Inside Academic Writing is designed to prepare students in any academic discipline for graduate-level writing. The text situates students within their writing communities by prioritizing the steps of learning; students are directed to use common threads of academic writing across disciplines. The goal of Inside Academic Writing is to give students the opportunity to write for a variety of audiences and to develop the knowledge necessary to recognize how to write for different audiences and purposes.

Inside Academic Writing allows students to examine basic assumptions about writing before they learn specific strategies for targeting the audience or mapping the flow of information. Through the material in this textbook, students will create a portfolio of writings that includes a biographical statement and a research interest essay--important pieces of writing that are rarely taught in courses. Other types of writing featured are a summary, a problem-solution text, a comparative structure paper, and a commentary.

Other textbooks prepare students for graduate writing, but Inside Academic Writing was designed to bridge the gap between non-academic writing and the writing required within an academic community, with one's peers, colleagues, and field experts. In addition, Inside Academic Writing offers guidance on writing materials for grants, fellowships, conferences, and publication.