From School through Academia to Content Writing: What I’ve learned so far
Writing is a crucial skill for someone whose idea and purpose in life is to convey knowledge. But trying to teach through writing might be, as I am beginning to understand, the hardest thing a writer can master.
For most of our school and faculty life, we learn how to write in a certain, professional way, while the majority of the audience demands something completely different. In school, we master essay writing; at University, we learn academic writing; on social media and in life, we have to deal with content writing.
These three stages of writing are what I have gone through, and this is a short insight into all three.
School
We first encounter writing in school, where we learn the basics of language expression. The most common method of writing in school is the essay. The essay form is a must-learn no matter the language you are learning, native or foreign. Once you master that writing form, it provides the basis for further writing.
Every country’s curriculum defines the format of the essay. But the basic format consists of three elements: Introduction, elaboration, and conclusion — Once you have a thesis, you can argue through the elaboration with three pro- and three counterarguments, so that you can create a conclusion. Simple, concise, and quasi-objective.
It is how the writing craft is learned at the basic level, which will serve those who continue their further education. The form is also rewarding in grading, where teachers and professors do not have to wrestle with stylistic figures but follow the set steps to reach the final grade.
Academic Writing — University
Academic writing is strictly specified and even more schematized than a school essay. Facts matter — And equally important are the sources that lead to these facts. The quality of an academic article lies precisely in the fact that it objectively conveys new knowledge to the reader, scientist, or researcher. However, it should be emphasized, that objectivity in writing is an ideal difficult to achieve.
In an academic article, it is important to substantiate your work with appropriate literature to ensure that all statements are supported by facts.
This form of writing is preferred primarily for its simplicity of communication in scientific and academic circles. Footnotes enable quick finding of necessary information, while objectivity in writing provides clarity and transparency.
Content Writing
Writing content is a kaleidoscopically colorful ground of all manner of expression. With thousands of approaches to this writing craft, content creation is a huge part of media, business, and everyday life. But despite the broad use of it, there is one rule: Content Writing is all about marketing. It is important to sell the idea to the potential reader.
Content writing is a free writing form, aimed at a specific audience. But the form often follows the same form as an essay — Introduction, elaboration, and conclusion. The catch here is that the writer does not have to depend on the objectivity and accuracy of the given statements — on the contrary, subjectivity is a far better tool for connecting with the audience.
And at the end of the day, content writing is trying to sell something — selling yourself, an idea, your brand, or your employer’s products.
Academic Writing vs Content Writing
Academic writing is for a narrow community of scientists in a field, and as such, is written in a way that is easily recognizable and meaningful to them. Such a templated approach to writing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it enables easier maneuvering through different articles, while on the other hand, it is almost unreadable to the broad public.
Content Writing is, on the other hand, for the broad public and often uses simple writing for entertainment purposes while neglecting the accuracy of the information it conveys. It can reach many people and communicate information in many different forms. The problem is that there is often a fixation on the marketing aspect of it, which leads to the manipulation of information.
One type of writing is aimed at accurately conveying knowledge within a small community, the other is aimed at creating content for the masses, not bothered if the knowledge it transmits is true.
How I believe Writing should be perceived
It is my opinion that academic writing and content writing should find a middle ground. For years, Academia has been closing itself within its walls, thus missing out on digitalization and the modernization process in general. Adaptation of academic writing to today’s modern world is long overdue. Not only would that benefit the educational community, but it would also make knowledge available to the population.
Content creators would greatly benefit from a lesson or two on how to transmit knowledge in a more fact-based way. Many content writers can’t or won’t acknowledge the harm of spreading wrong information. Once the avalanche of misinformation starts, it is almost impossible to stop it.
Every scientist or intellectual would benefit from the skills of a content creator. At the same time, every content writer could expand his knowledge with numerous literature from academic circles.
The only question is: Who is ready for such changes?
