Academic writing presents a specific style of writing used by students, which can be characterized by the use of formal language and objective position. The purpose of writing in academic form is to explain an idea to the reader and provide arguments with logical reasoning to develop the reader’s understanding of the topic. In general, the intended audiences of academic writings are people with academic backgrounds: other researchers, professors, and students; however, in some cases, academic writings can provide valuable information for ordinary readers interested in the topic. The elements of academic writing and specific requirements define its difference from other forms of writing used in everyday life.
Academic writing presents the basis for writing various works, such as argumentative or persuasive essays. Thus, I also used elements of academic writing in the past essays I have written. However, the sample paper was slightly different from how I wrote past essays, as it aimed to ease the reading process for the reader. Next, after analyzing the sample paper, I understood the strengths of 5-paragraph essays. The five-paragraph requirements for essays are commonly met in American high schools (Labaree, 2020). I find that five paragraphs have enough room to fit the introduction, basic knowledge of the theme, more specific information, and opposing opinions on the topic, and conclusion. However, not all themes can fit into the limitation of a five-paragraph essay. For example, literature reviews require more space for the content to cover several opinions from different authors. Therefore, depending on the topic, academic writing should have as many paragraphs as necessary to thoroughly cover the topic.
In conclusion, this essay explored the theme of academic writing and its elements. The essay defined that the genre of academic writing differs from other forms of writing in everyday life because it uses different methods and requirements to ease the reading process for the audience. Lastly, the paper identified that strict requirements for the academic writing form are needed to cover the topic from all perspectives fully and intelligibly convey information to the audience.
Reference
Labaree, D. F. (2020). Turtles all the way down: Academic writing as formalism. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 54(3), 679-693. Web.