How 'academic' should academic writing be? Or: why form should follow function.

This editorial discusses the experiences of doctoral students at an academic conference in New Zealand, specifically regarding academic writing and publishing. The students expressed frustration with the strict rules and uniformity of academic publishing, as well as the dominance of the English language in the field. The editorial draws parallels to Franz Kafka's story "Before the Law" to highlight the students' perception of academic publishing as a non-negotiable regime with gatekeepers. The authors argue against the myth that there is only one correct way to write academically and advocate for pluralism and functional forms of scholarly activity and writing. They express concern about the convergence of academic writing formats and the potential for artificial intelligence to further standardize academic papers. The authors encourage authors to continue pushing the boundaries of academic genres and regimes. [Extracted from the article]