define what is academic writing

Each subject discipline will have certain writing conventions, vocabulary and types of discourse that you will become familiar with over the course of your degree. However, there are some general characteristics of academic writing that are relevant across all disciplines.
It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Below is a checklist for definitions. Use it to check your own writing, or get a peer (another student) to help you.
Find out more about classifications in the next section.

Adapted from Academic Writing . Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Academic writing refers to a particular style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and their areas of expertise. It is characterized by a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Being a specialist language, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts for a group of scholarly experts.

This stance, claim, or take is your contribution to the current conversation on your topic and provides your readers with a position, perspective, and/or point of view on your topic.
An academic argument is not a fight, a battle, or a negative confrontation. An academic argument is also not emotional nor focused on one person’s opinion.

References:

http://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/other/definitions/
http://libguides.sph.uth.tmc.edu/c.php?g=572647&p=3959489
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/arguments
http://bond.libguides.com/harvard-referencing/in-text-citations