You are participating in the lecture being given by your instructor. Everything appears to make sense. You are actively taking notes while nodding your head in agreement. But when you return home, everything is different. Your notes have suddenly become more difficult to understand. You give your next reading assignment a quick peek and realize that you have no clue where to begin. What exactly are all of these strange terms from the vocabulary? How come the phrases are so drawn out? Why doesn’t the author write sentences the way that people talk? You are now reading an example of a specialized variety of English known as academic English. This form of the language may be found in academic settings such as universities, research papers, and scholarly literature.
Formal Tone and Word Usage
Using one’s own personal style is not appropriate in academic English. Instead, a well-established and official tone is used in academic English. Imagine the atmosphere at a professional office and apply it to the academic setting. You wouldn’t communicate with your manager in the same manner that you do with your closest buddy. Even in academic writing, the subject you are writing about will determine what is appropriate and what is not. Use your best judgment. When in doubt, go with the formal approach. That ensures that you won’t use slang or other informal languages. It also implies that you will use correct grammar, and in certain situations, your teachers may even advise you to avoid using contractions (for example, you should use “do not” instead of “don’t”) in your writing. Also, learn nouns that start with C.
Concerned that your thoughts may not translate well into this format? You may link your thoughts more officially and professionally by using some of the English words and phrases provided on the excellent list that Oxford Royale Academy provides. In addition, students must have a working knowledge of the specialized language associated with their chosen field of study. One of the simplest methods to do this is to look for a glossary (also known as a comprehensive vocabulary list) that is specific to your area of study. For instance, a student majoring in biology or pre-medical studies could find this online vocabulary of biological words to be helpful.
Formatting and Style Rules
When it comes to writing, academic English adheres to several stringent requirements. It’s not as simple as simply making sure your grammar and spelling are proper. In addition to this, you need to check that the structure of your essays follows the requirements of the appropriate writing style. The term “formatting” relates to how words are presented on a page. Perhaps you are familiar with other writing styles, such as AMA, Chicago, MLA, and APA. There are a variety of contexts or academic subjects that call for the adoption of each writing style. Both the APA and MLA writing styles are likely to come up often throughout your time spent studying at a college or university.
In most cases, your academic instructors will specify the writing style they want to see in the papers you turn in to them. Bear in mind that your teachers will have extremely high expectations for you, and they will be quite picky about you adhering to the requirements of the format that they have set for you. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab offers in-depth descriptions of various academic writing styles. A citation machine is software that can be accessed online and used to generate citations in the appropriate format automatically.
References and Quotations
If you’ve ever read an academic paper, you’ve probably noticed that it contains many quotations. You’ll notice that academic English often refers to the work of other authors. Your teachers will often make references to other people’s work in their lectures. In academic writing, the most important thing is to back up your claims with proof. You can’t merely present your perspective; to write a convincing and powerful academic paper, you need to offer research results and quotes that explain why your opinion is important.
