Make+Your+Academic+Writing+Formal

toc =**Introduction** = One of the key element of academic writing is to be formal. The reason of emphysizing this is that, during writing process, many English major students pay more attention to the content, structure and technique of their writing, than the formality of their works. Formality of the writing can be seen through the format, usage of word and the usage of punctuation.

=Format = One good academic writing needs to be in serious format. Format of the writing is consisted by components. Usually, the regular order of component is as following:
 * Title Page
 * Table of Contents
 * Abstract
 * Introduction
 * Literature Review
 * Theoretical Framework & Approach
 * Methods
 * Findings
 * Discussion
 * Conclusion / Summary and Recommendation
 * Notes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Footnote
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Endnote
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">References / Bibliography
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Appendices (tables, figures, diagrams, clipping...)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">This format needs to be strictly obeyed in the Graduation Thesis. As for short-paragraphed academic writing, the Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion and References are the essential parts. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">To see whether one academic writing is formal, one needs to check not only the component of the work, but also the documentation of the work. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">These are several professional styles of documentation for academic writing:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">AAA (American Anthropological Association) Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">APA (American Psychological Association) Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">ASA (American Sociological Association) Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">CSE (Council of Science Editors) Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">MLA (Modern Lang<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">uage Association) Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Chicago Manual of Style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Turabian Style

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">For us students, the regular writing style we adapt to is the MLA (Modern Language Association). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">MLA Style, developed by the Modern Language Association, is the system of documentation used in the fine arts and humanities. This system is presented in detail in two books by Joseph Gibaldi: The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Sixth Edition, New York: Modern Language Association, 2003) and the MLA Style Guide to Scholarly Publishing (Second Edition, New York: Modern Language Association, 1998). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Further information on how to do a MLA documentation, see DOCUMENTATION.

=<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Usage of Word** = <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Most non-native English language learners use words for usage of spoken English in academic writing without noticing. Since we are studying English as a foreign language, it is not easy to distinguish the slight differences between words and recognize their level of formality. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Some tips and examples are given to illustrate the formality of words usage. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">1) Avoid using omission. Omission is used mostly in spoken English. In academic writing, one needs to write "it is" instead of "it's", "that is" instead of "that's", "do not" instead of "don't". <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">2) Avoid using adverb describing degree which used only in spoken English such as "so" "really" and "a lot". <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">3) Avoid using run on expressions such as "so on" and "etc.". <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">4) Avoid using multi-verbs. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">For example: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">They //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">put up with // their neighbours. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">She //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">caught on //very quickly. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">She //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">made up for // it with an early night. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">went down with // a fever. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The cost of living //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">went up //. || <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">investigated // his accountant. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">They //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">tolerated // their neighbours. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">She //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">understood // very quickly. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">She //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">compensated ////<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for // it with an early night. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">contracted // a fever. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The cost of living //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">increased //. || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">5) Pay attention to slight differences of two synonyms. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Try to compare: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Promise / Guarantee <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Scared / afraid <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Destiny / Fate
 * **<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Informal ** || **<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">More formal ** ||
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">checked up on // his accountant.

=<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Punctuation** = <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Many students do not use punctuations other than comma and fullstop, especially non-native learners. They do not know how to use other punctuations correctly, thus they are afraid of making mistakes. Actually when some students use dashes, they do make mistakes. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Some students are confused by when to use comma, dash and semicolon. In one sentence to conclude, avoid using a dash when a comma is needed; avoid using a comma when a semicolon is needed. This paragraph aims to illustrate the correct usage of dash<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">es, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">semicolons <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> a nd parentheses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Know the kinds of dashes. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">A dash is noticeably longer than a hyphen. There are several different dashes, but the most commonly used are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—). They are so named because they are the same width as the small letter n and capital letter M, respectively. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">__En dash__ is used between dates, times, or numbers. Examples of this usage may include: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">June–July 1967 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">1:00–2:00 p.m. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">For ages 3–5 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">pp. 38–55 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">The en dash should not have spaces beside it unless the computer cannot type en dash, people use spaces beside hyphen to represent en dash. (" - ") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">__Em dash__ is for identifying an independent clause. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Famous grammarian William Strunk Jr summed up the definition of a dash (em dash): "A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">From [|The Elements of Style], fourth edition, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, page 9. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">When you want a phrase or another part of the sentence to have extra emphasis, a em dash may be used. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Warnings:
 * ==//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Dashes //==
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Dashes are not to be used commonly. If your paper has a whole bunch of dashes, make sure to check them over, and see whether they all were used correctly and appropriately or not.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If you have a dash where a comma would work, use the comma! (Dash makes the sentence less formal)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If you use a dash toward the end of a sentence, do not put an ending dash right before the period.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Do not replace commas that are being used for an appositive with dashes. Simply because it is an interruption, but does not mean a dash belongs there.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Semicolons help you connect closely related ideas when a style mark stronger than a comma is needed. By using semicolons effectively, you can make your writing sound more sophisticated.
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">//Semicolons// ==
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Link two [|independent clauses] to connect closely related ideas
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Link clauses connected by [|conjunctive adverbs] or [|transitional phrases] to connect closely related ideas
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Link lists where the items contain commas to avoid confusion between list items
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Link lengthy clauses or clauses with commas to avoid confusion between clause

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Use parentheses to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">If the material within your parentheses is written as a separate sentence (not included within another sentence), punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence. <span class="indentital" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Forty-three years after his death, Robert Frost (we remember him at Kennedy’s inauguration) remains America’s favorite poet. <span class="indentital" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Forty-three years after his death, Robert Frost (do you remember him?) remains America’s favorite poet. <span class="indentital" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Forty-three years after his death, Robert Frost remains America’s favorite poet. (We remember him at Kennedy’s inauguration.) <span class="indentital" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Always remember three golden rules of using parentheses:
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">//Parentheses// ==
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If the material is important enough, use some other means of including it within your text — even if it means writing another sentence. Note that parentheses tend to de-emphasize text whereas dashes tend to make material seem even more important.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment).
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">(An independent parenthetical sentence such as this one takes a period before the closing parenthesis.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Conclusion <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Formality is the basis of a good academic writing. To have more information of other skills of academic writing, see other articles of xiamenwriting.

=<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Further reading = <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">MLA Documentation: [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Punctuation: [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style: [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Checklist of language to avoid in academic writing: []