Academic writing is a formal way of writing in the university system. It emphasizes objectivity in your argument, formality of your language, and communication with other scholars and readers. To ensure that every discipline can communicate easily, academic writing has specific rules that everyone is asked to follow.
There are countless ways to create an academic paper. From different topics to arguments to disciplines, academic writing can be incredibly flexible, introducing unique and creative evidence-based arguments that explore the world in new ways. However, while academic writing requires creativity, like all of academia, there are rules and standardizations. These rules are essential to succeeding as an academic writer.
Academic writing and different disciplines are standardized to maximize the chance that a paper can be easily navigated and understood by most readers. For example, if every paper in a discipline uses MLA or APA, then citations are easier to understand for those readers. If everyone organizes the paper in the same way, then it is easier to find a “Methods” section or a thesis statement. While these rules are not perfect, they can help your instructors, peers, and other academic readers to find, navigate, and read your paper.