Tips for Academic English
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Formal Language
Objective Language
Technical Language
Clarity
Other Tips
Let us explore a few of those conventions.
Formal Language
Most assessments require a formal writing style (although there may be some exceptions, for example, Reflective Writing). While spoken language is generally casual, conversational and less structured, formal language is highly and deliberately structured.
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Avoid slang and colloquial language
These are features of informal or conversational language and are not appropriate in academic writing. They are often specific to a particular culture, context or geographic area, whereas academic writing should be universal.
For example:
Inappropriate: These findings are fishy.
Appropriate: These findings are unsupported.
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Use full words rather than contractions
A contraction is a shortened combination of two words, for example “won’t” is a contraction of “will not.” This is also considered informal. Always spell words out in full.
Note that if you have included a quote in your assessment and the quote has a contraction you should not change this. Keep the original wording of quotes.
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Avoid personal pronouns
The use of “I,” “we” or “you” invites both the writer and reader to become participants in the text. This is a common technique used in magazines, instructional writing or entertainment writing. However, it is not appropriate for academic writing unless it is a requirement of the task.
Objective Language
Academic writing should be impersonal, factual and logical. While you are often expected to be persuasive or form a judgment, this should be achieve through your use of evidence and objective language.
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Avoid emotional language
Avoid language that indicates your personal feelings, or whether you personally agree or disagree.
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Use graded evaluative language
When evaluating source or findings in your academic writing, avoid using absolute positives or negatives like “wrong,” “true” or “proof.” Use hedging words or phrases that indicate a degree of certainty (whether high or low), but still permit some level of caution or further discussion.
| Words to use for… | Examples |
| High certainty | is, must, certainly, likely |
| Medium certainty | suggests, tends to be, appears to, should |
| Low certainty | may, possibly, could, seems to suggest |
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Always support your position with academic sources
Academic writing often requires you to form an opinion. Use reliable and academic sources to develop your point of view and avoid making judgments unless you have evidence to back it up.
For example: “It is clear from Robson’s (2004) findings that …”
Technical Language
Each subject area or discipline has its own vocabulary of technical language, whether it is medicine, psychology, linguistics or history. The more research you conduct in a subject area, the more you will be exposed to the technical language of that discipline.
Clarity
The greater the clarity of your writing, the better a reader will be able to understand your argument.
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Outline your assessment
Plan your writing before you begin. Map out the flow of information to make sure it is logical and understandable. See The Outline in NTI Library’s Essay Writing guide for more help.
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Structure your paragraphs
An outline will guide the overall structure of your assessment, including the order of your paragraphs. Planning the flow of information within each paragraph is just as important. See the guide on Paragraph Structure for more help.
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Avoid unnecessarily long sentences
Academic writing can give the impression that a long sentence is better than a short sentence. However, the longer a sentence is, the easier it is to have poor structure and confuse your reader. It is better to convey multiple pieces of information in fewer sentences, as this will make each piece of information easier to process.
For example:
Less clear: The global economy is experiencing increased rates of career changes, creating greater need for lifelong learning so individuals can learn new skills for existing jobs as well as new skills for new positions.
More clear: The global economy is experiencing increased rates of career changes, creating greater need for lifelong learning. This will improve an individual’s ability to learn new skills for existing jobs, as well new skills for new positions.
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Reread your assessment
Always reread your assessment a few times prior to submission. It may also be difficult to identify issues when you have reread your work multiple times without a break. Consider setting your work aside for a while and then return with fresh eyes.
Other Tips
- Avoid exclamation marks in academic writing.
- Most forms of academic writing do not support the use of bullet points. They may be acceptable if you are writing a report, however if unsure ask your lecturer.
- Avoid asking rhetorical questions. Focus on structuring your writing as statements that deliver information directly.
- Brackets are used in academic writing for in-text citations, so it is best to avoid using brackets for other purposes. While brackets can be used to contain non-essential information, it would be better to enclose such information between a pair of commas. Additionally, consider whether the information is important enough to have a place in your assessment at all.