What is Academic English?
Academic English is the genre of English used in the world of research, study, teaching
and universities. If you read an article in an academic journal or listen to someone giving a
presentation or a talk about an academic subject in an academic environment, Academic
English is probably being used. If you are studying in an English speaking university (or going
to) you will need to learn this type of English. Native English speakers also have to learn
Academic English too because it is not like the English that is used every day by English
speakers. Academic English is different from other types of English and it often has features
like these:

it uses formal academic language and avoids colloqualisms

it usually avoids ‘I’ and is written in the third person and often uses
impersonal structures

it is objective and impartial

it often uses the passive voice

it is tentative and cautious

there are lots of references to other writers

the texts are well structured

there are well developed paragraphs which often start with a strong topic
sentence

there are linking words which give the text cohesion
Here’s the introduction to a journal article written by the author which is an example of
written Academic English. The article is called Chinese Voices: Chinese learners and
their experiences of studying in the UK. After the example I will point out some of the
features of Academic English mentioned above:
Chinese students have an increasingly high profile in UK universities. In 2005
the number of Chinese students in UK universities was put at 50,000 (Higher
Education Statistics Agency, 2007). According to Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service (UCAS) (UCAS, 2008) nearly 5,000 Chinese students were
accepted to start courses at British universities in autumn 2008, a rise of 14.7
per cent on 2007. However, demographic changes in China and increasing
competition from other parts of the globe offering higher education courses
mean that the number of students is expected to peak in 2011 (Gill, 2008). As
more institutions seek to attract a dwindling number of students we can expect
greater competition between universities and a resulting increase in the
interest of the student experience. It is vital that institutions listen carefully to
the experiences that their Chinese students are living through if they are to
continue to attract students in the face of worldwide competition.
Finances aside, simply by virtue of the number of Chinese students in UK
universities, the Chinese student voice needs to be heard so we can be sure they
are receiving the same opportunities as other students in the university system.
Indeed ‘understanding overseas’ students concerns and problems is essential
for institutions in counselling, helping their overseas students, and in
improving the quality of their services’, (Li & Kaye, 1998, p. 41).
This research employed qualitative research methodology to give a voice to
Chinese students whose transcribed experiences are presented in this paper.
Specifically the research attempted to answer these questions:
1. What are the main characteristics of the Chinese learner and the Chinese
education system?
2. What experiences do Chinese students have of living in the UK?
3. What experiences do Chinese students have of studying in the UK?
(McMahon, P. Chinese voices: Chinese learners and their experiences of living and studying
in the United Kingdom, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 33, No.
4, August 2011, 401–414)
In this extract I hope you can see that …

it uses formal academic language and avoids colloqualisms
The phrase ‘Chinese students have an increasingly high profile in UK universities’ really
means ‘there are more and more Chinese students in UK universities’ but it uses more formal
and academic words.

it usually avoids ‘I’ and is written in the third person and often uses
impersonal structures
The phrase ‘This research employed qualitative research methodology’ is instead of saying ‘I
used qualitative research methodology’. Writers usually avoid using ‘I’ in Academic
English. ’Specifically the research attempted to answer these questions’ is another example of
using impersonal language.

it is objective and impartial
Being objective and impartial means that you have to prove everything you say and you do not
have fixed ideas before you start your research.

it often uses the passive voice
Here is an example of using the passive voice: ‘nearly 5,000 Chinese students were accepted
to start courses at British universities’ whereas in everyday spoken English you might just say
’5000 Chinese students study in the UK’.

it is tentative and cautious
A phrase like ’we can expect greater competition’ is cautious or tentative. If you are not
cautious you might say something which later proves not to be true. If you are not cautious
you might say ‘there will be definitely be greater competition’.

there are lots of references to other writers
You can see that there are lots of references to other writers. The writer tells you where he got
his information from.

the texts are well structured

there are well developed paragraphs which often start with a strong topic
sentence
These features are difficult to see in this short extract, but the introduction is well written and
logical.

there are linking words which give the text cohesion
There are some examples of ‘cohesive devices’ such as ‘however’ and ‘indeed’.