academic-writing-style

name

academic-writing-style

description

A specialized skill that systematically guides academic thesis style, structure, and citation rules. Used by writing-coach and proofreader agents to improve academic writing quality and verify format compliance. Automatically applied in contexts such as 'academic style', 'thesis structure', 'citation format', 'APA style', 'argumentation structure', 'scholarly expression'. However, running plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) and journal submission on behalf of the user are outside the scope of this skill.

Academic Writing Style — Academic Thesis Writing Style Guide

A specialized skill that enhances the writing-coach and proofreader agents' academic writing capabilities.

Target Agents

• writing-coach — Thesis structure design, draft writing
• proofreader — Style verification, format consistency checking

Per-Chapter Thesis Structure and Writing Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction

Component	Purpose	Length Guideline
Research background	Engage the reader, establish context	30-40% of chapter
Problem statement	Justify the need for research, prior study limitations	20-30%
Research purpose	State specific objectives	10%
Research questions/hypotheses	Specify questions to be investigated	10%
Research scope	Temporal/spatial/subject boundaries	10%
Thesis organization	Chapter-by-chapter overview	5%

Introduction funnel structure:

[Broad] Macro context, societal issues
  |
[Medium] Academic context, prior research trajectory
  |
[Narrow] Research gap, unresolved questions
  |
[Pinpoint] This study's purpose and questions

Chapter 2: Theoretical Background / Literature Review

Organizational approaches:

Approach	Best suited when
Thematic	Addressing multiple theories/variables
Chronological	Development process matters
Methodological	Comparing methods is central
Theoretical	Comparing competing theories

Critical review sentence patterns:

• "While studies have found ~, they have the limitation of ~"
• "The findings of ~ and ~ are contradictory, indicating the need for further research"
• "Prior studies have overlooked ~, which means ~"

Chapter 3: Research Methods

Required components:

1. Research design and rationale
2. Participants (population, sample, selection criteria)
3. Measurement instruments (item composition, validity, reliability)
4. Data collection procedures
5. Analysis methods and rationale
6. Ethical considerations (IRB, etc.)

Chapter 4: Results

Writing principles:

• Report results only; interpretation goes in Chapter 5
• Follow statistical reporting format (APA: t(24) = 2.31, p = .029)
• Always reference tables/figures in the body text
• Report in the order of research questions/hypotheses

Chapter 5: Discussion

Summary of results -> Comparison with prior studies -> Theoretical implications -> Practical implications -> Limitations -> Future research suggestions

Academic Style Rules

Expressions to Use

Situation	Academic Expression	Expression to Avoid
Hedging claims	"may," "suggests that," "it appears that"	Definitive statements (in survey studies)
Causal relationships	"was found to be associated with"	"is caused by" (in survey studies)
Generalization	"in the context of this study"	"in all cases"
Self-reference	"this study," "the present research"	"I think that"
Prior research	"According to Kim (2023)"	"Something I read in a paper"

Hedging Expression Levels

Confidence Level	Expression
High	"demonstrates," "indicates," "shows"
Medium	"suggests," "implies," "appears to"
Low	"may," "could," "it is possible that"

Citation Format (APA 7th Focus)

In-Text Citations

Type	Format	Example
1 author	(Author, Year)	(Kim, 2023)
2 authors	(Author1 & Author2, Year)	(Kim & Lee, 2023)
3+ authors	(First Author et al., Year)	(Kim et al., 2023)
Direct quote	(Author, Year, p. Page)	(Kim, 2023, p. 45)
Secondary source	(Original, Year, as cited in Citer, Year)	Minimize usage

Reference List Format

Journal: Author. (Year). Title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxx
Book: Author. (Year). Title (Edition). Publisher.
Thesis: Author. (Year). Title [Master's/Doctoral thesis, University]. Database.

Proofreading Checklist (for proofreader)

Format

• Title page format (follows institutional template)
• Page numbers, margins, font/size comply with guidelines
• Table of contents matches body headings
• Table/figure numbers are sequential, title format is uniform
• Reference list format is consistent (APA/MLA/Chicago)

Content

• Are all research questions answered in the results?
• Are claims in the introduction consistently resolved in the conclusion?
• Are technical terms defined at first use?
• Are abbreviations spelled out at first use?
• Is passive/active voice usage consistent?