Academic writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and supported by evidence. Its purpose is to help the reader understand. It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary. It is difficult to find a simple definition of academic writing because there are many types and forms of academic writing, produced for a variety of reasons.
While specific requirements may vary depending on the particular form of academic writing or the class or publication for which a work is produced, some characteristics are common to all academic writing. It's what students are expected to produce for classes and what professors and academic researchers use to write academic materials. While this is not an exhaustive list of all the possible forms that academic writing can take, it contains the most common types. Whether you're writing a research paper, a thesis, or a conference paper, these tips can help you approach your academic writing tasks and projects from the right perspective.