The document discusses the key traits of good academic writing. It defines academic writing as a style used by researchers to define the boundaries of their disciplines. Academic writing is important as it helps students learn new concepts and teachers/researchers expand their knowledge. Some important traits of good academic writing are clarity, completeness, logical sequencing, being reader-friendly, cohesion, coherence, and being free from plagiarism. Cohesion and coherence connect ideas at the sentence and paragraph levels. Academic writing must also use proper punctuation and avoid informal language.

1. Traits for Good Academic
Writing
By Shivani Bankar
Academic Writing
UGC SWAYAM MOOCs
Application Number a79d41c5ed9811e99a1a05419e8ebfe7

2. Academic writing - meaning
• Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use
to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and their
specific areas of expertise.
• Academic writing is used in books, reports, research papers,
conference papers, thesis and dissertation.

3. Importance of Academic Writing
• Academic writing plays a crucial role for students, teachers,
researchers, academicians and institutions all over the world.
• It helps the students to enhance the understanding of new ideas and
concepts, and teachers and researchers to enrich their knowledge
base.
• Academic writing also helps a person to analyse somebody else’s
work or ideas, learn the necessary technique and style of writing and
to think critically and objectively.

4. Traits for Good academic Writing:
Some of the important traits are given below
• Clarity and Unambiguity
• Completeness
• Logical and Technical Sequencing
• Reader friendliness
• Cohesive writing
• Coherence
• Free from plagiarism

5. Traits for Good academic Writing:
• Clarity and Unambiguity: The focus of an academic paper, the
argument or research question should be clear.
• Completeness: Completeness is when a paragraph is well-developed.
If all sentences clearly and sufficiently support the main idea, then
your paragraph is complete.
• Logic and Technical Sequencing: Academic writing follows a logical,
straightforward sequencing or structure.

6. Traits for Good academic Writing:
• Reader friendliness: Academic writing should be reader-friendly. Readers should easily
get the basic idea or concept mentioned in your research.
• Cohesive writing: Cohesion means connecting of ideas at the sentence level. It focuses
on the grammatical aspect of writing.
• Coherence: Coherence has been derived from the word ‘cohere’ which means to join
together. Coherence means connecting ideas at the idea level. Coherence is important to
present the objective of the study and basic idea of the research in reader-friendly
manner.
• Coherence and cohesion in academic writing is achieved at three different levels
I. Within sentence
II. Between sentences i.e. within paragraph
III. Between paragraphs
• Free from plagiarism: Plagiarism is literary theft and academic misconduct. Academic
writing should be free from plagiarism.

7. There are a few more tips which could help in
academic writing which include:
• Proper use of punctuations
• Plan well on time
• Drafting of manuscript
• Focus on every component of research
• Target a journal wisely
• Avoiding the use of informal, conversational tone, slang and idioms
• Avoiding the use of personal nouns

8. References:
• http://www.writeawriting.com/academic-writing/characteristics-
academic-writing/
• https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting
• https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-academic-writing-1689052