Language Used in Academic
Texts
Academic Writing – A formal and rather
impersonal mode of writing that is
intended for a scholarly audience.
 Heavily depends on research,
factual evidence, opinions of
educated researchers and
scholars.
 It has a rigid structure and layout,
which consists of introduction,
thesis, an overview of topics
discussed, and a conclusion.
 Contains vocabulary typical to a
specific field.
 Tone should always be objective
and formal.
Tips for Academic Writing
• Always use formal language.
Avoid using colloquialism or
slang.
• Don’t use contractions (shortened
verb forms).
• Use the third-person point of view
and avoid the first-person point of
view.
• Don’t pose questions; convert the
questions into statements.
• Avoid exaggerations or
hyperbole.
• Don’t make sweeping
generalizations
• Be clear and concise and avoid
repeating.
Non-academic Writing – writing that is
not intended for an academic audience.
• Written for a lay audience or the
mass public.
• May be personal, impressionistic,
emotional, or subjective in nature.
• Language used is informal or
casual (may also contain slang).
• Newspaper articles, memoirs,
magazine articles, personal or
business letters, novels,
websites, text messages, etc. are
some examples of non-academic
writing.
• Content is often a general topic.
• Main aim is to inform, entertain
and persuade the readers.
• Does not include references,
citations or a list of sources.
• Does not have a rigid structure
and reflects the style and
personality of the writer.
Point of view of Non-academic text
Subjective and personal – based on
personal opinions and feelings rather
than on facts that comes from reliable
sources.
Asking rhetorical questions – self-
evident, and used for style as an
impressive persuasive device.
Academic Language – is the language
used in the classroom and workplace,
the language of text, the language
assessments, the language academic
success and the language of power.
• May be used to refer to formal
English rules, structure, and
content for academic dialogue
and text.
• Academic language has a unique
set of rules: it should be explicit,
formal and factual as well as
objective and analytical in
nature.
• Should be clear and concise in
order to communicate its contents
in the best way.
Features of Academic Language
Formal - requires considerable effort to • Avoiding personal pronouns
construct meaningful sentences,
paragraphs, and arguments that make The third person perspective – is like
the text easy to comprehend. being the story teller.
• Choose words precisely and Precise - The facts are presented
carefully so that the reader can accurately.
accurately understand the • The choice of words is
concepts within the text. appropriate.
• The tone used in academic • The use of technical terms to
writing is usually formal, meaning achieve precision is applied.
that it should not sound
conversational or casual.
• You should particularly avoid
colloquial, idiomatic, slang, or
journalistic expressions in favor of
precise vocabulary. Informal and
colloquial language is often
imprecise, so is open to
misinterpretation, and can be
inaccessible to non-native
English speakers.
• Academic writing requires that
you use full forms rather than
contractions.

Objective - based on research and not

on the writer’s own opinion about a
given topic.
• When you write objectively, you
are concerned about facts and
not influenced by personal
feelings or biases. When
presenting an argument to the
reader, try to show both sides if
you can and avoid making value
judgments.

Impersonal - you generally do not refer

to yourself as the performer of actions.
• This involves avoiding the
personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’.
For example, instead of writing ‘I
will show’, you might write ‘this
report will show’. The second
person, ‘you’, is also to be
avoided.