One of the things my dissertation supervisor keeps saying to me is that my tone needs to be "more formal". I am always surprised by this comment as I wasn't aware it was anything but.
To some extent I understand why there must be a standard of formality in academic writing, especially when it is being assessed, but unless the tone devolves into a register I would use with my friends in the pub I'm not entirely sure what the problem is.
You see, I don't think I will ever get the balance between my "own unique style" and something which is, in my mind, stiff and "formal". We are asked to be creative, to use our own voice, but only in the most minute sense.
And, from my own experience of being bored to tears in the library by academic writing, a lot of it could do with a better writing style. Say what you want to say, as long as you back it up with the right evidence, but have fun with it. That doesn't mean it can't be serious, it just means the reader can get to the end of a sentence without continuously nodding off.
Here I am, writing more formally than I normally do for a blog post about not wanting to write formally. I am taking a short break from my dissertation. It appears to have got into my head.
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