10 Takeaway Tips
Writing in Academic Style
1. Academic Style refers to the way we express ourselves when writing for an
academic purpose.
2. Academic Style includes consideration of grammar, sentence structure and
appropriate vocabulary.
3. It is not normally good practice to use contractions of subject-verb phrases in
academic text (such as using it’s instead of it is or don’t instead of do not).
4. Grammar matters in academic writing. Sloppy grammar, such as misuse of verbs
and pronouns, incoherent sentences and disagreement of subjects and verbs,
tends to result in you receiving lower marks.
5. Punctuation is also important. Learn how to use commas, colons and semi-colons
properly. It helps your reader make sense of what you’ve written and gains you
more marks because it’s clear that you have a good command of language, as well
as of your subject discipline.
6. There’s a difference between using lots of jargon and using appropriate subjectspecific vocabulary which shows command of your subject.
7. Being concise is an important part of writing academically. Only poor writers
(published or unpublished) use twelve words where two would do.
8. This links to sentence structure. Having overly long sentences punctuated with
endless commas does not indicate good writing control. The principal tip here is:
keep it simple! The concepts you are describing and analysing may be incredibly
complex – this does not mean that your writing should be.
9. Academic Style also implies that you avoid expressions or structures which may be
perfectly fine to use in spoken language. This means linking a string of phrases with
and is not good; it also means that any form of slang, no matter how innocuous, is
not suitable for use.
10. Unless specifically stated in an assignment (such as a learning journal or a
personally reflective piece), we tend to use 3rd person, rather than 1st person. This
generally means avoiding the use of I or we statements. Often, passive constructs
are used to get around this: the study was conducted using interviews and
questionnaires rather than we conducted the study using interviews and
questionnaires.
1
Academic Skills Advice service
www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills/
Have A Go!
This Ten Takeaway Tips leaflet is not written in academic style.
Go through the text and highlight the things which prove that it is in a less formal style.
Could you re-write it to be a more academic-sounding document whilst keeping the
messages the same?
2
Academic Skills Advice service
www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills/