This document outlines the principles of academic writing, highlighting its formal, structured nature compared to general writing. It emphasizes the importance of using complex vocabulary, avoiding informal language, and appropriately referencing sources. The document also discusses the significance of clarity, organization, and the necessity of supporting claims with evidence in academic contexts.

1. Academic Writing
01355431 Introduction to Research
Writing in English

2. Objective of academic writing
NOT to entertain
BUT to _________

3. Differences between general and academic writing
General Writing Academic Writing
used in letters, emails, newspaper articles, diary
and journal entries, etc.
non-academic and no-technical purposes
Informal, semi-formal language
no restrictions on the use of slang, contraction,
cliché
no need for referencing and citation
no specific set of audience or readers
used in research projects, conference
papers, essays, abstracts, reports
formal, objective, concise language
academic purposes
restrict use of referencing and citation
no slang, contraction, cliche
a specific set of audience/ reader of the same
academic field

4. Features of academic writing

5. Academic writing is more complex than spoken language (Cook, 1997; Halliday, 1989).
Academic writing is lexically dense and grammatically more complex than spoken language. It is
longer with more complex words and phrases. They have more noun-based phrases, more
lexical variation, more descriptive adjectives, and more passives.

6. Which one is more academic to you?
Academic writing uses more complex
words and more phrases than spoken
language. It also has more noun
phrases, more variety in word choice,
more descriptive adjectives, and more
passive sentence constructions.
Academic writing exhibits a greater
degree of lexical density and
grammatical complexity compared to
spoken language. It also entails noun-
based phrases, lexical variation,
attributive adjectives, and passive
voice constructions.

7. To make your writing more formal, try to
1. replace informal words that are associated with spoken styles ( such as
contractions) with more formal vocabulary
2. avoid writing rhetorical questions
3. use full words instead of contractions "can't", "doesn't", "shouldn't"
4. avoid colloquial words and expressions; ""stuff", "a lot of", "thing", "sort of"

8. The investigation has been going
for four years. At this stage,
researchers can’t tell whether the
project is effective because they still
need to check out the data like age,
gender, socio-economic-status, etc.

9. Certain verbs are considered imprecise for academic writing. They do not provide detailed, exact meaning.
These include verbs that are commonly used in less formal contexts, particularly those with many possible
meanings and multi-word verbs.
• Receive (get an email)
• Obtain (get a better view)
• Bring (get a bucket and mop)
• Buy (get a new shirt)
• Arrive (get there at 7pm)

10. Multi-word verbs are verbs that require more than one word to create
meaning, including phrasal and prepositional verbs
For example: cut off, find out, give up, hand out, let down, pick out. Try to use
a single verb with the same meaning instead such as discontinue, discover,
quit, distribute, disappoint, select.

11. People didn’t like changing trains
on the way to work, but they still
thought it was better than taking a
bus.
• While the majority of people
indicated their dislike of changing
trains on their commute to work,
they preferred taking trains to
buses.

12. The main emphasis should be on the information that you
want to give and the arguments you want to make.
Nobody wants to know what you "think" or "believe". They
want to know what you have studied and learned and how
it has led you to your conclusion.

13. We don't really know what language
proficiency is but many people have
questioned about it.
The question of what constitutes
language proficiency is at the core of
many debated issues. (Canale &
Swain, 1980; Oller, 1979).

14. Instead of using a
personal pronoun, you
could try using the
topic as the subject
I believe that climate
change is a pressing
issue that requires
immediate action.
Climate change is
regarded as a pressing
issue that demands
immediate action.
.. Using a passive
verb
I can demonstrate the
reality of climate change
by studying alterations
in Antarctic ice layers.
The reality of climate
change can be
demonstrated by
studying alterations in
Antarctic ice layers.
… Using ‘it’ as an
empty subject
We can demonstrate
that climate change is a
real phenomenon by
studying alterations in
Antarctic ice layers.
It can be demonstrated
that climate change is a
real phenomenon by
studying alterations in
Antarctic ice layers.

16. Hedging language in academic writing is used to express caution and avoid strong,
unqualified statements that may be easily disproved.
To avoid generalizations, you can:
- Use a quantifier (e.g. few, many, some)
- Use adverbs or adverbial phrases (e.g. occasionally, often, usually)
- Use modal verbs (e.g. can, may, might, would, could)

18. In academic writing you are responsible for demonstrating an understanding of the
source text. You must also be responsible for, and must be able to provide
evidence and justification for, any claims you make.
This is done by paraphrasing and summarizing what you read and acknowledging
the source of this information or ideas by a system of citation.

19. Academic writing is well organized and planned.

20. Rewrite the paragraph in an academic style, incorporating features such as
lexical density, grammatical complexity, formal language, and appropriate
sentence structures.
Technology has changed a lot and it has impacted our lives. For almost three decades, the
Internet was developed and; as a result, it easily connects people around the world no
matter where they are. The Internet today has been vital for us. We just click a mouse and
we can browse through all information, get in touch with friends, enjoy movies and music,
and buy various kind of products.