Academic writing is featured with a number of peculiarities that make it stand out of the crowd of different types of writing. Sticking to set requirements will make you a successful academic writer, so just grab your attention for a couple of short educating lectures and voilà, you know everything needed and even a bit more!

Let’s take a closer look at each of the academic peculiarities:

1. Clear and limited focus

The focus of an academic paper is defined by the thesis statement. Every body paragraph supports the argument(s) introduced in the thesis. Each argument is presented in a separate paragraph. Topic sentence articulates the idea the whole paragraph is devoted to, while a transition sentence recaps the main findings and provides a smooth transition between the adjacent paragraphs.

2. Logical structure

Academic writing follows a logical, straightforward structure that helps convey a particular idea or argument. In its simplest form, academic writing consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph is built of some essential components, including a topic sentence, supporting information, examples, interpretation, and a concluding (transition) sentence.

a) The introduction provides concise background information, presents the scope of the essay, and states the thesis. Thesis statement is the most important element of an introduction, as it controls the subject matter of an essay.

b) Each body paragraph serves as a supporting point of the thesis and begins with a topic sentence. A body paragraph neither starts nor ends with a reference. All outside information is cited, analyzed, and interpreted. A concluding sentence ends a paragraph and serves as a bridge between two adjacent paragraphs and contributes to the logical flow of the paper.

c) The conclusion restates the thesis and summarizes the key ideas/arguments/findings discussed in the body of the paper. No new or outside information should be included in the conclusion unless required in the instructions.