Throughout your time at Antioch you will be writing in many different styles. For more formal
assignments the audience usually expects an academic tone. If you are not sure about your instructor’s
expectations, you should ask what type of tone they would like you to use. (Reflection essays can often
have a more casual or creative tone, but not always.)
What does an academic tone sound like?
Formal rather than conversational phrases
Precise wording and specific facts (rather than generalizations)
Limited use of words that sound opinionated, emotional, or flowery
One strategy for approaching more formal writing assignments is to write as you usually would, and
then look for words and phrases to replace.
1. Avoid Conversational Words & Phrases
Avoid
kind of, sort of, totally
actually, basically, literally, seriously
for sure, of course, clearly, obviously
really, very, super
things, something, anything, stuff
now, well, to be honest, honestly, to be fair
a lot, a bunch, a little, a ton
Writing Tips:
Replace conversational transitions (actually, basically, literally) with more formal
transitions like in fact, in essence, essentially
Replace imprecise amounts (a bunch, a little, lots, a ton) with more descriptive phrases
such as many, few, several, a significant number of, the majority of, not many
Since academic writing values research you may even want to try to find specific statistics to
include: X%, more than X%, nearly X# of … (don’t forget to cite sources for specific numbers)
Replace imprecise qualifiers (kind of, sort of, totally, for sure) with more academic
phrases like in part, partially, somewhat, in most cases
2. Avoid the Language of Public Speaking
Avoid
“Let me explain”
First, we will consider…”
“Let us …”
“We can all agree that …”
“Now, we can see”
“As we have seen”
“As I previously mentioned”
“My last point is …”
Certain phrases are often associated with public speaking. Using these phrases in academic
writing could be distracting to your reader.
Writing Tip:
Replace phrases used in public speaking to preview/recap ideas (“as I previously
mentioned”) with more academic signposting like “the previous section explored” or “This
essay will address three main questions:”
Note: signposting is not necessary (or beneficial) for short essays, but is often used in longer papers.
3. Avoid Generalizations & Clichés
Avoid
“X are humans too” (ex. Prisoners are humans too)
“We have all hit rock bottom/faced struggles”
“Future generations are depending on us for …”
“Throughout history…”
“Since the beginning of time”
“It is just a matter of time until …”
Generalizations can weaken your paper because they tend to be too broad and imprecise.
Whenever you can, replace them with more specific statements or research findings from
scholarly sources.
AUSB Writing Center (5/29/18)
4. Avoid Writing “you”
Avoid
You should/should not …
You might assume/believe/think …
Certain genres use “you” to create a casual, conversational tone. If you are writing a blog or
self-help article this works well. However, for a formal assignment, you should avoid directly
addressing the reader.
Writing Tip:
Replace “you” with the specific group that you have in mind (teenagers, Americans, many
adolescents), or write “people.”
5. Avoid Words that Express Value Judgments
Avoid
immoral, wrong, bad
good
insane, crazy
ridiculous, horrible, terrible
Words that express value judgments are typically avoided when writing academic papers (and
when using APA style in general). Using too many of these words can create a tone that
sounds emotional or opinionated. You may want to replace these types of words with words
that are more specific.
Writing Tips:
Replace “bad” (which could mean so many things) with a specific word like dangerous,
harmful, shortsighted, problematic, inadequate, questionable, imprudent, destructive,
wasteful, defective, hasty, or incomplete, insufficient
Replace “wrong/immoral” with a word that is less of a value judgment like unethical,
unfair, irresponsible, corrupt, unprincipled, fraudulent, unscrupulous, dishonest,
inappropriate, indecent, improper, prejudicial, or corrosive
Replace “crazy/insane” (which is considered offensive because it trivializes mental
illness) with a word like surprising, unwarranted, unjustified, extreme, offensive, harsh,
severe, distressing, insipid, or irrational
6. Avoid Informal (flowery) Adjectives
Avoid
amazing, fascinating,
wondrous, wonderful,
glorious, fantastic, fabulous,
cool, magnificent,
shocking, unbelievable,
incredible
Informal adjectives and flowery adjectives can make your tone sound too casual. Try to
minimize these for more formal writing assignments.
