ACADEMIC WRITING

Presenters:
Truong Hai Ha
Tran Kieu Hanh
Nguyen Thi Thinh
Truong Thi Phuong
ACADEMIC WRITING

•I. Academic writing

style
•II. Academic writing
tips
 I. ACADEMIC WRITING
STYLE
9 characteristics:
• Tentative statements
• Full forms of words
• Nationalized phrasing
• Passive voice
• Third person pronouns
• Few direct questions
• Formal negative forms
• No clichés, redundant words or
colloquialisms
• Referencing other writers' work
1. Use tentative statements (tends to,
appears to, suggest that…) rather
than direct, categorical ones that
over generalize.
Write: This tends to occur whenever
there is a downturn in commodity
prices.
Not: This occurs whenever there is a
downturn in commodity prices.
2. Use only the full forms of words, not
contractions
Write: Unemployment figures will
not improve until the economy is
stronger.
Not: Unemployment figures won’t
improve until the economy is
stronger.
3.Has more nouns (naming words)
than verbs (action or being words).
Write: The rapid increase in crime is
causing concern.
Not: Crime is increasing rapidly and
causing concern.
4. When describing processes, use the
passive voice.
Write: The test-tubes were
prepared by heating them.
Not: I prepared the test-tubes by
heating them.
5. To write in an objective manner,
use third person pronouns such as
they, he, she, and it, not I, we or
you.
Write: It is recommended that… not
I recommend that…
Write: It was found that… not I
found that…
6. Generally avoid direct questions.
Write: The department needs to
consider how costs can be lowered.
Or: Consideration needs to be given
to the ways in which costs may be
lowered.
Not: What can be done to lower
costs?
7. Use more formal versions of
negative forms
Write: no Not: not…any
little much
few many
8. Some words and expressions have
lost their effectiveness through
overuse (clichés) or include
redundant words (tautologies).
in recent years
(recently)
with a high degree of certainty
(certain)
at this moment in time
(now)
9. Must always clearly identify the
work and ideas of others in your
writing
II. ACADEMIC WRITING STYLE TIPS
• Be clear, concise and precise.
• Be Formal: Avoid using contractions,
colloquialisms or slang, and bulleted lists…
• Be Impersonal: Use passive voice.
• Be Cautious: Avoid overgeneralization,
use:
It appears that... It may be that... It
seems as though... It is likely that... This
suggests that... It is possible... Arguably,
• Be Honest: Use clear reference the work of
others.
• Be Objective: Avoid using "I" or "we".
 be
FOCHI
 Practising
Exercises
Academic Writing
Style
 Exercise 01:
Which of the two alternatives in
bold do
you think is more appropriate in
academic writing?
• The government has made
considerable/great progress in solving
the problem.
• We got/obtained excellent results in the
experiment.
• The results of lots of/numerous tests
have been pretty good/encouraging.
• A loss of jobs is one of the
consequences/things that will happen
if the process is automated.
• The relationship between the
management and workers is
extremely/really important.
• Some suggestions springing up
from/arising from the study will be
presented.
 Answer keys
• Considerable
• Obtained
• Numerous - encouraging
• Consequences
• Extremely
• Arising from
 Exercise 02:
Here are two paragraphs that
have problems with the writing
style. Identify the problems and
rewrite them so that they are
more suitable for academic style.
 Paragraph 01
The questionnaire will be carried out
in the pubic space next to the town
hall, were local residents can be
found and stopped. If we can't find
enough local people to answer our
survey, we'll do down the street and
see if we can find some more in the
shopping centre as there tends to be
local youths hanging around their
who we could ask.
 Paragraph 02
Given the general knowledge of the health
risks of smoking, it’s no wonder that heaps of
smokers have tried at some time in their lives to
quit. However, in most cases, their attempts are
unsuccessful. People begin smoking, often when
they’re adolescents, for lots of reasons, including
the example of parents and pressure from peers.
If others in one’s group of friends are starting to
smoke, it can be hard to resist going along with
the crowd. Once people start smoking, they’re
likely to get hooked. The addiction to smoking is
partly physiological; smokers become used to the
effects of nicotine and experience painful
withdrawal symptoms when they give it up. In
addition, people become psychologically
dependent on smoking as a way of reducing
anxiety and coping with particular situations.
 Answer Keys
Paragraph 01
 This extract has not been proofread carefully as
shown by the use of "pubic" instead of "public", "were"
instead of "where", and "their" instead of "there".
 The style is too informal, as there are colloquial
expressions from everyday speech ("go down the
street") and also contractions of words ("can't" instead
of "cannot").
 Also the method is not very scientific and it would be
better to explain why more residents and another
location needs to be found.
 The writing style is also personal ("If we can't
find..."), so it may be more appropriate to rephrase it in
the third person.
The questionnaire will be carried out
in the pubic space next to the town
hall, were local residents can be
found and stopped. If we can't find
enough local people to answer our
survey, we'll do down the street
and see if we can find some more in
the shopping centre as there tends
to be local youths hanging around
their who we could ask.
A better version:
The questionnaire will be carried out in
the public space next to the Town Hall, where
local residents can be found and stopped. If there
are not enough residents to complete the
required sample, an alternative location will be
found where there are more passing residents,
for example in the shopping centre.
Paragraph 02:
Given the general knowledge of the health risks of
smoking, (1)it’s (2) no wonder that (3) heaps of
smokers have tried at some time in their lives to
(4) quit. However, in most cases, their attempts
are unsuccessful. People begin smoking, often
when (5) they’re adolescents, for (6) lots of
reasons, including the example of parents and
pressure from peers. If others in one’s group of
friends are starting to smoke, it can be hard to
resist (7) going along with the crowd. Once
people start smoking, (8) they’re likely to get (9)
hooked. The addiction to smoking is partly
physiological; smokers become used to the effects
of nicotine and experience painful withdrawal
symptoms when they (10) give it up. In addition,
(11) people become psychologically dependent on
smoking as a way of reducing anxiety and coping
with particular situations.
• 1. Contracted forms should not be used – it should be ‘it
is’
• 2. This is conversational language – replace with ‘to be
expected’
• 3. This is too informal – replace with ‘many’. It also
needs backing up with evidence.
• 4. This is too informal – replace with ‘stop smoking’
• 5. Another contraction – replace with ‘they are’
• 6. Too informal – replace with ‘many’
• 7. Conversational language – replace with ‘behaving in
a similar manner’
• 8. Another contraction – replace with ‘they are’
• 9. Too informal – replace with ‘addicted’
• 10. Conversational language – replace with ‘stop’.
• 11. Too definite – suggest a more tentative ‘many
people’. It also needs backing up with evidence.
• A better version:
Given the general knowledge of the health risks of
smoking, it is to be expected that many of
smokers have tried at some time in their lives to
stop smoking . However, in most cases, their
attempts are unsuccessful. People begin smoking,
often when they are adolescents, for many
reasons, including the example of parents and
pressure from peers. If others in one’s group of
friends are starting to smoke, it can be hard to
resist behaving in a similar manner. Once
people start smoking, they are likely to get
addicted . The addiction to smoking is partly
physiological; smokers become used to the effects
of nicotine and experience painful withdrawal
symptoms when they stop. In addition, many
people become psychologically dependent on
smoking as a way of reducing anxiety and coping
with particular situations.