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What is Academic Writing?
JCU lecturers discuss academic writing at university
Academic writing differs from discipline to discipline. How the writing is structured, and what counts as evidence depends on the discipline or field, such as history, zoology or physics. Use the resources on this page to assist you with writing your assignments.
The resources below have been developed to help you understand the writing process. Read them in order to start planning your next assignment.
Tell me on one page:
- Assignment Planning Quick Guide (PDF, 202 KB)
- Four steps to unpack your assessment Quick Guide (PDF, 300 KB)
- How to efficiently search library databases Quick Guide
(PDF, 188 KB) - Finding readings and references using Boolean Operators Quick Guide (PDF, 267 KB)
Tell me in more detail:
- Assignment Planning Guide (PDF, 181 KB)
- Four steps to unpack your assessment (PDF, 300 KB)
- How to understand essay task words (PDF, 220 KB)
- Building an argument in an essay (PDF, 201 KB)
- 10 features of academic writing style (PDF, 165 KB)
- Most common words in academic writing - Academic Word List (PDF, 134 KB)
Assignment Guides
We've developed the following downloadable guidelines to assist you with your university assignments.
- How to write a Critical Essay (PDF, 144 KB)
- Student Sample Paper: Critical Essay (PDF, 1563 KB)
- How to write a Reflective Essay (PDF, 101 KB)
- How to write a Critical Review (PDF, 61 KB)
- How to write an IMRaD Style Laboratory Report (PDF, 258 KB)
- How to write a Laboratory Report (PDF, 90 KB)
- How to write a Literature Review (PDF, 196 KB)
- How to write a Business Report (PDF, 120 KB)
- How to write a Science Essay (PDF, 74 KB)
- How to write a Scientific Report (PDF, 74 KB)
- How to write an Annotated Bibliography (PDF, 117 KB)
- How to upload, edit, and share a Video Presentation on YouTube_ (PDF, 434 KB)
- How to create audio or video media (PDF, 93 KB)
- How to create a video assessment in Panopto
- How to use Research Rabbit (PDF, 1174 KB)
It is important to reference any idea that is not your own. This is one of the key principles of Academic Integrity.
The most commonly used referencing style is APA referencing. This is known as an 'author-date' style. There are two parts to referencing. The first is called in-text referencing, which is where you reference ideas within your writing in a short form. The second is at the end of the text where you reference in a full form. The reference list begins on a new page at the end of the document and is in alphabetical order.
In APA 7th the short form looks like this:
In APA 7th the long form for a journal article looks like this:
For more assistance with APA 7th referencing style:
APA Style Common Reference Examples
Referencing Quick Guide Video from the JCU Library
For JCU Library APA guides and all other styles use the Library Referencing Guide
Essay Writing Basics
There are some common features of academic essay writing. Essay Writing Basics contains five short videos that explain the core elements of essay writing. They introduce the basics, and give you an idea of the main elements of an essay, including how to respond to an essay question, and how to write a Thesis Statement (the sentence that contains your main point), and Topic Sentences (which start each new paragraph).
How do you prepare for Academic Writing?
JCU students discuss how to prepare for academic writing at university
A Visual Guide to Essay Writing
Dr Valli Rao, Associate Professor Kate Chanock, and Dr Lakshmi Krishnan use a visual approach to walk students through the most important processes in essay writing for university: formulating, refining, and expressing academic argument. Download the pdf guide by clicking the image.