Tone, Language & Vocabulary
The tone and style of a piece of writing changes based on the genre or type of writing. There are NO writing rules that are true for all types of writing. The reason there are “exceptions to the rule,” as the saying goes, is that there are situations with different sets of rules or patterns that are relevant. For example, some people are taught not to use “I” statements and refer to themselves within the writing. That’s is completely wrong for most of the types of writing students do in college such as narrative or argument writing – types of writing that ask the writer to give their experience, opinion, response, and/or analysis. On the other hand, there are certain types of writing in certain classes that do have this rule. A lab report in a chemistry class should not use “I” statements, for example. If a piece of writing is reporting information only, it likely won’t include “I” statements. Like other aspects of writing, there are multiple factors to the tone of a piece of writing such as vocabulary use and sentence structure. This section focuses on some of the strategies writers can implement to develop an academic tone.
Pronoun Use in Research Writing: I argue that…
Pronoun use is one of the factors that sets the tone of a piece of writing. In the introduction to this section, I used “I” statements as an example writing rule. I is a pronoun, a word that represents a person or group of people. I recommend using I in writing when asserting something or talking about personal experience. I don’t recommend using we, you, or us in your writing.
Reasons to Avoid We/You/Us in Your Writing
- Readers can be confused about who you mean
- Readers that don’t identify as part of the group are excluded
- Saying who or what is meant in a specific way is more clear
- For academic writing situations, APA and some other style guides are against it (APA Stylistics Basics)
Example Revision: Pronoun Use
We’ve all struggled with procrastination. When faced with a new assignment he/she might wait until the last minute and end up turning in rushed work.
Idea 1: Many college students struggle with procrastination. When faced with a new assignment, a student might wait until the last minute and end up turning in rushed work.
Idea 2: It’s common for busy people to struggle with procrastination. When faced with a new assignment, some students wait until the last minute and turn in rushed work.
Gender-based Pronoun Tips
Always respect and apply the use of any directly communicated pronouns. Singular pronoun they can be used when the gender is not needed, unknown, and of course in regard to non-binary and gender non-conforming authors. Researchers come across writing by authors all over the world of various cultures, languages, and countries and unfamiliar names are common. I personally recommend the use of they pronoun whenever possible as has been done in English writing since at least the 1300s.
Talking to the Reader
A writing strategy related to pronoun use is talking directly to the reader.
Example Revision: Talking to the Reader
The article says that, cell phones are the most common thing that distract you. You should turn off your phone notifications to avoid distractions.
The article says that, cell phones are the most common distraction. One way people can reduce distractions is to turn off phone notifications.
Vocabulary Use
Academic writing is by definition mainly writing done by and for people within colleges and universities. Some new writers take this to mean that it’s expected to use big words throughout their writing. However, this misunderstanding often leads students to write sentences that don’t convey their message clearly. Academics, such as college students reading now, take some general education classes but the main classes and information people in academic environments read and work with are the subjects relevant to their field of study. Biology students mainly take science and math classes related to the subject of biology. This means that writers in a subject are only familiar with polysyllabic words and needed and wanted.
This also means that words and phrases foundational to the topic will be repeated in an essay. While many students have in their mind that it’s bad to repeat things in their writing, there is a type of repetition that is necessary for an organized and clear essay.
Vocabulary Strategies for Academic Research Writing
- The essay repeats the words and phrases that are relevant to the topic
- Sentences include words and phrases relevant to the field of study
- Sentences include words that show connections between the sentences and ideas (therefore, based on, in conclusion…)
Example Revision: Academic Vocabulary
References
“Apa Stylistics: Basics.” APA Stylistics: Basics – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University, Purdue OWL, owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa6_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_stylistics_basics.html#. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
