Academic vs technical writing

Assignment:

"What are the similarities and difference between academic writing (scholarly or traditional writing) and "business" writing (or writing at work)? Discuss some aspects that each venue shares, and also how they differ. From your readings this week, think about how you use tone, vocabulary, voice, and even identify purpose in your writing at work and academic writing. Think about the perspective you use in each and how they are similar and how they are different."

STUDENT 1:

Class,

Business writing and academic writing have many traits that make the two very different forms of writing. There are more differences than similarities in the types of writing. However, they both have one major thing in common, and that is a strong point to the paper. An academic writing assignment opens with a strong thesis and the paper continues to support that idea. Business writing also needs a strong opening and supporting facts to back up the premise of the paper (Worth, 2016). Both writing styles require citing the fact sources to back up the idea behind the paper. Another strong similarity between the two is the importance of proper grammar and no spelling mistakes. Spelling and grammar mistakes both take away credibility to employees and possible vendors in the work setting.

There are many differences between the two types of writing styles. For instance, most academic writing involves taking a subject matter and researching it into an essay form. Technical writing also requires research, but instead may end up in an instructional manual for equipment or even a change to employee rules in the workplace. Technical writing normally only contains denotative words or literal meanings of a subject. Academic writing contains longer connotative or descriptive words to define a subject (Gerson, n.d.). Technical writing uses short paragraphs while academic writing uses longer sentences and paragraphs. Technical writing uses bold headings, graphics, and often different font types to draw attention to sections of the paper. The purpose of technical writing is to inform the audience in a quick manner to accomplish a job.