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Scholarly style guide

Academic Paper Writing: From Outline to Final PDF Submission

Academic writing is the formal style used in universities and scholarly publishing, built around clarity, objectivity, brevity, consistency, and strong organization.

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Academic writing concept map: formal, objective, and evidenced writing for essays, research papers, and journals

What academic writing looks like

Scholarly prose is built for readers who need evidence, not personality. Use the contrasts below as a quick style filter before you draft.

Do this

Academic writing is…

Formal & unbiased

Present claims with evidence; keep personal opinion out of the argument.

Clear & precise

Prefer exact terms over vague intensifiers like “a lot” or “really.”

Focused & structured

One controlling idea per section; headings map the reader’s path.

Well sourced

Cite peer-reviewed or primary sources for every borrowed claim.

Correct & consistent

Keep tense, spelling, terminology, and citation style aligned from draft to references.

Avoid this

Academic writing is not…

Personal

Skip diary tone and overused first-person reflections unless methods require it.

Long-winded

Cut filler clauses; say the finding once with the data that supports it.

Emotive & grandiose

Avoid “amazing,” “devastating,” or marketing-style hype around results.

Conversational

No slang, contractions, or rhetorical questions aimed at “you.”

Unsupported assertion

Don’t state conclusions without method, sample, or cited literature behind them.

Quick tone check

Less appropriate

“Also, a lot of the findings are a little unreliable.”

Better

“Moreover, many of the findings are somewhat unreliable.”

Swap casual connectors and vague quantifiers for precise academic phrasing—then keep the claim hedged to match the evidence.

Types of academic writing

Scholars publish in many formats, while students most often work with assignments that test argument, research, analysis, and reporting. Download a sample for each type below.

Type of academic text Definition Sample download
Essay A fairly short, self-contained argument, often using sources from a class in response to a question provided by an instructor. Download .docx
Research paper A more in-depth investigation based on independent research, often in response to a question chosen by the student. Download .docx
Thesis / dissertation The large final research project undertaken at the end of a degree, usually on a dissertation topic of the student’s choice. Download .docx
Research proposal An outline of a potential topic and plan for a future dissertation or research project. Download .docx
Literature review A critical synthesis of existing research on a topic, usually written in order to inform the approach of a new piece of research. Download .docx
Lab report A write-up of the aims, methods, results, and conclusions of a lab experiment. Download .docx
Annotated bibliography A list of source references with a short description or evaluation of each source. Download .docx

Different fields, same core principles

  • Scientific writing often emphasizes accurate reporting of methods and findings.
  • Humanities writing usually focuses more on argument and textual evidence.
  • Across disciplines, the goal stays the same: communicate ideas effectively and clearly.

Draft every academic genre in one workspace.

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Four stages of academic paper writing

Move from a vague idea to a submission-ready manuscript: research, structure, drafting, and formal presentation.

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Stage 1

Topic Selection & Literature Research

Narrow a vague idea into a researchable question, then find and digest sources efficiently.

Brainstorming & Formulating Research Questions

Reduce a broad topic to a focused research problem: define scope, variables, and contribution so the question fits one paper—not an entire field.

Conducting Efficient Literature Reviews

Search Google Scholar, PubMed, JSTOR, and subject databases with keywords, Boolean logic, and citation chaining. Log methods and findings in a synthesis matrix.

AI assist

Use ChatPDF to pull conclusions, methods, and data from long PDFs before close reading.

Concept: topic selection and literature research

Write clearer academic drafts with AI-assisted tools

Research, outline, polish, and export in one workspace.

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How to write a polished paper with WPS Office

Follow this end-to-end journey—from topic research to cloud backup—and use WPS AI Writer, one-click paper formatting, PDF tools, and cloud docs to finish academic writing with less friction.

1 Research→ 2 Outline→ 3 Draft→ 4 Polish→ 5 Translate→ 6 Paper format→ 7 PDF→ 8 Cloud submit
1 Topic research

Start by clarifying your research question and scanning related literature. Use ChatPDF to upload papers, extract key claims, and ask follow-up questions without reading every page line by line. Pair that with WPS Copilot web search to discover recent sources, definitions, and competing viewpoints before you lock the topic.

ChatPDF WPS Copilot web search
Topic research with ChatPDF and Copilot
AI outline generation in WPS
2 AI-generated outline

Turn your topic into a structured plan with AI Writer. Ask it to generate a chapter outline, section headings, and argument flow for the thesis or essay. Review and rearrange the outline so each section supports one clear claim before drafting.

AI Writer Outline generation
3 AI writing & continue writing

Draft section by section with AI Writer: generate opening paragraphs, continue unfinished arguments, or produce a full draft from the outline. Use AI expand when a point needs more explanation, and keep your own evidence and citations as the backbone of every claim.

AI Writer Continue writing AI expand
AI drafting and continue writing in WPS
AI polish and spelling check in WPS
4 AI polish & spelling check

Refine tone with AI polish set toward a formal academic voice—clearer sentences, fewer informal phrases, stronger consistency. Use AI shorten for wordy paragraphs, then run grammar checker to catch typos, tense slips, and punctuation issues before peer review.

AI polish AI shorten Grammar checker

Continue the workflow in WPS Writer

Outline, draft, polish, and export without leaving the app.

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5 AI translation

When you work across languages—reading non-English sources or preparing a bilingual abstract—use document translation for longer passages and selection translation for precise terms, quotes, and definitions. Always re-check terminology against your field’s preferred wording.

AI Translator PDF translation
AI translation tools in WPS
7 Word to PDF & PDF editing

Export the finished manuscript with Word to PDF for stable layout across devices and submission portals. If reviewers request small fixes, use PDF editing for targeted updates—page order, annotations, or last-minute text corrections—without rebuilding the entire document.

Word to PDF PDF editing
Word to PDF conversion in WPS
Cloud backup and version history in WPS
8 Cloud backup & submit

Save the working file as a cloud document so drafts stay synced across devices. Use version history to recover earlier outlines or advisor-approved sections, then download the final PDF for submission with confidence that nothing critical was lost in last-minute edits.

Cloud docs Version history

Academic writing checklist

Tap each item to check it off before submission. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Progress 0 / 15

Style and tone

Structure and evidence

Consistency checks

Finish your checklist, then write and submit with WPS Office.

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Write, edit, and polish academic work with less friction

Use WPS Office to draft essays, refine structure, review wording, and keep your academic documents organized in one clean workspace.

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