Question

Which uses a formal tone most appropriate to a research paper?

A.) in this paper, I will provide a fascinating explanation of the impressive advancements in cell phone technology.
B.) this paper will examine recent advancements in cell phone technology made by Dr. William Hazlitt.
C.) this paper will examine the fascinating and life-altering advancements Dr. William Hazlitt has made in cell phone technology.
D.) this paper will show how lucky we are to benefit from the advancements in cell phone technology made by
Dr. William Hazlitt.

Answer 1

B sounds right to me. Using I and we in a formal paper isn't allowed and calling the advancements he has made fascinating and life altering is only an opinion

Answer 2

B.) This paper will examine recent advancements in cell phone technology made by Dr. William Hazlitt.

Step-by-step explanation:

A formal tone is determined mainly by the word choices and syntax, where impersonal pronouns are chosen over first-person pronouns, the passive voice is more familiar than the active voice, and where colloquial language and contractions are totally absent. Furthermore, a formal research paper does not contain overly emotional and subjective statements such as in option A ("a fascinating explanation"), and option D ("this paper will show how lucky we are...").

Option B, then, is the one that uses a formal tone most appropriate to a research paper because the sentence is clear, concise, is in the passive voice does not have subjective opinions in it and it is not written in the first person.