How can you write for an academic audience without sounding too formal?

“Academic” doesn’t mean “robotic.” People in academia are normal human beings with normal interests, passions, and tendencies. They like storytelling, humor, clarity, and simplicity. Even if you are writing for an academic audience, don’t forget to use the tools that appeal to all human brains.

Take a moment to study the audience. If you have the opportunity to read some of the audience members' work, it can help to establish some direction for setting a not-so-formal academic tone. People in general do not enjoy reading stiff writing. It's a major turn-off. So, when you're writing for an academic audience but you want to keep things light, remember: there are humans on the other end of your writing. If you wouldn't want to read it, they're surely not going to either.

I read somewhere that 'real professionals are not those that speak in academic language, but those who could explain that language so anyone can understand it.' So, to be understood, you need to share your knowledge on the same level as your readers. So, at the same time as you teach others, you learn from them, how to be an even better educator.

Academics value knowledge in all its forms. A way to connect with this audience is through a shared loved of learning. This audience respects well-researched articles that are easy to digest and pose thought provoking questions. Since academics normally specialize in one field, they are often interested in learning about other fields. To peak interest, you can refer to similar and contrasting ideas from diverse experts, inject historical references, or even, organizations/fields working on shared goals. If you are researching a specific topic, make sure you build rapport by reading the major foundational understanding in their field. Show your passion for understanding their field.

In my experience, keeping a light sense of humor throughout the writing piece can help greatly. It will not only keep the reader from falling asleep but also make the piece more memorable. Consider the audience of course, and keep the humor clean so as not to offend.

When addressing an academic audience while aiming to maintain an engaging and approachable tone, incorporating anecdotes and examples can be a powerful strategy. Rather than adopting a strictly formal approach, infuse your writing with real-life stories and concrete instances to illustrate your points. This not only adds a human touch to your work but also facilitates a deeper understanding of the subject matter. By weaving relatable narratives into your academic discourse, you create a connection with your readers, making complex concepts more accessible and memorable. The key is to strike a balance between academic rigor and the narrative richness that anecdotes and examples provide, enhancing the overall impact of your communication.

It is all about the words. Just as atoms are the building blocks to life, words are the tools to clear, compelling and objective writing. Sometimes, authors must shy away from using multiple words for the same phenomenon, lest the work may be construed as heavily loaded with jargon. What some fail to see is that complex points communicated in simple language can be more easily understood than complex points expressed in advanced vocabulary.

It doesn't matter the audience if you want to be heard you have to make the message meaningful to the audience otherwise they won't listen. Don't use jargon We must all be effective translators for our ideas

Avoid vague like it's the plague — specificity always wins. Additionally... Certain academic audiences are used to trade-specific terminology. It's acceptable to use technical words if and only if it's standard across the discipline. Just be sure you're using the words and concepts correctly. During the editing process, if you're in doubt about how you used a certain word, do not hesitate to look it up in the dictionary to make sure you used it correctly. The last thing you want to do is publish an article, only to later discover you incorrectly used a technical term.

Remain the right level of formal, but you can vary your sentence length, structure, and introduce some engaging word choices - almost academic wordplay - into your writing. AI has good advice here; no passive language. And, for the love of all things beautous, moral, and sound, please use only one concomitant.

When writing a not-so-formal academic article, the paragraphs ought to be music to the readers' ears. Remember: You're here to educate. Did they read the piece until the end? If not, you failed at your mission. Using the same sentence structure over and over again? You will sound like an AI generator, and readers will think for certain you used ChatGPT to write your paper. Write like you talk. Read your writing aloud to get a sense of pacing. It'll help. One of the best ways to improve your ability to write in varied sentence structure is to read fiction. Hemingway, King, Fitzgerald... these writers are the masters of variation.

One of the most tricky parts in academic writing is linking paragraphs and chapters when you clearly moved on from one subject matter to the other. It's also annoying not to be able to use bullet points and having to use paragraphs naming by order all off your arguments. In that case your job, as a writer who wants to keep their reader's attention and focus throughout the entire research, is to study these transition and connecting words, so when the time comes you'll have a toolbox to help you with your writing.

One of the only places you should you "I" in the academic paper is in the thesis. For instance... "In this paper, I argue Hemingway uses Robert Cohn's character and plot development on the Trip to Pamplona to inform readers about the dangers of..." It's your argument, so you need to take ownership of it. Since most academic writing is about objectivity and largely based on evidence, you, as the writer, have the obligation to present unbiased evidence. "I" typically injects opinion or personal positioning. If you overuse I, you, we, they, etc., it'll read more like a self-help or how-to article rather than an academic argument.

One of the biggest mistakes academics make when writing for a general audience is getting caught up in their own academic resumé. Unless the book is a memoir, the reason readers are reading the book is to learn *what* you know, not about *who* you are. The most effective way to use "I" and "we" in academic writing for general audiences is to bring your readers on the journey of exploration with you. Frame your questions clearly - why are you interested? Why should they be interested? Then explain each step of the process of discovery. Celebrate your collaborators along the way, highlighting the community of scholarship. As you share your excitement you model the resilience and collaboration necessary for research and knowledge production.

The book "Cues" by Vanessa Van Edwards has an excellent index with examples of how to, and how not to do this. Highly recommend this read!

Reading aloud reveals the choppy parts of your writing. It's the best way to determine whether you've succeeded at saying what you meant to say. Your writing voice has an impact on readers. If a reader is familiar with your spoken voice and s/he reads your paper and says, "Wow! I can actually hear you saying this stuff!" then you've succeeded at putting your voice on paper. Always, if you have the opportunity, go to a peer and ask him/her to read your work. Most people are willing to help you in any way they can, and it's amazing how much constructive feedback you'll receive if you just ask.

Here’s what else to consider: Academic writing is meant to present an argument, i.e. thesis. Spend time honing your thesis as you write your paper. Since writing is a process of discovery, as you go along in laying out the evidence to support your thesis, you will gain clarity. The argument you begin with will seldom be the argument you finish with. Your initial argument will be broad, and the argument in your final draft will be highly-specific. In short, allow your argument to evolve as you explore your evidence.

Also consider what kind of presentation you’re giving as in the setting . Is it to deliver factual information, is it to persuade, is it as part of a tutorial, lecture at university or a conference or member of affiliated association event. I’ve been at a lecture for psychology (for nurses) where a video clip of Michael Jackson’s song “Remember the time” was played and it was very engaging! Groups of people are made of individual people and so not one size fits all. Consider different view points. One size does not fit all. To know the culture helps too…and to know what is found funny, what is appropriate, what isn’t etc. For academia work within boundaries. Bob Bly’s “Persuasive Presentations for Business” is good.