in writing a research report use academic style and tone

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Scholarly Voice: Tone

Tone refers to the writer's voice in a written work. It is what the reader or hearer might perceive as the writer's attitude, bias, or personality. Many academic writers mistake a scholarly tone for dull, boring language or a mixture of jargon and multisyllabic, "intelligent-sounding" words. Academic writing, however, does not need to be complicated nor lacking in style (see APA 7, Section 4.7); instead, it can be both engaging and clear.

You should speak as an objective social scientist. This means that everything you say must be unbiased , scholarly , and supported by evidence . According to APA (2020), differences in research "should be presented in a professional, noncombative manner" (p. 114).

• Avoid making broad generalizations ("always," "never").
• Avoid using over-sweeping adjectives ("outstanding," "obvious").
• Avoid using adverbs ("really," "clearly").
• Avoid qualifiers ("a little," "definitely").
• Avoid emotional language ("It is heartbreaking that so many are starving").
• Avoid inflammatory language ("Smith's study was terrible, sickening, sad").

Avoid slang, text-message or SMS spellings, clichés, and contractions. Phrases like "digging sports," "wicked cool," "maxed out," "clear the air," "heading south," "the cat's out of the bag," "thru the roof," "hear their spin on it," "so to speak," and "in the hands of" have no place in academic writing. These casual expressions may be appropriate in personal emails, but they are inappropriate in research papers. Use standard US English spelling for all words, and if you are not sure if a word is a slang term, look it up in the dictionary.

Take a look at this example. The first paragraph is written in an informal way. The second is revised to keep a formal tone:

When I got my students to think science was wicked cool, their test scores went through the roof! When I asked for their spin on their improvement, they just said the test felt like a piece of cake to them after I had implemented the new curriculum changes.

Revised to be more formal:

When I was able to engage my students and get them interested in science, their test scores improved significantly. I asked a few students why they thought the scores had improved, and they admitted that the test seemed much easier because of the new curriculum.

Maintain a formal scholarly voice by avoiding colloquialisms. For more information, read Nathan's blog posts on cliches and slang .

Word Choice (Diction) Video

Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Engaging Writing: Avoiding Casual Language (video transcript)

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20 Academic Tone and Language

Academic language.

Academic language has certain characteristics regardless of the course you are writing for.

• It is formal (see tone ), yet not overly complicated. It is unlike standard conversational language and the hints and tips below will help to elevate your writing style.
• It should be factual and objective; free from personal opinions, bias and value judgments. On rare occasions you may be asked to state your own personal point of view on a particular concept or issue. You should only do so if it is explicitly prescribed. This is the only time first person pronouns (I, my, we, our – see Chapter 5) are permitted.
• Academic writing is always supported by evidence rather than personal opinion, therefore emotional (emotive) or exaggerated (hyperbolic) language are not used.
• Academic language is most often enquiring or analytical in nature, therefore you must be willing to review more than one perspective on a topic and use language that demonstrates the ability to compare and contrast ideas (see signposting below).
• Academic language should be explicit; clear and not vague. Signposting can be used to lead the reader through the text from one section to another or from one idea to the next (see below).
• Passive voice (see chapter 7) can be used to avoid the use of personal pronouns. For example, instead of writing “In this essay I will discuss…”, you can write “This essay will discuss…”

Signposting

Signposting is the use of words and phrases to guide the reader through your written work. There are two types – major and minor.

Major Signposting

Major signposting is used to signal the introduction of key sections or aspects of the work. These might include the aim, purpose, or structure.

In the introduction

• This essay will…
• The aim of this essay is to…
• The major issue being discussed is…
• This essay will define and describe…
• This essay will critically examine…
• This essay will first define…then discuss…before making recommendations for…
• This essay is organised in the following way;

In the conclusion

• To conclude,
• In conclusion,
• To summarise,
• It is evident that

Minor Signposting

Minor signposting are linking words and phrases that make connections for your reader and move them through the text.

• They may be as simple as: First, second, third, next, then, last, lastly, finally
• To offer a counterpoint: However, although, though, yet, alternatively, nevertheless
• To indicate an example: For example, notably, for instance, in this case

These are just a few examples of signposting. For further information and some very useful instances of signposting please follow the link to Queen’s University Belfast [1]

Filetoupload,597684,en.pdf (qub.ac.uk)

Academic Tone

Tone is the general character or attitude of a work and it is highly dependent on word choice and structure. It should match the intended purpose and audience of the text. As noted in the Academic Language section above, the tone should be formal, direct, consistent (polished and error-free), and objective. It should also be factual and not contain personal opinions.

What is the difference between tone and voice?

When learning academic writing skills you may hear “voice” referred to, especially in terms of source integration and maintaining your own “voice” when you write. Note this does not mean maintaining your own opinion. This is something entirely separate. Voice is the unique word choices of the author that reflect the viewpoint they are arguing. Your “voice” is about WHO the reader ‘hears’ when they read your text. Are they ‘hearing’ what you have to say on the topic? Are your claims direct and authoritative ? Or, is your “voice” being drowned out by overuse or overreliance on external sources? This is why it is so important to understand that academic sources should ONLY be used to support what you have to say – your “voice”, NOT opinion – rather than being overused to speak on your behalf. This comes with practise and increased confidence in your own writing and knowing that you have something worth saying. Therefore, do plenty of background reading and research so that you can write from a well-informed position.

Hints and Tips

• First person pronouns (e.g., I, my, me) and second person pronouns (e.g., you, your, yours) (see Chapter 5).
• Contractions: as part of everyday conversational English, contractions have no place in formal academic writing. For example didn’t (did not), can’t (cannot), won’t (will not), it’s (it is – not to be confused with the pronoun its), shouldn’t (should not), and many more. Use the full words.
• Poor connectives: “but”, in particular is a very poor connective. Instead, refer to the signposting examples of however, although, nevertheless, yet, though. Also the overuse of “and”; try alternatives, such as plus, in addition, along with, also, as well as, moreover, together with.
• Avoid colloquial language.
• Avoid hyperbole .
• Avoid emotive language. Even in a persuasive text, appeal to the readers’ minds, not feelings.
• Avoid being verbose .
• Avoid generalizing .
• Avoid statements such as “I think”, “I feel”, or “I believe”; they are clear indicators of personal opinion.
• Do not begin a sentence with “and”, “because”, or digits – e.g., 75% of participants… Always begin a sentence with a word – Seventy-five percent.
• Do not use digits 0-9 as digits; write the whole word – zero, one, two, three. Once you get to double digits you may use the number – 10, 11, 12. The only exception to this rule would be sharing data or statistics, however the previous rule still applies.
• Academic vocabulary (sometimes this is discipline specific, such as technical or medical terms).
• Use tentative or low modal language when something you are writing is not definite or final. For example, could, might, or may, instead of will, definitely, or must.
• Be succinct .
• Include variance of sentence structure (see Chapter 7).
• Use powerful reporting verbs (see Chapter 14).
• Use clever connectives and conjunctions (see Chapter 5).
• Ensure you have excellent spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Use accurate referencing, both in-text and the reference list (see Chapter 10).
• Ensure correct use of capital letters for the beginning of each new sentence and for all proper nouns .
• Lastly, use correct subject-verb agreement . For an excellent list of examples of subject-verb agreement, please refer to Purdue Online Writing Lab. [2]

Subject/Verb Agreement // Purdue Writing Lab

• Queen's University Belfast. (n.d.). Signposting. Learning Development Service. https://www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/Filestore/Filetoupload,597684,en.pdf#search=signposting ↵
• Purdue University. (2021). Making subjects and verbs argree. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/subject_verb_agreement.html ↵

able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable

researched, reliable, written by academics and published by reputable publishers; often, but not always peer reviewed

informal, ordinary, everyday or familiar conversation, rather than formal speech or writing

obvious and intentional exaggeration; extravagant statement or figure of speech not to be taken literally

characterized by or pertaining to emotions; used to produce an emotional response

characterized by the use of many or too many words; wordy

to infer a general principle from particular facts; e.g., my five year old loves chocolate ice cream, therefore all five year olds love chocolate ice cream

concise expressed in few words

a verb used to report or talk about the ideas of others

used to link words or phrases together See 'Language Basics'

refer to a single entity; names of people, places, and things (e.g., cities, monuments, icons, businesses)

refers to the relationship between the subject and the predicate (part of the sentence containing the verb) of the sentence. Subjects and verbs must always agree in two ways: tense and number.

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like specialist languages adopted in other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts within a community of scholarly experts and practitioners.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

The accepted form of academic writing in the social sciences can vary considerable depending on the methodological framework and the intended audience. However, most college-level research papers require careful attention to the following stylistic elements:

I.  The Big Picture Unlike creative or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohesive and possess a logically organized flow of ideas; this means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be narrative links between sentences and paragraphs so that the reader is able to follow your argument. The introduction should include a description of how the rest of the paper is organized and all sources are properly cited throughout the paper.

II.  Tone The overall tone refers to the attitude conveyed in a piece of writing. Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate narrative tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, state the strengths of your arguments confidently, using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  Diction Diction refers to the choice of words you use. Awareness of the words you use is important because words that have almost the same denotation [dictionary definition] can have very different connotations [implied meanings]. This is particularly true in academic writing because words and terminology can evolve a nuanced meaning that describes a particular idea, concept, or phenomenon derived from the epistemological culture of that discipline [e.g., the concept of rational choice in political science]. Therefore, use concrete words [not general] that convey a specific meaning. If this cannot be done without confusing the reader, then you need to explain what you mean within the context of how that word or phrase is used within a discipline.

IV.  Language The investigation of research problems in the social sciences is often complex and multi- dimensional . Therefore, it is important that you use unambiguous language. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Do not use vague expressions that are not specific or precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.], abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], or 'a.k.a.' ["also known as"], and the use of unspecific determinate words ["super," "very," "incredible," "huge," etc.].

V.  Punctuation Scholars rely on precise words and language to establish the narrative tone of their work and, therefore, punctuation marks are used very deliberately. For example, exclamation points are rarely used to express a heightened tone because it can come across as unsophisticated or over-excited. Dashes should be limited to the insertion of an explanatory comment in a sentence, while hyphens should be limited to connecting prefixes to words [e.g., multi-disciplinary] or when forming compound phrases [e.g., commander-in-chief]. Finally, understand that semi-colons represent a pause that is longer than a comma, but shorter than a period in a sentence. In general, there are four grammatical uses of semi-colons: when a second clause expands or explains the first clause; to describe a sequence of actions or different aspects of the same topic; placed before clauses which begin with "nevertheless", "therefore", "even so," and "for instance”; and, to mark off a series of phrases or clauses which contain commas. If you are not confident about when to use semi-colons [and most of the time, they are not required for proper punctuation], rewrite using shorter sentences or revise the paragraph.

VI.  Academic Conventions Among the most important rules and principles of academic engagement of a writing is citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references as either footnotes or endnotes. The academic convention of citing sources facilitates processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time . Aside from citing sources, other academic conventions to follow include the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, properly spelling out acronyms when first used in the text, avoiding slang or colloquial language, avoiding emotive language or unsupported declarative statements, avoiding contractions [e.g., isn't], and using first person and second person pronouns only when necessary.

VII.  Evidence-Based Reasoning Assignments often ask you to express your own point of view about the research problem. However, what is valued in academic writing is that statements are based on evidence-based reasoning. This refers to possessing a clear understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that exist within, and often external to, your discipline concerning the topic. You need to support your arguments with evidence from scholarly [i.e., academic or peer-reviewed] sources. It should be an objective stance presented as a logical argument; the quality of the evidence you cite will determine the strength of your argument. The objective is to convince the reader of the validity of your thoughts through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing. This is particularly important when proposing solutions to problems or delineating recommended courses of action.

VIII.  Thesis-Driven Academic writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or position applied to the chosen topic of investigation, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions applied to investigating the research problem. Note that a problem statement without the research questions does not qualify as academic writing because simply identifying the research problem does not establish for the reader how you will contribute to solving the problem, what aspects you believe are most critical, or suggest a method for gathering information or data to better understand the problem.

IX.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking Academic writing addresses complex issues that require higher-order thinking skills applied to understanding the research problem [e.g., critical, reflective, logical, and creative thinking as opposed to, for example, descriptive or prescriptive thinking]. Higher-order thinking skills include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images. Think of your writing this way: One of the most important attributes of a good teacher is the ability to explain complexity in a way that is understandable and relatable to the topic being presented during class. This is also one of the main functions of academic writing--examining and explaining the significance of complex ideas as clearly as possible.  As a writer, you must adopt the role of a good teacher by summarizing complex information into a well-organized synthesis of ideas, concepts, and recommendations that contribute to a better understanding of the research problem.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Roy. Improve Your Writing Skills . Manchester, UK: Clifton Press, 1995; Nygaard, Lynn P. Writing for Scholars: A Practical Guide to Making Sense and Being Heard . Second edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2015; Silvia, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007; Style, Diction, Tone, and Voice. Writing Center, Wheaton College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of research jargon is language specific to a particular community of practitioner-researchers . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to words and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and psychology, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research domain of a each discipline may have subtle differences based upon how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terminology [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. These can be found by either searching in the USC Libraries catalog by entering the disciplinary and the word dictionary [e.g., sociology and dictionary] or using a database such as Credo Reference [a curated collection of subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides from highly regarded publishers] . It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but you should avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Problems with Opaque Writing

A common criticism of scholars is that they can utilize needlessly complex syntax or overly expansive vocabulary that is impenetrable or not well-defined. When writing, avoid problems associated with opaque writing by keeping in mind the following:

1.   Excessive use of specialized terminology . Yes, it is appropriate for you to use specialist language and a formal style of expression in academic writing, but it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of complex or obscure words or writing complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your paper is more about style than substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about. Focus on creating clear, concise, and elegant prose that minimizes reliance on specialized terminology.

2.   Inappropriate use of specialized terminology . Because you are dealing with concepts, research, and data within your discipline, you need to use the technical language appropriate to that area of study. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--do not just guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries by searching the USC Libraries catalog or the Credo Reference database [see above].

Additional Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of. These problems include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. These words can be interpreted as being used only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem. Limit the use of personal nouns to descriptions of things you actually did [e.g., "I interviewed ten teachers about classroom management techniques..."]. Note that personal nouns are generally found in the discussion section of a paper because this is where you as the author/researcher interpret and describe your work.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demand the reader to "do this" or "do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations or goals leading to specific outcomes. Note that an exception to this can be found in various forms of action research that involve evidence-based advocacy for social justice or transformative change. Within this area of the social sciences, authors may offer directives for action in a declarative tone of urgency.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they can be open to interpretation. Your writing should be direct and concise using standard English.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and developing a narrative that does not have confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper, be sure to look for and edit any vague or imprecise statements that lack context or specificity.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them as 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing, this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item arranged in separate paragraphs? Also, be careful using numbers because they can imply a ranked order of priority or importance. If none exists, use bullets and avoid checkmarks or other symbols.
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study. In fact, some description or background information may be needed because you can not assume the reader knows the key aspects of the topic. However, the content of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem rather than background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experience. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be an effective way of introducing the research problem or engaging your readers in understanding its significance. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone.  A quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it or using a different quote to convey the same meaning. Consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, but the source had grammar, spelling, or other errors. The adverb sic informs the reader that the errors are not yours.

Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Eileen S. “Action Research.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education . Edited by George W. Noblit and Joseph R. Neikirk. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020); Oppenheimer, Daniel M. "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly." Applied Cognitive Psychology 20 (2006): 139-156; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Research Proposals. English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style. College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1.   Clear Writing . The act of thinking about precedes the process of writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from the literature they have reviewed before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2.  Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before they have a command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Writing Center on campus if you need help. Proper punctuation and good proofreading skills can significantly improve academic writing [see sub-tab for proofreading you paper ].

Refer to these three basic resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style or the St. Martin's Handbook ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3.  Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor expresses a preference to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style or not, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide rules on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to a style of writing helps with the narrative flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, your familiarity with it will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, critically assess the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and it explains what that problem is from the outset.
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it.
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published about this problem or others related to it and noted important gaps in the research.
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing.
• The paper includes a description of how and why particular evidence was collected and analyzed, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used.
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.
• Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need for further study.
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Boscoloa, Pietro, Barbara Arféb, and Mara Quarisaa. “Improving the Quality of Students' Academic Writing: An Intervention Study.” Studies in Higher Education 32 (August 2007): 419-438; Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; Candlin, Christopher. Academic Writing Step-By-Step: A Research-based Approach . Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2016; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way: 1.  "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis." 2.  "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb.

Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the consequences of that action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Consult with your professor about using the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some strongly discourage its use!

Active and Passive Voice. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus. Drexel University; Passive Voice. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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Chapter 11: Tone and Style

11.1 Tone and Style

Tone and style, while often confused, are both important in academic writing. Style also involves word choice, coherence, conciseness, and correctness. This chapter contains sections about each of these elements of style.

Definition of Tone and Style

Tone refers to the type of language a writer uses to address their audience. When writing an email to a friend, for example, you may choose to use an informal or colloquial tone, whereas an essay for an English class requires an academic tone. Compare the two examples below:

Example 1 : The city should just start paying for our rides to school so we can use the bus money for other stuff. If this happens, people will actually start caring about how to get there. Example 2 : If the city gave students free access to public transportation, riding to school for free would not only save students money, but it would also promote the use of public transportation.

While both sentences above convey the same idea, Example 1 illustrates an informal tone or register , while Example 2 displays an academic tone. Therefore, if you were writing a persuasive essay arguing for public transportation, Example 2 would be appropriate. Example 1 should be used when an informal tone is usual, such as in an email, a message to a friend, or a dialogue between two friends in a story.

Style , on the other hand, involves more than just formality and informality. It concerns how clearly we write. Some beginning academic writers think that having wordy and complicated sentences equals having a good writing style, but that can make it difficult for readers to grasp the idea of a text. Essays should be well-written and free of errors, but first they should be clear and logical.

Here are a few useful guidelines to help develop your writing style:

• Avoid using abstract and complex terms, since they tend to confuse rather than impress readers.
• Accept that your writing will always seem clearer to yourself than to others; therefore, do not hesitate to get another reader’s opinion.
• Keep your audience in mind while writing.
• Know the expectations of an academic English writing style.
• Understand how readers decode the information they read.

Review Questions: Definition of Tone and Style

• Think about three kinds of writing you do every day. What tones do they represent?
• List three expectations for academic English writing style.

For questions 3–5, determine whether the tone and style of the sentences below are appropriate or inappropriate for a persuasive essay you are writing for your English composition class. Discuss your answers with a partner.

• The overall quality of the food served to students at school needs to improve. Even though school districts require students to spend hours in science classes learning about nutrition and balanced meals, administrators seem to ignore that the best way to teach is by example. The food most schools serve students is neither nutritious nor tasty. There is a great distance between what students learn they should eat and what they really get at school.
• The food served at school sucks. I don’t eat that stuff, and I never will. Schools should walk their talk and serve us grub that is edible, not that junk that can kill you. When we get pizza, the cheese does not even look like cheese. It looks like some weird alien substance …
• Most students and school staff seem to agree that the food served to students in school cafeterias is not good enough. Why still serve it, then? Well, the reality is that it is not that easy to change things in a school district. This fact illustrates the contradiction between what students learn in classes about health and nutrition and what they actually eat.

Word Choice

Most writers’ problems with word choice come from trying to use words they do not know. At times, you may feel the pressure to use vocabulary that is “fancy” or “smart.” However, using words whose meanings you are not sure of may change your ideas radically. Misspelling a word may also confuse readers. Before using a word you are not sure about, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I sure this is the right word to express my idea?
• To the best of my knowledge, did I spell it correctly?
• Is the word appropriate for this text and my audience?
• If I am not sure about the word I am trying to use, is there another word I can replace it with?

At times, you may also be concerned about reducing the number of mistakes in your writing to obtain a good grade. In such cases, it is best to look up the words you do not know. If you are not allowed to look them up, take a safer approach and replace them with another word you know.

In order to avoid problems with the words you choose, read often. Books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs are among the many useful reading resources that will expose you to new words and help you expand your vocabulary.

The following sections will help you make more informed decisions about choosing words for your work.

Denotation and connotation

Words may carry a denotative (literal) meaning or a connotative (figurative, implied) meaning. For example, when writing a description of the place you live in, you may call it a “home,” a “house,” or a “residence.” These three words denote or indicate the same place. However, their connotative meaning is different. “Home” refers to a warmer place than “house.” “Residence” probably carries very little feeling compared to the other two words.

Connotative meanings of words may be positive, negative, or sometimes neutral, depending on what you are writing and who you are writing for. For example, informal words that may carry a neutral or positive connotation in a letter to a friend may have a negative connotation in an argumentative essay. In this lesson and subsequent practice exercises, assume your audience expects an academic tone.

Consider both denotative and connotative meanings of a word before using it. Some words have a negative connotation and may not be appropriate for your work.

The table below contains words with both positive and negative connotations when used in a persuasive essay. Read and compare them.

Review Questions: Word Choice

Assuming your readers expect an academic tone, replace the words in bold with other words carrying more positive connotations.

• The peeps at my school voted against having makeup classes on Saturday. (Replace “The peeps at my school”)
• When I asked my li’l bro if he was hooked on video games, he went , “Of course I’m not!” (Replace “li’l bro,” “hooked on,” and “he went.”)
• She goes up to this guy and goes, like, “Who are you?” But when they got chatting , she chilled right out . (Replace “goes up to this guy and goes, like, ‘Who are you?,’ “got chatting,” and “chilled right out.”

Misspelling

Misspelling words can also cause you problems, especially if you write a word that looks similar to the one you want but has a different meaning. The best way to avoid misspellings is to become familiar with the words you often use.

You should also double-check the words suggested by the spell check application on your word processor. Although these programs catch common misspellings, they sometimes make wrong suggestions or simply miss misspelled words.

A few hints to help you avoid spelling errors:

• Make flash cards with the words you frequently use in your essays but have problems spelling. Seeing them often will help you memorize them.
• Keep a vocabulary list at the end of your notebook containing both new words and words you have a hard time spelling.

Consider this list of commonly misspelled words:

• acknowledge
• accidentally
• acknowledgment
• independence
• indispensable
• insufficient
• maintenance
• opportunity
• perseverance
• specifically
• temperament

Review Questions: Misspelling

Choose the word with the correct spelling. The words in this practice section may not be in the list provided in the Misspelling section , and you may have to use a dictionary to learn their correct spelling.

• Lack of water and fire extinguishers in the room aggravated/agravated the fire.
• Their analysis/analisis of the problem was accurate.
• My parents say that my curfew is not negociable/negotiable .
• The history teacher was irritated when she talked about the omission/omision of an important fact in the students’ exam responses.
• Lawmakers recomended/recommended the bill be changed before the final vote.

Gender Bias

Writers need to make sure they address readers in a respectful and unbiased manner. One way to do this is by carefully choosing your nouns and pronouns. For example, when you address people in general, readers will interpret the exclusive use of “he,” “him,” and “his” or “she,” “her”,  and “hers” as biased. The suggestions below will help you avoid gender bias in your essays:

• A teacher must consider the background of his students (biased).
• A teacher must consider the students’ backgrounds (unbiased).
• A student knows he must do his homework (biased).
• Students know they have to do their homework (unbiased).
• Teachers must consider the backgrounds of their students (unbiased).
• All salesmen were required to attend the meeting (biased).
• All salespeople were required to attend the meeting (unbiased).
• When a student finished his exam early, he could leave the room (biased).
• When a student finished her or his exam early, she or he could leave the room (unbiased).
• Ali likes basketball. They started playing basketball when they were eight years old.
• When a team member finishes a break, they should proceed directly to the sales floor.

When avoiding gender bias, use the strategies that best fit your personal style, but try not to overuse any one strategy.

Review Questions: Gender Bias

Rewrite the sentences below and eliminate their gender bias. Refer to the strategies given in this section.

• Each doctor will explain her own procedures.
• When you call the technician, tell him the computer broke yesterday.
• According to the guidelines, a writer needs to publish her manuscript in order to be eligible for the grant.
• If I ever meet a congressman, I will tell him how upset I am with politics at the national level.
• When a doctor wants to order gloves, she must speak to the office staff.

Sentence Order

The elements in an English sentence have a standard or canonical position. Writers should understand this order of elements because choosing to adhere to it or break it will draw readers’ attention to different elements of a sentence. The canonical order of elements in an English sentence is demonstrated in Table 11.2.

Generally, the subject is the doer or the main character, and the verb expresses the action, state, or description. Other elements may include people or things affected by the action, adverbials (references to time, place, manner, etc), and so on.

While it is true that English writing favours elements in the canonical order, this does not mean you should only write in this order. It means that this sequence should only be broken when there is a clear reason for doing so (adding emphasis, placing old information first, etc.). The canonical order is a principle and not an absolute rule of writing.

The following lessons will help you determine how to shift the order of sentence elements to write cohesive sentences and add emphasis when needed.

Review Questions: Sentence Order

Rewrite the sentences below and redistribute sentence elements according to the canonical order. (Hint: You should start new sentences with the underlined elements.)

• Finally, in a very apologetic tone, the director spoke to us.
• After running for two hours and exercising for another two at the gym last night, Rachel collapsed.
• With words of encouragement after a long and difficult year, the teacher addressed the students.

Characters and Actions

• The mayor’s analysis of the issue did not convince journalists. (Noun = analysis)
• Bob’s explanation of why he was late frustrated his wife. (Noun = explanation)
• The documentary’s description of the accident shocked viewers. (Noun = description)
• The conclusion the scientists reached was that the problem had no solution. (Noun = conclusion)

When your writing highlights important sentence elements, such as characters and actions , your sentences become clear to your readers and naturally draw their attention. Characters are sentence elements that trigger actions or events. They can be concrete (a person, animal, or thing) or abstract (an issue, a concept). Characters are usually nouns or pronouns. Actions describe what characters do or what events they trigger. Actions are expressed by verbs. These concepts are illustrated in the examples below:

Example 1 : Jack’s refusal to leave the worksite resulted in his boss’s decision to call security. Example 2 : Because Jack refused to leave the worksite, his boss decided to call security.

Consider the following differences between the sentences in Example 1 and Example 2:

• The characters of Example 1, Jack and his boss, are part of the subject, but they do not receive the main focus in the sentence. The foci lie in the words “refusal” and “decision.”
• The characters of Example 2, Jack and his boss, receive focus in the subject of each respective clause, and their actions are expressed by the verbs “refused” and “decided,” instead of in the nouns “refusal” and “decision.” Example 2 characters are aligned with their actions.

Notice that Example 1 draws readers’ attention to the abstract nouns “refusal” and “decision.” Even though it is possible to use abstract nouns as characters when you write about abstract issues, this example shows that it can be a bad decision when you use them in lieu of clear characters and their actions.

The alignment between characters and their actions makes sentences like Example 2 more powerful. It is easy to turn type-1 sentences into type-2 ones. All you need is to play a simple game of verbs and nouns, as shown in Table 11.3 in review question 1 for this section.

Old-before-new

The old-before-new principle guides how writers should sequence information in a sentence. According to this principle, they should use the information readers already know to introduce information they do not know yet. This principle helps direct readers from familiar or old information to new information. Analyze this first set of examples:

Example 1 : The science teacher spoke about environmental challenges yesterday, and she mentioned five big environmental problems countries will face in the upcoming decade. Carbon-dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere are increasing rapidly [new information], and this was the first problem she described [old information]. Example 2 : The science teacher spoke about environmental challenges yesterday, and she mentioned five big environmental problems countries will face in the upcoming decade. She first talked about [old information] the increasing concentration levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [new information].

The sentence in Example 2 gradually guides the writer from old to new information. Since information is logically displayed in the sentence, readers are not only able to understand it better, but they will also remember it more easily.

Here are some additional examples:

Example 3 : Yesterday, lawmakers finally approved a bill that introduces new rules and regulations to financial markets in Canada. The increase of the government’s regulatory powers [new information] was by far the most controversial of the new measures [old information]. Example 4 : Yesterday, lawmakers finally approved a bill that introduces new rules and regulations to financial markets in Canada. The most controversial measure by far [old information] was the increase of the government’s regulatory powers [new information].

Review Questions: Old-before-new

Rewrite the sentences below and apply the old-before-new principle to make them more cohesive.

• The syllabus the instructor gave students yesterday did not include dates for turning in papers or for taking exams. Although all assignments were described in detail, as well as the content for each test, the syllabus did not include when they were due.
• In her email, the principal emphasized that new attendance rules would be in place. She also told us that teachers have found it difficult to maintain lines at the cafeteria during recess, after saying the school would start notifying parents immediately every time a teacher declared a student absent.

Short-to-long

The short-to-long principle applies to how writers coordinate elements in a sentence. It suggests you list coordinated elements from short to long, as the sentences below illustrate:

Example 1 : Participants in the study noticed no differences between the first slide scientists projected on the white wall [long element] and the real painting [short element]. Example 2 : Participants in the study noticed no differences between the real painting [short element] and the first slide scientists projected on the white wall [long element].

The short-to-long principle helps you write sentences that are fluid and easy to read.

Review Questions: Short-to-long

Select the sentences below that illustrate a good use of the short-to-long principle.

• A group of five students resolved the test without any assistance, quickly and accurately.
• A group of five students resolved the test quickly, accurately, and without any assistance.
• The upset instructor decided to punish all the students. She did not distinguish between the students who had completed the assignment late and the ones who had not turned in the assignment.
• The upset instructor decided to punish all the students. He did not distinguish between the students who had not turned in the assignment and the ones who had completed the assignment late.
• Parents have not been attending the evening meetings because some work late and others cannot come to school three nights in a row.
• Parents have not been attending the evening meetings because some cannot come to school three nights in a row and others work late.

In English composition, coherence or cohesion describes how harmoniously different parts of a text connect to one another. Writers show coherence when they make sense of their ideas as a whole. They need to be cohesive on two different levels: the paragraph level and the text level.

Paragraph-level coherence

To achieve paragraph-level coherence, define your topic clearly. The topic is what you write about in a paragraph. You may have learned that the introduction of every paragraph should contain a topic sentence . If you are able to make the sentence topic about the subject , it will be easier for readers to grasp it. Whenever topic and subject align in a sentence, readers will understand what it is about more easily; as a result, your sentence will be more coherent. Compare examples 1 and 2 below:

Example 1 : The ability to learn from mistakes is not exclusively human, and it has been found by scientists in many other animal species . This ability has been detected, for example, in dogs, cats, and other domesticated species . Topic : the ability to learn from mistakes is not only human Characters : dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals

Although the sentence in Example 1 is understandable, its topic and its characters are not aligned. When they are aligned, notice how much more readable the sentence becomes:

Example 2 : Dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals can learn from mistakes, as we humans do [topic and characters]. The discovery of this behaviour in animals has led scientists to conclude it is not exclusively human.

Writers sometimes take a while to get to the topic of their sentences or paragraphs by inserting information that could easily come afterward, or even not appear at all. Consider Example 3:

Example 3 : It is important to note that, after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice, politicians finally recognized minority groups needed to have their basic rights written as law .

The introductory clause “it is important to note that” is unnecessary. The writer would not have included the main information if it were not important. Also, the time adverbial “after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice” could be placed after the main clause, if it is not needed beforehand as a transition or for emphasis. In the following example, we assume it is not needed as such.

Example 4 : Politicians finally recognized minority groups needed to have their basic rights written as law after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice.

In Example 4, both topic and character come first, and the supporting or secondary information comes after. This strategy creates a more readable and coherent sentence.

Text-level coherence

Coherence also depends on how writers organize their ideas. To keep ideas organized, the thesis statement should function as a map highlighting the organizational pattern of the essay. However, this pattern will affect elements beyond the thesis statement, such as the introduction and body paragraphs. For this reason, you should choose the pattern that works best for your essay as a whole. Take a look at some of the different organizational patterns you may use and what they are good for:

• Chronological order : explaining a step-by-step process, narrating a story, narrating an incident or anecdote from earlier to later
• Cause and effect : explaining a historical event, explaining a scientific finding or process
• Coordinate : explaining the several reasons for a fact or state of affairs

After you have decided on the best organizational pattern for your essay, and your thesis statement is ready, you should ask the following questions:

• Does my thesis statement provide the reader with a map of the essay? That is, upon reading my thesis statement, does the reader understand what I am writing about and what my main points are?
• In each paragraph, do the examples, facts, or illustrations I use relate to and support the topic?
• Does the topic of each paragraph detail one of the points or reasons I included in my thesis statement?

Review Questions: Coherence

Rewrite the following paragraph in order to make it coherent. Some sentences require further correction.

• I believe that technology can help people more in their lives. Nowadays, automation has become very popular in many areas, including agriculture. Vietnam is still an agricultural country, but it is not helped much by high technology, especially the poor farmers. I hope that, in the future, the farmers will enjoy the benefits of automation for a suitable price. The farmers can use a remote control to run a machine that can help them a lot in farming.

(Hint: First, identify the topic of the paragraph and then make it a topic sentence. Then find the characters. After that, decide which information should come after.)

The paragraphs below illustrate the organization pattern of the essays from which they were extracted. Read them and determine which of the three patterns—chronological, cause and effect, and coordinate—they exemplify. After you identify the pattern, write a new paragraph using the same pattern.

• Paragraph 1 : In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey , a group of apes were gathered when something unusual happened: A black monolith emerged from the ground. Some of the apes were shocked, and they did not know how to react, while others decided to investigate the strange object. From this incident, the apes learned to throw and to hit with objects. They used this new skill to fight other animals and get food. This was the beginning of humankind.
• Paragraph 2 : The “American dream” means many different things to many different people. For some, it means religious freedom or the freedom to worship in any way they like without feeling threatened. For others, it is becoming your own boss, a pursuit that just isn’t possible in many countries. For a third group, it is knowing that their hard work will allow their children and grandchildren to have a much better life than they had.
• Paragraph 3 : Many problems could result from climate change. One of the most serious is the rise of sea levels, which could result in the flooding of low-lying coastal areas in countries such as Egypt and the Netherlands. Another negative effect of climate change is its effect on weather patterns. The changing weather has caused a surge in hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters in many areas of the world. A final issue associated with climate change is how it affects biodiversity. Fish populations, for example, could be impacted by changes in water temperature, while some insects that carry disease might become more common throughout the world.

The voice of a verb determines which elements in the sentence will or will not be in focus. In English, the two types of verb voices are active and passive .

When we use active voice:

• the source of the action (agent) appears as the subject
• the receiver of the action (goal) appears as the object

Example : The government [agent] has extended benefits [goal] for the unemployed.

When we use passive voice:

• the receiver of the action (goal) becomes the subject
• the source of the action (agent) may or may not appear

Example : Benefits [goal] for the unemployed have been extended ( by the government ) [agent].

Passive voice is very useful to describe actions whose agents are obvious, not known, or not important. However, in an argumentative essay, passive voice may place your characters at the end of sentences, and this may not be a strong argumentative strategy. In this case, active voice should be used, especially when actions derive from visible characters.

Passive and active voices coexist because each has a distinct function. They allow writers to describe the same phenomenon from two different viewpoints. Writers need to understand the uses of each in order to make informed decisions about when to use either active or passive voice.

Here are a few hints to help you determine which voice may be appropriate in a sentence or description:

Example : The CIA should disclose torture documents to the public.

Example : Very expensive jewellery should not be kept at home.

Example : Students must choose if they want makeup classes either right after school or in the evening. The popular football game schedule and not the academic one [new information] may influence their choice more strongly [old information].

The underlined sentence above is in active voice, and it contains the new piece of information before the old one. In this case, passive voice is a better choice. It will place old information first and increase sentence flow, as the following example shows.

Example : Students must choose if they want makeup classes either right after school or in the evening. Their choice may be more strongly influenced by the popular football game schedule than by the academic one .

Review Questions: Voice

The verbs in the sentences below are in passive voice. Rewrite the sentences and change the verbs to active voice. Make any other changes as needed.

• New skills are learned by students when they are given opportunities by their teachers to take risks.
• In Brown’s article, it is argued that the secret prisons project was carried out by the Secret Service to allow high-risk criminals to be questioned without respect to international law.
• According to the local newspaper, it is believed that the discussion is polarized by citizens’ beliefs about how much the government should intervene in the economy.

Nominalization

In this chapter’s section on sentence order , we learned how to turn nouns into verbs as a strategy to place characters in focus and increase their agency. What we did was an exercise of de-nominalizing : we were turning nouns into actions. A nominalization is just the opposite, and it occurs when we turn a verb or an adjective into a noun.

Example 1 : Bob’s intention was to speak to Kate. Example 2 : Our presentation was about a new plan. Example 3 : We did a survey of 30 people for our study. Example 4 : Jack got the job because of his proficiency in English.

Using nominalization in the wrong context may remove the attention and focus you need for your characters and verbs. Sentences containing too many nominalizations can also end up being too wordy. In order to correct a nominalization, turn a noun back into a verb as per the example above.

Example 1 : Bob intended to speak to Kate.

Review Questions: Nominalization

Rewrite examples 2–4 in this section, correcting their nominalizations.

Points to Consider

• Write two sample paragraphs on any of the suggested topics below. One paragraph should display an appropriate tone for a persuasive essay. The other paragraph should display an informal or colloquial tone.
• In pairs, exchange paragraphs with a partner. Read your partner’s paragraphs and identify which one was written in an academic tone and which was not.
• Schools should replace books with laptops.
• Discuss your academic background and achievements.
• My recipe for stress management.
• When you are not sure about the meaning of a word you want to use, how can you figure out whether or not to use it?
• What is the difference between denotative and connotative meanings?
• Name and provide examples of three different strategies to avoid gender bias.
• When sentences emphasize clear characters and actions, what difference does it make to readers?
• How can you tell if the characters and actions in your sentences have been properly emphasized?
• How does the old-before-new principle help readers?
• How does this principle help connect ideas and sentences to one another?
• Explain paragraph-level coherence.
• Describe two organizational patterns you can use to plan and write a paragraph.
• When is it appropriate to use passive voice?
• When is it not appropriate to use passive voice?

Building Blocks of Academic Writing Copyright © 2020 by Carellin Brooks is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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APA Style for beginners

Then check out some frequently asked questions:

What is APA Style?

Why use apa style in high school, how do i get started with apa style, what apa style products are available, your help wanted.

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in high school and college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research .

High school students need to learn how to write concisely, precisely, and inclusively so that they are best prepared for college and career. Here are some of the reasons educators have chosen APA Style:

• APA Style is the style of choice for the AP Capstone program, the fastest growing AP course, which requires students to conduct and report independent research.
• APA Style helps students craft written responses on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT because it teaches students to use a direct and professional tone while avoiding redundancy and flowery language.
• Most college students choose majors that require APA Style or allow APA Style as an option. It can be overwhelming to learn APA Style all at once during the first years of college; starting APA Style instruction in high school sets students up for success.

High school students may also be interested in the TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students , an annual competition from the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools for high school students to create a short video demonstrating how a psychological topic has the potential to benefit their school and/or local community and improve people’s lives.

Most people are first introduced to APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. The following guides will help with that:

Many people also write research papers or academic essays in APA Style. The following resources will help with that:

Instructors will also benefit from using the following APA Style resources:

In addition to all the free resources on this website, APA publishes several products that provide comprehensive information about APA Style:

The APA Style team is interested in developing additional resources appropriate for a beginner audience. If you have resources you would like to share, or feedback on this topic, please contact the APA Style team . 

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Matters of tone and style

Part 1: Chapter 1

Questions to consider

A. How is academic language different from conversational language? How did these distinctions develop? 

B. Does impersonal, literal, and evidence-based language exclude some readers?

While language in general is quite dynamic, changing under myriad influences such as current events and culture, media, and economics, what is written for professional and/or academic purposes tends to adhere more consistently to established conventions. This is true because writing must be durable and transcend the distance between writer and audience. To that end, effective academic writing is characterized by its impersonal and objective tone and style .

These conventions are apparent in academic literature. Researchers acknowledge the work of previous scholars and build upon what has previously been documented by citing sources and using references following a well-established and recognized system. The organization of material – for example, the typical introduction-methods-results-discussion pattern of many research papers – serves to both bridge the distance and pay homage to academic standards.

Language in Action

A. How do conversations between these types of participants differ? Why is that?

1. Professional (e.g. physician, lawyer, government official) and client 2. Student and instructor, professor or teaching assistant 3. Colleagues or academic peers

B. When the communication between these participants is written, what forms are commonly used and in what way is this communication generally different from spoken communications?

Precise language is simple and literal. Forms of figurative language like clichés , metaphors, figurative comparisons, figures of speech, and other “ slang ”, “poetic” or “literary” devices are subject to broad interpretation and weaken professional efforts to persuade readers.

In much research writing, the aims comprise observing, analyzing, and synthesizing facts. What is observed is situated in context; information is structured as persuasion, using precise language, evidence, data, proofs, case studies, testimony, and logical reasoning to help the reader place ideas in the same context. Sometimes research writing involves solving a problem. Presenting the problem and possible solution(s) also tends to use a persuasive structure.

Objectivity, removing biases and preconceived notions from the reporting, is highly valued in research writing and supports the aim of persuasion. Successful research writing maintains an objective tone and academic voice through succinct vocabulary, accurate grammar structures and focus on message.

The third-person stance is preferred to maintain an objective focus. The use of the first-person style closes the distance between writers and readers; the result undermines the goal of persuasion with evidence. Similarly, the use of second-person referents (you, your, yours) is problematic because either it implies that the author is speaking directly to the reader, which closes the author/reader distance (in the same way “I” does), or it means something like “people in general,” which is less precise. [1]

In terms of content, research writing is marked by the presence of a clear, purposeful, and well-developed message; credible evidence; and a systematic presentation of that support. The following terms explain these common  qualities of academic writing.

Thesis : Academic research projects are organized around a point or a “thesis” that members of the intended audience would not already accept as “common sense.” What an audience accepts as “common sense” depends a great deal on the audience, which is why what “counts” as academic research varies from field to field. In any case, readers want to learn something new: a genuine introduction or a unique interpretation of the issue or evidence.

Evidence : Academic research projects rely almost exclusively on evidence to support a point. While other means of persuasion, such as appeals to emotion and logic are deployed in writing for general consumption, readers of academic research writing are more likely to be  persuaded by compelling evidence. The sources of this evidence include journal articles and books, newspapers, and many other kinds of documents; Internet references like web pages, information from databases, and other Internet-based forums; and field research (e.g., interviews, experiments, surveys).

Citations : Academic research deploys a systematic citation process that details the origins of the evidence.

Review and Reinforce Adopting the more formal conventions of academic writing, which contrast in many ways with conversational communication, places a writer in closer proximity to the scholarly community and promotes reader confidence. [2]

These methods elevate conversational or less academic language to a more professional level.

A. Glean from reading: scholars naturally emulate the style and conventions (including vocabulary and phrasing) of published authors in their field.

B. Systematically add sophisticated, documented evidence as support.

C. Minimize repetition of ideas, grammar structures and words by:

1. writing concisely; 2. eliminating the unnecessary use of helping verbs like “make”, “get”, “have” and “do”; 3. minimizing the use of “it” and “there” as main subjects; 4. avoiding the use of contractions and imperatives (and other forms of direct contact “with” the reader); and 5. deleting information classified as obvious or common knowledge.

Exercise #1

Identify the informal or conversational language in each sentence; then revise it without compromising the message.

Everybody is pushed by the pressure to earn good grades, not by the need for edification or other types of self-improvement.

Sometimes personal opinions can be blended in with facts to come up with a mind-blowing argument.

A lot of people think climate change is a natural phenomenon but other people have evidence that it is a consequence of human activity.

International students don’t make friends very easily on American university campuses because they might not be able or willing to adapt to the local culture.

As any one science develops, it relies more and more heavily on the things that are happening in other disciplines.

It is easier to learn a second language from television or radio than from reading something.

Most people are more concerned with making money when they finish school.

Physical exercise is the first thing students eliminate when they feel like they don’t have enough time to do everything they need to do.

Good science is more impressive than good grammar or writing style.

Writers in my field generally don’t cite references from earlier than ten years back.

Media Attributions

• 51889760368_1ccbe36340_k © MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
• Adapted from Poulter, S. Overview. (2020, May 18). Retrieved September 7, 2021, from https://human.libretexts.org/@go/page/7124 ↵
• Adapted from Krause, S. (2021, March 23). The Process of Research Writing Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://human.libretexts.org/@go/page/646 ↵

the attitude conveyed by the writing

the language choices that reflect author purpose (to inform, convince, describe or narrate, e.g)

"rules" or organizational elements of writing used to deliver concepts

wording that is not literal, but instead relies on "figures of speech"

words or phrases that are dated and overused

words or phrases that are not standard and are used by a specific group (e.g. cultural or generational)

a unique, new concept, generally presented with persuasive evidence

documented, testable and factual material

information signaling the original source of the material presented

Sourcing, summarizing, and synthesizing:  Skills for effective research writing  Copyright © 2023 by Wendy L. McBride is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Organizing Academic Research Papers: Academic Writing Style

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

Academic writing refers to a particular style of expression that scholars use to define the boundaries of their disciplines and their areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like the specialist languages adopted in other professions such as law, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas for a group of scholarly experts.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

I.  The Big Picture Unlike fiction or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohensive and possess a logical flow of ideas, which means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be links between sentences and paragraphs so the reader is able to follow your argument.

II.  The Tone Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, confidently state the strengths of your arguments using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  The Language Clear use of language is essential in academic writing. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Avoid vague expressions that are not specific and precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.] abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], and contractions, such as, "don't", "isn't", etc.

IV.  Academic Conventions Citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references are very important aspects of academic writing. It is essential to always acknowledge the source of any ideas, research findings, or data that you have used in your paper. To do otherwise is considered plagerism.

V.  Evidence-Based Arguments Your assignments often ask you to express your own point of view on research problem you are discussing. However, what is valued in academic writing is that your opinions are based on a sound understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that are currently being debated in your discipline. You need to support your opinion with evidence from academic sources. It should be an objective position presented as a logical argument. The quality of your evidence will determine the strength of your argument. The challenge is to convince the reader of the validity of your opinion through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing.

VI.  Thesis-Driven Analysis The writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or “thesis” on the chosen research problem, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions posed for the topic. In contrast, simply describing a topic without the research questions does not qualify as “academic writing.”

VII.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking One of the main functions of academic writing is to describe complex ideas as clearly as possible. Often called higher-order thinking skills, these include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of jargon is language specific to a particular sub-group of people . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to terms and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and philosophy, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research work of a discipline may have subtle differences based on how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terms [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Key Problems to Avoid

• Excessive use of specialized terminology .  Although academic writing represents a formal style of expression, it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of big words and complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your writing is more style over substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about.
• Inappropriate use of specialized terminology .  Because you are dealing with the concepts, research, and data of your subject, you need to use the technical language appropriate to the discipline. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--don't guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries. These can be found by searching the library catalog , by entering, for example, the phrase "sociology and dictionaries."

Other Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of . These include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us, etc.] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. Using these words can be interpreted by the reader as being done only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demands the reader "Do this" or "Do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they are often open to interpretation; be direct and concise.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and contain no confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the research design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper be sure to look for and edit any vague statements that lack context.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item?
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study and, in fact, some description is needed because you can't assume the reader knows everything about the topic. However, the body of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem and not background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experiences. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be a effective way of engaging your readers in understanding the research problem. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it. Otherwise, a quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If you believe the quote is important to understanding the meaning of the work as a whole , consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted word or text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, complete with any erroneous spelling or other nonstandard presentation.

Academic Writing . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Cornell University; College Writing . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Rsearch Proposals . English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing . The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.  

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1. Clear Writing . Thinking about precedes writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from their sources before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2. Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before thay have command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Jandrisevits Learning Center on campus if you need a lot of help. Proper punctuation use and good proofreading skills measurably improve academic writing [see subtab for proofreading you paper ].

Invest in and always refer to these three types of resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3. Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor requires you to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide guidance on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to one style of writing helps the flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, familiarity will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, ctitically assess the quality of the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and explains what that problem is from the outset,
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it,
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published [or not] about this problem or others related to it,
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing,
• The paper includes a description of how and why the particular evidence was collected, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used,
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea,
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem,
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant,
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion, and
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Academic Writing . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Cornell University; College Writing . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing . The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Jandrisevits Learning Center (JLC)!

Academic Support Services at the JLC include 1-on-1 tutoring with Professional and Peer tutors; group study sessions for particular courses by Classroom Learning Assistants (CLAs); monthly workshops on specific academic and life skills; specialized Learning Labs in math, critical reading and writing, accounting, and math; and online writing support (OWL).

Another Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way:

• "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis."
• "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb. Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Check with your professor about writing in the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some discourage its use.

Active and Passive Voice . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus . Drexel University; Passive Voice . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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Checklist: Academic writing

Published on October 16, 2020 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. When writing an essay , research paper , research proposal , thesis , or dissertation , you have to use academic style.

Use this checklist to make sure you’ve followed academic conventions in style, tone, and structure.

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I avoid informal terms and contractions .

I avoid second-person pronouns (“you”).

I avoid emotive or exaggerated language.

I avoid redundant words and phrases.

I avoid unnecessary jargon and define terms where needed.

I present information as precisely and accurately as possible.

I use appropriate transitions to show the connections between my ideas.

My text is logically organized using paragraphs .

Each paragraph is focused on a single idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Every part of the text relates to my central thesis or research question .

I support my claims with evidence.

I use the appropriate verb tenses in each section.

I consistently use either UK or US English .

I format numbers consistently.

I cite my sources using a consistent citation style .

Your text follows the most important rules of academic style. Make sure it's perfect with the help of a Scribbr editor!

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If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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