ENG2601
ASSIGNMENT 3 SEMESTER 2 2025
UNIQUE NO. 150924
DUE DATE: 4 AUGUST 2025
, Applied English Language Studies: Further Explorations
Title: The Impact of Tone and Structure on the Academic Validity of "Is College
Worth It?"
Introduction
In evaluating the effectiveness of academic texts, tone and structure play a pivotal role
in strengthening the credibility and persuasiveness of an author’s argument. The article
"Is college worth it? Is this even the right question?" by Josipa Roksa and Richard Arum
raises a relevant and timely issue about the value of tertiary education. However,
despite the importance of its content, the article fails to maintain the structural and tonal
conventions of formal academic writing. This essay critically discusses how the article’s
tone and structure weaken its status as an academic piece, ultimately affecting the
strength and clarity of its argument. The discussion is informed by the assigned text and
supported by principles illustrated in the academic writing video, “What is Academic
Writing?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq4J8bPBcck&t=290s).
The Importance of Tone and Structure in Academic Writing
Academic writing demands a formal, objective, and structured approach. As noted in the
video, academic writing must be evidence-based, clearly structured, and free of
emotional or colloquial language. The tone should be impartial and analytical, and
the structure should guide the reader logically through an argument with clear
transitions and a formal register. These elements help to build authority and intellectual
credibility.
The Article’s Informal Tone Weakens Academic Authority
The tone of Roksa and Arum’s article, although generally formal, occasionally slips into
a conversational and speculative style, which undermines its academic authority. For
ASSIGNMENT 3 SEMESTER 2 2025
UNIQUE NO. 150924
DUE DATE: 4 AUGUST 2025
, Applied English Language Studies: Further Explorations
Title: The Impact of Tone and Structure on the Academic Validity of "Is College
Worth It?"
Introduction
In evaluating the effectiveness of academic texts, tone and structure play a pivotal role
in strengthening the credibility and persuasiveness of an author’s argument. The article
"Is college worth it? Is this even the right question?" by Josipa Roksa and Richard Arum
raises a relevant and timely issue about the value of tertiary education. However,
despite the importance of its content, the article fails to maintain the structural and tonal
conventions of formal academic writing. This essay critically discusses how the article’s
tone and structure weaken its status as an academic piece, ultimately affecting the
strength and clarity of its argument. The discussion is informed by the assigned text and
supported by principles illustrated in the academic writing video, “What is Academic
Writing?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq4J8bPBcck&t=290s).
The Importance of Tone and Structure in Academic Writing
Academic writing demands a formal, objective, and structured approach. As noted in the
video, academic writing must be evidence-based, clearly structured, and free of
emotional or colloquial language. The tone should be impartial and analytical, and
the structure should guide the reader logically through an argument with clear
transitions and a formal register. These elements help to build authority and intellectual
credibility.
The Article’s Informal Tone Weakens Academic Authority
The tone of Roksa and Arum’s article, although generally formal, occasionally slips into
a conversational and speculative style, which undermines its academic authority. For
