Summary of "Academic Style"

Summary

This video (EAP Foundation) explains 10 core style rules for academic written English, illustrated with examples and a short editing exercise that highlights common student errors. The emphasis is on producing writing that is more formal, precise, impersonal and clearly linked.

The 10 core rules (details and examples)

Use formal vocabulary; avoid informal or idiomatic words
- Replace informal words with formal equivalents (e.g., dads → fathers; like → such as; lots of → a significant number/a considerable number).
- Numbers: write 1–10 in words; use digits for numbers greater than 10. Exceptions:
  - Use digits for measurements (e.g., 3 kg, 6 cm).
  - When mixing numbers below and above 10, use digits consistently.
Use formal single-word verbs instead of multi-word (phrasal) verbs
- Prefer one-word verbs: increase (go up), discuss (talk about), decrease (go down), improve (get better), deteriorate (get worse), raise (bring up), admire (look up to), enter (get into).
Use full forms of verbs—avoid contractions
- Use do not, cannot, will not, did not instead of don’t, can’t, won’t, didn’t.
Use formal/complex grammar (avoid too many simple sentences)
- Combine short/simple sentences into complex structures (use nominalization, noun phrases, relative clauses) to achieve a more academic tone.
- Example:
  
  “Note-taking, which is an important skill for EAP students, is difficult to master.”
Use statements rather than questions
- Academic writing typically avoids rhetorical or direct questions; convert them to declarative statements (e.g., “There were four main reasons for the decline” instead of “What were the reasons behind the decline?”).
Use impersonal phrasing; avoid personal pronouns and evaluative adverbs
- Minimize I, we, you and adverbs that show emotion or surprise (luckily, amazingly, remarkably).
- Use impersonal structures (There is/There are; It is…) and the passive voice where appropriate: “The water was heated.”
Be precise; avoid vague terms
- Use exact figures and precise nouns (factor, issue, aspect, reason) instead of vague words (about, several, thing, something).
- Examples: “There are three main reasons” vs. “several reasons”; “in the late 1980s” vs. “about 30 years ago”.
Cite sources and avoid unsupported or universal claims
- Do not make universal or unsupported statements like “Everybody knows that…”.
- Use citations and concrete evidence (e.g., Russell 2001 states that over 50%…).
Use tentative language (hedging); avoid absolute statements
- Prefer may, might, possibly, appears, seems, tends to rather than always, will, or definitive causal claims.
- Examples: “Education may reduce crime” vs. “Education reduces crime”; “This may be caused by global warming” vs. “This is caused by global warming”.
Use appropriate formal transition signals; avoid basic or overused connectors and excessive bulleting - Use formal linking phrases to show logical relations and introduce sections (e.g., “Turning to the question of…”, “In addition”, “Furthermore”, “However”). - Avoid informal/basic transitions (and/or, but, also) and do not start every sentence with a transition. Numbering and bullets are usually inappropriate except in certain reports.

Applied editing exercise — 11 identified problems and corrections

(The video presents a student paragraph and underlines eleven style problems. Below are the problems with suggested corrections and the related rule.)

Informal “like” → use “for example” (Rule 1: formal vocabulary)
Phrasal verb “go up” → use “increase” (Rule 2: formal single-word verbs)
Weak/basic connector “and” → use a formal transition such as “in addition” (Rule 10)
Absolute “always” → use tentative/less absolute wording like “often” (Rule 9)
Informal “lots of” → use “a considerable number of” (Rule 1)
Vague “something” → use a precise noun such as “a problem” (Rule 7)
Question form → change to a statement: “There are other ways in which students can improve their style” (Rule 5)
Contraction “don’t” → use full form “do not” (Rule 3)
Evaluative/feeling sentence (“This is a terrible situation”) → remove or rephrase to avoid personal/subjective comment (Rule 6)
Informal “kids” → use “children” (Rule 1)
Absolute “will not” → use tentative phrasing like “is unlikely to” (Rule 9)

Extra notes

The video refers to other EAP Foundation resources (for example, a separate video on hedging/tentative language).
Closing call-to-action in the video: subscribe, visit EAPfoundation.com, or donate on Patreon.

Speakers / Sources

EAP Foundation (presenter / YouTube channel / website) — primary speaker/source of the lesson.
Russell (2001) — cited example used to illustrate in-text citation.
EAPfoundation.com and the EAP Foundation YouTube channel — referenced resources.