Saint James High School

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Creative Writing
Information Sheet No.1

Topic: Creative Writing vs Technical Writing vs Academic Writing

MELCs:
1. Differentiate imaginative writing from among other forms of writing
HUMSS_CW/MP11/12-Ia-b-1

Objectives:
1. identify the various characteristics of a Creative Writing and other forms of
writing; and
2. distinguish the differences between Creative writing and other forms of
writing.

During your first year of Senior High School, you are introduced to the types of writing that
you are asked to write. This time, you are being presented with another form of writing
which is - Creative Writing.

Enjoyment can be gained from both types, but it’s fair to say that they both serve different
purposes. They both have their own do’s and don’ts and they both have their own rules.
Both are governed by grammar and style. Both appear everywhere. So what’s the
difference?

You might ask why you are presented

with an image of a brain. Why do you
think so?

As you can see, the right brain is

responsible for a person’s imaginative
side while the left brain is for the analytic
reasoning.

To put it short, creative writing is written

for the right brain (creative) while
technical and academic writing is written
for the left brain (logical).
Source:  Kittisak_Taramas | Getty Images

What is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is any form of writing which is written with the creativity of mind: fiction
writing, poetry writing, creative nonfiction writing and more. The purpose is to express
something, whether it be feelings, thoughts, or emotions.

This type of writing is written to entertain and educate. We enjoy reading novels and
stories, not because they are necessary to read or helpful for us, just because we get a
certain pleasure from reading them, the pleasure which can’t be got from reading
technical writing.

It sometimes follows a given set of rules, and sometimes throws caution to the winds and
breaks all of them. Either way, talent is somewhat of a necessary ingredient if you want to
write creatively.

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Here are examples:

 Poetry
 Plays
 Movie and television scripts
 Fiction (novels, novellas, and short stories)
 Songs
 Speeches
 Memoirs
 Personal essays
 Blogs

As you see, blogs, memoirs, personal essays are also considered as creative
writing because authors write about their life in a creative manner using description,
metaphors, and other figures of speech. The piece of creative writing usually has a plot
that should entertain and inspire readers.

Characteristics:
One – Clarity: It doesn’t confuse people. (This sounds so obvious, but you’d be surprised
at the number of writers who think they have to be clever or coy or literary which just
leaves the reader in the dark.)

Two – Form: It has a beginning, a middle and an ending. The beginning draws readers in
and the ending is satisfying. This holds true for fiction, memoir, personal essays,
autobiographies, and stories for kids. Occasionally a writer who’s a genius ignores this,
but most of us aren’t geniuses and can’t ignore it.

Three – Emotion: It’s emotionally charged and the reader cares what happens to the
protagonist. We either cry or laugh or are scared or feel something.

Four– Meaning and connection: It’s about people or situations the reader can connect
to. Either a story we enter into with the author for entertainment, or a subject or emotion
that we too are dealing with or want to learn about, or can find humor in. It is not a story
about the author gazing at his or her belly button. In some way the writing connects to the
rest of the world.

Five - Language. The author cares deeply about words and their power. No overblown
adjectives or adverbs (and only those absolutely necessary for information.) No flabby
cliches. The author loves language and hones and rewrites every sentence.

What is Technical Writing?

Technical Writing is a term that defines written form of technical communication

used in a variety of technical fields — computer software and hardware, chemistry,
aeronautics, engineering, robotics, finance, etc. Some people define this term as “writing
complex things in a simple form”.

This type of writing is done by technical writers or, how they are also called —
technical communicators. This profession requires many skills such as critical thinking,
writing skills, and many more. It targets any person who needs to know the task followed
by a particular organization.

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 Source: clickhelp.com

The purpose of technical writing is to explain readers how to use a device or a

product, what they should do if they face some issues and so on. So, documentation
should not contain words that will mislead its readers. The language of documents must
be plain, clear and easy-to-interpret.

Characteristics:

It is clear and straight forward. If you are interested in technical writing for professional
purposes, it is very important to know that this type of writing requires that the writer stick
to the subject matter and relay information in a clear and concise manner.

The language is very direct and straight to the point. The writing will avoid words that
people do not understand and will avoid an eloquent writing style.

It is very detailed and informative. The perfect example of technical writing is a

textbook. The written content of most textbooks is geared to providing information by
describing the subject matter as fully as possible.

It is very structured. This type of writing has a very obvious composition that makes it
easy for the reader to follow along. Solid structure is needed with technical writing as it
allows the audience to easily access the information as needed.

Uses of Technical Writing

 When you open up an instruction manual, as the reader, the goal is to be informed
about the product so that you can use it as efficiently as possible.

 Lab reports are another example of technical writing. The main purpose of a lab
report is to explain the occurrences in a lab so that others will be able to gain
information.

 Driving directions can be considered a type of technical writing as the goal is to

clearly and efficiently provide instructions on how to go from point A to point B.

What is Academic Writing?

Academic writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence.

Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding.

It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of
long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Each subject discipline will have certain writing conventions, vocabulary and types
of discourse that you will become familiar with over the course of your degree. However,
there are some general characteristics of academic writing that are relevant across all
disciplines.

Characteristics:

Clear and limited focus. The focus of an academic paper—the argument or research
question—is established early by the thesis statement. Every paragraph and sentence of
the paper connects back to that primary focus. While the paper may include background
or contextual information, all content serves the purpose of supporting the thesis
statement.

Logical structure. All academic writing follows a logical, straightforward structure. In its
simplest form, academic writing includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a
conclusion. The introduction provides background information, lays out the scope and

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direction of the essay, and states the thesis. The body paragraphs support the thesis
statement, with each body paragraph elaborating on one supporting point. The conclusion
refers back to the thesis, summarizes the main points, and highlights the implications of
the paper’s findings. Each sentence and paragraph logically connects to the next in order
to present a clear argument.

Evidence-based arguments. Academic writing requires well-informed arguments.

Statements must be supported by evidence, whether from scholarly sources (as in a
research paper), results of a study or experiment, or quotations from a primary text (as in
a literary analysis essay). The use of evidence gives credibility to an argument.

Impersonal tone. The goal of academic writing is to convey a logical argument from an
objective standpoint. Academic writing avoids emotional, inflammatory, or otherwise
biased language. Whether you personally agree or disagree with an idea, it must be
presented accurately and objectively in your paper.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Wordiness. The goal of academic writing is to convey complex ideas in a clear, concise
manner. Don’t muddy the meaning of your argument by using confusing language. If you
find yourself writing a sentence over 25 words long, try to divide it into two or three
separate sentences for improved readability.

A vague or missing thesis statement. The thesis statement is the single most important
sentence in any academic paper. Your thesis statement must be clear, and each body
paragraph needs to tie into that thesis.

Informal language. Academic writing is formal in tone and should not include slang,
idioms, or conversational language.

Description without analysis. Do not simply repeat the ideas or arguments from your
source materials. Rather, analyze those arguments and explain how they relate to your
point.

Not citing sources. Keep track of your source materials throughout the research and
writing process. Cite them consistently using one style manual (MLA, APA, or Chicago
Manual of Style, depending on the guidelines given to you at the outset of the project).
Any ideas that are not your own need to be cited, whether they're paraphrased or quoted
directly, to avoid plagiarism

Take note: Certainly, academic and technical writings are two different forms of writing
but they do share some common attributes too.Both academic, as well as technical
writing, comes under the category of formal writing. This implies that they follow a specific
set of guidelines and the tone of writing remains serious. Hence, you can’t use slang
terms or jargons in technical or academic writing.

Though both the styles have some striking similarities, a writer needs to adapt to a lot
many changes when he shifts from an academic writing style to the technical writing.