Why Do We Need To Read Academic Texts?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Exposure to different viewpoints: One purpose of assigned academic readings is

to give students exposure to different viewpoints and ideas

. … Such experience can help you wrestle with ideas and beliefs in new ways and develop a better understanding of how others’ views differ from your own.

Does anyone actually read academic papers?

According to one estimate,

only 20 per cent of papers cited have actually been read

. We estimate that an average paper in a peer-reviewed journal is read completely by no more than 10 people. … Most journals are difficult to access and prohibitively expensive for anyone outside of academia.

Who reads academic writing?

According to one 2007 study, not many people: half of academic papers are read only by

their authors and journal editors

, the study’s authors write. But not all academics accept that they have an audience of three.

Why is academic reading so hard?

Sometimes this is because scholarly writing is obtuse, dense and, well,

not really very good

. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes the texts that we read are simply hard to grasp. … It’s terribly easy to suggest that academic writing that isn’t transparently obvious at first reading is, by definition, badly written.

How many academic journals exist?

No one knows how many scientific journals there are, but several estimates point to

around 30,000

, with close to two million articles published each year. Our argument is a simple one.

What percentage of papers are never cited?



90% of papers published

in academic journals are never cited.” This damning statistic from a 2007 overview of citation analysis recently darted about cyberspace. A similar statistic had made the rounds in 2010 but that time it was about 60% of social and natural science articles that were said to be uncited.

What makes a good academic writing?

Academic writing is clear, concise, focussed, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is

to aid the reader’s understanding

. It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

What is the purpose of non academic writing?

The content of these writings is often a general topic, unlike academic writing, which mainly focuses on a specific field. Furthermore, the main aim of a piece of non academic writing is

to inform, entertain or persuade the readers

. Most non academic writings do not include references, citations or a list of sources.

What are some examples of academic writing?

  • abstract.
  • annotated bibliography.
  • academic journal article.
  • book report.
  • conference paper.
  • dissertation.
  • essay.
  • explication.

How difficult is academic writing?

Academic writing is

a complex business

. And it’s that complexity that makes it tricky. When you sit down to write a thesis, book or paper you start off with: material that comes from a well designed project.

Why are academic essays so boring?


Academic writing is always boring, dry, formulaic, and unnecessarily complex

. … In many cases the writing (the form) must be simple or plain, because the ideas (the content) are by definition new and complex. The ideas themselves are meant to be the source of excitement.

What makes an article difficult to read?


Take Notes

. A paper can also be hard to read due to the high density of information presented in one article. … To absorb the content of the paper, it’s not enough to just highlight the important information on the paper—you must take notes. However, avoid rewriting each sentence used by the author.

What are examples of academic journals?

  • Scientific Journals. Nature. PNAS. Physical Review Letters. PLoS Biology. Science.
  • Humanities. Arion. Humanicus. Journal of Medical Humanities. Kritika Kultura. Screen.

How many papers should I publish per year?

Post-doctoral researchers in Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen were told this week that they need to be publishing, on average,

3.25 papers per year

in order to have a competitive chance of getting a research fellowship.

Who reads academic journals?

Who actually reads those papers? According to one 2007 study, not many people: half of academic papers are read only by

their authors and journal editors

, the study’s authors write. But not all academics accept that they have an audience of three.

How many citations is considered good?

What is a good number of citations? With

10 or more citations

, your work is now in the top 24% of the most cited work worldwide; this increased to the top 1.8% as you reach 100 or more citations. Main take home message: the average citation per manuscript is clearly below 10!

Leah Jackson
Author
Leah Jackson
Leah is a relationship coach with over 10 years of experience working with couples and individuals to improve their relationships. She holds a degree in psychology and has trained with leading relationship experts such as John Gottman and Esther Perel. Leah is passionate about helping people build strong, healthy relationships and providing practical advice to overcome common relationship challenges.