Academic Discourse is the term for communication with an academic audience for the purpose of furthering knowledge, interpretation, and understanding in the field. It includes the genre (i.e., types of communication) that college students and professors use to learn, share, and challenge knowledge and to expand their understanding of fields of study. See Discourse Community.
FURTHER READING
This resource is particularly helpful in showing students how to discern writing differences in disciplines: Understanding Reading and Writing Differences Across Disciplines