15 Types of Academic Writing
Identifying the keywords in your assignment instructions can help you understand the type of writing that you are expected to do.
If you are a beginning academic writer, at UQ College or in your first semester of university studies, you will likely start with some descriptive writing.
By the end of your first study period (term or semester), you may be expected to include analysis, persuasion, and critique in your writing. Most of the academic writing you will do as a university student will include a combination of these different types of writing.
If you are an intermediate or experienced academic writer, you may already be familiar with these types of writing.
Below, we’ll look more closely at the four different types of writing (descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical) and consider strategies for developing ideas.
Click on the titles to expand the sections.
For further information view the video below. The video has no sound and you can pause regularly to read the information in detail.
- Tyro's Trainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C6pGhf05Xc&ab_channel=AcademicEnglishUK ↵
- Description and discussion of types of writing reproduced, with permission, from "Types of Academic Writing" by University of Sydney Learning Centre https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-academic-writing.html ↵
