Summary of "12 Common Errors in Academic English – and how to fix them!"
Concise summary — main ideas and practical fixes
Academic English is the formal, objective style used for school, college, and university work (especially writing). It requires formality, objectivity, and proper referencing. Plagiarism (failing to credit sources) is a serious offense.
This summary explains twelve common errors students make in academic writing and how to correct them.
The 12 common errors and how to fix them
1) Using contractions
- Avoid: don’t, isn’t, can’t
- Use: do not, is not, cannot
- Why: full forms are more formal and appropriate for academic writing.
2) Using phrasal verbs (multi-part verbs)
- Avoid: go up, take away, put off
- Use: increase, remove, postpone
- Why: single-word verbs are more formal and precise.
3) Using idioms
- Avoid: “It was A1”, “hit the nail on the head”
- Use: excellent, accurate, effective
- Why: idioms are colloquial and can be unclear or culturally specific.
4) Using slang
- Avoid: kids, cool, gonna
- Use: children, appropriate/acceptable, going to (or avoid contraction)
- Why: slang is too informal for academic contexts.
5) Using second-person pronouns (direct address)
- Avoid: “You can see from the graph…”
- Use: “The graph shows…” or passive/nominal constructions
- Why: academic writing avoids addressing the reader directly; prefer objective phrasing.
6) Using negative constructions unnecessarily
- Avoid: “is not effective”, “not positive”
- Use: “is ineffective”, “is negative”
- Why: single-word opposites are more concise and formal.
7) Using clichés
- Avoid: stock conversational phrases like “when all is said and done”
- Use: formal equivalents like “in conclusion” or other precise transition phrases
- Why: clichés are informal and imprecise.
8) Poor punctuation and punctuation style
- Follow the style guide requested by your institution (e.g., MLA, APA).
- General advice: avoid exclamation marks in academic writing; semicolons are commonly useful.
- Semicolon use: connect two closely related independent clauses; do not capitalize the word after the semicolon.
- Why: punctuation conventions vary by style guide and contribute to formal tone and clarity.
9) Using vague language
- Avoid: a bit, a lot, kind of, sort of
- Use: a considerable number/amount, a significant increase, a small proportion, precise figures/terms
- Why: academic writing requires precision and clarity.
10) Using simple/basic vocabulary when a higher-level term is appropriate
- Avoid: big difference
- Use: major distinction, significant difference
- Why: higher-level vocabulary is expected and conveys nuance.
11) Giving personal opinion / using first-person assertions
- Avoid: “I think”, “I believe”, “in my view” (unless the assignment explicitly requests personal reflection)
- Use: “According to [author/study]” or “Research indicates…” with citations
- Why: academic writing prefers evidence-based claims and proper attribution.
12) Making overly direct or broad claims that cannot be justified
- Avoid: absolute or sweeping statements without evidence
- Use: qualifiers (e.g., “suggests”, “appears to”, “in this study”) and provide supporting citations/data
- Why: academic claims must be defensible and supported by sources.
Other practical tips and reminders
- Always cite sources when you use someone else’s ideas or data; follow the required referencing style to avoid plagiarism.
- Aim to “speak like your professor and write like your textbook”: adopt a formal, objective tone and use discipline-specific terminology.
- For practice, the video suggests an online quiz at engVid: https://www.engvid.com.
Speakers and sources featured
- Speaker: Rebecca (the instructor in the video)
- Style guides mentioned: MLA, APA
- Website referenced: engVid (www.engvid.com)
Category
Educational
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