I’m currently working at one of Malaysia’s leading universities on a course designed to assist lecturers in getting published in academic journals.
Publications are, of course, a prerequisite for academic life and can be a key to tenure and promotion. The domination of English in academia means that most of the leading journals are published in English. I present this not as a good or bad thing, but a fact of life. This is also true in the international business world where company reports, strategy papers and other key documents are generally in English.
In looking at any type of “professional” writing, we should remember that one of the key aspects to look at is the style or genre norms that have become accepted as the standard in the area. There are no real rules, just established practice in publications and other genres of communicative writing. This is true for letter writing, e-mails, reports as well as writing for academic journals.
In earlier columns, I’ve written about how English in business is becoming less formal and that features such as “contractions” – e.g. can’t and “won’t” – and the use of personal pronouns – e.g. “we” and “I” – are now more acceptable. This is now becoming the case in academia, too, where a fairly rigid formal style is becoming more relaxed.
Let’s take a look at some of the features where there is some debate about their use in different genres or publications.
The use of personal pronouns
Split Infinitives
Beginning a sentence with a conjunction
Contractions
Direct Questions
All of the above are commonly used in spoken language. Let’s look at them in more detail and see if you can use them in more “formal” writing.
- The use of “we” and “I” is now encouraged in professional circles. Business letters should use “I” to personalise the letter and accept responsibility. “We” reflects the company. “We” in academic publications is used when there are co-authors and is still more common than “I”.
- Split infinitives like the classic “to boldly go where no man has gone before”, where an adverb is placed between “to” and the verb, were in the past considered a grammatical error. Some professionals may still avoid them, but many publications regard them as acceptable.
- I remember at my prep school in the distant past being rapped over the knuckles when starting a sentence with an “and” or a “but”. Most manuals to writing today will allow you to start with a conjunction.
- Contractions such as “won’t” or “can’t” should be avoided in formal writing, especially academic writing. However, they are perfectly acceptable in e-mails or personal business correspondence.
- Direct questions such as “How can we improve profits?” are not suitable in academic writing, but could be used in persuasive memos or marketing publications.
The evolution of English is about these “spoken” styles becoming acceptable as written forms. In the end it is about being understood!
Guy Perring is Director, Professional Development Unit (PDU), at the British Council Malaysia. The PDU offers a wide range of learning opportunities from management and communication skills training to developing English skills. Visit it at www.britishcouncil.org.my or e-mail guy.perring@british council.org.my
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