Academic Writing

The Basics Of Writing

• Mechanics (Spelling & Punctuation)
• Vocabulary (Phrasal verbs, Figures of Speech, Proverbs)
• Grammar (Tense, Sentence structure, Agreement, parts of speech…)
• Transitions & Cohesion
• Sentence Errors (Shifts, Modifier, Comparison…)

Types of Writing

1. Academic and research writing: From basic book reports and college essaysto doctoral dissertations, academic writing encompasses a range of formal writing that primarily serves to present the results of close study and analysis.
2. Business and professional writing: Whether you’re writing resumes and cover lettersto get a job; business plans to start a new enterprise; or letters, emails, and reports during the work day, writing skills play a vital part in getting any job done.
3. Creative writing: Expressive writing in the form of fiction (novels and short stories), creative non-fiction (memoir, literary journalism, and personal essays), and poetry uses story and description to tackle big ideas and tell important stories.
4. Personal writing: mostly for our own sake—daily diaries, travel journals, and freewriting—can help us better understand our feelings, expand on our ideas, and preserve our memories.

Styles of Writing

• Expository: Expository writing conveys facts and seeks to provide readers with an understanding of specific concepts. It’s typically found in academic writing, newspaper articles, business reports, or works of non-fiction.
• Persuasive: persuasive writing strives to prove a particular point or point of view. Using evidence and anecdotes to support their position, the persuasive writer tries to convince a reader to agree with them. Can be found in newspaper and magazines’ opinion columns, academic essays, political speeches, and even advertisements.
• Descriptive: Descriptive writing attempts to describe a person, place, thing, or event using sensory language. It’s often described as writing that tries to “paint a picture” for the reader, but descriptive writing can appeal to all five senses. While you may most closely associate this type of description with creative works like novels and poems, descriptive writing can be found in virtually any kind of writing.
• Narrative:Narrative writing is any writing that tells a story. These stories can be based in reality or entirely fictional, but they will depict characters in action. Most commonly found in fiction, readers can also see narrative writing in use in biographies, memories, and anecdotes.