware of the text structure, they should be encouraged to check their writing in terms of correct application of the text structure. Although both undergraduates and postgraduates reached high values in text summarization skills, the reduction of information in the revision process did not significantly contribute to the text quality. The question arises of what the reasons may be for the lacking efficacy of summarization skills on text quality and how summarization should be trained to be effective for improving text quality.

Generally, first, the results confirm the notion that revision contributes to improving text quality. MacArthur (2012) could define revision as a problem-solving process in which writers detect discrepancies between current and intended level of text quality and consider alternatives. In this study, it became apparent that undergraduates and postgraduates did benefit from feedback that was tailored to their needs in the revision process. Specifically, undergraduates benefited from informative tutoring feedback in terms of higher text quality. The reason for this might be that informative tutoring feedback offered guidance to draw attention on discrepancies between actual and intended level of text quality. Furthermore, from the improved text quality one could conclude that feedback encouraged considering alternatives. Hence, one can see feedback as a suitable means to improve text quality.

Second, the results revealed that feedback that accompanies the writer deliberately while revising does not complement training a certain writing strategy such as text structure knowledge application or summarization strategy in terms of improving text quality. This finding is in contrast to Wischgoll (2016) who could show that training one cognitive and one metacognitive writing strategy results in improved text quality, and thus, confirmed that cognitive and metacognitive strategy training complement each other ( Veenman and Beishuizen, 2004 ). However, results revealed that feedback did correspond well with training the language use strategy. One can reason that applying strategies recently learnt and reply to feedback while revising might be overwhelming for beginning academic writers. Writing trainings that are sequenced in this way—training a cognitive writing strategy and receiving feedback while text revision—might lack a phase of consolidation. Thus, one can conclude that feedback should be administered in writing trainings independently to strategy trainings or only in combination with strategies, which are less complex such as the language use strategy.

Third, the study took into account writing performance of undergraduates and postgraduates. Results revealed that depending on the level of writing experience writers benefited from different kinds of elaborated feedback. This finding can be explained by Kellogg’s ( Kellogg, 2008 ) model of cognitive development of writing skill. He distinguished advanced writers into knowledge transformers and knowledge crafters. Whereas knowledge crafters already can rely on stored writing plans and writing experience, knowledge transformers have still to develop and consolidate these skills. Consequently, support has to be tailored according to writing experience. Thus, results confirmed that writing experience is a crucial indicator for aligning writing support.

The conclusion might be derived that undergraduates benefit from support during text revision as they lack the writing experience to be able to rely on stored writing plans. Feedback that provides orientation in terms of juggling processes of planning, translating, and reviewing helps novice writers to master the demands of writing. On the other hand, if postgraduates receive feedback while writing, they might be “disrupted” in applying these stored writing plans. Thus, postgraduates might benefit from individually tailored feedback after finishing the text to their satisfaction.

Fourth, the results confirm Kellogg’s ( Kellogg, 2008 ) notion that observation and practicing is a promising means to improve academic writing skills and text quality. Results pointed out that by observation undergraduates’ academic writing skills increased and by practicing writing and revising text quality improved effectively; that furthermore, the instructional design used in this study is suitable for higher education as learners improved efficiently in an even short-time intervention. The learning environment did allow each individual learner to process in his or her own pace. Observation was operationalized by reading learning journals and practicing by writing and revising the own text; thus, learners could emphasize their learning and writing process according to the individual needs. Therefrom one can derive that e-learning courses that offer support to develop single aspects of academic writing such as text structure knowledge or language use might be an attractive proposition for beginning academic writers.

Limitations

The presented research is limited by several aspects. First, writing is a complex process and training can only apply single aspects at a time. Further strategies in combination with experience-related feedback might also affect writing skills and text quality. Second, academic writing skill, coherence skill are multifaceted and in some ways related, which makes the assessment challenging. To meet these requirements, the instruments need further refinement respectively further instruments need to be developed. Third, as the participants were primarily female and the group of postgraduates was small, the generalizability of the results is limited.

Future Directions

Future research concerning postgraduates’ writing should focus on analyzing the gaps while composing a more complex text such as the theoretical background of an article. This would enable the requirements for supporting academic writing development on a more elaborated level to be determined. Future research concerning undergraduates’ needs should focus on the effectiveness of implementing basic writing courses that impart and train academic writing skills in the curriculum.

Furthermore, research on combining writing strategies and feedback aligned to writing experience is still needed. Indeed, fostering postgraduates’ text quality should be analyzed in more detail. This could be accomplished by contrasting case studies or by including a greater number of postgraduate participants. Establishing coherence of an academic text comprises the same challenges in all genres; thus, the studies could also be designed in a multidisciplinary manner.

Combination studies on academic writing could also include peer support instead of general feedback aligned to writing experience. Peer tutoring ( Slavin, 1990 ; Topping, 1996 , 2005 ) in higher education might be beneficial for postgraduates: they might feel less inhibited to discuss writing-related problems with their peers, who are more in tune with the current challenges in becoming an academic writer. Moreover, co-constructive discussions can promote the writing process. On the other hand, peer mentoring ( Topping, 2005 ) might be supportive for undergraduates. From a more experienced peer, undergraduates can receive consolidated support on how to master basic challenges in academic writing such as structuring the text and revising the text. Furthermore, metacognitive regulation in mentoring and tutoring ( De Backer et al., 2016 ) should also be considered as a crucial factor that contributes to improving writing skills.

The study showed that even short-time practice can promote text quality. In addition, in terms of writing development, the notion of Kellogg and colleagues ( Kellogg and Raulerson, 2007 ; Kellogg, 2008 ; Kellogg and Whiteford, 2009 ) that expertise in writing develops with practice was supported. The results imply that writing strategies such as text structure knowledge application strategy should be trained to achieve skills that promote coherence, and that feedback should be aligned to writing experience to improve text quality.

Ethics Statement

All participants volunteered and provided written informed consent. The study was conducted in accordance with the German Psychological Society (DGPs) ethical guidelines (2004, CIII) as well as APA ethical standards. According to the German Psychological Society’s ethical commission, approval from an institutional research board only needs to be obtained, if funding is subject to ethical approval by an Institutional Review Board. This research was reviewed and approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF), which did not require additional Institutional Review Board approval. All data were collected and analyzed anonymously.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the project “Learning the Science of Education (LeScEd).” LeScEd is a project of the Competence Network Empirical Research on Education and Teaching (KeBU) of the University of Freiburg and the University of Education, Freiburg. LeScEd is part of the BMBF Funding Initiative “Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education” (grant number 01PK11009B). The article processing charge was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg in the funding programme Open Access Publishing. The author would like to thank the student project assistants E. Ryschka, N. Lobmüller, and A. Prinz for their dedicated contribution.

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Keywords: coherence, feedback, higher education, text quality, writing strategies

Citation: Wischgoll A (2017) Improving Undergraduates’ and Postgraduates’ Academic Writing Skills with Strategy Training and Feedback. Front. Educ. 2:33. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2017.00033

Received: 01 March 2017; Accepted: 26 June 2017; Published: 21 July 2017

Reviewed by:

Copyright: © 2017 Wischgoll. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Anke Wischgoll, anke.wischgoll@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

ENGL002: English Composition II

What is academic research writing.

Not all useful and valuable writing automatically involves research or can be called "academic research writing".

While poets, playwrights, and novelists frequently do research and base their writings on that research, what they produce doesn't constitute academic research writing. The film Shakespeare in Love incorporated facts about Shakespeare's life and work to tell a touching, entertaining, and interesting story, but it was nonetheless a work of fiction since the writers, director, and actors clearly took liberties with the facts in order to tell their story. If you were writing a research project for a literature class that focuses on Shakespeare, you would not want to use Shakespeare in Love as evidence about how Shakespeare wrote his plays.

Essay exams are usually not a form of research writing. When an instructor gives an essay exam, she usually is asking students to write about what they learned from the class readings, discussions, and lecturers. While writing essay exams demands an understanding of the material, this isn't research writing because instructors aren't expecting students to do additional research on the topic.

All sorts of other kinds of writing we read and write all the time – letters, emails, journal entries, instructions, etc. – are not research writing.  Some writers include research in these and other forms of personal writing, and practicing some of these types of writing – particularly when you are trying to come up with an idea to write and research about in the first place – can be helpful in thinking through a research project. But when we set about to write a research project, most of us don't have these sorts of personal writing genres in mind.

So, what  is  "research writing"?

Research writing is writing that uses evidence (from journals, books, magazines, the Internet, experts, etc.) to persuade or inform an audience about a particular point.

Research writing exists in a variety of different forms. For example, academics, journalists, or other researchers write articles for journals or magazines; academics, professional writers, and almost anyone create web pages that both use research to make some sort of point and that show readers how to find more research on a particular topic. All of these types of writing projects can be done by a single writer who seeks advice from others, or by a number of writers who collaborate on the project.

Academic  research writing – the specific focus of  The Process of Research Writing and the sort of writing project you will probably need to write in this class – is a form of research writing. How is academic research writing different from other kinds of writing that involve research? The goal of this textbook is to answer that question, and academic research projects come in a variety of shapes and forms. (In fact, you may have noticed that The Process of Research Writingpurposefully avoids the term "research paper" since this is only one of the many ways in which it is possible to present academic research). But in brief, academic research writing projects are a bit different from other kinds of research writing projects in three significant ways:

Thesis : Academic research projects are organized around a point or a "thesis" that members of the intended audience would not accept as "common sense". What an audience accepts as "common sense" depends a great deal on the audience, which is one of the many reasons why what "counts" as academic research varies from field to field. But audiences want to learn something new either by being informed about something they knew nothing about before or by reading a unique interpretation on the issue or the evidence.

Evidence : Academic research projects rely almost exclusively on evidence in order to support this point. Academic research writers use evidence in order to convince their audiences that the point they are making is right. Of course, all writing uses other means of persuasion – appeals to emotion, to logic, to the credibility of the author, and so forth. But the readers of academic research writing projects are likely to be more persuaded by good evidence than by anything else.

 "Evidence", the information you use to support your point, includes readings you find in the library (journal and magazine articles, books, newspapers, and many other kinds of documents); materials from the Internet (web pages, information from databases, other Internet-based forums); and information you might be able to gather in other ways (interviews, field research, experiments, and so forth).

Citation : Academic research projects use a detailed citation process in order to demonstrate to their readers where the evidence that supports the writer's point came from. Unlike most types of "non-academic" research writing, academic research writers provide their readers with a great deal of detail about where they found the evidence they are using to support their point. This process is called citation, or "citing" of evidence. It can sometimes seem intimidating and confusing to writers new to the process of academic research writing, but it is really nothing more than explaining to your reader where your evidence came from.

Research Writing with Computers and the Internet

There are good reasons for writing with computers. To name just a few, computers help writers:

• Revise more easily, since you don't need to retype an entire draft;
• Share their writing with others, either electronically (on disk or via email) or in "hard copy" since the writer only needs to print additional copies;
• Store and organize files, since papers that might get lost or take up a lot of room can all fit onto a computer hard drive or a floppy diskette; and
• Make correct and "nice-looking" drafts with the use of features like spelling and grammar checkers, and with design features that allow you to select different fonts and layouts.

Chances are, you already know these things.

If you are not using computers or the Internet in your academic research writing process, you need to try and learn more about the possibilities. It can be intimidating and time-consuming to begin effectively using a computer, but there are few things that will be as rewarding for your academic writing career.

The Process of Research Writing: A Guide to Understanding this Book

Writing as a process: a brief explanation and map.

No essay, story, or book (including this one) simply "appeared" one day from the writer's brain; rather, all writings are made after the writer, with the help of others, works through the process of writing.

Generally speaking, the process of writing involves:

• Coming up with an idea  (sometimes called brainstorming, invention, or "pre-writing");
• Writing a rough draft of that idea ;
• Showing that rough draft to others to get feedback  (peers, instructors, colleagues, etc.);
• Revising the draft  (sometimes many times); and
• Proof-reading and editing  to correct minor mistakes and errors.

An added component in the writing process of research projects is, obviously, research. Rarely does research begin before at least some initial writing (even if it is nothing more than brainstorming or pre-writing exercises), and research is usually not completed until after the entire writing project is completed. Rather, research comes in to play at all parts of the process and can have a dramatic effect on the other parts of the process. Chances are you will need to do at least some simple research to develop an idea to write about in the first place. You might do the bulk of your research as you write your rough draft, though you will almost certainly have to do more research based on the revisions that you decide to make to your project.

There are two other things to think about within this simplified version of the process of writing. First, the process of writing always takes place for some reason or purpose  and within some context that potentially changes the way you do these steps.  The process that you will go through in writing for this class will be different from the process you go through in responding to an essay question on a Sociology midterm or from sending an email to a friend. This is true in part because your purposes for writing these different kinds of texts are simply different.

Second, the process of writing isn't quite as linear and straightforward as my list might suggest. Writers generally have to start by coming up with an idea, but writers often go back to their original idea and make changes in it after they write several drafts, do research, talk with others, and so on. The writing process might be more accurately represented like this:

Seem complicated? It is, or at least it can be.

So, instead of thinking of the writing process as an ordered list, you should think of it more as a "web" where different points can and do connect with each other in many different ways, and a process that changes according to the demands of each writing project. While you might write an essay where you follow the steps in the writing process in order (from coming up with an idea all the way to proofreading), writers also find themselves following the writing process out of order all the time. That's okay. The key thing to remember about the writing process is that it is a process made up of many different steps, and writers are rarely successful if they "just write".