Download 1. Academic writing style There`s no great mystique about an

1. Academic writing style
There's no great mystique about an "academic writing style". The most important thing is to keep your
writing clear and concise and make sure that you get your ideas over in a comprehensible form. It's clear
expression of these ideas that will impress your tutor, not a string of long, inappropriate words found in
your dictionary. A wide range of vocabulary is of course important, but you must use the right word, and
shorter ones are often better than longer ones.
The most important thing to remember is generally to try to avoid everyday, informal language, especially
colloquial expressions and slang. Also, spoken language is naturally full of hesitations, repetitions,
grammatical errors and unfinished ideas. In your writing, however, structure is much more important:
sentences should be complete and ideas arranged into paragraphs or sections, and you should aim for
perfection in your grammar and spelling. However, especially if English is not your first language, don't
become too obsessed with this, to the point perhaps of copying word for word from your sources. What’s
important is that you clearly show your understanding of the subject and your ability to manipulate
information to answer a specific question or complete a specific task, and as long as any grammar errors
you make don’t impede this, then it shouldn’t be a problem.
Here are a few general points to remember when you are writing your assignments. As well as using
appropriate language and aiming for 100% accuracy in your grammar and vocabulary, you should also
remember that you're writing for someone else, and hence the importance of punctuation, sentences,
paragraphs and overall structure, all of which help the reader.
AVOID SOME ASPECTS OF INFORMAL ENGLISH
don't (do not!) use contractions (eg it's, he'll, it'd etc): always use the full form (it is/has, he will, it
would/had).
don't use colloquial language or slang (eg kid, a lot of/lots of, cool)
always write as concisely as you can, with no irrelevant material or “waffle”.
generally avoid "phrasal verbs" (e.g. get off, get away with, put in etc): instead, use one word
equivalents.
avoid common but vague words and phrases such as get, nice, thing. Your writing needs to be more
precise.
avoid overuse of brackets; don’t use exclamation marks or dashes; avoid direct questions; don’t use
“etc”.
always use capital letters appropriately and never use the type of language used in texting!
See the practice exercises at the end of the guide.
STRUCTURE YOUR WRITING CAREFULLY
make sure you write in complete sentences (see Guide 1.34).
divide your writing up into paragraphs (see Guide 1.35).
use connecting words and phrases to make your writing explicit and easy to follow (see Guide 1.39).
check your grammar and spelling carefully (see Guide 1.42).
MAKE YOUR WRITING FORMAL AND IMPERSONAL
avoid too much personal language (I, my, we etc). Some tutors prefer you to avoid it completely. Never
use emotive
language; be objective rather than subjective.(See Guide 1.22).
avoid being too dogmatic and making sweeping generalisations. It is usually best to use
some sort of “hedging” language (see below) and to qualify statements that you make.
you should consistently use evidence from your source reading to back up what you are saying and
reference this correctly.
avoid sexist language, such as chairman, mankind. Don’t refer to “the doctor” as he; instead, make the
subject plural and refer to them as they. Avoid he/she, herself/himself etc.
use nominalisation; that is, try to write noun-based phrases rather that verb-based ones.
For example, instead of
Crime was increasing rapidly and the police were becoming concerned.
Write:
The rapid increase in crime was causing concern among the police.
In general, academic writing tends to be fairly dense, with relatively long sentences and
wide use of subordinate clauses. Remember, however, that your main aim is clarity, so
don’t be too ambitious, particularly when you’re starting to write.
HEDGING/AVOIDING COMMITMENT
In order to put some distance between what you’re writing and yourself as writer, to be cautious rather
than assertive, you should:
avoid overuse of first person pronouns (I, we, my, our)
use impersonal subjects instead (It is believed that ..., it can be argued that ...)
use passive verbs to avoid stating the ‘doer’ (Tests have been conducted)
use verbs (often with it as subject) such as imagine, suggest, claim, suppose
use ‘attitudinal signals’ such as apparently, arguably, ideally, strangely, unexpectedly.
These words allow you to hint at your attitude to something without using personal language.
use verbs such as would, could, may, might which ‘soften’ what you’re saying.
use qualifying adverbs such as some, several, a minority of, a few, many to avoid making
overgeneralisations.
Exercises
Exercise 1
Replace the phrasal verbs in the sentences with a more appropriate verb from the list below. Don't forget
to keep the same tense.
fluctuate investigate eliminate raise reduce
propose intervene establish
1 Researchers have been looking into the problem for 15 years. ______________________
2 This issue was brought up during the seminar. __________________________
3 It is assumed that the management knows what is happening and will therefore step in if
there is a problem. _________________________
4 Schools cannot altogether get rid of the problem of truancy. _________________________
5 The number of staff has been cut down recently. _____________________
6 It was very difficult to find out exactly what happened. _______________________
7 House prices have a tendency to go up and down. _______________________
8 A potential solution was put forward two years ago. ______________________
Exercise 2
Replace the following phrasal verbs with a more formal single word.
1 The locals could not put up with the visitors from the city. __________________________
2 The decline was brought about by cheap imports. __________________________________
3 The university is thinking about installing CCTV. ___________________________________
4 Sales are likely to drop off in the third quarter. ____________________________________
5 He went on speaking for over an hour. ____________________________________________
6 The meeting was put off until December. __________________________________________
7 The cinema was pulled down ten years ago. ________________________________________
8 People have cut down on their consumption of beef. ________________________________
Exercise 3
Which of the two alternatives in bold do you think is more appropriate in academic writing?
1 The government has made considerable/great progress in solving the problem.
2 We got/obtained excellent results in the experiment.
3 The results of lots of/numerous tests have been pretty good/encouraging.
4 A loss of jobs is one of the consequences/things that will happen if the process is
automated.
5 The relationship between the management and workers is extremely/really important.
6 Some suggestions springing up from/arising from the study will be presented.
Exercise 4
Use a more formal word or phrase to replace those in bold.
1 The reaction of the officials was sort of negative. _______________________
2 The economic outlook is nice.__________________________
3 Car manufacturers are planning a get together to discuss their strategy.
________________________
4 The resulting competition between countries is good._________________
5 The economy is affected by things that happen outside the country.
________________________________
6 She was given the sack because of her poor record. __________________
7 The examination results were super. ________________________
Exercise 5
Replace the contractions in the following sentences with full forms where necessary.
1 The results weren't very encouraging. _________________________
2 We'll have to conduct another experiment. _____________________
3 She's been all around the world. _________________________
4 It's the best solution to the problem. ______________________
5 Our questionnaire shows that teachers aren't paid what they're worth.
______________________
6 His response was, "A job's a job; if it doesn't pay enough, it's a lousy job'. _______________
7 He'd rather announce the findings at the conference. _________________
8 The department's approach didn't succeed. _________________________
Exercise 6
Suggest improvements to the following sentences to avoid use of “you” and “we”.
1. You can apply the same theory of learning to small children.
_______________________________________________________________
2. You can only do this after the initial preparation has been conducted.
______________________________________________________________
3. The figures are accurate to within 1%, but you should note that local
variations may apply.
______________________________________________________________
4. In the second section of the report, we will consider the environmental
consequences.
______________________________________________________________
Exercise 7
Suggest alternatives to the following to avoid use of personal language.
1 In this essay I will discuss the main differences between the English and
Scottish legal systems.
2 I have divided my report into five sections.
3 I will conclude by proposing that all drugs should be legalized.
4 The opinion of the present author in this essay is that the importance of
the monarchy should be reduced.
5 In the third part of the essay, we will look at the reasons for public
hysteria over the SARS virus
6 Although I am not an expert in the field, I have tried very hard to
understand the main ideas.
Exercise 8
Make these statements more cautious.
1 Today everyone uses credit cards for all their shopping.
___________________________________________________________
2 Drinking wine is bad for you.
___________________________________________________________
3 Global warming will have disastrous consequences for the whole
world.
___________________________________________________________
4 Teleworking leads to isolation.
___________________________________________________________
5 Women are worse drivers than men.
___________________________________________________________
Exercise 9
Rewrite the following in a more formal style.
1. The positive feedback made up for the problems we came across during
the trials.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. You can clearly see the differences between these two learning
processes.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. The subjects didn't have much difficulty with the task.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. We found example after example of autonomous systems in lots of
countries.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Avoiding personal language
The question of whether or not it is acceptable to use personal language in your writing is not clear cut. It
is one of those areas where you need to check with your course tutors what their policy is: on some
courses it is OK to make your writing fairly personal and subjective; on others it is not permissable. It
depends aswell on the type of writing you are doing.
Traditionally, academic writing was impersonal: you would not be able to use words like I, my etc. There
has, however, been a shift in this approach over the past few years. Maybe in line with a general move
towards more accountability in some walks of life (politicians say “I” a lot more nowadays), some
academic writing has become more personal. There may too be an influence from the United States here.
You must check on your course, though.
In general, it is probably best not to use too much personal language. Academic writing should very often
be objective, with a lack of personal commitment, and being subjective may weaken your argument and
lay you open to disagreement or criticism. However, there are times when personal language may be more
appropriate; for example, when writing conclusions and when you want to make it clear that it is in fact
your personal opinion that you are expressing, rather than someone else’s. Also, if you are describing what
you actually did, for example on work placement, personal language is often unavoidable.
Two other general points:
It’s best not to refer to the reader as “you”. Don’t write, for example, As you can see in Figure 1. Use one
of the ways shown below to avoid this.
It’s also best not to refer to yourself as “we”. You will see this in some books, but it is somewhat oldfashioned, and may be regarded as pompous or pretentious. Leave the “royal we” for the Queen! And
don’t refer to yourself as “the author”, as it can get very confusing if you’re making references to other
authors; it may not be clear who actually said what. The only time it is permissable to use “we” is if you
are writing about groupwork and saying what you did as a group.
How to avoid personal language
There are three main ways of doing this:
use a passive rather than an active verb
use an impersonal phrase such as it is believed
make words such as the essay, this section etc the subject of the sentence
Passive verbs
These are often used in introductions to essays or to chapters or sections in a longer piece of work when
you are stating what the writing will deal with and how it is structured.
Instead of:
In my essay I will discuss the role of the ombudsman. (=active verb)
You could write:
In this essay the role of the ombudsman will be discussed. (=passive verb)
Instead of:
I have divided the chapter into three sections.
Better:
The chapter is divided into three sections.
Impersonal phrases
The subject of these phrases is “it”; for example:
It can be imagined that ...
It may be argued that ...
It is widely held that ...
It should be clear from how you phrase the surrounding language whether or not you are actually
expressing a personal opinion here.
Change the subject
As an alternative to using passive verbs in introductions etc, you can change the subject.
For example:
Instead of:
In this essay I will consider the question of immigration control.
You could write:
This essay considers the question of immigration control.
Instead of:
In Chapter 2 I will outline the main causes of the problem.
Alternatively:
Chapter 2 outlines the main causes of the problem.
Exercises
Exercise 1
Suggest improvements to the following sentences.
1. You can apply the same theory of learning to small children.
________________________________________________________________________________
2. You can only do this after the initial preparation has been conducted.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. The figures are accurate to within 1%, but you should note that local variations may apply.
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. In the second section of the report, we will consider the environmental
consequences.
______________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Suggest alternatives to the following
1 In this essay I will discuss the main differences between the English and Scottish legal systems.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2 I have divided my report into five sections.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3 I will conclude by proposing that all drugs should be legalized.
_________________________________________________________________________________
4 The opinion of the present author in this essay is that the importance of the monarchy should be
reduced.
_________________________________________________________________________________
5 In the third part of the essay, we will look at the reasons for public hysteria over the SARS virus.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Writing effective sentences
What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words, almost always containing at least one subject and one verb, which
expresses a complete thought or idea. Sentences always start with a capital letter, and always end with a
full stop, a question mark or, in more informal writing, an exclamation mark.
Why are sentences important?
In more formal written English clear structure is of paramount importance, and sentences are the
foundation to achieving this. Unlike in spoken English, where the listener’s understanding is greatly aided
by intonation, facial expressions and body language, and where repetition, vagueness and uncompleted
ideas are perfectly acceptable, in order to express yourself in formal written English you must write in
clear, concise, complete, well-punctuated sentences.
What errors are made in writing sentences?
There are four types of errors made when writing sentences:
Sentences are incomplete
Look at the following example:
We decided to go out for a walk. Although it was raining.
The second sentence here is incomplete, as it does not make sense by itself; it is in fact part of the first
sentence. These are often referred to as sentence fragments.
Sentences are incorrectly punctuated
This is usually a question of poor use of commas. A fairly common problem are what are called run-on or
comma-spliced sentences. This is when the writer separates two or more individual simple sentences with
a comma, when what is needed is a linking word such as and, but, or however (See Guide 1.39), as semicolon ( ; ) or a colon ( : ), or separate sentences altogether.
For example:
I went to a party last night, I left early because I didn’t feel well.
Should be:
I went to a party last night but left early because I didn’t feel well.
Alternatively, commas may not be used at all, or used in the wrong place.
Sentences are too long
The longer your sentence, the more control you need over punctuation, linking words, and use of
pronouns. If you use any of these badly, then your reader will become confused. The last thing you want is
for your tutor, getting through a pile of 50 essays at midnight, to have to start reading a sentence three or
four times to try and make sense of it. It is therefore usually recommended that you write in fairly short
sentences, maybe a maximum of around 20-25 words or a couple of lines. As you get more practice and
your writing improves, you can start to make your sentences longer.
Sentences are too short
Don’t go to the opposite extreme and write lots of very short sentences of just a few words. Your writing
will become “bitty”, and again will become tiring for the reader. Occasional short sentences can be very
effective to emphasise a point, but don’t put lots of them together.
There is more detail on these four points later in this guide.
Types of sentences
Sentences are made up of clauses. A clause is a group of grammatically-related words including a verb and
a subject (though sometimes is the subject is implied). Clauses are the building blocks of sentences: every
sentence consists of one or more clauses. In more complex sentences there is always a main clause,
together with one or more relative or subordinate clauses. And getting even more technical, clauses can
be finite or non-finite. Finite clauses are based on verbs which indicate tense, such as “saw” or “will go”,
whereas non-finite clauses are based on infinitives (the base form of the verb, such as “consider”) or
participles (for example, “taking”).
Simple sentences
Simple sentences contain just one finite clause and express just one idea or provide just one piece of
information.
They can be very short:
I passed the test.
Or much longer:
Living only 3km away from the University on a main bus route, he was able to get to his lecture in just 15
minutes.
In this second example, 24 words long, the first clause is non-finite (living), while the second is finite (was
able to). Although a longer sentence, it still just expresses one piece of information.
Compound sentences
These sentences contain two or more simple sentences, or independent clauses, joined by conjunctions
such as or, but or and or by a semi-colon or a colon.
They can have one subject and two verbs:
Birmingham City University is a modern university and is spread over several campuses.
Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK; it is situated in the centre of the country.
Or two subjects (or a repeated subject) and two verbs:
I decided to have a gap year before starting my degree course, but most of my friends went straight to
university.
It was the best concert I had ever been to: Tom Waits sang magnificently.
Remember not to separate the two parts of these sentences with just a comma.
Complex sentences
Complex sentences consist of two or more clauses, but unlike compound sentences in which the clauses
are “equal” and can be independent, in this type of sentence they are not equal; there is a main clause, a
simple sentence which can be independent, with other clauses dependent or subordinate on it. These
clauses do not make complete sense by themselves and are joined to the main clause by linking words or
phrases such as the conjunctions although, because, when, if etc. They have one finite verb and their
function is to give reasons, conditions, concessions, times of action etc.
An example:
If England keep on playing in the same manner, they won’t win the World Cup.
Here, the first clause (If England ...), although the longer of the two, is dependent on the second clause,
which is the main one. If England keep on playing in the same manner doesn’t make complete sense by
itself, whereas they won’t win the World Cup does. The second part, therefore, is clearly the more
important piece of information, while the first part is just one of the conditions, or in this cases reasons,
for saying this.
Other examples:
Although the workers have been given a 7% pay rise, they are still not happy with their situation.
We left for the airport two hours earlier than usual because the baggage handlers were threatening
strike action.
Your aim should be to use a variety of sentences in your writing:
Short simple sentences grab the reader’s attention and add emphasis.
Compound sentences can emphasise balance and parallel ideas.
Complex sentences show what information depends on what other information.
Complex sentences can often be written “the other way round”:
If I win the lottery, I’m going to retire.
means more or less the same as
I’m going to retire if I win the lottery.
The only difference is one of emphasis (and a comma in the first version).
Avoiding sentence fragments
Sentence fragments usually occur when a sentence is prematurely brought to an end and a new sentence
unnecessarily started. This new sentence very often begins with a conjunction such as although, if,
however, but etc. and is in fact a dependent clause which needs the other part of the sentence to make
sense.
A reason some people write sentence fragments, therefore, may be that they think conjunctions always
come at the beginning of a sentence. This is not true.
Sentence fragments also occur when a non-finite clause is made into a simple sentence. For example,
Considering the complexities of the application procedure.
is not a sentence. The participle considering by itself does not indicate tense; we do not know if the
writer is referring to the past, present or future. This non-finite clause needs an additional finite clause in
order to make sense:
Considering the complexities of the application procedure, it is surprising how many people do apply for
a loan.
Here are some more examples of sentence fragments; try and rewrite them as complete sentences.
1 A franchiser can achieve wide distribution. As each franchisee has to buy stock from the franchiser.
2 In order to succeed in business internationally. The manufacturer must find out about local markets.
3 Minimum wages could help to increase income because if wages are low, production will be high and
cost prices will be reduced. Resulting in an increase in the company's income.
4 If everyone earns the same amount of money. At the end of the day, whether you have skills or not, the
wages will be the same.
5 Settings should be made at 15.8 – 16.2 cm. Allowing for natural variations and differing
local conditions.
6 When the first UK McDonald's opened in 1974 in London. A totally new eating experience arrived in this
country.
7 First of all. The general socio-economic climate in the UK encourages small businesses.
8 Due to the increase in payment by card. Mondex stands a good chance of being widely accepted.
9 If the trademark and location are both very attractive. There will be a lot of replies.
10 Starting with the first example. It has been shown that extensive revision does not always lead to
success.
11 According to Walsh (1990), the number of employees in part time employment increased from 15% in
1971 to 30% by the mid-1990s. While findings by the Institute of Manpower Studies (1985) found the
proportion of women part-timers grew from 38% to 46% between 1974 and 1985.
12 The core group of the company comprises senior employees who possess particular skills. Such as
marketing managers, sales staff, IT experts and distribution management.
Avoiding run-on/comma-spliced sentences
Sentences of this type have at least two parts, either one of which can stand by itself (in other words, two
independent clauses), but the two parts have been merged together instead of being properly connected.
The length of a sentence has nothing to do with whether a sentence is a run-on or not; being a run-on is a
structural flaw that can plague even a very short sentence:
It’s raining, take you umbrella.
An extremely long sentence, on the other hand, might contain a lot of waffle, but it can still be otherwise
sound structurally.
When you use a comma to connect two independent clauses, it must be accompanied by a conjunction
(and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so).
It’s raining, so take your umbrella.
Run-on sentences happen typically under the following circumstances:
a. When an independent clause gives an order or directive based on what was said in the prior
independent clause:
This next chapter has a lot of difficult information in it, you should start studying right away.
(We could put a full stop where that comma is and start a new sentence. A semicolon might also work
there.)
b. When two independent clauses are connected by a transitional expression (conjunctive adverb) such
as however, moreover, nevertheless.
Mr. McGrath has sent his four children to independent schools, however, he has sacrificed his health
working day and night in his factory.
(Again, where that first comma appears, we could have used either a full stop — and started a new
sentence — or a semicolon.)
c. When the second of two independent clauses contains a pronoun that connects it to the first
independent clause.
This computer doesn't make sense to me, it came without a manual.
(Although these two clauses are quite brief, and the ideas are closely related, this is a run-on sentence.
We need a full stop where that comma now stands.)
Most of those computers in the Learning Centre are broken already, this proves my point about British
computer manufacturers.
Again, two nicely related clauses, incorrectly connected — a run-on. Use a full stop to cure this sentence.
Adapted in part from: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm
Practice exercise
The following sentences are all run-ons. Try to devise two different ways to correct each one.
1. The co-op board voted to fine the tenant for noisiness, it is not clear whether he violated any
established rule.
2. Tom was always late for his legal seminar he knew it annoyed the professor and would affect his grade
but he just couldn’t get up on time.
3. The defendant will argue that she had no knowledge that the merchandise was stolen however, the
evidence indicates otherwise.
4. The mortgage company refused to issue a refund check for excess funds in the Smiths’ escrow account,
this violated the law.
5. The textbook gives many examples of run-on sentences, there is no answer key, how can we check our
answers?
4. Writing paragraphs
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of connected sentences which develops one new topic, idea or theme. They are the
“building blocks” of your writing, dividing it into easy-to-follow, comprehensible parts.
Essays are usually made up entirely of paragraphs; reports or other types of more technical writing will be
written in sections, but within the sections there will be paragraphs as well as bullet points, lists, figures
etc.
How long should a paragraph be?
As noted above, a paragraph needs to develop an idea or new aspect of an argument, and it is impossible
to do this in just a sentence or two. It is usually recommended, therefore, that in typical student writing a
paragraph should be a minimum of five or six sentences. It shouldn’t normally be shorter than this, but
may be longer, depending on the overall length of the writing (the longer the writing, the longer the
paragraphs can be: books may contain some very long paragraphs).
The most common mistake made in student writing is to make paragraphs too short. If you just write a
sentence or two, two or three lines, and then start what looks like a new paragraph, it leaves a bad
impression. Your writing may tend to look, and read, more like a series of notes or a list of simple points,
possibly indicating that you have not thought through the ideas and have not developed them sufficiently.
Alternatively, it may just mean putting some of these fragments together to make one paragraph, as long
as they are linked. Don’t put unrelated ideas or information together in a paragraph. A typical 1.5 or
double spaced page would normally contain just 2-3 paragraphs.
Don’t go to the opposite extreme and make your paragraphs too long. Over-long paragraphs make your
writing difficult to follow and indicate that you are probably not in control of your ideas. And remember
that one paragraph = one point, so if your essay just contains three or four paragraphs, this may mean just
three or four ideas.
What is the structure of a paragraph?
It would be wrong to say that all paragraphs must follow a set structure; this would make your writing
very mechanical, boring to read and would hinder your flexibility in answering the specific question.
Instead, paragraphs need to contain some, or all, of the following components in order to sufficiently
develop the point:
some sort of “topic sentence” or introduction stating what the paragraph is about. This would normally,
but not always, come at the beginning of the paragraph.
explanation or definition of any terms which may be unclear.
evidence for any assertions you make: references to the sources you have used; examples, data,
statistics, illustrations etc.
evaluation of this evidence or data; comparison or contrast with other information; analysis of causes
and reasons; examination of effects and consequences; discussion of issues raised.
awareness of the implications of any of the above.
drawing of conclusions if appropriate
Your paragraphs should always be coherent, with the sentences linked together (see Guide 1.39). The end
of the paragraph may link back to the introduction to show how the argument has developed, and may
also link forward to the following paragraph. And particularly in shorter pieces, you may want to make
regular reference to the specific question you are answering.
How to separate paragraphs
You must make it clear when one paragraph ends and a new one begins. Traditionally, you would “indent”
the first line of the new paragraph, start it a few spaces in. Nowadays, most people leave a line space
between paragraphs, without indenting the first line: this is probably the easiest thing to do. Remember
that if you are double spacing your writing already, you’ll need to put in an extra space. Don’t mix the
two possibilities.
Sample paragraphs
A
Irrigation schemes are a vital source of food production in most developing countries. Currently it is
estimated that between 35% of world food is produced by irrigation (Bos 1992) and in parts of South East
Asia where rice is the staple crop, up to 60% of food is irrigated (Yudelman 1994). While it is
acknowledged that the role of small scale irrigation in development and rural food security is important,
the medium and large scale sector should not be ignored for important reasons of urban and national food
security (Elahi 1992). FAO have estimated that the annual global growth rate for gross agricultural
production should be 3.8% most of which will have to come from new or rehabilitated irrigation schemes
(Bos 1992).
(If a little bland, this has an introductory sentence that gives the theme of the paragraph followed by
sentences that keep to the theme but enlarge on it, whilst debating the pro's and con's of small and large
scale irrigation).
Source: http://www.uea.ac.uk/menu/acad_depts/dev/keyskills/cognitive/paragraphs.htm
B
From P. Harvey, Health Psychology, Longman, London 1988
(1) While many cancers are both treatable and curable, the nature of the treatment process may have
important pyschosocial dimensions. (2) Many treatments are distressing and uncomfortable (e.g.
radiotherapy and chemotherapy) or painful (e.g. surgery) or may be disfiguring (e.g. mastectomy, when
the breast is removed).(3) Such procedures are carried out on patients and not simply on bodies. (4) The
reactions to such treatments may influence both their efficacy and the cooperation of the patient. (5)
Furthermore, the care staff will have to deal with patients who are anxious or distressed and to
participate in treatments which they themselves find distressing, despite the clinical benefits which may
accrue to the patient.
[The topic sentence is sentence (1). The other sentences develop the topic by giving examples (2) and by
setting out some of the implications of the topic (3) (4) (5).]
C
From S.Hall et.al. The Study of Culture (Unit 6) Open University Press, Milton Keynes 1977.
(1) Ideology is yet another of those concepts developed and discussed within the social sciences which
defy simple definitions. (2) Rather than being a simple conceptual tool in the hands of the sociologist or
the political scientist, ideology rather provides a focal point for a series of intellectual tensions and
arguments. (3) In public discussions, for example, the term 'ideology' is used in a fairly loose and
unsystematic way. (4) When Keith Joseph calls another politician's speeches 'ideological', the implication
would be that the politician was wrong, that he presented an inaccurate view of reality. (5) This
pejorative use of the term 'ideology' to mean a distorted view of reality is used by people at both ends of
the political spectrum to discredit the opposing view.
[This one is a bit more complicated. You could say that sentence (1) is the topic sentence, or that
sentence (2) is. Both these sentences say roughly the same thing. Then sentences (3) and (4) give
examples, and sentence (5) sums up. The whole paragraph develops the topic by setting out some of the
complications in it.]
D
From P. Ashworth, 'Interpersonal Skill Issues Arising from Intensive Care Nursing Contexts', in C. Kagan (ed)
Interpersonal Skills in Nursing, Croom Helm, Beckenham 1985.
(1) It is evident that full and effective use of all communication channels requires the physical, emotional
and intellectual capacity to send signals which convey their intended meaning and to receive them, and
also some common understanding with those with whom it is sought to communicate. (2) But this is
precisely what most patients in intensive care units often do not have. (3) All are restricted in their ability
to express themselves by body movement and personal appearance. (4) They are usually unfamiliar with
being in a situation where they are physically dependent on other people; where bodily functions usually
performed independently in private require assistance and/or permission, and are matters for relatively
public discussion; and where they may not understand the physical objects, activities and sounds
(including much of the verbal interchange) around them. (5) They need information about their own
condition, and the environment and expectations; yet in order to conform to the traditional expectations
of the 'good patient' (seen as passive and undemanding), and because they do not feel confident of
knowing the right words to use, they are often unwilling or unable to pressure staff to provide it. (6) The
patients' self-esteem may be diminished by illness and dependency, thus making them unwilling or unable
to persist in their efforts to gain the information they need.
[This is another example of a first sentence which isn't the topic sentence. Most of this paragraph develops
a topic of the difficulties faced by patients in intensive care: sentences (3), (4), (5) and (6) all do this. So
these sentences are actually developing the topic which is stated in sentence (2), not sentence (1). What
then is the function of sentence (1)? It isn't the topic sentence. Instead, it is the link back to what has
gone before. The paragraph immediately before this one discusses different kinds of communication, both
verbal and non-verbal, and shows how important they are. So sentence (1) links to that, before starting
the particular topic of the difficulties which affect patients in intensive care. This is a very common
structure for paragraphs - a first sentence which sums up a situation, followed by a sentence which starts
a more specific topic within that situation.]
5. Effective punctuation
Good, correct use of punctuation is very important in your writing. Punctuation often plays the same role
as variations in your voice do when you are speaking: full stops, colons, semi-colons and commas indicate
various lengths of pauses; a question mark obviously indicates a question, whereas a rise or fall in your
voice would do this. Lack of punctuation, therefore, or incorrect use of it, will result in your writing being
difficult to follow, and your reader having to do unnecessary work. It could, in fact, be argued that
correct punctuation is more important than correct grammar in making your writing easy to read.
Here are the names of the different types of punctuation, followed by notes on each.
[ . ] full stop
[ , ] comma
[ ; ] semi-colon[ : ] colon
[ ? ] question mark
[ ! ] exclamation mark [ " " ] quotation marks
[ ' ] apostrophe
[ ( ) ] brackets[ _ ] dash
[ / ] forward slash
Full stops
These obviously indicate the end of a sentence and must always be followed by a CAPITAL letter. Make
sure you don't split a sentence unnecessarily with a full stop, creating what are known as sentence
fragments.
Commas
The biggest punctuation problem is the incorrect use of commas: not using them, or using them in the
wrong place. Remember that commas should be used to indicate to your reader a break in the flow of
writing. If you write a long sentence without commas, then it may be very difficult to follow.
Semi-colons
Semi-colons create a break in a sentence somewhere between a full stop and a comma. If you're unsure
about their use, don't worry: it's never necessary to use them. They are used to connect sentences with
very similar meanings or which are closely linked; in the following examples, however, the sentences
could be written separately, or connected with a word like whereas:
Economics is regarded as a Social Science; Engineering is an Applied Science.
It is a thriving department; cuts in funding do not seem to have had an effect on them.
Semi-colons can also be used to separate long items within a list:
A balanced diet such include regular intake of carbohydrates, such as pasta or bread; fruit and
vegetables, preferably fresh and ideally organic; meat, although excessive intake of red meat should be
avoided; ...
Colons
Colons can be useful to add flexibility and variety to your writing, but it is rarely (or never) necessary to
use them. They are perhaps most frequently used to introduce a long list, table or figure; or maybe a long
quotation separated from the rest of your text. Shorter quotations are preceded by a comma. They might
also introduce some examples:
The data is presented here in tabulated form:
According to Cook (1997):
Corpora are only partial authorities. The cumulative language experience of an individual, though less
amenable to systematic access, remains far larger and richer. Even a three hundred million word corpus
is equivalent to only around three thousand books, or perhaps the language experience of a teenager.
Colons may also be used to separate date and page number in a reference: (Caddick, 1999:56).
Question marks
These always come right at the end of the question sentence. Remember, though, that too many direct
questions are best avoided in academic writing; indirect questions do not need a question mark.
Exclamation marks
Unless quoting what someone has directly said to you in an interview, avoid using exclamation marks in
your academic writing. They are too informal.
Quotation marks (inverted commas)
Don't worry too much about whether to use single or double marks, but do make sure you are consistent in
your use. They can be used to indicate that a word is being used in a special way; perhaps if you are being
ironic, or making a simile, or simply naming something:
Ganguly (1988) described the process as 'asymmetric'.
The behaviour of the English 'supporters' was despicable.
This could also be done by using italics.
Their main use, of course, is in quoting. Guide 1.28 contains examples. Just one point: if you do make a
quotation, make sure you put quotation marks at the end of the quote. It's surprising how many people
forget to!
Apostrophes
A lot of native English speakers are getting very confused about the humble little apostrophe.
Apostrophes have two distinct uses in English:
To indicate possession
To indicate a missing letter or letters in a contraction
Note that apostrophes should only very rarely (if ever) be used to indicate plurals - see note below:
Possession
An apostrophe is used to indicate possession - that something belongs to somebody or something. For
example:
The committee's decision (=the decision of the committee)
The President's mistake (=the mistake of the President)
If the person's name ends in '-s', you can write:
Charles' ears or Charles's ears
In these examples, there is only one committee, one President and one Charles, so the apostrophe comes
before the '-s'. If we want to indicate that something belongs to more than one person or thing, then the
apostrophe comes after the '-s':
The students' representation (=the representation of the students)
Note the use of the apostrophe in the following:
in three hours' time (literally, in the time of three hours)
The possessive pronouns its, ours, yours and theirs do NOT have an apostrophe:
Its performance is second to none
I like their garden: in fact, I prefer theirs to ours.
(You will, however, see widespread confusion between the use of 'its' and 'it's', even in the press,
advertisements, official documents and product packaging. See newspaper articles below.)
You would not normally say something like 'the car of John'. This type of expression, however, is used
when expressing 'important' or 'official' ideas' hence:
The Queen of England (NOT England's Queen)
Sometimes both might be possible, for example:
The Court's decision or The decision of the Court.
The latter, however, sounds more sombre or momentous.
Note also that English often puts nouns together, which in some cases would also indicate possession:
The findings of the report or The report findings
Things get a bit complicated here, so if you're not sure, consult a good dictionary.
Contractions
In spoken English and informal writing, contractions (e.g. I've) are extremely common: you will in fact
sound very strange if you don't use them when you're speaking. The apostrophe indicates where the
missing letters should be:
there's = there is
he's = he has or he is
IMPORTANT NOTE: Contractions should NOT be used in formal academic writing. Always write out the full
form of the words
Plurals
Apostrophes are only used in plurals in one or two special cases (see below). In recent years, however, in
this country, and also in other English speaking countries such as Australia and the USA, we have seen the
emergence of what is sometimes called the"greengrocers' apostrophe": the use of the apostrophe to show
a plural, as in:
Apple's 40p a pound
This misuse is extremely widespread now, making people even more and more confused, and may even
lead to some sort of permanent change in the language. This is no excuse for you to make this mistake,
though! So apart from the odd examples below, DO NOT use apostrophes for plurals!
An apostrophe can be used for the plural of abbreviations such as PC's or CD's, but even here it is not
necessary. PCs or CDs look better. The only case where you do need an apostrophe for the plural is with
special words and expressions which are not usually found in the plural (and as such should probably not
be used in your writing). For example:
No if's or but's, get off to bed now!
Brackets
Apart from in references, it is best to try to avoid brackets. Their use is bad style, they can make your
writing difficult to follow, and are never necessary. Commas usually serve exactly the same purpose.
Dashes
Don't use them; they are too informal.
Forward slashes/strokes
Apart from internet addresses or other special uses, don't use them. Instead of cities/towns/villages you
should write something like cities, towns or villages.
6. Cohesion: linking words and phrases
You can use words or short phrases which help to guide your reader through your writing, and to link
sentences, paragraphs and sections both forwards and backwards. Good use will make what you have
written easy to follow; bad use might mean your style is disjointed, probably with too many short
sentences, and consequently difficult to follow. Your mark could be affected either way.
The best way to "get a feel" for these words is through your reading. Most textbooks and articles are wellwritten and will probably include a lot of these cohesive devices. Note how they are used and try to
emulate what you have read. Do make sure though that you fully understand their meaning: incorrect use
could change completely what you're trying to say. Try to use a variety of expressions, particularly in
longer pieces of writing.
Don't forget "AND"! Two short sentences are often best connected together with this little word.
There follows a list of words and phrases that can be used. The list is not exhaustive, and BE CAREFUL:
although grouped together, none is totally synonymous. Their position in the sentence can also vary; this
is where your reading and dictionary come in.
Listing
Giving examples
Generalising
first, second, third
for example
in general
first, furthermore, finally
for instance
generally
to begin, to conclude
as follows:
on the whole
next
that is
as a rule
Reinforcement
in this case
for the most part
also
namely
in most cases
furthermore
in other words
usually
moreover
Result/consequence
Highlighting
what is more
so
in particular
in addition
therefore
particularly
besides
as a result/consequence
especially
above all
accordingly
mainly
as well (as)
consequently
Reformulation
in the same way
because of this/that
in other words
not only ... but also
thus
rather
Similarity
hence
to put it more simply
equally
for this/that reason
Expressing an alternative
likewise
so that
alternatively
similarly
in that case
rather
correspondingly
under these circumstances
on the other hand
in the same way
Deduction
the alternative is
Transition to new point
then
another possibility would be
now,
in other words
Contrast
as far as x is concerned
in that case
instead
with regard/reference to
otherwise
conversely
as for ...
this implies that ...
on the contrary
it follows that
if so/not
in contrast
turning to
Stating the obvious
in comparison
Summary
obviously
Concession (sth unexpected)
in conclusion
clearly
however
to conclude
naturally
even though
in brief
of course
however much
to summarise
as can be expected
nevertheless
overall
surely
still
therefore
after all
yet
Here are just a few examples of some of the words in action:
REINFORCEMENT
Desktop computers are cheaper and more reliable than laptops; furthermore, they are more flexible.
RESULT/CONSEQUENCE
Prices fell by more than 20% last year. As a result, sales increased by 15%.
GENERALISING
On the whole, his speech was well received, despite some complaints from new members.
CONTRAST
The South East of the UK often has the coldest weather in the winter. Conversely, the North West of
Scotland frequently has the mildest temperatures.
CONCESSION
It was a very expensive holiday, the weather was bad and the people weren’t very
friendly. Nevertheless, we would probably go back to the same place.
Transition word exercise
Always ask yourself what the exact relationship is between the sentences or parts of sentences. Are you
leading to the result of something? Are you making a deduction? Are you introducing some contradictory
evidence or ideas? Your choice of word or phrase obviously depends on this. And always check in a good
dictionary if you're not quite sure about a word's use or its position in a sentence. Remember that
punctuation will affect what you use.
Insert the best alternative
1 Polls show that Tony Blair is the most popular Prime Minister this century. ______________ , there are
even members of his own party who are uneasy with his approach.
In particular
However
For instance
2 There are some slight variations in temperature, but ________________ 26 to 27ºC should be expected.
consequently
otherwise
as a rule
3 The two main Channel Islands, ________________ Jersey and Guernsey, are much closer to France than
to England.
for example
namely
in particular
4 It was announced that nurses' working hours would be increased by 25%. ______________ , even fewer
trainee nurses
are expected to join the profession.
As a result
So that
Likewise
5 Sales of CDs have experienced a small but steady fall over the past 12 months. _____________ , vinyl
records have seen an increase in their share of the market, up to 1.7%.
Above all
Correspondingly
In contrast
6 The Vice Chancellor explained that in light of the current financial climate and because of unexpected
bad debts, it would be necessary to peg salary levels at their current level for all grades of staff.
______________ , no-one was getting a pay rise.
Nevertheless
In other words
Similarly
7 It is clear, therefore, that the situation in Brazil will improve only slowly. ______________ the economic
problems being experienced in Japan, the outlook is slightly more optimistic.
Furthermore
In comparison
With reference to
8 In order to try to reduce car use in the inner cities, the government has announced new restrictions on
company parking spaces and ______________ , a new tax on individual car use.
as well as
in addition
in the same way
9 Essays must be handed in by the deadline, ______________ they will not be marked.
obviously
otherwise
as a result
10 ______________ it has been shown that fractures can occur at even relatively low pressures, the use of
the material should not be completely discounted.
Nevertheless
Because
Even though
7. Using the correct word type
An error found in some students' writing is the use of the wrong "type" of word, that is, confusion between
verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc. For example:
The important of the discovery cannot be denied. (should be "importance")
This type of revenue is very importance. (should be "important")
If you do make this kind of mistake, which usually happens if your native tongue is very different to
English (eg. Chinese), there are two basic pieces of advice:
You need to become sensitive to the different types of word endings, to know, for example, that the
ending "-tion" is very often for a noun; that "-ly" very often signifies an adverb. Make yourself some lists,
and make sure you know when the different types of words are used. An adjective, for example, is
associated with a noun (an object, a person, an idea etc); an adverb with a verb.
Buy yourself a good dictionary and learn to use it effectively. The Collins Cobuild English Language
dictionary, for example, has a column telling you the type of word and gives practical examples of the
words in use. Be very careful with the use of electronic dictionaries and small monolingual dictionaries, as
these could be misleading.
These are the main word types which may cause confusion:
NOUNS
Nouns are words which refer to people, things or ideas. For example, girl, door, hunger.
They are often preceded by some kind of determiner or article, such as this, those, my; a/an, the, or by
an adjective describing the word. Associated verbs almost always come after the noun.
Nouns can be countable (made into a plural), for example book, tutor, or uncountable (cannot be made
into a plural), for example literature, staff.
Nouns are often used as if they were adjectives:
a Sunday newspaper
the staff restaurant
And verbs can become nouns by adding –ing:
walking is good for you
talking is not allowed
Note that nouns can often be used as verbs:
to paper the bedroom (=put wallpaper up)
to chair a meeting
to screen applicants for a job
VERBS
Verbs are used with nouns to express what that noun “does” or what happens to it:
Doris studies Spanish in the evening.
The door was repaired last week.
Verb forms in English are very simple. A regular verb has just four forms: look, looks, looked and looking.
Meaning is often expressed through an associated modal auxiliary verb such as can, should, or might: in
this case the main verb is always in the base (infinitive) form:
It might rain tonight.
You should write around 2000 words.
Alternatively, forms of the verbs be and have are used with the main verb:
It is becoming cheaper to fly.
They have started work on their project.
ADJECTIVES
These are words which “describe” or tell you more about a noun: red, expensive, difficult.
They always come before the associated noun: the red balloon.
Adjectives never ‘agree’ with the noun, i.e. they don’t need an –s if the noun is plural:
the expensive book or the expensive books.
Adjectives usually can’t be made into nouns. You can’t say I’d like the green. Instead, you need to say the
green one or the green tie. One exception is when some colours are made plural to describe, for example,
a football team (Birmingham City are The Blues), although this is rare.
In standard English, adjectives cannot be used as adverbs; you can’t say he sang really good, but
instead he sang really well.
See the note above about nouns acting as adjectives.
ADVERBS
Adverbs add information about an action, event or situation. They tell us when, how or where something
happens. For example: sometimes, gradually, everywhere.
Words ending in –ly will very often be adverbs, but there are many adverbs which do not end in –ly. There
are also some adjectives which end in –ly (eg. friendly); these cannot be made into an adverb, but instead
you would say, for example, in a friendly way.
Exercise
Find the errors and correct them.
1 The problem is to find the people who are response for the situation.
2 People may be temporary out of a job.
3 This essay will analyse the important of the shadow economy.
4 They claim they are unemployed, but in fact they are in a well situation.
5 Some of the gains from tax evasion will flow to the consume as well.
6 GDP shows how much the economy in that country has growth.
7 The government has found it necessarily to raise interest rates.
8 The teacher usually reliant on one book.
9 The information provided will be treated confidential by the researchers.
10 To avoid unstable in sales, companies tend to diversify.