Ⅱ Sample Reading

What Are the Key Characteristics of Academic Writing?

Compare and contrast the following two pieces of writing.

The first example is an e-mail written by a student, and the second is an essay extract on the same topic.

■ Dear Professor,

Please find below my answers to your questions.

I think academic English and everyday English are different because they have very different goals. Lectures and seminars need a different approach from spoken English. And, of course, academic essay writing isn't the same as standard writing.

I think there are four main areas where I can see big dif f erences between standard writing and academic writing. They are as follows:

· You should not be subjective;

· You should be more complex;

· You should have more structures;

· You should use the academic style and system.

Best wishes,

Sophia

■ “Academic English” is differentiated from “general English” in its focus on “those communication skills in English which are required for study purposes in formal education systems” (Jordan, 1997: 1). Within these systems, there are three main areas of focus: the lecture, the seminar and the essay, each of which has a specific set of subskills which are required for successful performance. It is essays where the most signif i cant distinction between academic English and general English is made. Generally speaking, there are four main areas where differences between standard writing and academic writing can be observed: the inherent objectivity of academic writing, its complexity, its formality of structure and its adoption of academic style.

It is almost impossible to define good academic writing exactly. However, it is certainly possible to identify some key characteristics. The ones listed below are four of the most important features.

Academic writing:

· is more objective;

· is more complex;

· has a more formal structure;

· uses more referencing.

Academic Writing Is More Objective.

Phrases such as “I think” “I believe” and “in my opinion” should not be used in academic writing. Academics are not looking for what you think or believe—they want to see what you can show, demonstrate and prove through evidence. For example:

■ Standard writing: I think there are four main areas where I can see big differences between standard writing and academic writing.

■ Academic writing: Generally speaking, there are four main areas where differences between standard writing and academic writing can be observed.

Three specific strategies for achieving objectivity are outlined below:

· Strategy 1: Hedging language increases the “distance” between the writer and the text, thereby creating more objectivity.

· Strategy 2: Empty introductory phrases provide a platform for objective statements.

· Strategy 3: The passive voice removes the need for a subject in the sentence.

Academic Writing Is More Complex.

As a general principle, academic writing is more complex than other forms of writing. This is because academic writing often discusses difficult, challenging ideas which can only be expressed with particular grammar and language. This complexity may be seen in the following three aspects.

Formality of Language

Academic language is more formal than the language used in other forms of writing. For example:

■ Standard writing: big dif f erences

■ Academic writing: the most signif i cant distinction

Grammatical Structures

Some grammatical forms appear more frequently in academic writing than in other forms of writing, like the passive voice, noun phrases and relative clauses. For example:

■ Academic writing: a specif i c set of subskills which are required for successful performance

Density of Language

In the two writing samples on Pages 2–3, the average number of letters per word of the e-mail is 4.8, whereas it is 5.4 for the sample of academic writing. This density can be achieved through a greater use of content words (such as verbs and nouns) rather than structure words (such as prepositions and conjunctions). In the example below, the adjective form found in general writing is substituted with a verb form in academic writing.

■ Standard writing: Academic English and everyday English are dif f erent...

■ Academic writing: “Academic English” is dif f erentiated from “general English”...

Academic Writing Has a More Formal Structure.

All forms of writing have a certain type of structure. The structure of academic writing is more formal than that of other forms of writing. The following characteristics can be observed:

· The text as a whole has a specific, formalized structure—the introduction, main body and conclusion.

· The text must have cohesion and coherence—it must link together clearly so that it is possible to follow the writer's argument.

· Paragraphs should be roughly of the same length throughout, so there is a good overall balance.

· Paragraphs often follow a similar structure—topic sentence, outline of argument,supporting evidence, short conclusion and transition to the next paragraph.

Academic Writing Uses More Referencing.

Building on the ideas of other people is one of the central features of academic writing. In order to show where these ideas come from (and to avoid plagiarism), a reference system is used. For example:

■ Standard writing: I think academic English and everyday English are dif f erent because they have very dif f erent goals.

■ Academic writing: “Academic English” is differentiated from “general English” in its focus on “those communication skills in English which are required for study purposes in formal education systems” (Jordan, 1971:1).

(Adapted from C. Sowton. 2012. 50 Steps to Improving Your Academic Writing. Reading:Garnet Publishing.)

Tasks

1 Summarize the key characteristics of academic writing and discuss with a partner about why these features prevail in academic writing.

2 Match the following writing strategies with the possible features in the box.

___1) a reference system

___2) empty introductory phrases

___3) a greater use of content words

___4) the passive voice

___5) cohesion and coherence

___6) relative clauses

___7) hedging language

___8) same-length paragraphs

___9) noun phrases

3 Which of the italicized words in each sentence would be more suitable for an academic paper? Write down the correct answers.

1) The government has made good/considerable progress in solving environmental problems.

____________________________________________________________________________________

2) We got/obtained encouraging results.

____________________________________________________________________________________

3) The results of a lot of/numerous different projects have been pretty good/encouraging.

____________________________________________________________________________________

4) A loss of jobs is one of the things that will happen/consequences if the process is automated.

____________________________________________________________________________________

5) The future of Federal funding is up in the air/uncertain.

____________________________________________________________________________________