Academic Writing Style Guide

Academic style refers to the conventions of writing used in scholarly contexts. It's characterized by formal language, precise word choice, objective tone, and logical organization. While these conventions may seem restrictive, they serve important purposes: ensuring clarity, establishing credibility, and facilitating scholarly communication.

Academic style varies somewhat between disciplines. Sciences often favor passive voice and strict objectivity, while humanities may permit more personal engagement. Understanding your field's conventions is essential for successful academic writing.

Academic writing uses formal register, which means avoiding casual language, slang, and colloquialisms. This doesn't mean being unnecessarily complex—clarity is always the goal—but it does mean choosing words and structures appropriate for scholarly contexts.

Voice describes whether the subject of a sentence performs or receives the action. Active voice is generally clearer and more direct, while passive voice can be useful for emphasizing actions over actors or when the actor is unknown.

Modern academic writing generally prefers active voice for clarity. However, passive voice remains appropriate when: the actor is unknown or irrelevant, you want to emphasize the action or recipient, or your discipline's conventions require it.

Academic writing demands precision. Choose words that convey exactly what you mean, avoiding vague terms like "things," "stuff," or "very." Use discipline-specific terminology appropriately, defining technical terms when necessary.

Words to Reconsider

• Things/stuff: Replace with specific nouns
• Very/really: Use stronger adjectives instead
• Good/bad: Choose more precise evaluative terms
• Get: Often replaceable with more formal verbs
• A lot: Use "many," "numerous," or provide specific quantities

Academic writers use hedging to express appropriate levels of certainty. Rather than making absolute claims, scholars qualify their statements to reflect the strength of their evidence. This isn't weakness—it's intellectual honesty.

Common hedging language includes: suggests, indicates, appears to, may, might, could, it is possible that, evidence supports, tends to.

The use of first person ("I" or "we") varies by discipline and publication. Many scientific journals avoid first person to emphasize objectivity, while humanities disciplines often embrace it. Check your instructor's or publication's guidelines.

Regardless of pronoun use, maintain analytical objectivity. Focus on evidence and reasoning rather than personal feelings or unsupported opinions. "I believe" is less persuasive than "the evidence suggests."