LESSON 1

LANGUAGE USED IN
ACADEMIC TEXT
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Target

At the end of this lesson, you are expected

to differentiate the language used in
academic text from various disciplines
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What is
LANGUAGE?
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Language

Language is a system of
communication that humans use to convey
thoughts, ideas, and emotions through
spoken or written symbols. These symbols,
whether spoken words, written characters,
or gestures, carry meaning that is
understood by individuals who share the
same language.
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Language

Language is either formal or

informal, depending on its purpose. The
tone, the choice of words, and the way the
words are put together vary between the
two styles – INFORMAL and FORMAL.
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Informal Language

▸ Informal language is more casual and

spontaneous.
▸ It is used when communicating with friends or
family either in writing or in conversation.
▸ It is used when writing personal emails, text
messages, and in some business
correspondence.
▸ Its tone is more personal.
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Formal Language

▸ It is used when writing for professional or

academic purposes like university
assignments. Thus, it does not use
colloquialisms, contractions, or first-person
pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’.
▸ Formal language is less personal.
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Academic Writing
Under formal language is academic writing.
▸ It is a challenging and satisfying activity that
needs great preparation.
▸ One of the necessary preparations is to use
language properly. Academic writing requires
academic language.
▸ Language use is a qualifying component of a
text to be categorized as an academic text.
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Academic Language

Several definitions and explanations can be

given to academic language, which is considered a
formal way to present words in a certain field. In
general, Academic language is used in classroom
settings – in textbooks, teacher-made tests, and
other forms of academic disciplines.
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Academic Language

Moreover, it includes a variety of formal

language skills such as vocabulary, grammar,
punctuation, syntax, and the likes. These allow
students to acquire the knowledge and academic
skills needed to do the work of schools.
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Academic Text

▸ Starts with posing a question, problematizing

a concept, evaluating an opinion, and ends by
answering the question or questions posed,
clarifying the problem, and or arguing for a
stand.
▸ It has a purpose: to inform, to argue a specific
point, and to persuade
▸ It is written by experts in their fields.
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Academic Text
▸ It includes information from credible sources.
▸ It includes a list of references.
▸ Also, it usually exhibits all the properties of a well-
written text: organization, unity, coherence and
cohesion, as well as strict language use and
mechanics.
▸ Examples are research papers, journal articles,
literature reviews, case studies, lab or field reports,
Literary critiques, and position papers
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Academic Texts across the Disciplines

Academic disciplines have various branches under them.
Discipline Branches
Business Accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing

Humanities Art, creative writing, languages, literature, music, philosophy,

religion, theater
Natural and Biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geology,
Applied mathematics, physics, medicine
Sciences
Social Science Anthropology, education, geography, history, law, political
science, psychology, sociology
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MAIN LANGUAGE
FEATURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
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1. Avoid using contractions

Informal: The improvements canʼt be introduced due

to funding restrictions.
Formal: Improvements cannot be introduced due to
funding restrictions.
Informal: I donʼt believe that the results are accurate.
Formal: The results are not believed to be accurate.
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2. Avoid using phrasal verbs/ two-word verbs

Informal: The balloon was blown up for the

experiment.
Formal: The balloon was inflated for the experiment.
Informal: The patient got over his illness.
Formal: The patient recovered from his illness.
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3. Avoid using colloquial words and expressions

Informal: The mob was very rowdy during the protest

against cuts to university funding.
Formal: The crowd was very rowdy during the
protest against the cuts to university funding.
Informal: It was raining cats and dogs.
Formal: It was raining very heavily.
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4. Avoid using first person pronouns (I, me, we, us)

Informal: During the interview, I asked students

about their experiences.
Formal: During the interview, students were asked
about their experiences.
Informal: We believe the practice is unsustainable.
Formal: It is believed the practice is unsustainable.
Note: A reader will normally assume that any idea not referenced is your own.
It is, therefore, unnecessary to make this explicit.
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4. Avoid using first person pronouns (I, me, we, us)

Pronoun Subject Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive
Type Pronouns Pronouns Adjectives Pronouns Pronouns
First
I me my mine myself
Person
Second
you you your yours yourself
Person
Third
himself/her
Person he/she/it him/her/it his/her/its his/hers/its
self/itself
(Singular)
Third
Person they them their theirs themselves
(Plural)
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5. It must be objective

Informal: We don’t really know what language

proficiency is, but many people have talked about it for
a long time. Some researchers have tried to find ways
for us to make teaching and testing more
communicative because that is how language works. I
think that language is something we use for
communicating, not an object for us to study and we
remember that when we teach and test it.
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5. It must be objective
Formal: The question of what constitutes “language proficiency”
and the nature of its cross-lingual dimensions is also at the core
of many hotly debated issues in the areas of bilingual education
and second language pedagogy and testing. Research has
suggested ways of making second language teaching and
testing more “communicative” (Canale and Swain, 1980; Oller,
1979b) on the grounds that a communicative approach better
reflects the nature of language proficiency than one that
emphasizes the acquisition of discrete language skills.
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5. It must be objective

Note: Academic Text is, in general, objective rather than

personal. It, therefore, has fewer words that refer to the writer or
the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the
information that you want to give and the arguments you want to
make rather than you. For that reason, academic writing tends to
use nouns (and adjectives) rather than verbs (and adverbs).
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6. Acronyms

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

TESDA Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
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7. Initialisms

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

USA United States of America
ATM Automated Teller Machine
Note: When using acronyms or initialisms in an essay, you can write the full
name in brackets the first time. After that, you can use the acronym or
initialism alone. Well-known acronyms don't need full spelling. To make them
plural, add 's' without an apostrophe.
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8. Use hedging or cautious language to tone
down author’s claims
Here are some examples of hedging expressions used in academic texts.
Examples As used in the
sentence
Modal auxiliary May, might, can, The measure might
Verbs could, would, have negative
should effects on the
patient’s health.
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Modal lexical To seem, to appear The discussion

Verbs doubting and (epistemic verbs), to appears to have a
evaluating rather believe, to assume, positive
than merely to suggest, to implication.
describing estimate, to tend, to
think, to argue, to
indicate, to propose,
to speculate
Probability Possible, probable, A number of
Adjectives un/likely significant changes
are possible.
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Nouns Assumption, claim, There are a number

possibility, of claims pertaining
estimate, possibility of
suggestion divorce.
Adverbs Perhaps, possibly, The proposal is
probably, practically an
practically, likely, answer to the
presumably, confusion.
virtually,
apparently
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Indicators of Approximately, Fever is present in

degree, quantity, roughly, about, about a third of
frequency and time often, occasionally, cases.
generally, usually,
somewhat,
somehow, a lot of
Introductory Believe, to our The committee
phrases knowledge, it is our believes that the
view that, we feel issue needs to be
that explored.
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“if” clause If true, if anything If anything, the

opinion holds a
number of truths.
Compound hedges Double hedges: This probably
seems reasonable, indicates that the
looks probable; it assigned personnel
may suggest that; it is misinformed.
seems likely that; it
would indicate that;
this probably
indicates
Treble hedges: it
seems reasonable to
assume that
Quadruple hedges:
It would seem
somewhat unlikely
that, it may appear
somewhat
speculative
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8. Use hedging or cautious language to tone
down author’s claims

Remember: When you write academically, you must decide your

viewpoint and how strongly you state things. Subjects have
varying approaches. In certain academic writing, a "hedge" is
used—a way to express caution. Academic writing isn't just about
facts; it involves careful language, often termed "hedging" or
"vague language."
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WRAP UP

✓ Language can be either formal or informal based on

its purpose.
✓ Informal language is characterized by a casual and
spontaneous tone.
✓ Formal language is less personal and is used in
professional or academic contexts.
✓ Academic writing falls under formal language and
requires specific language skills.
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WRAP UP

✓ Academic language is formal and associated with

academic disciplines.
✓ Academic texts encompass organization, unity,
coherence, cohesion, and strict language use.
✓ There are eight language features to follow in
writing academic texts.
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Activity 1: Academic
Text vs Non-
Academic Text
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Make an infographic that presents the following:

✓ The definition of Academic Text and Non-Academic Text
✓ Characteristics (give not less than five each)
✓ Examples (give at least five each)

✓ Use long bond paper

✓ Write the title, your full name, section & set, and the date of
submission
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