The very first step of writting a academic paper (or any presentation/communication) that you think the following structuring considerations.

  1. Audience
  2. Purpose
  3. Organization
  4. Style
  5. Flow
  6. Presentation

Audience and Purpose

If your audience is instroctor(professer) or expert (audinence know more than the writer), your purpose may be

  • display familiarity, expertise and intelligence

IF your audience is student or general public (audience know less than the writter), your purpose may be

  • display instructional content, teaching

Organization

Problem-Solution Structure [Hoey 1983]

  1. Description of a situation
  2. Identification of a problem
  3. Description of a solution
  4. Evaluation of a solution

Comparison-contrast

Cause-effect

Classification

Style

Stylistic Shift

Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English

You can find out the useful academc corpus in MICASE

Verb

  • phrasal verb
  • prepositional verbs (verb + prepoistion)
  • single verb (use more in academic writing)

Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs – Differences Academic writing is formal writing style

Garmmar Style

  1. Generally avoid contractions.
  2. Use the more appropriated formal negative forms.
  3. Limit the use of “run-on” expression, such an so forth and etc
  4. Avoid addressing the reader as you(except, of course, if you are writing a textbook or other instructional material)
  5. Be careful about using direct question
  6. Place adverbs whitin the verb
  7. Aim for an efficient use of words. Try to use no more than you really need.

Flow

RMIT Study & Learning Centre

this + summary word