Acedemic English

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Academic English

Today we will go over the rules of academic English so that you can apply them in your website. 

But first! Insert your favorite picture in your camera roll from this month.

To start: Can you google academic writing rules? Or if you know one, put it here.

Formal Tone and Style:

-Maintain a consistently formal tone throughout the paper.

-Avoid colloquial language, slang, and contractions. 

-Use a neutral, objective, and impersonal voice.

Objectivity and Balance:

Present multiple perspectives and maintain objectivity, even when discussing controversial topics.

Correct: Italy is regarded from National Geographic as one of the most beautiful nations in the world. 

Incorrect: Italy is the most beautiful country in the world. 

NO FANBOYS

DO NOT start sentences with FANBOYS (For, and, nor,, but, yet, so, because) instead use: Furthermore, however etc ect

What should "because" be replaced with in this sentence?

"Because of the freezing temperatures, the pipes have burst. "

Active and Passive Voice:

- Correct (Active): "The researcher conducted the experiment."

- Correct (Passive): "The experiment was conducted by the researcher."

-Incorrect: "An experiment was conducted, and it was conducted by the researcher."

Active Voice (Non-Passive):

Example: "The researcher conducted the experiment."

Passive Voice (Revised):

Example: "The experiment was conducted by the researcher."

Explanation: In passive voice, the object of the active sentence ("the experiment") becomes the subject, and the doer of the action ("the researcher") is moved to the end of the sentence with "by" to show that they performed the action.

Why passive tense? 

Emphasizing the Action or Process:

 Passive voice can highlight the action or process itself rather than the doer of the action. This is particularly useful when you want to draw attention to what happened rather than who did it.

Why Passive? 

Objective and Formal Tone: Passive voice maintains a formal and objective tone, which is highly valued in academic writing. It helps create a sense of impartiality and professionalism.

"Someone broke into that house last night"

"That house was broken into last night"

Make it passive
"The team completed the project ahead of schedule."

Make it passive:
"The committee approved the proposal."

Make it passive: "She wrote the groundbreaking paper."

Quantifiers 

A Lot Of / Lots Of / Tons Of:

Example: "There are lots of reasons why this hypothesis is interesting."

Explanation: These quantifiers are considered too informal for academic writing. Instead, use "many," "several," or "numerous" for countable nouns and "much" for uncountable nouns.

Quantifiers 

A Bit Of / A Little Bit Of:

Example: "We observed a little bit of improvement in the test scores."

Explanation: These expressions are somewhat informal. Use "a small amount of" or "a small quantity of" for uncountable nouns and "a few" for countable nouns.

Quantifiers 

Kind Of / Sort Of:

Example: "The results were kind of surprising."

Explanation: These expressions are colloquial and vague. Instead, use more specific terms like "somewhat," "partially," or "to some extent."

Quantifiers 

Stuff:

Example: "We found some interesting stuff in the research."

Explanation: "Stuff" is a very informal term. In academic writing, be specific about what was found, such as "data" or "information."

Quantifiers 

Like:

Example: "There were like twenty participants in the study."

Explanation: "Like" is often used informally as a filler word. In academic writing, be precise with numbers and use "approximately" if needed.

Quantifiers 

A Ton Of People:

Example: "A ton of people attended the conference."

Explanation: "A ton of" is informal. Instead, use "many" or "numerous."

Quantifiers: Correct this sentence
"There are lots of things to do in New York"

Correct this sentence
"Michelle Obama has donated so much money to the cancer association"

Correct the sentence
"The tourist site is a little bit south from the city, Izmir"