Academic writing $LaTeX: \mid$ Structure of the text - IMRaD $LaTeX: \mid$ Different types of writing assignments

Academic, or scientific, writing is considered a genre in its own right. Whether it's a short assignment or your final thesis, there are certain linguistic and structural rules to follow. Here you will find information and tips on how to improve your academic writing.

General instructions on academic writing

In academic writing, preparation and planning are of great importance; make sure that you really understand the task before you start. When writing an essay, it is also important to have a relatively clear aim (although this might need to be adjusted afterwards). Even a provisional problem formulation helps to make the reading of the literature more goal-oriented. In addition to planning, subject knowledge of theories, facts and data is required. Here too, a clearly formulated aim is helpful as this makes it easier to prioritise information in terms of what is useful and relevant to the work.

Start by planning the structure in rough outlines first and make a more detailed outline later. The writing process itself involves much more than just producing text, such as choosing a topic and collecting material, and organising and editing the content. Some writing tasks cannot be judged solely by the number of pages of text, as they instead consist of reading, thinking, or solving problems. Being aware of where you are in the writing process can reduce the stress of not having written a large number of pages. Once you have created a reasonably well-thought-out outline, the work of producing coherent text can begin.

All text needs to be processed and looking for the most effective way to express something also sharpens your thinking. Check carefully that:

you have your sources in order
you do not repeat yourself or have omitted anything important
the text is logical and easy to read with a consistent context
the text is written in correct English (or another language, if applicable).

Make sure that you always have a clear connection to the aim of the writing assignment. Continuously connect back to the aim to guide the reader through your text and highlight the point of your work. In the discussion chapter, you have the opportunity to discuss your expectations regarding the results and why they turned out the way they did. Try to understand your analysed results in a larger perspective. What significance do your results have, if they are correct? What could the consequences be? What is still unknown, and what needs to be explored further.

Different types of writing assignments – a small glossary

There are many different types of academic texts and papers. As a new student at university, it can be difficult to know what is what. That's why we've made a small glossary that presents the most common text types.

What distinguishes an academic text?

An academic text deals with a scientific problem and adds new knowledge. The purpose is usually to understand or explain something and to emphasise what distinguishes the research itself. In a scientific text, you should strive for objectivity – not opinion or belief. In academic contexts, your opinions are always unimportant as long as they are not substantiated by theory and empirical evidence. The task also needs to be carefully analysed. What should your text discuss? And what is the expected result? The basic principle of scientific argumentation can be briefly described as follows:

What are you asking?
Why are you asking?
What are you asking in light of?
What are you asking with?
How are you asking?

Format

An academic text often has a relatively complex content and therefore demands a lot from the reader. At the same time, the science should be easy to both read and review. This is necessary for the scientific knowledge structure to be shared and sustainable. Therefore, the academic text follows customary grammatical rules. It should also be spelled correctly and explain all new concepts in detail. The text should also be provided with informative headings and subheadings so that the reader can understand its logical structure. On the next page you can read more about how a scientific text can be designed according to a commonly used outline or structure called IMRaD. Usually, this pattern is followed, but the structure can vary. Always consult your teacher or supervisor regarding the layout.

You can get a thorough introduction to academic writing in MiunSkills.

You can book an tutorial with a writing tutor to enhance your writing. You'll find available time slots on the library's web page.

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