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Other Important Characteristics of Academic Essays

Use Appropriate Language

The language in an academic essay should be appropriate for its context. Unless
otherwise instructed, you should write an academic essay in the third-person
point of view, avoid wordiness, and write information as concisely as possible.
Also, do not use slang, filter words (“um,” “er,” “well,” “like,” etc.) or
statements that explicitly state what your intention is for the essay or what the
essay is going to do. For example, do not use statements such as “This essay
will analyze and….” or “I am going to discuss….”; the subject matter and main
ideas in the essay should be evident from a well-formatted thesis statement.
You should avoid using sexist, racist, or offensive language (unless it is part of
the subject matter explicitly being discussed). Finally, take the time to proofread
and edit your essay before submission.

Paragraph Unity and Coherence

Sentences and paragraphs are the building blocks of an essay. It is important

that the information in your essay is unified and coherent. You want to make
sure that you do not stray away from the subject matter. This means that every
topic sentence should reflect back to the thesis or be about the thesis. Also,
every sentence in a body paragraph must reflect back to the content or be
about the content in the topic sentence. Each sentence should provide support
for the main controlling idea. Furthermore, to create unity among ideas, you
should link sentences and paragraphs together by using effective transitional
words and phrases. This will ensure that your essay flows smoothly.

Overall, write as concisely as possible and avoid wordiness and repetition.