Academic Writing
Academic writing generally refers to the kinds of prose used by college students, faculty, and researchers to write about subjects under study. Academic writing is based on inquiry and relies more on reason than emotion; it is intended to inform and evoke a response from a real or imagined audience (Thaiss and Zawacki 5 – 8). Academic writing often includes summarizing and responding to others' views, "using what others say...as a launching pad or sounding board for your own ideas" (Graff and Birkenstein 3), as well as providing details and evidence to support your thesis.
Academic writing compared to other kinds of writing
This chart makes distinctions among creative, personal, academic, and professional writing in terms of the elements of rhetorical situations; however, these categories also overlap and have similarities. Sometimes a writer’s rhetorical situation may invite or require combining characteristics from more than one category. Also, a piece of writing can change categories; for example, a paper written by a graduate student for an academic course may later be published in a professional journal. Creative writing can be done in a private, academic, or professional setting. While creative writing is an academic discipline, it can be argued that many kinds of writing involve creativity.
| Creative Writing | Personal Writing | Academic Writing | Professional Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Creative Writing
Content is largely imaginative or fictional though based on life experiences and knowledge/research |
Personal Writing
Content is known from personal life experience |
Academic Writing
Content is known through study or research |
Professional Writing
Content is known as part of professional knowledge, experience, or research |
|
Creative Writing
Audience is generally friendly, seeking to be entertained, informed, or enlightened |
Personal Writing
Audience is generally friendly, seeking to be entertained, informed, or inspired. |
Academic Writing
Audience seeks to understand, learn from, or evaluate your ideas and knowledge and information, form an opinion, and (often) respond. |
Professional Writing
Audience |
|
Creative Writing
Purposes |
Personal Writing
Purposes |
Academic Writing
Purposes |
Professional Writing
Purposes |
|
Creative Writing
Style and conventions are diverse |
Personal Writing
Style and conventions can be informal, even conversational |
Academic Writing
Style and conventions should conform to disciplinary expectations, such as APA, Chicago Manual, or MLA |
Professional Writing
Style and conventions vary according to professional expectations |
|
Creative Writing
Common rhetorical approaches include narration and description, which can be prose or verse, or some combination of these. Can incorporate multiple modalities, for example, photographs or drawings |
Personal Writing
Common rhetorical approaches are narration, description, illustration through examples. But can also use comparative or causal analysis, etc. |
Academic Writing
Common rhetorical approaches include summary; analysis and synthesis involving comparison, definition, cause & effect, process, etc. Sometimes referred to as expository (explanatory) writing. |
Professional Writing
Common rhetorical approaches |
|
Creative Writing
Examples: |
Personal Writing
Examples: |
Academic Writing
Examples: |
Professional Writing
Examples: |