Academic Tone Guidelines (do's)

When writing an academic essay, you should focus on the following:

• Use essay structure:

. . . Introduction

. . . Body

. . . Conclusion

• Organize your ideas into paragraphs, and write in complete sentences

• State your thesis in the introduction of the essay

• Use 3rd person perspective (e.g., specify the subject of every sentence)

• Use a semi-formal, academic tone

• Make clear, direct statements

• Use active voice (e.g., “The HR manager distributed the forms to the hospital employees.”)

• Spell out each word (When using acronyms, spell them out the first time)

• Include a title page and a References page

• Follow APA style for citations , references, and format

• Use transitions to relate one idea to the next

• Plan on spending time in the writing process: pre-writing, drafting , revising, editing, and proofreading

• Analyze the concepts and theories, and support your analysis with logical arguments, specific examples, and citations from other sources

TO ACADEMIC TONE GUIDELINES (DONT'S)

Definitions
These definitions are not all inclusive meanings of these terms, but are explanations intended to aid students in understanding how to write in an academic style.

Introduction
An introduction should contain a thesis statement and give an overview of exactly what will be discussed in the paper. For most academic papers, a well-developed paragraph is sufficient for an introduction.

Body
The body of a paper develops the writer's major points, giving explanation and support where appropriate in order to achieve the writer's purpose.

Conclusion
The conclusion summarizes or brings a paper to an end by tying all of the major points together. A good technique is to relate the conclusion to the introduction.

Thesis
The thesis statement is a topic sentence that names and narrows the topic. The thesis statement specifies exactly what points will be discussed in the paper and in what order.

3rd person perspective
Writing from an objective perspective (Example: "The director gives orders to all employees in the department.") Name the persons involved or use titles. Do not use "I," "you," " we," or "us" statements unless the assignment guidelines permit it.

Active voice
Verbs that take objects are active or passive. Verbs are active when the subject of the sentence performs the action. Verbs are passive when the subject is acted upon or receives the action. (Examples: Active Voice - "The manager trains employees." Passive Voice - "The employees were hired by the manager." Verb tenses are highlighted.)

Acronyms
A term created by using the first letters of words in an organization's name. Acronyms, such as NASA and NATO, are pronounced as words. An initialism is a term created in the same manner but is not pronounced as a word. Examples of initialisms are IBM and FBI.

Title page
A cover page for a paper that contains information such as the title, date, course number, instructor's name, and student's name. See the sample paper in the APA Manual for an example

References page
The page where all the references or sources cited in a paper are listed alphabetically by the author's last name

Citations
When information is cited or credited by a writer, the original source where the information can be found is listed. Each of these listings in a paper or article is called a reference citation. Use APA guidelines for citing references. (For examples, see APA Style sheet and APA web site)

Proofreading - Checking the more technical aspects, such as spelling, punctuation, and format of a final draft

Logical arguments - Claims that are supported by reasons and evidence (This is known as Toulmin logic, which isa model developed by Stephen Toulmin for building arguments)

specific examples - Precise explanations of events or concepts that illustrate the writer's point

Academic Tone Guidelines (don'ts)

In academic essays, avoid the following:

• Second person ("you" and "your") and first person ("I") (unless the instructor requests narrative form)

• Directives (e.g., "Do this, do that.")

• Fragments (e.g., incomplete sentences)

• Run-on sentences (two or more sentences that are joined without correct punctuation or connecting words)

• Informal, conversational tone (avoid using slang and idioms )

• Wordiness

• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company")

• Passive voice (e.g., "The forms were distributed to the hospital employees by HR.")

• Lists and bullets (not academic style)

• Plagiarism (Check your sources of information and cite correctly.)

• Descriptive or personal style of writing (unless requested by the instructor or assignment)

Definitions
These definitions are not all inclusive meanings of these terms, but are explanations intended to aid students in understanding how to write in an academic style

Narrative form - Describing events, usually in the order they happened, as in telling a story

Slang - Informal and inappropriate language (especially profanity) or terminology specific to special interest or specialized work groups; also words that are considered "cool" or "in"

Idioms - A phrase or group of words that carries meaning other than the literal meaning of the words (e.g., "putting your best foot forward")

Wordiness - Can take different forms -- flowery phrasing (too many adjectives), excessive use of complex terms, redundancy, unnecessary phrases that fill up space but don't add meaning, plus other techniques that increase the number of words but don't add important information

Vague expressions - Language that is not specific and precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning

Plagiarism - Improper use of material or from a source or work written by someone else; "borrowing" language or ideas from someone else and not acknowledging or crediting the author or source

Descriptive writing - Writing that uses vivid and colorful details to depict people, events, or ideas

Personal style of writing - Writing in which the writer or his or her experiences or observations are the focus

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