I cannot read

and I cannot spell. My "academic English" is hopeless. I just cannot use all those long words and awkward sentences that seem to be so essential.
There is a piece in this morning's paper about teacher training students seeking extra tuition in the hope of passing the required literacy and numeracy tests. I have had students approach me about such things. 
Some of them are simply students who should never have been allowed to start a university course. They should never have passed year twelve English - or any other subject.
There was also the FB post by a friend of mine. It appeared in my time line this morning. She was "wondering" if she would reach the "required" standard to get the ten points in the "immigration" test.  Her English is so good she earns her living as a writer. Someone else who commented on the post (who also writes books) said that her idea of what is "good" English and those who set such tests was a very long way apart. 
When I started in teacher training college I wrote what I thought of as "ordinary" English. I knew, because I had been told, that I would never get more than a "pass" on anything. (The Principal of the college in question  had hauled me in on the first day I was there and told me this. He did not think I should be there at all and had directed the staff that I was not to be given more than a "pass" for anything.) I don't know what the staff thought of it because nothing was ever said.
I was also being mentored by the late Judith Wright. She had no time for "convoluted academic English full of words for which you need a dictionary". 
I went on to university and I wrote the sort of English that Judith approved of. I could not write any other way. My lecturers never queried it. They probably thought I was simply immature. (That might also have been true.) I passed though - and I passed well. The content must have been there.
When I started to write my first thesis though my supervisor told me, 
    "It doesn't sound academic enough Cat!"
I responded with, "But I want people to understand what I am saying."
     "Yes I know but this is a thesis and it has to sound as if you know what you are talking about."
We never did agree - but I did get my doctorate.
I have written more theses since then. I wrote all of them with virtually no supervision. (You need to understand I did things in the "wrong" order in that I began by doing a higher degree rather than a first degree. I did get help for the first one.)
And I wrote all of them in the sort "plain" English that I hoped people would be able to read.
I have written a lot of other things since then, including far too many blog posts. 
I don't know what the academics think. I assume they can understand me because they passed me but I suspect they think my writing is still immature.
A little while ago I was in a group and we were discussing something which needed to be done.
    "Get Cat to write it so that everyone will understand it," someone else said.
    "But, it's instructions. I'm no good at writing instructions!" I told them all.
They all looked at me with a look that says,
    "Well learn to be a little more sophisticated and  you won't get asked."
Sigh......