LANGUAGE USED IN

ACADEMIC TEXTS FROM

VARIOUS DISCIPLINES
Prepared by: Mhariz P. Obrence
Academic language represents the language demands of school
(academics). Academic language includes language used in textbooks, in
classrooms, on tests, and in each discipline. It is different in vocabulary and
structure from the everyday spoken English of social interactions. Each
type of communication (both academic and social) has its purpose, and
neither is superior to the other.
Academic vocabulary is used in all academic disciplines to teach about the
content of the discipline, e.g., a water table is different from a periodic
elements table. Before taking chemistry, for example, some students know
the technical words used in chemistry, while others do not.
Academic structure also includes the established ways of organizing writing
(which can affect how one reads) in a discipline. Different genres,
paragraph/sentence structure, level of text difficulty, purpose, intended
audience, overall organization, and knowledge of outside resources for the
text all affect how one writes and reads in that discipline.
Language Features of Academic
Writing
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

1. Complexity

Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written

texts are lexically dense compared to spoken language - they have
proportionately more lexical words than grammatical words. Written texts are
shorter and have longer, more complex words and phrases.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing
2. Formality

Academic writing is relatively formal. In general, this means that you should AVOID:

a. colloquial words and expressions: stuff, a lot, thing

b. abbreviated forms: can’t, doesn’t, shouldn’t

c. subheadings, numbering, and bullet points

d. asking questions
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

3. Precision

In academic writing, you need to be precise when you use information,

dates, or figures. Do not use “a lot of people” when you can say “50 million
people.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

4. Objectivity

Written language is, in general, objective rather than personal. It, therefore,
has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main
emphasis should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments
you want to make.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

5. Explicitness

Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the text. Furthermore, it

is the responsibility of the writer in English to make clear to the reader how the
various parts of the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by
the use of different signaling words.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

6. Accuracy

Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words with
narrow specific meanings. In academic writing, you need to be accurate in your
use of vocabulary.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

7. Hedging

In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions

about your stance on a particular subject or the strength of the claims you are
making.
 Main Language Features of Academic
Writing

8. Responsibility

In academic writing, you must be responsible for and must be able to provide
evidence and justification for any claims you make. You are also responsible for
demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use.
 LANGUAGE USED IN
ACADEMIC TEXTS FROM
VARIOUS DISCIPLINES
 Mathematics Text

Mathematics is easily recognizable because of its unique language features.

Its most prominent language feature is the use of symbols. 
 Business Text

Like mathematics, business has a special vocabulary (jargon), so first of all

you have to learn its jargon, like remit, obligate, loan, collateral, interest, stocks,
etc. Some compound nouns are standard expressions in business, like tax
collection system, company car, price list, and bulk buying.
 Social Science Text

Reading in the social sciences requires knowledge of the jargon of its specific
disciplines, for example: Political Science (communism, monarchy, and executive
branch), Economics (market, profit, equity, and trade relations), Sociology
(migration, social ,class, and discrimination), Psychology (depression, suicidal,
personality, and motivation).
 Natural Science Text

In natural science texts such as physics, chemistry, and biology, technical terms,
symbols (ph, NaCI, and CO2) and abbreviations are common. Similar to other
disciplines, common words like power, pressure, force, work, and impulse have a
technical meaning. To help yourself understand many of the technical terms, you
have to know some prefixes (uni, semi, and multi), root words (bio, geo, vis, and
derma), and suffixes. Diagrams and drawings are also characteristic of science texts.
 Literary and Arts Text
Like the other disciplines, literature and the arts have their content-specific terms
or jargon (examples: gothic mood, symbol, balance, mosaic, hue, etc.) but what
makes them different is the dominant use of connotative language and figures of
speech to describe and convey content. Vivid language is used to create images and
impressions. The importance given to language and structure is due to the value
attached to a work’s ‘style’. In other words creativity weighs as much as content in
literature and the arts.
Reading Strategies
 Reading Strategies

1. Make connections.

2. Ask questions.

3. Determine the Importance of Inferring and Predicting.

4. Infer and Predict

5. Visualize

6. Synthesize

7. Use Fix Up Strategies