Final answer:
An academic essay typically uses an objective tone which is neutral and avoids bias, which helps to build credibility and shows respect for the reader's intelligence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Usually, an academic essay would adopt an objective tone. This tone is characterized by the use of neutral language that avoids personal bias, emotional language, and informal colloquialisms. The objective tone helps to convey the author's ideas in a professional and credible manner, thus building ethos with the reader.
When writing an academic essay, the goal is often to inform or persuade through the presentation of evidence, facts, statistics, and examples in a manner that readers perceive as logical and unbiased. Adopting an objective stance in academic writing demonstrates respect for the reader's intelligence and helps establish the author's credibility. Therefore, the correct answer is C) Objective.