Academic Style and Ordinary Style

Academic English is a formal, written style, which means it has certain expressions that make it different from "Spoken English", meanwhile, being "Formal", it is quite dissimilar from ordinary writing which people might use in letters, emails, or stories.

Ten Rules of Being a Good Academic Writing in English

I. Formality

Using formal vocabulary which is the words from the academic word list(AWL).

• Rule-1
  Avoid less formal or idiomatic expressions.
  e.g.
  Many mothers nowadays... ✅
  Many moms these days... ❌

  There are a significant number of animals... ✅
  There are lots of animals... ❌

  There are three main concepts for this... ✅
  There are 3 main ideas for this... ❌

• Rule-2
  Use of formal verbs rather than two-word verbs.
  e.g.
  increase, decrease, discuss, improve, deteriorate, continue, raise ✅
  go up, go down, talk about, get better, get worse, go on, bring up ❌

• Rule-3
  Use of full expression instead of contractions.
  e.g.
  do not, cannot, will not, did not ✅
  don't, can't, won't, didn't ❌

• Rule-4
  Use of formal and complex grammar structure, such as nominalization, clauses, rather than too many simple sentences.
  e.g.
  The escalating greenhouse phenomenon is a global concern. ✅
  The greenhouse phenomenon is escalating. It is a global concern. ❌

  Spoken grammar, which is an important skill for smoother communication, is often neglected. ✅
  Spoken grammar is an important skill for better communication. It is often neglected. ❌

• Rule-5
  Use statements, Avoid rhetorical questions, which are less formal.
  e.g.
  There were four major reasons for this phenomenon. ✅
  What are the four major reasons for this phenomenon? ❌

  Spoken English is different from Written styles. ✅
  How are spoken English and written styles different? ❌

II. Objectivity

• Rule-6
  Use impersonal language, such as 'There is...", "It is...", rather than personal pronouns(I, we, you, etc.) and adverbs which show your feeling(e.g. luckily, remarkably)
  e.g.
  There are three major aspects which must be noticed. ✅
  I believe three major aspects must be noticed. ❌

  There were very few errors in the experiment.✅
  Amazingly there were very few errors in the experiment.❌

III. Precision

• Rule-7
  Be as precise as possible by using exact figures or values whenever feasible, rather than "about" or "several". Use words such as "factor, issue, aspect, etc." instead of vague expressions such as "thing".
  e.g.
  There are five major reasons which must be recognized. ✅
  ~~There are several reasons that must be noticed. ~~❌

  There were three factors that led to this result. ✅
  There were three things which led to that result. ❌

• Rule-8
  Avoid making vague claims by citing the text sources.
  e.g.
  Russell (2001) states that over 50% of the population is unaware of the problem.✅
  Everybody knows that most people are unaware of the problem.❌
  Most people are unaware of the problem.❌

IV. Hedging

• Rule-9
  Use of tentative language, i.e. hedging, such as "possibly, probably, may, might, appears to, seems, etc.". Avoid absolute statements or words such as "always, caused, etc."
  e.g.
  It appears that the deep learning model is more suitable for predictive modeling. ✅
  Deep learning model is always feasible for predictive modeling.❌

V. Linking words

• Rule-10
  Use appropriate transition signals, which lead to explicit links between ideas and introduce new sections of an essay. Avoid numbering or bullet points, and simpler expression of transitions as a start of sentences, such as "and, but, so", as well as to be cautious of too many transitions(do to write them at the beginning of every sentence!)
  e.g.
  Turning to the question of inflation...✅
  2. Inflation.❌

  In addition, inflation is an important factor.✅
  And inflation is an important factor.❌