In academic writing and research papers, the students or researchers use English that is different from regular conversational English. These writings involve facts, statistics, research findings, and analysis.

Types of academic writing

There are four types of academic writing: descriptive, persuasive, analytical, and critical. You can use more than one type of academic writing in your thesis work. For example, you will use writing writing for show gaps in the literature review. In the methods section, you will be describing how you have done the research, so it will be of description type. The results section will be both analytical and descriptive. The findings and interpretation parts of the research paper will be persuasive. In descriptive writing, you provide information and facts. In analytical writing, you re-organize information to find relationships. Persuasive writing involves presenting evidence to persuade readers to agree with your conclusion. Critical writing involves considering others' points of view along with yours.

Common vocabularies of academic writing

Here are some common terms used in academic and research papers that you may not know.

Typology : a classificatory system for categorizing data.
Statistical probability : the possibility of drawing an inference from a sample.
Meta-analysis : a statistical technique for combining and integrating the data that is gathered from various experimental studies.
Inductive reasoning : a logical process of reasoning for developing more general rules from specific observations.
Causal relationship : a relationship between variables where movement in one variable causes movement in the other.
Theory : a well-established explanation of a natural phenomenon depending on repeated testing, lots of data, and agreement of a wide group of scientists.
Hypothesis : a tentative explanation for a phenomenon used as a starting point for investigation.
Research instrument : tools used to collect, measure, and analyze information. These include interviews, questionnaires, and others.

Rules of academic writing

Academic writing must be formal, impersonal, and objective. In academic writing, there is a section called 'abstract' that comes at the beginning of the report. This must be in the past tense as you are writing about your research results. The method section of your research paper must also be in the past tense where you tell how you have conducted the research and using what tools. The introduction and discussion sections should be in the present tense. The results of your statistical analysis and calculations should be in the present tense. When you are referring to tables and graphs in your analysis, write in the present tense.

In academic writing use the third person. For example, for instance, instead of "I interpret the results…" write "The results indicate that…" or "We surveyed the literature to find that…." Write "A survey of the literature review revealed that…"

Try to use tentative language in academic writing. It provides a convincing argument for your research. For example, instead of writing "Diet is important for your health" write "Statistics suggest that diet is important for your health".

Hedging language is sometimes used in academic writing. Examples, are "It may be suggested that" or "You may conclude that". The writer uses this language when he or she is unsure about the claim. It is also called cautious language or vague language. It shows that the writer knows there are some limitations in the research work.

Ways to improve academic English

There is always room to improve your academic writing skills. You should attend academic conferences where journal articles are presented by the researchers. You will learn how they have done their work and analyze them. You can notice the presentation of their work to see how you can improve yours. By reading lots of research papers, you will learn about the format and language used in research writing. Nowadays you will find blogs and podcasts on academic writing that can guide you to write the best research paper.

Importance of English in academic research

Academic researchers spend a lot of time collecting evidence and analyzing their findings to establish their concepts. Their findings can be very helpful for the modern world and create new opportunities in different fields. By writing the research papers convincingly and properly, the researchers can grab the attention of policymakers or investors who can take their research forward and implement it. The general public must also understand your work to know how you have contributed to your field of study.

Using proper English in academic writing lets you share your ideas with international researchers. You can collaborate with an international team to progress with your work. You can publish your work in an international journal.

Most of the scholarly literature is written in English. Doing an in-depth literature review is a major part of any academic writing. So, knowing proper English used in this area you can understand the works of others that may help to establish your hypothesis. You can find areas of research to fill in the gaps.

To come up with the research findings you must conduct surveys and interviews. Now you can take the global audience as your sample and do these online. Using proper English you can communicate with them to find and analyze your research results.

Publishing your research work in internationally recognized and peer-reviewed journals and finally presenting it at international conferences requires a lot of emphasis on your English. You need a high level of proficiency in English to present your paper at international conferences and answer questions from the fellow researchers there. Participating in these conferences gives you networking opportunities to move forward in your career.

If you are a non-native English speaker then you might find it challenging to write and present your works. However, with the online resources available and training opportunities, you can improve your English. You will find sharing your ideas more comfortable once you are proficient in academic English.