Proceedings of the Second Symposium on
Academic Writing and Critical Thinking
Friendly writer, friendly reader:
A reflection about academic style
Cássio Sozinho Amorim
Nagoya University
Argumentation’s importance in academic communication is certainly recognized by anyone who has ever written academic texts, from student’s homework to journal paper. Nevertheless, while language aspects are commonly considered when building up an argument, aesthetic and presentational aspects are often ignored, possibly based on the assumption of an interested and motivated audience. Such reasoning can actually be misleading and result in a counter effect: the audience may become bored by the unbalanced effort between the study and its presentation. In other words, this assumption may easily lead to a dense and impenetrable argument that may become unconvincing even if it is very solid. Hence, I propose the consideration of varied forms of argument presentation and question about the presentation style, aiming to make it as free as possible according to the relevant audience and objective. The main purpose of the aesthetics suggested here is to reduce the distance between the author and the reader, aiming to have a more embracing and stimulant communication, keeping the logic of the argumentation at the core. As I should focus on exploring the matter of standardized distance, which also has its function for impersonality and objectiveness, the difference of communication majorly between experts and communication between a more diverse group, including students, should be properly considered, looking at linguistic and literary tools in parallel. Indeed, I should emphasize that a supportive plethora of technics are of potential usefulness to demystify and facilitate the contact with academic works.
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