Academic Language Lab
Ultimate Academic Language Guide The complete, practical reference for formal, precise and objective writing — designed for English Literature essays, research papers and theses.
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Pronouns Vague Language Adjectives Adverbs Formal Vocab Contractions Positive Forms Phrasal Verbs Generalisations Nominalisation Clichés Split Infinitives Emotive Vocab Monosemic Words More Rules Related Skills 1. Personal & Second-Person Pronouns Academic writing privileges objectivity and distance. First-person ( I, we, my, our ) and second-person ( you, your ) pronouns introduce a conversational tone that undermines scholarly authority. Avoid I / me / my / mine unless the brief explicitly invites personal reflection. Avoid the editorial we / us / our — it assumes a shared identity with every reader. Never address the reader as you / your . Prefer impersonal constructions: “This essay argues…”, “The evidence suggests…”, “One may observe…”. Passive voice is acceptable when the agent is unimpor…
