Unit 5
Academic Language use
Unit outcomes
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
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Differentiate between formal and informal language.
Formulate and apply the requirements for appropriate academic language use.
Make use of an academic writing style.
Identify ambiguity.
Formulate and write coherent paragraphs.
Understand passive and active voice and write sentences as such.
Understand the conventions of academic language use and apply them.
Words I want to understand
While reading through this unit, underline or highlight all the words you don’t understand and
look them up in a dictionary or online. Now write down the word(s) and its definition in this
block.
1. Introduction
Academic English differs from other forms of English (e.g. the everyday spoken English we use
when speaking to our friends or lecturers that is often very informal). This is because the written
language that is used in the university context is characterised by a number of conventions or
requirements. A written academic text can be described as a:
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•
•
•
•
formal (mainly impersonal) and objective;
concise (as exact and economical as possible);
logically structured;
cohesive and coherent; and
grammatically correct expression of ideas/data.
2. Academic language
An academic writing style has the following characteristics:
•
Academic writing is clear and unambiguous;
•
There is often distance between the writer and the subject and the passive voice is often
used;
•
Much effort is made to create credibility for the information;
•
The writer goes to great lengths to be accurate in his/her writing;
•
Subject-specific vocabulary is used;
•
Only full sentences are used and sentences are often longer than in spoken or informal
language;
•
The texts are usually well-organised or following a specific pattern; and
•
Fixed expressions are used.
2.1. Formal and informal language
Academic writing is not supposed to be a personal letter to a friend. Formality in academic
writing generally focuses on our choice of words (vocabulary), and in the academic context it is
appropriate to make use of a formal register rather than an informal one. If we therefore have a
choice between two words (one informal and the other formal) that have a similar meaning when
we write an academic assignment, the better choice would usually be to use the formal word.
Improved example
Avoid everyday
expressions and be
specific
Find a more suitable,
formal word
ABC University’s research
output in 2017 is considered to
be the cream of the crop in
the country.
ABC University’s research
output in 2017 is considered to
be the highest in the country.
The disciplinary committee got
involved because the student
drove the lecturer up the
wall.
The disciplinary committee
became involved because the
student disrupted the class.
In research, there’s more than
one way to skin a cat.
In research, there is more than
one way to approach the
problem.
A couple of students have
found out that ...
Several students have
discovered that ...
2.2. Language correctness
Grammar should be used correctly in academic texts – grammar mistakes are unacceptable (be
careful of grammar checks on computer software). One should also make sure to use punctuation
correctly. Words should be spelt correctly and one should check for the capitalisation of words
(use the UK spell-check on computer or a good dictionary).
TIPS for editing academic writing
Do not use
contractions
The authors don’t provide
evidence for their claim.
Examples
The authors do not provide
evidence for their claim.
I can’t understand the concept.
I cannot understand the concept.
Do not use
unnecessary
abbreviations
The results should be released
ASAP.
The results should be released as
soon as possible.
Abbreviations that
are acceptable
Note that there are no full stops
after these abbreviations
[because the last letter of the
abbreviation is also the last
letter of the word]
Mr / Ms / Mrs / Dr
Note that we use full stops after
these abbreviations [because the
last letter of the abbreviation is
NOT the last letter of the word]
Prof. / Str. / e.g.
Sentences
Sentences start with capital letters and end with full stops.
Apostrophes
In English, apostrophes are
never used for plural.
The professor’s lecture was
captivating.
Apostrophes are used to indicate The student’s care broke down on
his way to class.
possession.
The students’ assignments are
handed back in class.
Tell them apart
their / there / they’re
▪
‘they’re’ is the product of two
words: they + are
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‘their’ indicates possession, e.g.
their work [the word ‘their’ is
always followed by another
noun]
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‘there’ is usually used as ‘there
is’ or ‘there are’, or referring to a
place
There are a number of tasks to be
completed and therefore they’re
working on their tasks there in the
laboratorium.
its / it’s
▪
‘it’s’ is the product of two
words: it + is
▪
‘its’ indicates possession, e.g. its
history [the word ‘its’ is always
followed by another noun]
It’s argued that the country and its
people should be the highest
priority of government.
to / too / two
▪
‘two’ is a number [2]
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‘to’ is a preposition as well as
part of the infinitive verb
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‘too’ is an adjective that means
‘excessively’ or ‘also’
The students are of the opinion that
the work load, indicated to them in
class, is too much to study in two
days.
Parenthesis
An inserted word or phrase between two commas, in brackets or
between two dashes. See the example underlined in blue above.
Common spelling
mistakes
Keep a list of words that you
often spell incorrectly and make
sure that you know the correct
spelling
▪
environment
▪
necessary / unnecessary
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professional / professor
2.3. Academic writing is clear and unambiguous
Academic writing needs to be clear so as to avoid misunderstanding. There are two main reasons
for writing clearly:
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•
To make sure your lecturer understands your argument and therefore gives you
appropriate marks.
Your writing is not generalizable (applicable and reproducible) if it is not clear.
2.4. Distance between the writer and the subject
Referring to yourself in the third person is more formal, however writing in research is
contentious about how to refer to oneself.
2.5. Active and passive voice
Simply being more formal is one way of creating distance between the writer and the reader.
Therefore, another technique to create distance is to use the passive voice from time to time. The
passive voice is a technique to either hide the doer of an action, or emphasise the objection of the
action.
Look at these websites for help with active and passive voice construction:
https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm or https://www.ef.com/englishresources/english-grammar/passive-voice-active-voice/
2.6. Accuracy in writing
The credibility of information closely relates to the concept of distance. Credibility is created by
being more formal. A level of formality is one of the first steps towards being more believable (as
long as it makes sense.) Using numerous sources and quoting or referring to them in your writing,
also creates credibility.
2.7. Subject-specific vocabulary
All subject fields have specific meanings associated with specific words. In order to be clearer,
researchers either create new words, or attempt to standardise the use of specific words. It is
crucial to know the exact meaning of subject specific terminology in order to understand
academic texts in specific fields
One can deal with subject specific terminology by:
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Being aware that these terms are often explained in the text;
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Consulting the glossary where terms are defined;
Using illustrations, diagrams and examples to come to a better understanding
of the terms; and
Using a terminological dictionary (or consulting reputable websites)
2.8. Full sentences and full length of sentences
While it is generally good writing to write in full sentences, there are some situations in everyday
life where we do not, such as on social media. This style of writing is not academic and should not
be used in academic writing, AT ALL.
Academic writing often contains very long sentences (a direct result of the need for accuracy and
clarity). These long sentences are often the result of clumsiness. Therefore you can use this rule
of thumb when you write: never attempt to express more than 2 (max 3) ideas per sentence. (You
should be able to read one sentence twice in one breath… If you can't; rewrite the sentence)
Keep your sentences crisp and to the point.
3. Test yourself
Do the activities below, to test whether you have understood and can apply all the theory in this
unit.
Activity 5.1 – Formality
Replace the italic and bold words/phrases with more formal alternatives.
(3)
Many of the mountaineers who try to climb up Mount Everest never make it down. In the
intense cold, any pause to rest can be a killer.
_________
_________
The informality in each sentence has been identified (column A), now choose a formal alternative
from the list below to replace the informality. Do this by completing the table.
(4)
Formal replacements: spurred, developed, inordinate, seizing
A. Politicians and the media expend crazy amounts of energy debating migration, often using
nativist, populist and xenophobic rhetoric.
B. Globalisation has fired-up increasing numbers of all types of frontier migrants.
C. They have come up with several new policies to make this easier.
D. African countries are not grabbing the opportunity presented by the migration-economic
nexus.
Sentence
Column A
Column B
Informality
Formal replacement
A.
crazy
B.
fired-up
C.
Come up with
D.
grabbing
Activity 5.2 – Integrated exercise
Read the text Pluto scientists were masters of the long haul – here’s how people stick with
extremely long-term goals and answer all the questions that follow.
1. Refer to paragraphs 2, 5 and 7 of the text “Pluto scientists were masters of the long (3)
haul – here’s how people stick with extremely long-term goals”. The words or phrases
printed in bold are examples of informal language use. Provide contextually
accurate, formal alternatives for these words or phrases, in the table provided below.
Informal use
Formal alternative
1.1 all sorts of (par. 5)
1.2 going on (par. 7)
1.3 pay-offs (par. 8)
2.
Change the following active construction into a passive construction.
(2)
Research has highlighted several ways in which self-regulation happens.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. The phrase “for instance” (underlined in par. 5) is an example of a logical connector
that shows comparison and contrast. What are the two ideas connected by this
connector?
Idea 1: ________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
(2)
Idea 2: ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. All the phrases in bold in the sentence below are verb phrases that depict actions. Use
the strategy of nominalisation to change the verb phrases into nouns.
Fill the
nominalised forms of the phrases in the spaces provided.
(2)
A learning mind-set is crucial, because orienting oneself solely toward
accomplishing a task leads people to avoid difficult goals when performance
payoffs don’t materialise quickly.
A learning mind-set is crucial, because orienting oneself solely toward the
(a)_____________________________ of a task leads to people’s (b)______________________________
of difficult goals when performance payoffs don’t materialize quickly.
5. Identify five errors in the following paragraph by encircling or underlining them in
the paragraph. Write down the error as well as what you think the correct use of the
language is in each, in the table provided.
(5)
Within the topic of motivation, it is known that people respond to increasing
complex or novel events (or stimuli) in the enviroment up to a point. After that, the
rate of responding decreases. These inverted-U-shaped curve of behavior is wellknown and widely acknowledged. However the major issue regarding motivation
relates to what the best way would be to explain this phenomenon.
Error
Correction
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Activity 5.3 – Ambiguity and passive voice
Explain the ambiguity in the following sentence by writing down the three meanings that this
sentence could have.
We saw her duck.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Look at the following sentences and decide which one is ambiguous.
She gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt. __________
She gave a bath to her dog, while wearing a pink t-shirt. __________
A good life depends on a healthy liver. __________
A good life depends on having a healthy liver. __________
Read the sentences below and change them into the passive voice.
The school had placed the students at the wrong level.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The school needed to improve the level placement procedure.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The school hadn’t told some of the students about the social programme.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The school should have informed them of the different location.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
They complete the test on the computer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In this system, the bees will pollinate the shrubs.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The plethora of woodlands and streams will provide the surface water and natural windbreak
protection required by the bees.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The fish-waste fertilizes the plants.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The ducks also provide an additional means of income, for farmers can sell them at harvest
time.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This gives the chickens an important source of rich protein.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Activity 5.3 – Academic language and writing
The table below contains a list of writing characteristics. Choose the five characteristic that are applicable
to good ACADEMIC writing by making a tick or cross next to the relevant characteristic.
Characteristics of good academic writing
Effort is made to create credibility for the information.
The information or data in the text is open for several interpretations.
The texts are usually well-organised or following a specific pattern.
There is often distance between the writer and the subject and the
passive voice is often used.
An informal or dialogue approach is used in writing.
Effort is made to create fictional characters to relay information.
Only full sentences are used and sentences are often longer than in
spoken or informal language.
Applicable
Academic writing is clear and unambiguous.
Care is taken to devise a captivating plot for the narrative.
Look at each of the following statements and decide whether they are true or false.
1. In academic writing you should write in an informal way, referring to yourself in the first
person for example. This is because the lack of distance will create intimacy between the
author and the reader and therefore make the author more credible. __________
2. Distance in academic writing is important and can be produced by using the passive voice.
__________
3. While there is a move towards writing more directly, creating distance between the
author and the reader is important for objectivity. __________
4. Using formal language when writing academically helps to create clarity, credibility and
accuracy. __________
5. The information or data in an academic text should be written so that it is open for several
interpretations. __________
6. In academic writing, only full sentences are used and sentences are often longer than in
spoken or informal language. __________
7. An academic text can adhere to any structure and does not need to be well organised.
__________
8. There is no need for references to other sources in your academic text. __________