Session 7

19/3/2016

Writing: academic skills

Paragraph
Topic
Flow
Connection (signaling words)

Writing: Connection of different parts

in paragraphs
It is the responsibility of the writer to make it clear to
the reader how various parts of the paragraph are
connected.
These connections can be made explicit by the use of
different signalling words.

Connection with signalling words

For example, if you think that one sentence gives reasons for
something in another sentence, make it explicit:
While an earlier generation of writers had noted this feature of the period, it was
not until the recent work of Cairncross that the significance of this outflow was
realized. Partly this was because the current account deficit appears much
smaller in current (1980s) data than it was thought to be by contemporaries.

Or, if you intend your sentence to give extra information, make it clear:
He is born into a family, he marries into a family, and he becomes the husband
and father of his own family. In addition, he has a definite place of origin and more
relatives than he knows what to do with, and he receives a rudimentary education
at the Canadian Mission School.

1 . Time/order
at first, eventually, finally, first, firstly, in the end, in the first
place, lastly, later, next, second, secondly, to begin with
2. Comparison/similar ideas
in comparison, in the same way, similarly
3. Contrast/opposite ideas
but, despite, in spite of, even so, however, in contrast, in spite
of this, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still,
whereas, yet
4. Cause and effect
accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, because,
because of this, consequently, for this reason, hence, in
consequence, in order to, owing to this, since, so, so that,
therefore, thus
5. Examples
for example, for instance, such as, thus, as follows
6 Generalisation
as a rule, for the most part, generally, in general, normally, on
the whole, in most cases, usually
7. Stating the obvious
after all, as one might expect, clearly, it goes without saying,
naturally, obviously, of course, surely

8. Attitude
admittedly, certainly, fortunately, luckily, oddly enough,
strangely enough, undoubtedly, unfortunately
9. Summary/conclusion
finally, in brief, in conclusion, in short, overall, so, then, to
conclude, to sum up
10. Explanation/equivalence
in other words, namely, or rather, that is to say, this means, to
be more precise, to put it another way
11. Addition
apart from this, as well as, besides, furthermore, in addition,
moreover, nor, not only...but also, too, what is more
12. Condition
in that case, then
13. Support
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact, indeed
14. Contradiction
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact
15. Emphasis
chiefly, especially, in detail, in particular, mainly, notably,
particularly

Tip+: note taking

2 main reasons for this:
taking notes helps you concentrate
helps you to maintain a permanent record of what
you have read or listened to

and
&
and others
et. al.
(people)
and other things
etc.
answer/question
A/Q
approximately
at
@
because
chapter
ch.
correct
decrease/increase
/
degrees
360
department
dept.
divided by
/
East/west/south/no
E/W/S/N
rth
equal to
=
equivalent to
especially
esp.

greater/less than
important
in one year
information
maximum
minimum
minus/plus
much greater/less
than
multiplied by
not equal
number

>/<
N.B.
p.a.
info.
max.
min.
-/+
>>/<<
x, *
=
No. or
#

page

p.

pages

pp.

percent

possibly

poss.

probably

prob.

same as above

that is to say, in
other words

i.e.

therefore
unlikely, not sure

??

very

v.

with reference to

ref.

wrong

year

yr.

 Exercise:
Look at the topic sentences below and discuss what kinds of
information you would expect to follow with two or three other
students:
1.The world-wide increase in road transport is a serious threat to
the natural environment.
2.Deforestation has a direct effect on food supplies.
3.There is a mistaken idea that, because of pocket calculators,
children no longer need to learn how to do basic arithmetic.
4.My grandfather/grandmother is/was very easy/difficult to get on
with.
5.There are no justifications for any country possessing nuclear
weapons.

Vocabulary: affixes and roots

http://www.uefap.com/vocab/vocfram.htm
Do the exercises

Prefix/
Suffix

(roots
of) Noun
Verb
Adjective
s

New
words

Academic writing: select the right

vocabulary
Formal written English uses nouns more than verbs. For
example, judgement rather than judge, development rather than
develop, admiration rather than admire.
There appeared to be evidence of differential treatment of children.
There appeared to be evidence that they treat children differently.

Academic writing: Formality

Formality means no colloquial words and expressions. You should
avoid:
colloquial words and expressions; ""stuff", "a lot of", "thing", "sort of"
abbreviated forms: "can't", "doesn't", "shouldn't
two word verbs: "put off", "bring up"

Exercise 1: Rewrite colloquial words http://

www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/styleex1.htm
Exercise 2: Replace two-word verbs with more formal words
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/styleex3.htm
Exercise 3: Find formal/informal words http://
www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/styleex4.htm

Midterm test

50%
50%
ePortfolio
Midterm test on
(including 2 writing tasks Wednesday
and 1 individual reporting
news video)

Criteria for the Midterm test (0-10):

1. Writing:
Vocabulary: identify family words (1); give synonyms/antonyms and formal/informal words (2)
Academic writing: paragraphing (3), topic sentence (4), flow of information (5), signaling
words (6)
2. Reading:
Skimming (7) and scanning (8)
3. Listening:
Listen to news report and answer questions (9)
4. Speaking:
Pronunciation: phonemic chart and stress on words (10)

Practice: apply what you have

learned
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Celebrities make a very good living out of media
attention and have chosen to live in the public
spotlight. They have no right to complain when
they feel the media are intruding on their privacy.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with
this opinion?
Write at least 250 words.