Writing Across Disciplines

Academic writing conventions vary substantially according to discipline—that is, whether one is working in the humanities, the social or natural sciences, or business.

Academic writing in the humanities allows for some flexibility in style and voice, while still following specific conventions of format and documentation.

Scientific writing has two goals: to inform the reader of new developments in a specific field, and to address existing questions with new evidence.

The body of a scientific paper generally consists of the following sections: introduction (which may include a literature review), methods, results, and discussion.

The abstract is the first (and, sometimes, only) part of a scientific paper people will read, so it's essential to summarize all necessary information about your methods, results, and conclusions.

In academic writing, the introduction and thesis statement form the foundation of your paper.

A methods section is a detailed description of how a study was researched and conducted.

The results section of a scientific paper objectively presents the empirical data collected in a study.

The discussion section of a scientific paper analyzes and interprets the results of a study, while the conclusion explains implications for further research. 

Business writing consists of many different types, all of which require a specific tone and organizational structure.