Module 1 LAS
Module 1 LAS
Formal
Formal writing requires considerable effort to construct meaningful sentences, paragraphs, and
arguments that make the text easy to comprehend. Choose words precisely and carefully so that the
reader can accurately understand the concepts within the text.
The tone used in academic writing is usually formal, meaning that it should not sound conversational
or casual. You should particularly avoid colloquial, idiomatic, slang, or journalistic expressions in favor of
precise vocabulary. Informal and colloquial language is often imprecise, so is open to misinterpretation,
and can be inaccessible to non-native English speakers.
Academic writing requires that you use full forms rather than contractions. For example, write ‘do
not’ instead of ‘don't’, ‘it is’ instead of ‘it's’, ‘they have’ instead of ‘they've’, and ‘we will’ instead of ‘we'll’.
Objective
Academic writing is based on research and not on the writer’s own opinion about a given topic.
When you write objectively, you are concerned about facts and not influenced by personal feelings or
biases. When presenting an argument to the reader, try to show both sides if you can and avoid making
value judgments.
At the same time, you will probably have to do an analysis or a discussion. In order to convey
attitude without using for example “I think”, you may use words such as “apparently,” “arguably,”
“ideally,” “strangely” and “unexpectedly.” Note that the attitude you are expressing should not be based
on personal preferences but rather on the evidence that you are presenting.
Impersonal
Academic language is impersonal in that you generally do not refer to yourself as the performer of
actions. This involves avoiding the personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’. For example, instead of writing ‘I will
show’, you might write ‘this report will show’. The second person, ‘you’, is also to be avoided.
Avoiding personal pronouns
If you need to avoid using the first or second person, in your writing, here are some ways of doing it:
Using passive voice:
‘We administered the questionnaire...’ (active voice)
‘The questionnaire was administered...’ (passive voice)
Using third person:
‘I discovered that…’ becomes ‘Research reveals that…’
‘We can see that….’ becomes ‘It is evident that…’
Making things rather than people the subject of sentences:
‘I show...’ becomes ‘The report shows...’
‘I interpret the results as...’ becomes ‘The results indicate...’
PRECISE
The facts are presented accurately. The choice of words is appropriate. The use of technical terms
to achieve precision is applied.