Tips for formal tone
On this page:
- Use formal language
- Commonly spoken words
- Emotive language
- Academic caution
- Be clear
An important element of academic writing is the use of appropriate language and adopting the right tone. This means avoiding writing as we would speak.
Academic writing does not need to be overly complicated; it needs to be clear and concise. It is important to know which words to use in your writing. It is important to avoid the use of informal language.
Use formal language
Academic writing needs to be in a formal style - not written as we speak.
This means avoiding:
- Contractions (isn't, didn't, could've, should've, can't, won't)
- Clichés (in the nick of time, this day and age, at the end of the day)
- Colloquialisms (kids, mums, loads of, cool)
- Abbreviations (e.g., i.e., approx. v.)
- Conversational phrases (after all, basically, anyway, so)
Emotive language
Emotive language means using expressions such as disgusting, really good, very bad, brilliant, dreadful, fabulous. These terms should be replaced with wording that is objective or restrained.
For example,
Climate change is really bad for the planet.
Could be rewritten as
Climate change has a negative impact on the planet OR Climate change has a detrimental impact on the planet.
Emotive language could also incorporate the use of language intended to provoke an emotional response or persuade the reader to a certain point of view. The words used express a value judgement not appropriate to academic writing.
For example,
Grammar schools are always elitist…
Grammar schools could be considered elitist…
Commonly spoken words
For words that are commonly spoken, you should use more formal words. For example:
Quote - Quotation
Lots of - Many
Get - Obtain, acquire or become
Also - Furthermore, moreover
As well - In addition, additionally
Says - States, explains
Shows - Exhibits
Use academic caution
Academic writing should be cautious rather than making bold, definite claims. For example:
‘This proves that the approach was completely wrong’.
Should be written like this…
‘This could suggest that the approach was inappropriate’.
Words showing academic caution include: ‘tends’, ‘suggests’, ‘could’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘possibly’, ‘probably’.
It is important to not make a generalised statement in your writing. Ask yourself, ‘Is this always the case?’ For example, are these statements true? ‘
Vulnerable adults live in poor housing’. This is not always true and therefore it would be better to be cautious. The sentence could be rewritten like this - ‘Vulnerable adults may live in poor housing’.
‘Teenagers do not respect their parents’. Again, this is not always true so it could be rewritten like this - ‘Many teenagers have been shown to lack respect for their parents’.
Be clear
Academic writing should be clear and not overcomplicated. Your reader should be able to follow your writing and understand your ideas. Usually, your work will answer a question or a brief, so the language you use should show that you understand the topic you are writing about clearly. Writing academically does not mean using complicated and flowery language – it is clear and precise language.
It is important to use your common sense when giving explanations of theories or concepts. For example, at first year undergraduate level you might need to show your reader that you understand basic ideas relating to your subject. Alternatively, at postgraduate level it is often taken for granted that these were understood and you would not need to provide definitions or explanations.
Long sentences should be avoided in academic writing. It is common for students to think that academic writing must consist of long, complex sentences but this is not true. It is often better to use shorter sentences, this makes your writing easier to follow and gives you less chances of making mistakes.
To support your academic writing, it might help you to use a thesaurus. You can use the built-in thesaurus in MS Word. To access this, you will need to right click on a word and choose Synonyms. Here, you will be given a list of words with similar meanings to your original word. You can click on Thesaurus for more choices. It would be good practice to check for the precise meaning a certain word in the dictionary to ensure you are using it correctly.
