Study Tips

Talent is a real thing, and there are many talented people around. I discovered while getting my degree in college that it’s easy to fall into the myth of talent. The myth is that some people are born with it and some people who aren’t. Somehow I got the idea talented writers came out of the womb with pens in their hands and words in their heads. They never had to struggle with grammar or awkward sentences and writing flowed out of them as effortlessly as their breath. I could not have been more wrong. Writing isn’t about some magical ability dropped on just a few lucky souls. Good writing is about researching, re-organizing, and re-writing. I learned that when I had to study the skill of academic report writing.

Writing of the academic nature involves creating an organized pathway of information that gives the reader knowledge through a series of arguments and proofs. An academic report is to a college degree what the meat is to a sandwich. The ability to take information, research facts and opinions about it, and write it in an organized fashion with an introduction, research, discussion and conclusion is the ability which shows the value of your college education to the world. Every job requires some kind of reporting, and every boss is looking for people who write factual information clearly.

An important element of academic report writing other than the organization flow of thought is re-writing. Proofread your report carefully and make sure it is free of grammar and spelling errors. Check the statistics and facts to be sure you didn’t transpose numbers or leave out a source citation. Put your report on a shelf overnight and read it the next day. Does it say what you meant for it to say? Factual writing has a collegiate standard to live up to and meeting that standard isn’t about some illusive magical talent. It’s about careful attention to detail, organization and the discipline to do the work.

Anyone getting a college degree will come across a professor or two that will change their life. I certainly had a few and one of them that I remember most was a Speech and English teacher pulling out her hair trying to get a bunch of students to learn how to write an academic report. One day, when all of her other sayings and hints had seemed to fail and the reports were still unfocused piles of words poured out on pages she said the following memorable analogy. “In writing, organization is like your underwear. No one wants to see it, but everyone wants to know you have some on.” Finally we got the point. We needed a definable organized pattern to follow.

Writing an academic report for a college degree is the essence of organized thought. Once you have a topic and researched it taking notes and creating a bibliography, an outline will help you lay out a pattern for the report. An academic report should have a title page, small introductory section that contains your thesis statement or the main point of your report, a section for background and information, and a section for discussing the thesis, and a conclusion that clearly reiterates what point is contained in the paper. Finally, endnotes (if applicable) and a bibliography are placed at the end of the report.

Academic reports are considered technical writing, not creative writing. The purpose is to impart information in a cogent and clear manner. You are getting a college degree, not writing the novel of the ages. Language should reflect the vocabulary of the topic of the report and concise sentences are a must. All thoughts should focus on be centered on the main thesis and reflect a general knowledge and direction for the ideas to flow. The conclusion should replay the information in one two sentences designed for closure and understanding.

Academic reports that you write while getting your college education are truly a time for your logical thinking to shine. Follow the model of organization and not only will your degree will progress smoothly, but people will always think you are wearing underwear.