Aspects of

Professional and
Academic
Language
Formality
Objectivity
Explicitness
Caution
Formality
 No contractions
 Use one verb form instead
of two-word verbs
 Use expanded form of
abbreviations
 Avoid colloquial/idiomatic
expressions
Substitute the two-word
verb with a single-word verb
 Sanggunian set up the
PALECO committee.
 Mothers cut down spending
on rice.
 Oil price has gone up.
 Students come up with a
solution.
Substitute the two-word
verb with a single-word verb
 Students looked into the
problem
 The dollar rate went up and
down
 Students brought up the
uniform issue
 The school gets rid of the
tuition hike
Substitute the two-word
verb with a single-word verb
 Parents turned down the
proposal
 The proposal turned out a
positive result
 Major oil players put off oil
price hike
 Employees did not put up with
the company’s expectations
Substitute the two-word
verb with a single-word verb
 Parents could not put away
money for their children’s
education
 The chemical gives off a foul
odor
 The class carried out a
research on the frequency of
using social media sites
Identify the colloquial terms
used
 With the growing number of
health-conscious articles, a
lot of young professionals
are becoming serious about
maintaining a healthy
lifestyle.
Identify the colloquial terms
used
 It is a bit improper to
assume that the plan does
not work
 Experts determined that a
lot of health ingredients
come from China
Identify the colloquial terms
used
 Teachers say that a lot of
incoming freshman students
are interested in sports
activities
 Lucas got together with
Carlos in conducting an
experiment on effectively
enhancing muscle buildup
 Give 3 different ways to rewrite
the following sentences that
observe formality
 Writing can’t be done effectively if you
don’t burn the midnight oil.
 Parenting is a 24/7 job.
 Watchingthat romcom gave the
audience the feels.
 The class is cooking up something big.
 Adventure may mean doing something
epic.
Objectivity
 Avoid the use of personal
pronouns like you, I and we
 Avoid rhetorical questions
 Avoid emotive language
AVOID using USE words referring to the
personal evidence
judgement words

I think From examining the findings,

I feel In light of the evidence,

I believe From previous research,
I am convinced that Considering the results,
I disliked According to the figures,
I liked As shown in the diagram,
I agree It is evident from the data that
I disagree The literature suggests
I am sure that Given this information,
It is my belief that Some theorists argue that
 Correct the errors on using
personal pronouns.
 My reading has shown that there are several
reasons why plants are dispersed by ants.
The one I have found the most agreement
for is that ant nests are nutrient enriched
sites and therefore it may be advantageous
for seeds to germinate from within ant
nests (Beatie, 1985). I also found that the
results of this study concurred with Berg's
(1975) hypothesis that seeds are protected
from fire through their burial in ants nests.
 Correct the errors on using
personal pronouns.
 From my reading of the case study, I think the
manager felt threatened by the staff's complaints.
Rather than seeing this conflict as an opportunity
to learn about the needs of his staff, as my
understanding of relational management theory
suggests, the manager dismissed the complaints
completely. I feel Percival's (1988) suggestion that
this type of treatment builds hostility and staff
dissatisfaction is valid. My essay will show that the
situation could have been better resolved if the
manager had considered the following issues: ...
Objectivity
 Avoid the use of personal
pronouns like you, I and we
 Avoid rhetorical questions
 Avoid emotive language
 Restate the following
rhetorical questions
 What becomes of the broken-hearted?
 How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?
 Where is the love?
 How do I live without you?
 What's love got to do with it?
 How can you mend a broken heart?
 How can I love you more?
 Who do you think you are?
 Where do broken hearts go?
 Why does it always rain on me?
Objectivity
 Avoid the use of personal
pronouns like you, I and we
 Avoid rhetorical questions
 Avoid emotive language
 Revise the emotive language
 Aninnocent bystander suffered facial injuries
when the thug launched his glass across the
bar.
 The government will slash interest rates.
 Forwhat seemed a lifetime, Mr. Smith was
subjected to a vicious, cowardly assault by
the unemployed, steroid-pumped monster.
 Gorgeous-looking model in immaculate
condition - test drive today!
 Thugs taunt victim after brutal mugging.
 Revise the emotive language
 Can you really abandon these puppies to life
in such filthy canals?
 Make your wardrobe sparkle with our
desirable new winter collection!
 Ourobesity-conquering cookbook is bursting
with easy, fun recipes to try!
 Devious employee fleeces nursing home
owner.
 Doctor escapes jail for botched surgery.
 Revise the emotive language
Apparently the patient who died of cancer
while having her special food and drink needs
ignored, died more uncomfortably than was
necessary and died in an undignified way. It's
a real shame that something as simple as a
diet was not taken account of by nurses, thus
causing unnecessary pain to the patient. It
probably caused even more pain to the
patient's family and friends having to see
their loved one die like that. How would we
feel if we saw our own relative go through
that experience?
 Revise the paragraph.
I believe that incidence of drug overdose
has indeed become prevalent nowadays.
When people are faced with difficult
problems, I think that they can no longer
bear the problem and that is why they get
into drugs. That’s why if you are a
psychologist, you should treat your patients
in a way that helps them to understand
their problems and ways to deal with them.
Yeah I know it can be very difficult but hey,
that’s what you specialized in, right?
Explicitness

 Use transitional words/phrases

Transitional devices
To add ideas Also, likewise, similarly,
too, in like manner,
again besides
To introduce opposing But, nevertheless,
statements or to limit a otherwise, on the other
preceding statement hand, conversely, on the
contrary, still yet
To show time sequence Then, now that, later,
eventually, at the same
time, meanwhile, in a
few moment, within an
hour, at last
 Transitional devices
To indicate order Next, in the second
place, to begin with,
first, second, finally, in
conclusion
To show space relation To the right, in the
distance, straight ahead,
up above, down below
To indicate a result Hence, consequently,
thus, so for this reason,
therefore, as a result,
thus
 Transitional devices

To indicate repetition Briefly, that is to say, in

of idea fact, indeed, in other
words
To compare Similarly, likewise, in the
same way, compared
with, in comparison with
To contrast But, however, instead,
whereas, nevertheless,
besides, on the contrary,
on the other hand
At the beginning of this book we read a short
narrative essay called “School.” This essay dealt
with the inhibiting nature of organized education; it
chronicled the death of creativity in one young child
as he learned to conform and be like everyone else.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing is a real danger in
our schools. Here, there are always rewards for
those who do exactly what the teachers has asked,
the ordinary, what is expected. On the other hand,
there is a quick punishment usually in the form of
ridicule for whoever follows his own direction. No
wonder, then, that the graduates of a particular
school are all so much the same. No wonder, too,
that there is so little creativity in adult society.
It is summer. Baguio is like a
painting. Flowers of many
varied colors greet the visitors
from the lowlands. The streets
are lined with brilliant shades
of red, pink, yellow and orange.
There are tiny buds. There are
also large dazzling flowers in
full bloom. They are on the
walls. They are along fences.
They even hang from the trees.
Many college athletes aspire to
get into the professional
league. It is difficult. Those
players who aspire to get there
consider it a get-rich-quick kind
of job. They do not realize that
it takes determination. They
must also have a great deal of
talent. Competition is very
tough. The strongest will
survive and become superstars.
Caution

 Use reporting verbs/phrases

contend examine state disagree
persuade dismiss refute object
contradict recommend concur
describe observe assert support
propose examine suggest claim
Caution
 Use hedging words/phrases
Which sentence uses caution?
 Itmay be said that the
commitment to some of the social
and economic concepts was less
strong than it is now.
 The commitment to some of the
social and economic concepts was
less strong than it is now..
Which sentence uses caution?
 Thelives they chose may seem
overly ascetic and self-denying to
most women today.
 Thelives they chose seem overly
ascetic and self-denying to most
women today.
Which sentence uses caution?
 Weismann suggested that animals
become old because, if they did
not, there could be no successive
replacement of individuals and
hence no evolution.
 Weismann proved that animals
become old because, if they did
not, there could be no successive
replacement of individuals and
hence no evolution.
Which sentence uses caution?
 Yetoften it cannot have been the
case that a recalcitrant trustee
remained in possession of the
property entrusted to him.
 Yet
a recalcitrant trustee did not
remain in possession of the
property entrusted to him.
Which sentence uses caution?
 By analogy, it may be possible to walk
from one point in hilly country to
another by a path which is always level
or uphill, and yet a straight line
between the points would cross a
valley.
 By analogy, one can walk from one
point in hilly country to another by a
path which is always level or uphill,
and yet a straight line between the
points would cross a valley.
Which sentence uses caution?
 Thereare certainly cases where
this would seem to have been
the only possible method of
transmission.
 There are cases where this
would have been the only
possible method of
transmission.
Which sentence uses caution?
 Nowadays the urinary symptoms
seem to be of a lesser order.
 Nowadays the urinary symptoms
are of a lesser order.
 Revise the sentences
1. Today everyone uses credit cards for all their
shopping.
2. Drinking wine is bad for you.
3. Global warming will have disastrous
consequences for the whole world.
4. Women are worse drivers than men.
5. You need to eat this to be healthy.
6. He has halitosis.
7. The different steps taken led to their failure.