What is meant by academic writing?

In a broad sense, academic writing is that writing which
fulfills a purpose of education, such as writing by students in fulfillment of an
assignment, or writing by educators for professional publications.  However, within this
arena, there are different approaches by various professors in their own classroom. 
Nevertheless, there are yet some standards that hold in most
cases:

1.  The avoidance of the first-person and the second
person.  Unless the writer is composing a process paper in which he/she directs someone
how to do something, the objective third person should be
employed.

2.  An objective point of view that does not
admit emotional perspective or response by the writer.

3. 
In the writer's analysis, the writer strives for the reader's intellectual response,
rather than emotional.  The writer must present the reader with an informed
argument.

4.  The use of Standard English that avoids the
informal or colloquial.  This includes the avoidance of contractions, cliches, and
triteness.

5.  The writer's topic must be of interest to
other academics.