Academic skills for BU pre-arrivals

Academic writing communicates information, ideas, and research to the wider academic community. It is key to your university study. Your ideas, research, and critical thinking are all expressed and assessed through academic writing. 

Watch BU students explain:  

• what academic writing is
• how academic writing has helped them
• where to get help with academic writing

[2 minutes 22 seconds] 

Academic style is a formal way of communicating ideas in academic contexts. Style is made up of choices of language which relate to your purpose in writing and the type of text (genre).

Different academic genres require variations in style, and it can be challenging to find an appropriate style. By understanding different academic assessments you can make informed choices to achieve an appropriate academic style.

This Academic Style workshop will help you to:

• avoid common errors of academic writing
• ensure the focus of your sentence is appropriate
• use cautious language
• write in a concise manner

[16 minutes 20 seconds]

Academic vocabulary is vocabulary which occurs frequently in academic texts across different subject areas.

In order to succeed at university, you need to develop an extensive range of vocabulary. This can generally be divided into 3 categories: 

• General  (for daily use)
• Academic (in academic contexts)
• Subject-specific (in specific courses and professions)

This Developing your academic vocabulary workshop highlights the differences between academic vocabulary and everyday language and gives tips to develop your skills.

[13 minutes 6 seconds]

The Academic Phrasebank provides examples of common phrases used in research writing. It is divided into sections of a typical research paper and language functions which could be used anywhere in your assignment. 

Use this tool to: 

• understand what to include in various sections of your research paper
• connect your claims and research using a range of academic vocabulary