Before discussing the future of academic writing, it is imperative that you define it first. A scholarly book is for a targeted group of audience who are well informed and usually consists of discussions regarding the academic world. It can have different forms and can also include specific topics outside the academic realm. But slowly, with time, there is a demand to make academic writing open for the mass and not just for the particular group of people. It should be done to interest the non-academics towards this field.
Difference between Academic Writing and Public Writing
These two kinds of writings differ when it comes to form, style and publication method. When it comes to creating, free book covers a wide range of topics and consists of discussion in detail about such issue. Academic writing is directed towards an argument and is slightly longer than public writing. Regarding style, it consists of massive theories and several footnotes. It also includes the historiographical events. Public writing is more of descriptive prose. Publication venues for academic writing are university journals and books whereas the public novel are published in newspapers and online forums.
Scope for Academic Writing in the Digital World
There is a slow transition from the traditional means of newspapers to online blogs. As this world is slowly growing, technology is gradually becoming a part of our lives. With technology, you can do so much more than writing blogs and running seminars online. Technology can be used to drive the world and connecting learned people across the globe to challenge and change ideas. It also helps to find answers to the question. But technology might sometimes be a barrier when it comes to academic writing. People in the developing countries can’t afford computers and other means of technology at times and thus, deprived of knowledge.
New Approach towards Academic Writing
The style and approach of academic writing, which was stringent at first, is being experimented with it. Genres are combining, and views from a different point of view are accepting. Several Presses in Universities have already tested along with publishing a long narrative of historical events. For example, Yale University announced Arcadian American which is interweaving the memoirs along with cultural history and Mourning Lincoln which has been separating analytical chapters with interludes in between. There are specific academic journals which have space for academic writing which is creative, like Rethinking History. These kinds of journals help the scholars to experiment and get creative.
The Academic Publishing Scene
Due to the massive growth of the technology, people can get connected from all over the world within seconds. Internet will bring a new revolution, and big publication companies will no longer be required anymore in future. It is a cumbersome process to walk through the library and find the right journal. Using the Internet, on the other hand, is effortless and doesn’t require much time. With just one click, you will get what you want. It will make scholarships available for everyone who shows interest as you won’t be requiring publishing. The journals which get printed bind the writer within particular kind of style and format. But with the Internet, you can use several other methods like using multimedia instead of text.
The Role of Peer Review
If academic writing does not bound by the age-old rules of publishing, then it will be made available for criticism. People from all over the world, who have access to the Internet, can read and give their feedback regarding the piece of writing, the traditional methods of gatekeeping will soon boycott. But that will make you think that what do you mean by an appropriate review? It will be a massive question whether all the viewers who are giving their feedback should provide importance or not. The article will also judge in a new manner. When it is getting published on the internet, it can now judge by the comments or the number of page visits. It limits the power of individual ‘experts’ whose judgments sometimes clouded.
Citations in the Academic Style
The style of writing is very crucial as it helps us to get attracted to one writer. However, academic style is slightly different. According to Academics, the Academic Style often is described as dull and boring. In Academics, style is nothing but the use of some professional conventions. Students usually get to know about the rules of citation when they are in college. The role of the quote is to make the reader refer back to the source of the argument. We cite the names of the people who have helped us to carry on with our work. Most of the citation formats created for articles that published; people are now thinking of methods to revise it as people tend to take the help PDF the Internet rather than looking for a printed journal. The role of citation is diminishing as search engines can easily link us back to the source. But still, it cannot be accepted by all like the results that are brought in by search engines cannot always be reliable.
The reader will get a ton of copies along with the original when he/she searches for the source, and it can get difficult for them to distinguish between the two. Even if the search engine does provide you with the source, it might not give you the edition, and the version is quite essential when it comes to academic essay writing. We still cannot abandon citations in the age of the Internet. Even though quotes are intrusive, it is being modified to suit the people of the younger generation. Sometime in future, there might not be any distinction between public writing and academic writing, but in the present scenario, this difference is very much current. The scholars and researchers need to be more open-minded and take risks if they want to adopt new methods of scholarship.
