Academic Language

San José State University Writing Center
www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter
Written by Ramya Kannan
Academic Language
Having the skill of using academic language in a piece of writing is necessary. It is a critical
factor for academic and professional success, and if you don’t know where to implement
academic language, it can have a negative impact on your overall argument or message.
Assess when academic language is most important by considering whom your audience is (e.g.,
peer, professor, customer, manager). A peer, for instance, might not require the level of formality
a manager does. By replacing the casual and everyday words with appropriate academic
language, your writing will be stronger and more persuasive.
Street Talk vs. Real Talk

The lingo you use with your friends and the lingo you should use in your essays are drastically
different. Slang might be expected in a conversation with your friend, but it is considered
inappropriate for an essay. It is important to distinguish the words that are appropriate for
conversation versus academic writing. Writing for school/work should be composed of formal
and organized language. Knowing the appropriate situation is critical in any professional
workplace or academic environment.
Words to Avoid in Academic Essays
There are some words that are used in casual conversations that do not belong in academic
essays, called dead words. Avoiding them will make your essay formal and professional. Being
able to recognize and remove these everyday words is critical to writing a better essay. Here are
some common colloquial words/phrases that people often misuse in academic writing.
Got/Get You Stuff A lot

Funny Things Awesome Kind of
Like Nice Good Very
Just Used to Said Gonna
Cool Big/Huge Guy Kid
Sort of Mad Nice Sad
And also Being that Scared Irregardless
Many Due to the fact that Try and Won’t
Isn’t/Can’t Give The reason why is becauase Til/ Till
Bad Really People
Words to Use in Academic Essays

To replace the dead words, there are more sophisticated words to use. Some of these words will
effectively replace the dead words associated with them, but some might not be as fitting. It is
important that these words are used carefully when replacing dead words. These words will help
specify the information that you are relaying. Dead words are vague and make the sentences
appear unclear. If there are some words you’re having trouble with replacing or defining, you
can find more information on the following website:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plague.htm
Academic Language, Fall 2018. 1

Receive Obtain Acquire Produce
Numerous Substantial Significant Abundant
Excessive Exceptional Outstanding Impressive
Immense Massive Tremendous Sizable
Excellent Favorable Exceptional Satisfactory
Person Individual Child Adolescent
Somewhat Slightly Such as Similar to
Frustrated Furious Enraged Pleasant
Captivating Pleasing Melancholy Dejected
Extremely Unusually Severely Especially
Exceedingly Eminently Profoundly Noticeably
Innumerable Many A great deal Ample
Amusing Comical Laughable Jovial
Peculiar Develop Become Splendid
Superb Rather Charming Indignant
Despondent Terrified Timid Diffident
In addition to sounding unprofessional, using casual language can also negatively impact your
intended meaning.
A few scientists got results that said that the product was good.
Several scientists acquired results that concluded that the product was effective.
Notice how switching the dead words with academic words provides a more specific explanation
of why the product was “good.” The word “good” could have multiple meanings; it could mean
that many people liked the product, or the product was physically appealing. By replacing it with
“effective,” the reader now knows how the product was “good.”
Sometimes, the use of casual language can impact how the audience perceives you.
The kid ate a lot of candy, but irregardless, he was still kind of hungry.
The child ate an ample amount of candy, but he was still somewhat hungry.
Even though “kid” and “child” carry the same meaning, one is more appropriate in a formal situation than
the other. In addition, since “irregardless” is not a real word, it is unnecessary and might impact the
audience’s perception/judgment of the writer.
Activity:
Identify the “dead words” and replace them with academic words.
1. San José State University hired a lot of people with cool degrees.
2. Donald Duck needs therapy. The reason why is because he has many issues.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio should get more Oscars because he is a good actor and is very nice.

4. I admire Chris Hemsworth due to the fact that he is Australian and awesome.
5. I get scared of spiders because nothing should have more than four legs.
6. Michelle Obama should try and run for president in 2020 due to the fact that she is
already familiar with a lot of the political stuff.
7. Drugs are bad, so they should be banned.
8. Stuff like that only egg on Twitter trolls to continue attacking celebrities.
Answer Key for Activity

1. San José State University hired numerous professors with impressive degrees.
2. Donald Duck needs therapy because he has various issues.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio should receive more Oscars because he is an exceptional actor and is
amicable / kind / courteous.
4. I admire Chris Hemsworth because he is Australian and awe-inspiring / outstanding /
tremendous.
5. I am terrified of spiders because nothing should have more than four legs.
6. Michelle Obama should try to run for president in 2020 since she is already familiar with
a majority of the political terms / positions / responsibilities.
7. Drugs are harmful, so they should be banned.
8. Such actions only encourage Twitter trolls to continue attacking celebrities.
References
Bowman, David. “10 Words to Avoid When Writing.” Freelance Writing, Precise Editing, 12
Sept. 2016, www.freelancewriting.com/copywriting/ten-words-to-avoid-when-writing/.
Lunsford, Andrea. The Everyday Writer. 5 Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. Print.
th
MIT. “Resources for Writers: Introduction Strategies.” Writing and Communication Center.
Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. N.d. Web. 19 March 2014.
Mangan, Tom. “Plague Words and Phrases.” The Guide to Grammar, Capital Community
College Foundation, grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plague.htm.
“Non-Negotiable DEAD WORDS List.” Jones College Prep,
www.jonescollegeprep.org/ourpages/auto/2016/4/28/47376698/DEAD-WORD-LIST.pdf.
Velasco, Jessica. “20 Words to Avoid Writing in Your Essay.” JLV College Counseling, 13 Mar.
2018, jlvcollegecounseling.com/2018/03/13/20-words-to-avoid-writing-in-your-essay/.

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San José State University Writing Center

Street Talk vs. Real Talk

Got/Get You Stuff A lot

Words to Use in Academic Essays

Academic Language, Fall 2018. 1

Academic Language, Fall 2018. 2

Answer Key for Activity

Sept. 2016, www.freelancewriting.com/copywriting/ten-words-to-avoid-when-writing/.

Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. N.d. Web. 19 March 2014.

College Foundation, grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plague.htm.

“Non-Negotiable DEAD WORDS List.” Jones College Prep,

Academic Language, Fall 2018. 3

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