Box 2 Academic writing
Academic writers use cautious, considered language in an effort to be as exact as they can in their analysis. They try to say only what they mean and what they think can be justified. In daily life we cheerfully use language as a blunt instrument, to cudgel our way through the discussions that spring up
around us. By contrast, academic writing uses language as a scalpel, to cut precisely between closely related arguments, so
that they can be prised apart and analysed in detail. Learning how to read, think and write in this way is a central part
of learning at degree level.