The requirements of academic writing are diverse and sometimes confusing. The following article sets out some very basic strategies that can be applied to all forms of academic writing.

Academic texts come in numerous forms: seminar papers and bachelor’s theses, essays, monographs, journal articles, lectures and research articles, to name but a few. For all these texts, there are conventions as to how they should be structured. These conventions do not just differ from one form of text to another. They can also differ between disciplines, universities or even between individual departments in the same institute. However, there are certain aspects that apply to all academic texts no matter how different they are.

Outline
Most academic documents follow a simple structure that is also familiar from other genres: they consist of an introduction, a main section and a conclusion. The longest and most important part is the main section: it presents our argument. In the main section, we discuss theses, present arguments and set out the evidence.

The introduction and conclusion are often not written until the very end. It is after all easier to formulate an introduction and a conclusion if we have already written the main section and we have the results in front of us. The same applies to formal elements such as the title page, table of contents, abstract and bibliography. For the main section, it helps to first sketch out an outline of the central ideas and put them in a meaningful order. This framework, which can also indicate intermediate goals, will then enable us to flesh out the text more easily.

First draft
A first formulation does not have to be perfect. Academic writing is rarely done in one single go, text is rather added layer by layer. It therefore makes sense not to put too much pressure on a first draft and to write freely along the outline – we can always edit, discard or add bits to it later. There is also no hurry to polish the language. What’s important is to get text down on paper – we can refine it later. That’s why the focus of the first draft is on the content and not on the language.

Second draft
With the first draft, we have already created a solid foundation which we can then revise step by step or layer by layer. It also makes sense at this point to look at the wording and make sure we have formulated our arguments clearly. Other ideas and arguments often spring to mind when we’re re-reading and revising a text. Finally, we write the introduction and the conclusion, then add any necessary formal elements such as a table of contents and bibliography.

Feedback
When we are deeply involved in a topic and are too close to our own text, blind spots can arise: for example, we may overlook (linguistic) errors or formulations that require our own particular knowledge and would not be understood by outsiders. That’s why it’s important to get external feedback, for example from other students, lecturers or a study group. Such groups can also help you stick to your schedule. Feedback loops can already be integrated early on in the drafting process. Early feedback loops are useful and can help flesh out the work. For example, we can formulate our theses and arguments for the first time by explaining our topic to others verbally.

Revision
After obtaining feedback, we can do the final revisions. Dealing with feedback can be quite difficult: we can often take negative feedback personally while giving little if any weight to positive feedback. Conversely, we might only want to hear positive feedback and not take negative feedback seriously. It’s advisable to initially consider all feedback in the same way. However, this does not mean we have to give equal weight and consideration to every piece of feedback. We are still the experts on our topic. We should simply consider each piece of feedback and decide whether it is constructive or not, whether it can be usefully incorporated, or whether we might or should even discard it entirely. In this way we retain control over the text and the writing process and can stay motivated.