Tips for Writing in Academic Tone & Style

I hope you all understand that academic writing points towards a specific style of expression that researchers adopt to define the intellectual scales of their disciplines and their areas of expertise. As you all know that special features of academic writing consists of various elements like a formal tone, use of the third person , clarity on the research problem under evaluation, and particular word selection. Just as the specific languages used in other fields such as engineering, medicine or psychology, in the same way academic writing is structured and crafted to communicate about complex ideas to scholarly experts.

If you want your academic writing to stand out to achieve good grades then it becomes imperative to write in an appropriate academic tone and style. Sometimes students cannot get their paper good grading which mars their chances of getting it accepted even after toiling day and night for their research work. But how can we avoid these grim situations?

Just by following the following described tips for writing in the academic tone and style:

DON’TS

• Avoid informal and conversational language: Students have the propensity to use colloquialisms or informal way of expressing their ideas. But this sort of tendency needs to be avoided, they should never to be used in academic context.

For example avoid stating words like “you know,” “well,” “what I think” or “I am going to explain.”

• Avoid using slang as it give too much of informal touch to your writing and also in different cultural settings they can be misunderstood. For example avoid using words like “chap” or “guy.”
• Avoid asking questions: If you want to raise the bar of your writing to expected level of college committee then never start your writing by asking a question as it creates a mood of conversation. Remember, academic writing is not a chit chat between people. Yes! it could be rhetorical question but should not be over-shadowed by a series of questions.For example, don’t start asking “Let me ask you one question”.
• Avoid using personal pronouns: Do not highlight yourself by using words like “I believe” etc. Unless the writing asks you to focus on yourself. For example instead of stating “I feel that euthanasia should be legalized.” Instead state like this “It will be appropriate to hold a discussion on legalization of euthanasia.“
• Avoid any language that may be perceived as sexist, homophobic, racist, or otherwise offensive. For example never create gender biasedness in you language, like for example “A student knows that he has to study long hours in order to be successful in his career.” Instead state “Student know that they have to study long hours in order to be successful in their career.” You can use acceptable non-sexist language by using passive voice, using plural formats, eliminating pronouns, switching to direct address, and choosing non-sexist terms whenever possible. An option of last resort is to use “his or her,” “his/her,” “her or his.”
• Avoid the language that promotes the inclusion of hyperbole, imprecisions, unnecessary passive voice etc.For example try to do away with the usage of hyperbole like “It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing jackets.”
• Sometimes students use passive sentence to hide holes in their research. For example “Computer was invented in 20th century,” but who invented the computer you or me or your professor? So it is requested to avoid usage of unnecessary passive voice.

DOs

• Flaunt your good knowledge of vocabulary: In order to achieve a great academic style, make an effort to include these beautiful vocabularies in your piece of writing as it will create an impression that you are ‘well versed and read.’
• Use technical language and terminology particular to a specific field: To convey deeper meaning of your topic, never forget to use technical language and terminology where you feel it is necessary. Using these terminologies unnecessarily may backfire at you and may render your paper out of substance.
• Appropriate use of abbreviations and acronyms: Make sure that you are fully expanding the meaning of abbreviations and acronyms before using them in abbreviated form. For example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Proper Referencing style: It is very important to be proper with referencing style in order to give an academic tone to your writing. Inappropriate referencing will mar your chances of getting good grades.
• Usage of good grammar, punctuation and formatting: If you are not sure about your grammatical and formatting skills then do take the help of a professional academic editor as it will enhance the quality and integrity of your writing. If you are well acquainted with the formatting, grammar and punctuation knowledge then do proofread your work.

In case of any confusion regarding the same, feel free to write us at [email protected].

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