Academic writing has distinct grammatical features that distinguish it from spoken or informal English. C2 mastery means controlling all of them precisely.
Nominalisation
verbs/adjs → nouns: decide → decision, important → importance
Hedging
cautious claims: it may be argued that, this could suggest
Passive voice
impersonal focus: the experiment was conducted
Complex noun phrases
dense packaging: the rapidly accelerating climate crisis
Complex noun phrases — packing information
Informal (sentences)
Climate is changing rapidly. This crisis is serious.
Sales fell. They fell sharply. This was unexpected.
Academic (packed)
The rapidly accelerating climate crisis demands attention.
The unexpected sharp decline in sales alarmed analysts.
Academic style packs information into noun phrases with pre-modifiers (adv + adj + noun) and post-modifiers (prep phrases, relative clauses).
Impersonal structures
It + passive verb + that
It is widely acknowledged that ...
There + be + abstract noun
There is evidence to suggest that ...
One + verb
One could argue that ... (formal generic subject)
Passive + by-agent dropped
The data were analysed using statistical software. (no "we")
Inanimate subjects
The study indicates that... / Research has shown that...
Cautious quantification
Approximate
approximately, roughly, in the region of, an estimated
Proportion
the vast majority, a significant proportion, a small minority
Frequency
predominantly, mainly, typically, on the whole, by and large
Comparison
comparable to, on a par with, akin to, broadly similar
Approximately 70% of respondents agreed.
Findings are broadly consistent with previous research.
Avoid in academic writing
Contractions
✗ don't, can't, it's → ✓ do not, cannot, it is
Phrasal verbs
✗ find out → ✓ discover · ✗ put up with → ✓ tolerate
Absolutes
✗ always, never, all → ✓ tend to, rarely, most
First-person opinion
✗ I think → ✓ It can be argued / There is evidence
Vague intensifiers
✗ very, really, a lot → ✓ considerably, substantially, markedly
Common mistakes
I think this is a big problem.
→
This appears to be a significant issue.
academic: impersonal + precise vocab
A lot of people don't agree.
→
A considerable proportion of respondents disagree.
precise quantifier + formal verb
The economy is growing fast.
→
The economy is expanding at a rapid rate.
nominalisation + precise modifier
Recap
Nominalisation
verbs/adjs → nouns
decision, importance, expansion
Hedging
may, could, appears, tends to
cautious claims
Impersonal
It is + passive + that / one / inanimate subject
It is argued that...
Avoid
contractions · phrasal verbs · absolutes · I think · very