"Ain't So / Is Not." Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice

Generally speaking, most people have been taught to use academically appropriate grammar when writing. But can there be a benefit to switching up your style? This chapter explores just that. Communicating is an essential way in which many of us use to get our points across. According to Graff and Birkenstein, “such informal language also helps you connect with readers in a personal as well as an intellectual way. In our vie, then, it is a mistake to assume that the academic and the everyday are completely separate languages that can never be used together”. As we continue reading along, the authors show us a few excerpts from different scholarly articles and essays in which the author attempts to mix academic and colloquial styles. The first passage they present is from Conners and Lunsford, “Frequency of Formal Errors in Current College Writing,” where it is very apparent they mix the two styles. Through using fictional movie characters (as the case with the secondary title “Ma and Pa Kettle Do Research”), by using a more relaxed tone and informal words and phrases, it allows them to make the writing come a bit more alive. In the literary critic, Judith Fetterley piece, she is able to blend phrases from psychology with more popular expressions.  With this piece, they want to show that if you state your point in a more academic form first and then reiterate it again in a more relaxed way, it can be a great method to get your point across while integrating the two.  From the last two excerpts they discuss how blending languages can help make a political statement. Although to some using different vernaculars is just as valid as using “standard” English, to others it is not. Therefore, through showcasing these different dialects, one might be able to better understand the message the author is trying to convey, or as Smitherman pointed out “our habitual language practices need to be opened up, and that the number of participants in the academic conversation needs to be expanded” (126). Last, the authors want us to realize that although we may have many options in our writing choices, we should always be cautious of the type of audience and purpose our use of style is trying to target. For example, would you use the same writing style for a job application as you would for a college entrance one? Although learning different expressions and becoming a more intellectual writer is important, it’s just as meaningful to understand the English language is changing over time and by limiting ones writing capabilities to a more formal style, it can only hinder the effectiveness in getting a point across. I agree it’s vital to first figure who you’re writing for and the purpose/tone you want to set. Limiting oneself to keeping a strictly formal text seems like it can only take the writing from being great to just bland. Knowing when and how to blend the two is key.

With that being said, do you generally stray away from using informal expressions or sayings in your writing? Do you find there be an importance in using an informal tone? When do you feel are more appropriate times to blend the two styles, or should it be okay at all times? As different vernaculars are just as normal as “standard” English, do you see it okay to use in more formal writing?