5 Tips To Improve Your Academic Writing Skills
Learning to understand and converse in English happens to be a big plus especially when you, as a resident of UAE are keen to improve your knowledge of this internationally acclaimed language. Sure, there are numerous language training centers throughout your city and all you have to do is to get yourself admitted ASAP.
Your newly found linguistic skill will go a long way in assisting you as you travel around the globe doing business or pursuing your education in world class institutions in USA or UK.
Unfortunately, being able to speak fluently is not the only criteria for shining brightly as a student or entrepreneur though. You need to have the required writing skills as well.
Just making yourself understood by writing a few hastily put together sentences will not do either. You have to master the technique of academic writing as well.
Here are 5 important tips to take heed of as you try to improve the required skills.
Clarity, Brevity & Language Skills
All of the aforementioned traits are important when you are keen to make your thoughts known. Your content should be grammatically correct with no spelling errors first and foremost. Your style needs to be lucid as well so that your readers feel like you are addressing them personally.
Try to be as brief as possible without deviating from the topic.
Remember that empty phrases have no meaning and you will end up alienating your teachers and fellow students with an overtly verbose article. Maintain a formal tone throughout when writing a strictly academic article or research paper.
Do edit and proof read your writing before you submit as you are likely to come across a few mistakes that will create the wrong impression if not corrected.
Content is the King
Yes, this is true even for academic writing. It is mandatory to present a well founded article/ thesis or discourse that has been properly constructed and sticks to the topic.
It is important to include citations along with numbers. Last but not the least, it is best to refrain from writing academic content, if you are not well versed with the subject.
Quotations
Simply adding a quotation for the heck of it is a strict no-no though. Adding a quote ad verbatim may be necessary at times but do not forget to use the proper punctuation mark along with it. Do avoid over use of quotes though. It will dilute your content making it seem like a borrowed piece of work.
Try and paraphrase a saying, if you feel that it needs to be inserted within your writing. It definitely simplifies your writing but may not always be in tune with the tone. Identical or paraphrased, you should not omit to attribute it to the source, however.
Summarizing
Keeping your paper limited to the number of words mentioned in the questionnaire happens to be an onerous task. The best way to do it is to read through properly and remove all extra words / sentences that do not serve the purpose.
Using the principle of ‘Ockham’s razor’ is advisable or retaining a third of the article can also streamline it. It is essential to write according to the instructions though or you might just end up with no credit at all.
Plagiarism
This is a curse that you must avoid at any cost.
Passing off someone else’s work as your own is considered to be a cardinal sin.
Do go through all similar content while conducting your research but do remember to employ your words while writing.
It is advisable to check your final paper for plagiarism with the aid of any quality tool available online before submitting it for review.