Academic Writing vs. Professional Writing
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Obviously, the writing you’ll do as a professional is much different than the writing you’ve done (and will do) as a college student.
But how is it different? In what ways?
Below, let’s consider some of the ways in which academic writing differs from professional writing.
Differences: Academic vs. Professional Writing
| Academic/College Writing | Business/Professional Writing | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose & Prompt | Students write because instructors make them. Instructors assign reports, essays, and papers, and provide guidelines, requirements, and parameters. Students write to learn, to draw connections between things they’ve learned, and to demonstrate what they know to their instructors. | Professional writers write when a situation calls for writing—either at their own initiative or because someone in their organization expects them to write. Professional writers write not to create a document, but to accomplish something—to make things happen. |
| Readers | Most often, students write for a singular reader—their instructor. To varying degrees, instructor-audiences make their expectations known. Instructor audiences expect student writers to demonstrate and apply their knowledge. | Professional writers often write for large and complex groups of people, various stakeholders who have different needs and interests. Expectations aren’t always explicit, but professional readers still want professional writers to meet or exceed their expectations. |
| Genres (or Types of Writing) | Students write papers—academic essays. They may also write journals, lab reports, summaries, etc. | Professional writers write memos, letters, proposals, reports, performance evaluations, business plans, marketing plans, audit reports, sales presentations, manuals, handbooks, contracts, etc. |
| Organization / Order | Students often write using a five paragraph structure—introduction, first point, second point, third point, conclusion. | Professional writers organize their writing according to the conventions of the genre in which they write. They also must organized based on how the audience will read or use the document, how the audience is likely to respond to the message, etc. |
| Style & Design | For the most part, students follow formatting requirements outlined my MLA or APA guidelines, typically 12 point font, Times New Roman or Arial, double-spaced, with indentations, a proper heading, and style appropriate in-text citations and documentation. Students write complex sentences and lengthy paragraphs to develop and support their ideas, and must conform to maximum and/or minimum page length or word count requirements. | Professional writers design their documents to be visually attractive and to allow their readers at least two ways of reading documents–quickly by scanning, or more slowly for details. Professional writers often use white space and graphic highlighting to facilitate reading. They use headings, subheadings, bullets, graphic organizers, and visual aids to increase readability and comprehension. Professionals typically write shorter, simpler sentences and include much less paragraph development. Professionally written documents are just as long as they need to be (or, as short as possible). |
| Product, Feedback, & Evaluation | The product–a finished paper–is the end point in the communication process. The student’s instructor may offer some feedback in addition to a letter or percentage grade. | In general, the product of a business writer’s context–the written report, memo, etc–is secondary to what that product accomplishes. The document is only a means to communicate something (to get something done), and so, is usually only a small piece of what will be a larger project or goal, or a component of a business relationship. |
| In Summary | Students write to learn, to demonstrate what they have learned, and to demonstrate their ability to communicate what they’ve learned. | Business writers write to get things done. |
*Adapted in part from “Differences Between Academic and Business Writing”, by Dave Dusseau, University of Oregon
PAGOS Differences: Academic vs. Professional Writing
You’ll read more about PAGOS in later notes. For now, just know that PAGOS—purpose, audience, genre, organization, and style—will be a frame for planning and analyzing texts. In brief:
| Purpose: | What does the writer want to accomplish? What does the writer want to happen as a result of the communication situation? |
| Audience: | Who will read the document? What does that reader care about? What does the reader know? need to know? want to know? |
| Genre: | What genre (type or category of communication) is most appropriate for the communication situation? What are the conventions (rules) of that genre? |
| Organization: | How should the writer organize the text? (Give details or background first and request last? Make request first and give details last? etc.) Why? |
| Style: | What tone, level of formality, and diction should the writer use? How should the writer communicate information—in paragraphs? in a list? in a visual? |
Academic Writing PAGOS
Let’s take another look at the differences between academic and professional writing–this time, using the PAGOS categories (purpose, audience, genre, organization, and style).
Remember “Hamburger” Paragraph Organization? You may have learned this (or something like it) in high school or 1101/1102.
No more five paragraph essays in Professional Writing!
What was the purpose of your writing in composition I and II?
- You wrote in composition I and II to prove that you could write according to the conventions of standard English. You wrote to demonstrate that you could make cogent or convincing arguments and to show
that you could write papers for classes in your majors. You wrote papers so that hopefully, you could get a good grade in the class.
Who was the audience for your writing assignments?
- The audience for your writing assignments was generally the teacher of the course, and occasionally, the other students in the class. Hopefully, you knew what the teacher wanted and could write to satisfy her requirements.
What genres did you write in?
- You may have written compare & contrast papers, argument papers, research papers, and expository papers.
How did you generally organize your essays and papers?
- Most of these papers were in five paragraph form
- Paragraph 1 – Introduction which is generally “broad to narrow,” ending in a thesis statement
- Paragraph 2 – First point, supported with evidence
- Paragraph 3 – Transition, then second point, supported with evidence
- Paragraph 4 – Transition, then third point, supported with evidence
- Paragraph 5 – Conclusion, generally starting with a restatement of your thesis, and organized “narrow to broad.”
What was the style of your writing in composition I and II?
- Perhaps you were urged to write in a “mature” voice, to write clearly, to avoid being confusing or awkward. I remember being told that my writing wasn’t “academic” enough, whatever that meant. In addition, we all know what traditional academic essays look like–they are written in 12 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1 inch margins on all sides, title centered, academic heading in the corner, etc. All academic essays look virtually the same.
Professional Writing PAGOS
What is the purpose of business and professional writing?
- When you write professionally in your careers, you might write to inform, to request something, or to persuade. You always try to build goodwill with your writing. Writing for business within your profession is real writing — writing for a real purpose; writing that has consequence.
Who is the audience for business and professional writing?
- Of course, you will write for a variety of audiences in your professional settings. Your audience may be your supervisor, your employees, or a potential or current client. In professional settings, it’s important to keep in mind that your audience has a particular level of knowledge, they have a particular level of investment in hearing your message, and they will act (or not act) based on your ability to communicate your message.
What genres will you write in business and professional writing?
- Regardless of your discipline or career, you will likely have to write business letters, emails, letters, and various types of reports. These genres have particular rules that you must learn and follow when you write within your career.
How do you organize business and professional writing?
- When organizing business writing, you must first be aware of the rules of the genre you’re writing in. Particular professional genres have certain rules that must be followed (for example, the subject line of an email always comes before the body of an email). Second, you must organize according to your audience. Does your audience want to hear your message? If so, then organize your writing with the “good news” up front. Is your audience going to dislike your message? If so, then you might want to buffer the bad news with something positive or neutral.
What is the style business and professional writing?
- As with nearly all considerations in business and professional writing, you should adapt your writing style to your audience. For the most part, you want to be friendly and understandable, as well as clear and concise.
In short, business and professional writing is real writing for real audiences.
It’s writing that has consequences and writing that gets things done.
Read “From Academic to Professional Writing” from The Writing Center at Cleveland State University
Read “The Difference Between Academic and Professional Writing: a Helpful Guide” from Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies
Read “Figure 3.1 Academic and Business Writing Compared” in Business Writing Style Guide from Oregon State University