How do you create natural and fluent academic writing?

1 Choose your words carefully

One of the key aspects of natural and fluent academic writing is choosing the right words for your context and meaning. You want to avoid vague, ambiguous, or informal words that may confuse or distract your readers. Instead, you want to use precise, specific, and formal words that match your topic and tone. For example, instead of saying "a lot of people think that...", you could say "many scholars argue that..." or "a significant number of studies suggest that...". You also want to use synonyms and avoid repeating the same words too often, as this can make your writing dull and monotonous.

2 Vary your sentence structure

Another way to create natural and fluent academic writing is to vary your sentence structure and length. You want to avoid using too many short or long sentences, as this can make your writing choppy or boring. Instead, you want to use a mix of simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, as this can make your writing more dynamic and interesting. You also want to use different types of clauses, connectors, and transitions to show the relationships between your ideas and to guide your readers through your arguments. For example, instead of saying "The results were surprising. They contradicted the previous research.", you could say "Contrary to the previous research, the results were surprising." or "The results, which contradicted the previous research, were surprising.".

3 Use active and passive voice appropriately

Another factor that affects the naturalness and fluency of your academic writing is the use of active and passive voice. Active voice means that the subject of the sentence performs the action, while passive voice means that the subject of the sentence receives the action. For example, "The researchers conducted a survey." is active voice, while "A survey was conducted by the researchers." is passive voice. Both voices have their advantages and disadvantages, and you need to use them appropriately depending on your purpose and audience. Generally, active voice is preferred in academic writing, as it is more clear, direct, and concise. However, passive voice can be useful in some situations, such as when you want to emphasize the action or the object rather than the agent, or when you want to avoid personal pronouns or responsibility. For example, you might use passive voice to say "The data were collected from various sources." or "It is widely accepted that...".

4 Revise and edit your writing

The final step to create natural and fluent academic writing is to revise and edit your writing thoroughly. No matter how good your first draft is, you can always improve it by checking for errors, inconsistencies, gaps, or redundancies. You want to make sure that your writing is clear, coherent, and correct at all levels: from the overall structure and organization, to the paragraphs and sentences, to the words and punctuation. You can use various tools and techniques to help you revise and edit your writing, such as reading aloud, using feedback, using dictionaries and style guides, or using software and apps. However, you should always use your own judgment and critical thinking skills to decide what changes are necessary and appropriate for your academic writing.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?