Academic vs. Non-Academic Writing
Nowadays, many individuals spend much time writing academic papers. There are different types of academic papers, namely research papers, research proposals, term papers, coursework, and research reports. Very often some individuals mix academic papers with non-academic. However, there are some distinguishing features appropriate to each of these writing styles.
The first and the most important thing that should be mentioned is the purpose of the academic paper. For example, a research report may be written for some professional establishments. In this case, the report will be academic and will require the implementation of certain norms as well as rules. If the research report is written for an individual purpose, it will be a non-academic report. Furthermore, all academic research reports are written by professionals meanwhile non-academic reports are produced by students.
The second issue is the language of the paper. The academic research report often takes years of publishing and is edited by authors’ peers. What is more, the language of the academic research report is formal and a lot of terminology is applied as well. Apart from the mentioned features, every academic research contains credible references. The biggest attention is paid to the aptness and authenticity of the sources. When speaking about non-academic papers, they may be written by everyone and the language is casual and even may consist of slang. Additionally, there can be no references that can prove the certainty of the statements suggested in the paper.
Furthermore, the structure of the academic papers is logical and formal. The ideas are well-organized and are clearly understood as well. There is a narrative link between the sentences and paragraphs. To contrast, non-academic papers do not have a strict structure. The ideas may not be connected with each other, so the paper may not contain the elements common to academic writing.
The third thing is a style. Academic research reports usually follow a certain tone. In other words, the tone is connected with the attitude depicted in the paper. It is important to provide the ideas of other scholars fairly and follow the appropriate tone. Besides that, there is a diction that plays a significant role in writing. Diction refers to the words used while writing. It is important to use relevant words since some of them may change the main idea of the whole text and may provide misunderstanding respectively. One more fact is a thesis. Every academic paper has a thesis that drives the whole paper. That is to say that there is a concrete idea investigated in the whole writing. When turning back to non-academic papers, one may admit that nothing of the mentioned above is followed completely. Actually, sometimes non-academic writing may contain ideas of other people used by a writer as his/her own ones, which refers to plagiarism strictly prohibited in the academic community. Speaking about diction, in non-academic works, various words are used without even paying attention to their extra meaning. That is why while reading non-academic papers the reader may misunderstand the writer and the attitude towards the paper will be spoilt respectively. Additionally, non-academic research may not include a thesis. That is why there may be many different ideas that do not have one main theme.
All in all, many researchers face the issue of the academic and non-academic writing requirements. Some even do not pay attention to the differences between them. However, they are huge. The biggest distinguishing features of academic and non-academic writing are purpose, structure, tone, and diction. All academic research papers are formal and strict while non-academic are casual. That is why the authors of academic papers are professionals and the writers of non-academic papers may be students.
This research paper work was published and edited by qualified writer-editor from bestwritingservice - Heiley Durst.
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