: Re: In academic writing why do some recommend to avoid "announcing" the topic? In academic writing, several articles on the topic of writing papers denounce the practice of "announcing" the topic.

@Kevin153

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If you think of yourself as reading a novel, rather than a scientific paper, it becomes very clear. If a novel started with 'In this novel, you will read..' you might find it awkward, or at least old-fashioned - I think there are Victorian novels which take this approach, but it is not the way of modern fiction. It removes the reader from being an active participant 'in the moment' to being a third-party observer, and it injects the voice of the author very load and clear.

In a scientific paper, you want the science to speak for itself, and as a reader, you don't want to be concerned with the authors in particular.

Another key message from novel-writing is to show people something, rather than telling them. This can also apply to scientific writing, and is relevant here I think.

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