Components of

Academic And
Professional Writing
• Whether you are writing an academic
or professional text, you need to
consider the following six essential
components:context,message,languag
e, purpose,audience and product.
• Context
A context refers to the situation where
professional writing is performed. It includes
the people involved (i.e.,the sender and the
receiver), relationship between the people
involved in the communication ,time and place,
and some possible interferences.
Message
Message refers to the content of your
document. It includes the main topic and the
details that support it. These details maybe in
a form of facts,statistics,testimonies,and
observation.
• Language
Language refers to the channel use to
convey the message. It can either be visual or
textual,formal or informal,verbal and non-
verbal.

Purpose
Your paper will lack relevance if it does not
have purpose. Purpose is the reason or motive
that you have when communicating. It also
helps you determine the reactions you want to
elicit from the target audience.
There are two levels of purpose: general and specific.
In the contex of professional and academic writing,
your two general purposes are to inform and to
persuade. To inform means to make the audience
understand a concept whereas to persuade means to
influence the readers to change their attitudes or
actions. The second-level purpose is more specific. A
specific purpose is the reason why you want to inform
or persuade your target audience.
Audience
Audience is the reciever of the message. It
can either be primary (i.e., the direct reciever of
your document) or secondary (i.e., indirect
receiver of your document ).

Product
Product refers to the output that you intend
to produce after considering all the other
components.
The following are some examples of
outputs produced through academic and
professional writing.
 Academic Writing Professional Writing

Academic essays,Thesis,Dissertation,Library Instructional

research,Coursework,Reaction papers,Book manuals,Specifications,Brochures,Busines
reviews,Literature reviews,Research report, correspondences (letter and memos),
Project proposal,Possition paper business and technical reports
Academic Writing
Academic writing is a type of writing
produced by students in an academic
setting. Its main purpose is to inform and
persuade, not to entertain.The most
common types of academic writing include
academic essays,book reviews,literature
reviews,research reports,project
proposals,position papers,and reaction
papers.
 Compared to other forms of writing,
academic writing is impersonal and formal.
It is impersonal because it usually uses
third person perspective and does not
have a direct reference to persons and
feelings. It is formal because it strictly
adheres to formal English and avoids word
contractions (e.g.,don't,shoudn't).
General Tips in Writing Academic Texts
Aside from the general techniques discussed aboved,more
tips in writing academic text are presented below:
1. Follow the basics in the writing process:

a. Be clear with the assignment or prompt

b. Analyze the contextof writing

c. Have a clear purpose and audience in mind

d. Make your thesis evident

e. Stay focused on your topic; eliminate unnecessary detail.

f. Read some academic texts that use similar rhetorical pattern to
the one you are writing.

g. Make sure you use sufficient cohesive devices. However, be

careful not to over use transitional devices.

h. Avoid wordiness and redundancies.

i. Use brainstorming strategies (listing, free writing, clustering) to

overcome writer's block.

j. Edit and proofread your work.

2. Use qoutations sparingly. Paraphrase information as much as possible.

Don't Do
Washburne's assertion that the human child is
The claim that a child's development must be
complex amd therefore cannot be
allowed to progress accordingly is supported
programmed with the complete structure at
by Washburne's assertion: "[S]ome children
birth (1907) supports the claim that his
develop earlier than others, but too early
development cannot be hurried and must be
development is to be regretted... Fiske has
allowed to progress accordingly.
prove to us that the reason why the human
young is so far more helpless and dependent
than the young of any othe species is because
the activities of the human race have become
so many.

In terms of children's obedience, "Tiedmann

says that example is the first great
evolutionary and liberty is the second. In the
overcoming of disobedience, no other
teachers needed...
3. As much as possible, avoid using an imperative tone.

Don't Do

Remember the objectives presented in this The objectives presented in this introduction
introduction, as these are instrumental in the are instrumental to the analysis of the results
analysis of the results in the seond experiment. in the second experiment.

Read the following results in the experiment.

The analysis and implificationn immediately
follow.
4. Avoids excessive font effects such as too much use of boldface, underlines, and
italics.

Don't Do

Harper Lee's book, "To Mockingbird," clearly

Harper Lee's book, "To Kill a Mockingbird",
clearly illustrate the struggle "colored" people
underwent during the early 20th century and
how racial inequality proved detrimental to
the achievement of justice.
illustrate the struggle "colored" people
underwent during the early 20th century and
how racial inequality proved detrimental to
the achievement of justice.
5. Be consistent with the type of English you see. If you use British English,
stick to it and do not shift to American English.
Don't Do
Harper Lee's book, "To Mockingbird," clearly Harper Lee's book, "To Mockingbird," clearly
illustrate how coloured people agonized under illustrate how colored people agonized under
racial injustice during the early 20th century racial injustice during the early 20th century
and how even in a relatively civilised time, and how even in a relatively civilised time,
white people's worth was still aggrandised. white people's worth was still aggrandised.

Noam Chomsky argued that sentences which

follow a perfect, grammatical structure could
still fail to make sense. He prove it by coming
up with the famous sentence, "Colourless
green ideas sleep furiously."
• Professional Writing
Professional writing is any type of written
communication performed specifically in a
professional context;it is most often applied
in businessand technical writing.Similar to
academic writing,it main purpose is to
informand persuadereaders.Professional
writing may involve private businesses,
government corporations and offices,and
academic institutionswhich produce online
and offline document that aim to
communicate information to a particular
audience.
General Tips in Writing Professional Writing
1. Follow the basics of the writing processes:
a. Be clear with your purpose and target reader.
b. Consider the context of writing the document.
c. Organize your ideas using cohesive devices.
d. Avoid wordiness and redundancies; be direct to
the point and avoid uncessary details.
e. Be objective and factual with your message.
f. Use brainstorming
strategies(listing,freewriting,clustering) to overcome
writer's block.you may also confer with your
colleagues or friends to give you some insights on
how to write a document.
g. Edit,edit,edit: eliminate all grammatical and
typographical errors as much as possible.
2. Anticipate the readers beliefs,values,motivations,and possible objections
especially when writing persuasive documents such as proposals.

Don't Do
The proposal is good and has various When viewed from a business perspective,the
gains,and so should be approved and proposal can be seen as a large risk for the
implemented. company,but its gains and high probability of
success easily allay this cocern.
Receiver: Vice President for Finance
This new system will benefit all the
employees,because the distribution of
personal laptops will enable work-from-home-
capacities during typhoons.
3. Adjust your language base on your relationship with the receiver of the
document.

Don't Do
Receiver: CEO Reciever: CEO
The attrition report for the quarter shows that The attrition report for the quarter shows that
a total of 39 employees voluntarily left the a total of 39 employees voluntarily left the
company, which is a big number, to be honest. company. In the companies history, this
This is a new record for the company, and not quarter saw the largest number of separated
a good one. employees.
Reciever: Superior
The client demands that the requirements for
his proect be met within the next 2 weeks. It is
imperative that you meet with me regarding
this issue to settle the remaining unmet
conditions.
4. Study the format used by your organization and incorporate it to your writing.
However, you may use other formats which you think are appropriate.
5. Avoid excessive font effects such as too much use of boldface, underlines
and italics.
Don't Do

For this year, the productivity report
shows that we garnered a client
satisfaction average of 89.6% marking a
3.3% increase from last year's 86.3%
6. Be consistent with the type of Englih you use. If you use British English, stick to it
and do not shift to American English.
Don't
It is recognized that the staff's attendance for
the month of July, which is characterized by
frequent instances of absences and tardiness,
is primarily cause by a typhoons and
trafficjams in the city.
For this year, the productivity report
shows the regarnered a client satisfaction
average of 89.6%, marking a 3.3% increase
from last year's 86.3%.
Do
It is recognized that the staff's attendance for
the month of July, which is characterized by
frequent instances of absences and tardiness,
is primarily cause by a typhoons and
trafficjams in the city.