Objective (2 October) In this class, we will learn to differentiate between formal, academic writing and informal writing in the follow areas :  Vocabulary and grammar  Hedging (being cautious about making claims)

Thanks also for the photographs. I absolutely loved that snap of yours standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. France looks stunning. Someday, I would definitely like to go there. It has so many cool things and a lot of stuff to do! Hope to see you soon! What is the situation? What is the style of writing?

Thanks also for the photographs. I absolutely loved that snap of yours standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. France looks stunning. Someday, I would definitely like to go there. It has so many cool things and a lot of stuff to do! Hope to see you soon! Does this look like academic writing? With a partner, identify some grammar and vocabulary that is not formal.

Thanks also for the photographs. I absolutely loved that snap of yours standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. France looks stunning. Someday, I would definitely like to go there. It has so many cool things and a lot of stuff to do! [No subject]Hope to see you soon!

Informal words to avoid in academic writing 1. Open “Features of Academic Writing” 2. From the Resource List, open 3) 3. Open Exercise 1. Colloquial… 4. With a partner, try to identify the informal words or phrases (do not look at the answers until after you have read all the sentences).

Informal words to avoid in academic writing  A lot of, a bit, got together, big (large or considerable)

Informal words to avoid in academic writing  A lot of (a great deal of, much), a bit (somewhat), get together (collaborated), big (considerable or large), things (devices, objects, etc.), stuff (material, information, activities, etc), find out (ascertain or discover), make sure (ensure)

Informal words to avoid in academic writing Q: What is informal about these sentences?  The experiment didn’t yield positive results.  The Security Council couldn’t reach an agreement.

Informal words to avoid in academic writing Q: What is informal about these sentences?  The experiment didn’t yield positive results.  The Security Council couldn’t reach an agreement. A: “didn’t” and “couldn’t” These contractions are considered informal.

Informal words to avoid in academic writing Contractions are informal. Can you think of some contractions? Didn’t, couldn’t, can’t, shouldn’t, won’t, isn’t, we’ll, I’d Chen’s study… [not a contraction]

Written academic English is cautious Q: Which is better?  Although learners from non-English- speaking countries may benefit from local English teaching which enables them to keep some unique expressions…  Therefore, I insist that we need a standard for English, which is also a necessity for global communication.

Written academic English is cautious Q: Which is better?  Although learners from non-English- speaking countries may benefit from local English teaching which enables them to keep some unique expressions…  Therefore, I insist that we need a standard for English, which is also a necessity for global communication. A: The first one is not overconfident.

Written academic English is cautious Q: Which one do you choose?  The working-age population will definitely fall  The working-age population will fall  The working-age population will probably fall  “The working-age population may fall

Written academic English is cautious  It is important that the language used in academic writing reflects the strength of evidence available to support an idea or claim.  If the conclusion is uncertain, then be cautious (not overconfident).

Written academic English is cautious Q: Which one do you choose?  The working-age population will fall  The working-age population will probably fall  “The working-age population may fall A: It depends on the data. If your claim is uncertain, you should use hedging.

Written academic English is cautious – hedging words  Modal auxiliary verbs: can, could, may, might, should, would  Other modal verbs: appear, look, seem, tend  Probability adjectives: likely, possible, probable, unlikely  Probability adverbs: perhaps, possibly, probably, presumably  Frequency adverbs: generally, usually, often, occasionally, seldom

Written academic English is cautious – hedging words  This study obviously shows that cats jump higher than dogs.  Rewrite this sentence to make it more cautious using  1) may [show]  2) seems [to show]  3) probably Compare your answers with a partner.

Written academic English is cautious – hedging words  This study obviously shows that cats jump higher than dogs.  This study may show that cats jump higher than dogs.  This study seems to show that cats jump higher than dogs.  This study probably shows that cats jump higher than dogs.

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot FORMAL

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot FORMAL Didn’t OR did not

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot FORMAL Didn’t OR did not FORMAL

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot FORMAL Didn’t OR did not FORMAL Singlish will definitely continue to thrive. OR The historical data suggest that people will continue to use Singlish.

Which is formal? A considerable amount OR a lot FORMAL Didn’t OR did not FORMAL Singlish will definitely continue to thrive. OR The historical data suggest that people will continue to use Singlish. FORMAL

Demonstrate your understanding – make this more formal Last week my colleagues and I got together to write a proposal on the teaching of “World Englishes” at NUS. The proposal contains a lot of things related to education research. It is based on the best research. It is a bit technical but we think the committee will be able to understand it. There isn’t a simplified version. By reading the proposal you will definitely find a lot of stuff about the modern development of English. Without a doubt, the committee will give us a big pile of money to continue our research.

Demonstrate your understanding – make this more formal Last week my colleagues and I collaborated to write a proposal on the teaching of “World Englishes” at NUS. The proposal contains a great deal of materials/information related to education research. It is based on well-conducted research. It is somewhat technical but we think the committee will be able to understand it. There is not a simplified version. By reading the proposal you will probably find a considerable amount of information about the modern development of English. It is likely that the committee will provide us a large amount of money to continue our research.

Extra material

Task A1 Instructions:  Read texts A, B and C.  Discuss questions (a) and (b) with a partner.  Share with the whole class.

Exchange Bias in Nanoscale Antidot Rays .... In summary, we have established that it is possible to induce exchange bias in ordered nanoscale antidot arrays. We observed that the antidot arrays exhibit asymmetric hysteresis loops and show larger HE and HC values as compared to the continuous film. The exchange bias field progressively increases as the size of antidots increases, possibly due to reduced FM-FM interactions and constraints imposed on the AFM domain size by the antidots. The uniaxial symmetry of HC and the unidirectional symmetry of HE was confirmed using angular dependent measurements, and it was concluded that higher order anisotropy terms cannot be neglected for antidot arrays. Our results demonstrate a convenient technique to tune and probe the exchange bias in systems with reduced lateral dimensions. (p )

Exchange Bias in Nanoscale Antidot Rays .... In summary, we have established that it is possible to induce exchange bias in ordered nanoscale antidot arrays. We observed that the antidot arrays exhibit asymmetric hysteresis loops and show larger HE and HC values as compared to the continuous film. The exchange bias field progressively increases as the size of antidots increases, possibly due to reduced FM-FM interactions and constraints imposed on the AFM domain size by the antidots. The uniaxial symmetry of HC and the unidirectional symmetry of HE was confirmed using angular dependent measurements, and it was concluded that higher order anisotropy terms cannot be neglected for antidot arrays. Our results demonstrate a convenient technique to tune and probe the exchange bias in systems with reduced lateral dimensions. (p )

Fine Brush and Freehand: The Vocabulary-Learning Art of Two Successful Chinese EFL Learners .... In particular, in this study I examine two successful adult Chinese EFL learners and portray in detail what they do in vocabulary learning. I show, for example, how these learners conduct rote learning such as memorising word lists. 3 In so doing, I attempt to account for the apparent discrepancy between the rote style of learning and the high levels of success achieved by these learners. This study also attempts to confirm what other researchers (e.g., Ahmed, 1989; Gu & Johnson, 1996; Parry, 1997) have indicated, directly or indirectly: that learners can achieve success through different approaches to and styles of learning. I examine three stages of learning a word (Brown & Payne, 1994; Gu & Johnson, 1996): (a) initially identifying and handling a new word, (b) committing the word to memory, and (c) attempting to use the newly learned word. (p. 77)

Fine Brush and Freehand: The Vocabulary-Learning Art of Two Successful Chinese EFL Learners .... In particular, in this study I examine two successful adult Chinese EFL learners and portray in detail what they do in vocabulary learning. I show, for example, how these learners conduct rote learning such as memorising word lists. 3 In so doing, I attempt to account for the apparent discrepancy between the rote style of learning and the high levels of success achieved by these learners. This study also attempts to confirm what other researchers (e.g., Ahmed, 1989; Gu & Johnson, 1996; Parry, 1997) have indicated, directly or indirectly: that learners can achieve success through different approaches to and styles of learning. I examine three stages of learning a word (Brown & Payne, 1994; Gu & Johnson, 1996): (a) initially identifying and handling a new word, (b) committing the word to memory, and (c) attempting to use the newly learned word. (p. 77)