WHAT IS STYLE? Style is something that we learn as part of the process of acquiring the culture of a particular society or group. Most educated members of the group can take a look at a text, and readily identify the “text type” by the style in which it is written. Style is based on a wide range of language features, including the choice of vocabulary and grammatical structures, as well as the degree of author objectivity. These features characterize a text as belonging to a certain "genre" (i.e., text type) and are often used as criteria for evaluating the "success" of a text. When writers select an appropriate style for a text they are about to produce, they must be aware of their purpose in writing, the intended audience, and the subject matter. ACADEMIC STYLE The style of academic English differs from that of the everyday spoken form in four fundamental ways. It tends to follow conventions for reporting research according to particular schemata which are explicit in their organisation. There are often discipline-specific variations in these conventions. to use strategies for signalling the writer’s distance and attitude to claims and arguments to consist of sentences which are longer and more complex than in everyday texts to require more formal vocabulary and grammatical structures Further reading: Andy Gillett, "Using English for Academic Purposes: Features of academic writing", Available HTTP: http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/feature/featfram.htm Amanda Graham, "Coming to Grips with Reading and Writing Academic Articles", Available HTTP: http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~agraham/guides/guidec.shtml

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