Academic writing is a process that requires students to follow certain basic guidelines. One of the most important rules is to be precise and use a minimum number of words. But in practice, this rule is often flouted.
The tendency to be uneconomical with words arises when students forget the actual purpose of academic writing. Academic papers are not intended to entertain. They are written for a specific audience who share a certain level of familiarity with the subject matter. These papers are meant to convey information in the most concise and accurate manner.
Why you should avoid verbosity
Being extravagant with words could be more harmful to your work than you think and could make it look less professional. Some students resort to embellishing their papers with unnecessary words in order to cover up their limited understanding of the subject. This occurs when the student has not devoted enough time to master the subject in which he/she is conducting the research.
Another reason for using unnecessary words is to sound knowledgeable and display advanced proficiency in the language.
Regardless of the reasons, being verbose is a major error. These papers will be evaluated by experienced professors. Trying to cover up your lack of knowledge with unnecessary words is futile as it can be easily spotted. Embellishing your work with flowery words with the intention of making your work sound grander will inconvenience your evaluators who are looking for sound points and arguments rather than glossy words and decorative sentences.
This is a no brainer. Make an effort to understand the core value of the topic, brainstorm with peers for creative ideas, jot them down in the form of points and then build each point into meaningful sentences that don’t stray from the context of the topic and the paper as a whole.
Remember that ultimately the aim of academic work is the display of academic knowledge in a precise manner.
This may be challenging, particularly for students working on their first formal academic submissions. Thankfully, students have the option of employing the services of professional editors to solve this problem. A good editor can enhance the quality of academic work. Professional editors will filter out unnecessary words and add a professional touch to the paper.
The best papers say more with less and the best editors help you get your thoughts across coherently with the least number of words.
