Academic writing has its own register — more formal than everyday speech, but not so stiff that it becomes unreadable. Writers new to academic genres sometimes overcorrect in one direction or the other: either keeping a conversational tone that reads as underprepared, or reaching for stilted, overly ornate language that obscures the actual argument. Here’s how to find the right register.
What “Formal” Actually Means Here
Formality in academic writing is less about sounding impressive and more about precision, consistency, and avoiding language that assumes a casual relationship with the reader. It means choosing words for their exact meaning rather than their familiarity, and maintaining a consistent, professional tone throughout rather than switching registers mid-paper.
Common Informality to Avoid
- Contractions: “don’t,” “can’t,” “it’s” — spell these out in formal academic writing (“do not,” “cannot,” “it is”), with the common exception of some humanities styles and informal reflective writing
- Colloquialisms and idioms: phrases like “a lot of,” “kind of,” or “at the end of the day” read as casual; prefer “many,” “somewhat,” or a direct statement of the point
- Second-person address: “you” is generally avoided in favor of a more neutral construction, except in some disciplines or genres where direct address to the reader is conventional
- Vague intensifiers: “really,” “very,” “a lot” add emphasis without adding precision; a more specific word or quantified claim usually serves better
- Rhetorical questions and exclamation points: both read as informal and are rarely appropriate in formal academic prose
Overcorrecting Toward Stiffness
The opposite failure mode is just as common: reaching for the longest available word, piling on jargon, or writing in abstract nominalizations because it feels more “academic.” This usually makes writing harder to read without making it more rigorous. A simple, well-chosen word is almost always better than an obscure synonym chosen to sound formal.
First Person: It Depends on the Discipline
Whether “I” or “we” is acceptable varies significantly by field and even by journal. Many scientific fields now accept first person for describing what the researchers did (“we collected data from…”), while some humanities and social science conventions still prefer avoiding it. Check your target journal’s author guidelines or your advisor’s preference rather than assuming either convention automatically applies.
Consistency Matters More Than Any Single Rule
Whatever register you settle on, the most important thing is applying it consistently throughout the paper. A paper that is formal in the introduction and casual in the discussion reads as unpolished, even if neither section is wrong on its own. When revising, it’s worth doing a dedicated pass just checking tone consistency across sections.
For more on the conventions of academic register and style, see our academic English writing guide. If English isn’t your first language and you’d like a thorough language check, our editing services can help, and you’re welcome to get in touch with questions.