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Lesson 2: Language Used in Academic Texts From Various Disciplines

Academic writing uses precise, formal, and objective language. It is linear with one central point and builds arguments through explicit connections between ideas. Academic texts are more complex than everyday communication due to longer words, noun phrases, and lexical variation. Writers hedge claims and use cautious language to convey uncertainty.

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Angelou Cruz
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151 views21 pages

Lesson 2: Language Used in Academic Texts From Various Disciplines

Academic writing uses precise, formal, and objective language. It is linear with one central point and builds arguments through explicit connections between ideas. Academic texts are more complex than everyday communication due to longer words, noun phrases, and lexical variation. Writers hedge claims and use cautious language to convey uncertainty.

Uploaded by

Angelou Cruz
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ACADEMIC

AND
PROFESSIO
NAL
PURPOSES
LESSON 2: LANGUAGE USED IN
ACADEMIC TEXTS FROM VARIOUS
DISCIPLINES
ACADEMIC WRITING
IN ENGLISH IS
LINEAR
It has one central point or theme with every part contributing to the main line of
argument, without digressions or repetitions. Its objective is to inform rather than
to entertain. Most of the writing you do outside of university and the texts you
read are likely to be very informal and conversational. Think about the emails
you write, the posts you share onto the Internet, the messages you send on your
phone are the magazines you read. Academic subjects are generally more
complex than everyday communication and the readers of academic texts are
often experts in their field who have certain expectations about the
communicative style and language used in their specialist subject. One way of
looking at the characteristics of academic writing is summarized in the figure
below.
CHARACTERISTI
CS
7 MAIN
LANGUAGE
FEATURES OF
ACADEMIC
WRITING
01
COMPLEXIT
Y
COMPLEXIT
Y
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken
language. Written texts are lexically dense compared to spoken
language - they have proportionately more lexical words than
grammatical words. Written texts are shorter and have longer,
more complex words and phrases. They have more noun-based
phrases, more nominalizations, and more lexical variation.
EXAMPLE
Whenever I had visited there before, I Every previous visit had left me
had ended up feeling that it would be with a sense of the futility of further
futile if I tried to do anything more action on my part.

SPOKEN WRITTEN

Because the technology has improved it is


Improvements in technology have reduced
less risky than it used to be when you install
the risks and high costs associated with
them at the same time, and it does not cost so
simultaneous installation.
much either.
SPOKEN WRITTEN
02
FORMALI
TY
Academic writing is
relatively formal. In c. two-word verbs: put
general, this means that off, bring up
you should AVOID:

d. subheadings,
a. colloquial words and numbering, and bullet
expressions: stuff, a lot, thing points

b. abbreviated forms:
can’t, doesn’t, shouldn’t e. asking questions
03
PRECISION
In academic writing, you need to be precise when you use information,
dates, or figures. Do not use “a lot of people” when you can say “50
million people.”
04
OBJECTIVIT
Y
Written language 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.
For that reason, academic writing tends to use
nouns (and adjectives), rather than verbs (and
adverbs).
IN GENERAL, AVOID
WORDS LIKE I, ME,
MYSELF
01.
A reader will normally assume that any idea not referenced
is your own. It is, therefore, unnecessary to make this
explicit.
Don’t write: In my opinion, this is a very interesting study.
Write: This is a very interesting study.

02.
Avoid “you” to refer to the reader or people in general.
Don’t write: “You can easily forget how different life was
50 years ago.”
Write: “It is easy to forget how difficult life was 50 years
ago.”
05
EXPLICITN
ESS
Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the text. As a writer of
academic English, it is your responsibility to make it clear to your reader how
various parts of the text is related. These connections can be made by the use
of different signaling words.
EXAMPLES

a. For example, if b. For example, if d. If you intend


you want to tell you want to tell c. If you think two your sentence to e. If you are
your reader that your reader that ideas are almost give extra giving examples,
your line of your line of the same, say so. information, make do it explicitly.
argument is going argument is going it clear.
to change, make it to change, make it
clear. clear.
06
ACCURAC
Y
Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately.
Most subjects have words with narrow
specific meanings. In academic writing, you
need to be accurate in your use of vocabulary.
REMINDEChoose the
RS correct
Do not
word, for
confuse, for
or
“conference.”
example, example, or from:
“phonetics”
“meeting,” “money,”
and
“phonology” “assembly, “cash,”
or “grammar” ” “currency,”
with “gathering, “capital,” or
“syntax.” ” “funds”
07
HEDGI
NG
CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo,
including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik
HEDGIN
G
In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions
about your stance on a particular subject or the strength of the claims
you are making. Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways.
Linguists know a technique common in certain kinds of academic
writing as a “hedge”. It is often believed that academic writing,
particularly scientific writing, is factual, simply to convey facts and
information. ▪ However, it is now recognized that an important feature
of academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called
“hedging” or “vague language.”
LANGUAGE USED IN HEDGING;

CERTAIN
INTRODUCT
LEXICAL
ORY VERBS
▪seem ▪tend ▪look like
▪appear to be ▪indicate
VERBS
▪believe ▪assume
▪suggest
▪think ▪believe ▪doubt ▪be
sure ▪suggest
LANGUAGE USED IN
HEDGING;
CERTAIN ▪will ▪must ▪would ▪might
MODAL ▪could ▪may

VERBS
ADVERBS
OF ▪often ▪sometimes
▪usually

FREQUENC
Y
LANGUAGE USED IN
HEDGING;
▪certain ▪definite ▪clear
▪It could be the case that…
▪probable ▪possible
MODAL ▪It might be suggested that…

▪There is every hope that…


ADJECTIVE THAT
S CLAUSES
MODAL MODAL
ADVERBS
▪certainly ▪definitely
▪clearly ▪probably NOUNS
▪assumption ▪possibility
▪possibly ▪perhaps ▪probability
▪conceivably

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