Academic Sentences
Typical academic sentences do not contain many clauses. Sometimes they contain 2 or 3 clauses. Most often they contain only one clause and so only one finite verb.
Typical academic sentences put most information in noun groups before and/or after the finite verb. The verb groups do not often contain very much information.
| Noun group: a lot of information |
Finite Verb: a little information |
Noun group: a lot of information |
Typical verbs
Verbs in academic sentences are often 'relational verbs'. They contain information about the logical relationship between all information before and after the verb.
Typical nouns
Nouns in academic sentences are often long and complex noun groups and this is where most information is found in academic writing. Sometimes there can be as many as 20 words or more in one complex noun group.