Overview of Academic Writing Software

Academic writing is a task for the professionals. Though the term is ‘academic’ is related to the students, but the professors and teachers expect academic writing to be very professional and attractive. Students who are gifted with the talent of writing can perform the task of research papers, essays, dissertations and more. But, those who are not, finds it very difficult to manage the task of academic writing. There are a few academic writing software programs that are available today, which make things a lot easier for the students. Here the three academic software programs that are used in the world.

1. LaTeX

This software can be used for all the top Operating Systems like Microsoft, Mac OS X and Linux/Unix. This software is available for free. It is an open-source document creation system that is specifically designed for academic and technical writing. You can easily manage large documents with this software. Unlike MS-Word, the content and document design can be separated. The software is designed with a markup language, therefore it has the similarities of the coding. Handling citations and cross-reference is quite easy in LaTeX.

2. LyX

LyX can also be used in all the major Operating Systems. This software is similar to LaTeX when it comes to typesetting, but the user interface is similar to MS-Word. The software has all the advanced features that are present in LaTeX. The software is not as efficient as LaTeX, but a great software to start with.

3. Scrivener

This software can also be used with all the major Operating Systems. It comes with a 30-day trial and beyond that, you have to pay a certain amount in order to use the software. Apart from word processing, this software is quite effective for project management and organization. The software is compatible with all the major file formats, thus making it easy to export in any document type. You will find some difficulties in integration and reference management, which is the only drawback in this software.