FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING June 9, 2014

Today Academic style activities

Academic Writing Academic writing: - Aim is to present information as clearly and accurately as possible. Example: A lot of people think that the weather is getting worse. They say that this has been going on for quite a long time. I think that they are quite right. Research has shown that we now get storms etc all the time.

Academic Writing Passage Problem A lot of people think…Imprecise – how many is ‘a lot’? …the weather…Imprecise – ‘weather’ is a short term concept …getting worse…Informal They say…Imprecise pronoun …going on…Informal phrasal verb …quite a long time.Imprecise – how long is this? I think…Informal - personal pronoun Research…Vague – whose research? …we now get…Informal …storms, etc…vague …all the time.Overgeneralized

Academic Writing A lot of people think that the weather is getting worse. They say that this has been going on for quite a long time. I think that they are quite right. Research has shown that we now get storms etc all the time. Re-written: Experts widely believe that the climate is deteriorating. Climatologists claim that this process has been continuing for nearly 100 years. McKinley (1997) appears to support this belief, demonstrating a 55% increase in the frequency of severe winter gales since 1905.

Tips for Academic Style 1. Avoid idioms or colloquial vocabulary. i.e., “dad”, “guy”. Instead, use standard English  “father”, “man”

Tips for Academic Style 2. Be as precise as possible when discussing facts or figures. Avoid phrases such as “about a hundred years ago” or “thousands of years ago” If you must estimate numbers, use “approximately” not “about”  “approximately one hundred years ago…”

Tips for Academic Style 3. Avoid adverbs that show your personal attitude/opinion. i.e., “luckily”, “thankfully”, “happily”, “regrettably”

Tips for Academic Style 4. Do not use contractions. Don’t  do not Can’t  cannot Note: Possessives are not contractions. i.e., The school’s projector.

Tips for Academic Style 5. Avoid these words: “like” for introducing examples. Alternative: “such as, …” “for instance, …” “thing” and its combinations (i.e., “something” “nothing”) Alternative: “factor” “issue” “aspect”

Tips for Academic Style 5. Avoid these words: “lots of” Alternative: “a significant number” “a considerable number” “a considerable amount” “little/big” Alternative: “small” “large”

Tips for Academic Style 5. Avoid these words: “get” phrases, such as “get better” “get worse”. Alternative: “improve” “deteriorate” “good/bad” these are too simplistic Alternative: “positive/negative” i.e., The changes had several positive aspects.

Tips for Academic Style 6. When writing lists, avoid “etc.” “and so on”. Instead, insert “and” before the final item in the list. i.e, Finding employment requires motivation, strong work ethic, and a positive attitude.

Tips for Academic Style 7. Avoid two-word verbs (phrasal verbs) IF there is a suitable synonym. i.e., “go on”, “bring up”.  “continue”, “raise”

Tips for Academic Style - Examples Sadly, serious crime like murder is going up.  Serious crime, such as murder, is increasing. You can’t always trust the numbers in that report.  The figures in that report are not reliable. The second thing is that most kids in that district will become criminals.  The second factor is that the majority of children in that district may become criminals.

Academic Writing Style – further examples These examples are taken from: Uni Learning - Specific Words

Academic Writing Style – further examples Phrasal verbs

Academic Writing Style – further examples Specific vocabulary in descriptions

Avoiding “really”, “very”

Academic style worksheet 1. I think that there’s a big risk of more strikes, disorder, etc. 2. Regrettably, the inflation in Russia led to things like a lot of increased poverty, illness and so on. 3. Some time soon they will find a vaccine for malaria.

Academic style worksheet 4. It was reported on the news site that a pretty big guy beat up the two foreign kids. 5. The distance from downtown to the crime scene is more or less around 3 km, and I would say that the distance makes the suspect's participation in the crime kind of not likely.

Academic style worksheet 6. But, the new employee hiring rules are good for the company. 7. The very horrible movie was created by a group of bad producers which did not make much money at the box office. 8. A lot of problems came out because the police made a discovery of criminal activity in city hall.

Activity With a partner, write a paragraph using informal language/style. Topic: Life in university.

Bonus assignment Those who are interested in completing a bonus assignment should come and see me.