Could my thoughts be compared with a Scholarly Writing?

The Scholarly Writing and I

It is very likely that awkwardness and occasional hostility may arise if a scholar comes across a poorly written piece of academic writing. Scholarly or academic writing is the genre of writing used in all academic fields. Scholarly writing is not better than journalism, fiction, or poetry; it is just a different category. Because most of us are not used to of such writing, it can feel unfamiliar and intimidating, but it is a skill that can be learned by immersing yourself in scholarly literature.  

All students in the academic world are required to do a ton of reading, involve in discussions and produce scholarly writing in everything from discussion posts to dissertations. 

It is expected of all in academia to have a high level of writing skills. Basic grammar rules, an adequate vocabulary, and the use of complexity (written English is expected to be more complex than spoken language).  It is necessary to avoid objectivity and personalization in academic writing. That is why the scholarly writings are always written in third person point of view. Avoiding the first- and second-person’s point of view is critical unless it is being used as a quote in the paragraph.  This allows the information within the essay to be presented in an unbiased and logical manner. 

An example of this would be: 

I think the theory can be applied in this situation.

You may be tempted, then, to write the same idea like this:

This learner thinks that the theory can be applied in this situation.

“This learner,” though, doesn’t really take you out of the sentence. Although technically it is the third person, it’s the first person in spirit because you are still in the sentence. The result is also somewhat awkward and less than graceful. So the best possible sentence would be: “The theory can be applied in this situation”.

On the other hand, complexity is an important trait as it determines how the writer expresses his thoughts in longer words and lexically dense phrases. Complexity determines how the verbiage of the passages has been laid down and it illustrates the writer’s intellectual knowledge and its command of the subject.

Formality and precision are some of the important characteristics of a good writer too. Formality determines the tone of the essay and precision allows the use of facts and figures as a form of evidence in the essay, thus bringing credibility to the writing.

Another important feature of good scholarly writing is explicitness and accuracy. The words and phrases should relate to each other and to the topic of the writing. The accuracy of the words within the essay must retain the true meaning rather than alternative meanings.

It is also imperative that the writer state an intention for arguing the point on the topic and make clear the strengths and weaknesses of the claim. The writer is also responsible for proving the argument within the essay.

So it could be said that organization, clarity and focus, the choice of language and vocabulary, logical progression of the ideas, and proving the so what factor really differentiates scholarly writing from ordinary writing.

The other kind of writing could be literature, a short story, a novel, fiction, autobiography, memoir, poem, and the list go on.  The author has the choice of making a tone, imaginary language, and metaphor to tell his story or depict his idea. The writing could be masterful, inventive, or what else. There are no hard-and-fast rules.

Note: You do not have to agree with the thoughts of the author. A lonely sitting in the darkness of the night produces writings like above.

References:

Miller, J. (n.d.). 1Reason to write high beginning: Strategies for success in academic writing. N.p.: Oxford University Press.