Why Is Academic Writing Challenging?
For any writing to be considered academic, it must be non-fiction that is formal, clear, and well-researched or supported by evidence. However, several challenges may arise in the process of writing such a text. While the final goal of academic writing is to be clear, the process of producing it is an arduous task that involves pulling together many sub-components and being aware of numerous rules, which makes it a challenging undertaking. That’s why so many students prefer to buy custom essay and get a great example of writing to learn from it themselves. Writing is not only a complex task, but also the most difficult of the language abilities to acquire; more so, if the language to be used is considered a second or a foreign language (Pablo and Lasaten 46).
Academic or scholarly writing is a genre of formal writing used by students, researchers, and scholars for essays, scholarly publications, journal articles, research papers, and dissertations in all academic fields. It generally requires a thesis statement that sets up the author’s purpose for the work and ends with a defined conclusion summarizing the key arguments. While the final product reads in a clear voice, achieving the expected clarity and tone of voice required for academic writing are not always easy—especially if the writer is not a native speaker of English or an ESL (English as a Second Language) candidate. Although academic writing is practiced in many languages, English is one of the most widely used languages for academic writing, and the style of English used can vary between British, American, and other types. Ravichandran et al. (772) found that key challenges faced by international students with respect to writing in English concerned grammar and vocabulary, style guide use, organization and flow of information, critical thinking, understanding of plagiarism, and assignment completion time.
Academic writing is expected to be free of mistakes and written using correct punctuation and grammar. In addition, it follows specific conventions in terms of content, structure, and style. Moreover, depending on the academic discipline, academic writing must be presented in specific formatting styles such as APA, MLA, Chicago, etc., which have their own sets of rules. In addition to following stylistic rules and embodying a certain tone and clarity, academic writing must be well-researched and yet original. Before beginning to write, students and scholars must spend significant amounts of time reading other published pieces relating to their topic and identifying important sections that they will later weave into their essays or research papers as citations. Moreover, the work presented should not only be original but also precisely convey information while following all the other rules of writing. It should also flow in well-structured paragraphs with precise vocabulary and accurate citations. Failure to comply with these requirements could lead to the work being rejected or have more serious consequences such as expulsion, in case the work has been plagiarized.
In conclusion, the technical task of academic writing is a demanding and onerous process even for native speakers of English because of its strict and multiple requirements. Informal language must be avoided, the writing should be concise as well as informative, and the vocabulary used must be technically accurate. Research material must be integrated into the text without any copying. Ideas must be synthesized and presented in a logical manner with credible arguments. All the stylistic regulations and formatting requirements must be followed, and the work should ultimately read with clarity and credibility.
Lucas Noah is a tech-savvy writer with a solid academic foundation, holding a Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) degree. His expertise in the IT field has paved the way for a flourishing writing career, where he currently contributes to the online presence... Read more
