Jemille Claire Alegre Joanna Sarmiento

Section: A7 Schedule: MTh 04:30-06:00

FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

FEATURE 1. Complexity DEFINITION The vocabulary used by the written language is more varied than the one used in conversations. It also uses more complicated words that are not normally used when talking with someone face to face. EXAMPLES Spoken text: Because the jobs are even more complex, programs to train people will take longer. Written text: The increased complexity of tasks will lead to the extension of the duration of training programs. Informal: Unfortunately, since there are so many possible explanations, the correct one is most difficult to find out. Formal: Unfortunately, since there are so many possible explanations, the correct one is most difficult to ascertain. Don't write:" In my opinion,people should not discriminate deniece and cedric." Write: "People should not discriminate deniece and cedric." The test was so hard just one in ten of the students passed. He is born into a family, he marries into a family, and he becomes the husband and father of his own family. In addition, he has a definite place of origin and more relatives than he knows what to do with, and he receives a rudimentary education at the Canadian Mission School. Wrong: I sprayed the ants in their private places. Correct: I sprayed the ants in their hiding places.

2. Formality

Means that no circumstances will academic writing make use of colloquial expression that we consider natural in daily dialogues we have with friend or colleagues. The degree of formality should thus be pretty high.

3. Objectivity

4. Precision 5. Explicitness

Academic writing is not about the reader or the writer and it shouldnt contain referrals to any of these. It should focus on the main theme and offer information about it, without the writer getting involved in a personal manner. Factual information, figures or charts, should all be provided and nothing written there should leave room to interpretation. The author of an academic writing is responsible for make it explicit and for making clear how different parts of the text are connected between them and why are they relevant for the central theme.

6. Accuracy

7. Hedging

Sentences are clear and constructed carefully to show precise relationships between ideas. This means careful use of linking words. Ideas are expressed concisely and not in verbose and elaborate phraseology designed only to impress. This has to do with the way that writer decides to approach a certain subject and with how strong the claims he makes are.

There is experimental work to show that a week or ten days may not be long enough and a fortnight to three weeks is probably the best theoretical period.