Classed Academic Writing

When I think of academic writing, I think of a composition that utilizes sophisticated language, complex sentence structures, and, quite frequently, an abundance of sources to support its main argument. With this definition in mind, I most certainly believe that the majority of academic writing is classed for two specific reasons. The first reason is author orientated – for in order to have a firm grasp of how to successfully compose an academic piece, one must presumably have the background of a good education that has laid the foundation on which such academic writing is constructed. Education, as we have defined it within our class, is also a rather classed institution that is often seen as discriminating against the lower class, and as academic writing is a result of education (and is also intended for the use of education), it may also be seen as discriminating against lower classes in a similar manner. The second reason that academic writing might be seen as classed is audience oriented. For in writing anything, one writes with a specific audience in mind and it seems that in academic writing, with all of its complex words and flowing sentence structure, the intended audience is always meant to have achieved a “good” education, just as the author of an academic piece presumably has.