Good academic writing is clear and exact, interpreting the evidence and reasoning from it.
That affects the way you write. As you write, a few rules have become standard to help maintain that attitude.
SENTENCES
Your argument consists of information and ideas. You show this best by remembering One sentence = One idea, so stay in full sentences.
Don't use broken-off bits of sentences; that's more common in speeches and advertising.
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X Good writing is important. For the reader. For the writer. For everyone. |
| Good writing is important for the reader, the writer and anyone else using the text. |
PERSON
Usually, stay in third person ("they", "it"). Only use first person ("I", "we") if the assignment requires it, such as reflection or some types of report. Second person ("you") is almost never used.
Most assignments focus on the argument, not on the person making it.
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X Good writing helps you make your point powerfully and clearly. |
| Good writing helps the points be understood powerfully and clearly. |
NUMBER
Usually, you can write numbers as words if they're less than ten and used to count things. You usually write them as numerals if they're more than ten or used to calculate (e.g. statistics). Some numbers (e.g. prices, times, dates) use their own patterns.
| Good writing has three main advantages. Here, 'good' means writing with a Flesch-Kincaid score of more than 60. It should make sense to people aged 15 or above, and have no more than one or two pieces of jargon per paragraph. This definition does not include material written before 1800. |
RHETORIC
Remember: clear and exact. Don't use rhetorical questions (questions that you're about to answer for yourself) - these can easily make your reader misunderstand you, especially if they answer the question differently.
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X How could a world without good writing even work? |
| A world without good writing could not communicate or co-ordinate itself, and so could not work. |
Also avoid "etc." - this only means "and other things, which I won't mention", and is very inexact.
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X Good writing underlies government, business, community, etc. |
| Good writing underlies every part of a functioning society, including government, business and community. |
APPEAL
Make this about the evidence and your reader's understanding. Appeals to fear, anger or greed won't work.
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X Good writing is clear. Bad writing, with all its jargon and over-clever talk and deliberate confusion, is all about keeping everyone else out so the elites can keep all the power for themselves. |
| Good writing is clear. Bad writing often complicates things unnecessarily and, at its worst, pushes the reader away. Politically, this often focuses power among those who understand particular texts or codes (Cade et al., 2023). |
YOU SAW THIS EARLIER, BUT...
I'll say it again.
Write each sentence so it logically continues from the previous sentence/paragraph (see Tabs 2 and 5). That works best near the start of the new sentence.
Don't overcomplicate your sentences. Always write to be understood - maybe the most important rule here (see Tabs 3 and 4).
VAGUE WORDS
Words with many meanings (e.g. "get", "do") are OK, but you can usually find a more exact word for your meaning.
Phrasal verbs (e.g. "get around", "do without") don't often appear in academic writing - find a one-word synonym to show your meaning instead.
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X Good writing gets across its point, which is part of doing anything useful. |
| Good writing communicates its point effectively, which is part of any useful activity. |
DUBIOUS WORDS
If you need to use a word but disagree with its assumptions or tone, you can mark it with single quotes.
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X Good writing makes misinformation and alternative facts harder to conceal. |
| Good writing makes misinformation and 'alternative facts' harder to conceal. |
Most assignments are written in 12-point black font on a white background, with double spacing (usually either 1.5 or 2.0).
Arial, Times New Roman and Calibri are the standard, most widely-accepted fonts.
MORE IMPORTANTLY
check the instructions/rubric for advice on layout, headings, header/footer, colour, spacing, etc.
stay consistent throughout - don't start one way and finish another way. That includes format and captioning in tables/visuals, as well as margins and spacing in bullet lists.