What is Academic Writing?

TASK 1. Some of the following statements are true, based on research of academic writing;
others are not true. Which do you think are true statements?

a. The use of hedges (such as might, could, tend to) is relatively common in U.S. academic
writing.
b. U.S. academic writing is indirect; writers can rely on readers to understand the meaning
of their text without directly stating main ideas, claims, or arguments.
c. Most academic papers are five paragraphs long.
d. Citations to other sources are common in academic writing.
e. Academic writing uses more specific and precise vocabulary compared with
conversational language.
f. The first-person pronoun I is not acceptable in U.S. academic writing.

TASK 1.2. Compare your answers as a class.

For the statements that you think are true, consider why these might be common
characteristics.

© University of Arizona Writing Program

TASK 2. Read the sentences and tick either F (formal) or I (informal) after each sentence. Talk
about which features helped you reach your decision.

Sentences F I
1.I couldn't finish the interviews on time.
2.The initial tests were completed and the results
analyzed by June 2002.
3. I'd like to start by drawing your attention to
previous research in this area.
4. In the 1990s, some researchers started to point
out the problems with this theory.
5. He agreed with me that this procedure didn't make
much sense.
6. We' ll repeat the test sometime next year.
7.While it is still too early to draw firm conclusions
from the data, preliminary analysis suggests the
following trends are present
8. In addition, the research attempts to answer two
further related questions.

TASK 3. Put the following texts in order by giving 1 to the most academic and 4 to the least
academic.

To help you, think about: Who is this text intended for? Why would readers pick up this
text and read it? What resources did the writer of the text have available?

© University of Arizona Writing Program

© University of Arizona Writing Program