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1.3 An approach to academic writing


1.3 An approach to academic writing
Contenido

• Audience
• Purpose and Strategy
• Organization
• Style
• Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Language Focus: Formal Grammar Style
• Flow
• Language Focus: Linking Words and Phrases
• Language Focus: this + Summary Word
• Presentation
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Considerations
Objetivos y estucturain
deacademic
este tutorialwriting

• Graduate students face a variety of writing tasks as


they work toward their chosen degrees

• These tasks will vary from one degree to another.

• The tasks become progressively more complex and


demanding the further we go in the program.

• They need to be written “academically”.

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Audience
Objetivos y estuctura de este tutorial

• Even before you write, you need to consider your


audience.
• The audience for most graduate students will be an
instructor.
• To be successful, you need to have an understanding
of your audience’s expectations and prior knowledge
→ this will affect the content of your writing.

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Objetivos yPurpose
estucturaand Strategy
de este tutorial

• Audience, purpose and strategy are typically


interconnected.
• If the audience knows less than the writer, the
writer’s purpose is often instructional.
• If the audience knows more than the writer, the
writer’s purpose is usually to display familiarity,
expertise and intelligence.

What strategy a student can use to make a successful


display?

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Organization
Objetivos y estuctura de este tutorial

• Information is presented to readers in a structured


format.
• Even short pieces of writing have regular, predictable
patterns of organization.
• We can take advantage, so that readers can still
follow, even if we make errors.

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Organization

• One very common strategy in academic writing is to


organize information in terms of problem-solution.

• Description of a situation
• Identification of a problem
• Description of a solution
• Evaluation of the solution

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Style

• Academic writers need to be sure that their


communications are written in the appropriate style.

• The style must not only be consistent but must also


be appropriate both for the message and for the
audience.

• A formal research report written in informal English


may be consider too simplistic, even if the ideas
and/or data are complex.
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Style

• One difficulty in using the appropriate style is knowing


what is considered academic and what is not →
grammar-check program

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift

• Verbs
• English often has two (or more) choices to express
an action or occurrence.
• In lectures and other instances → the verb +
preposition is used
• For written academic style → use single verb
wherever possible

• According to some biologists, coming up with clear proof of the


decreasing numbers of frogs has been difficult. (Less formal style)
• According to some biologists, offering clear proof of the
decreasing numbers of frogs has been difficult. (Academic style)10
Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift

• Nouns and Other Parts of Speech

• English has a very rich vocabulary


• There may be more than one way to express an
idea.
• Choose words that are less informal in nature and
also that are more precise.

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid Totalizing Words

1. Totalizing words make an oversimplified claim and turn a


complex situation into an irrefutable fact, which is frowned upon in
the scholarly community.

Example:

Wrong: The number of cars on the road has caused global climate
change.

Correct: The number of cars on the road has contributed to global


climate change.
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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid Totalizing Words
2. Words like always and never make claims too strong for
academic writing. They can lead you to generalize your results
when it is not appropriate. Use less totalizing words like usually,
generally, and rarely.

Example:

Wrong: Bluebirds always nest in eastern facing nesting boxes.

Correct: Blue birds generallynest in eastern facing nesting boxes.

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid Clichés
1. Some common phrases that you use in everyday speech don’t translate well
to academic writing. Often such phrases are hyperbolized (i.e. exaggerated),
too casual, and so overused that most readers glance over them.
2. This list is a small selection of phrases meant to illustrate the style of
informal phrases.

Example:

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid “Used to”
1. Used to is a wordy way to make an action past tense.

Example:

Wrong: He used to believe in Santa Claus.

Correct: He believed in Santa Claus when he was younger.

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid Introductory Phrases
1. Introductory phrases get clunky and can often be eliminated or
shortened. If you find yourself using a phrase like the ones below,
experiment with shorter and more succinct ways to say the same
thing.

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid Intensifiers
1. Adverbs such as very, extremely, literally, and highly are
intensifiers. They modify a verb but are unnecessary to convey
your point in academic writing.

Example:

Wrong: The new neck brace prototype was very promising because
of its superb comfort and lean production cost.

Correct: : The new neck brace prototype was promising because of


its comfort and lean production cost.

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Language Focus: The Vocabulary Shift
• Avoid repetitive phrases
1. Repetition can occur in the sentence structures and the words
that you use.

Example:

Wrong: Barometric pressurecan indicate imminent weather


changes. The barometric pressure dropped right before the
rainstorm last week.

Correct: : Barometric pressurecan indicate imminent weather


changes; in fact, it dropped right before the rainstorm last week.

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Language Focus: Formal Grammar Style

• Generally avoid contractions


• don‘t → do not
• won‘t → will not

• Use the more appropriate formal negative forms


• not... any → no
• not... much → little
• not... many → few

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Language Focus: Formal Grammar Style

• Limit the use of “run-on” expressions


• and so forth
• etc.

• Avoid addressing the reader as you


• Except if we are writing a textbook or other
instructional materials

• Be careful about using direct questions.


• In some fields they are common, while in others
they are not
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Language Focus: Formal Grammar Style

• Place adverbs within the verb


• Actually, very little is known about the general nature and
prevalence of scientific dishonesty.
• Very little is actually known about the general nature and
prevalence of scientific dishonesty.

• Aim for an efficient use of words


• Use as many words as you need to express your points
• Try to use no more than you really need

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Task - An approach to academic writing

• Working with a partner, look through one article in


English. Can you find examples where the authors
seem to follow some of our suggestions?

• Write a one-paragraph problem-solution text about a


problem in Ecuador. Your audience is a group of
American peers and professors interested in
Ecuador.

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Flow

• Flow → Moving from one statement in a text to


the next.

• Establishing a clear connection of ideas is


important to help your reader follow the text.
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Language Focus: Linking Words &
Phrases

LW&P can help


the writer
maintain flow
and establish
clear
relationships
between ideas.

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Language Focus: Linking Words &
Phrases
• Sentence connectors raise a small, but important,
issue → punctuation

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Language Focus: this + Summary Word

• Another way to maintain flow is to use this/these


+ a noun to join ideas together.

• Summary words may be expanded into phrases to


add clarity
• However, long and complicated summary
phrases may be unnecessary

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Presentation

• Most instructors tolerate small errors in language in


papers written by non-native speakers.

• Errors that could have been avoided by careful


proofreading are generally considered less
acceptable.

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Presentation - Recommendations

• Consider the overall format of your written work

• Does your paper look as if it has been carefully


prepared?
• Are there clear paragraphs?
• Is the line spacing appropriate?
• Have you used standard fonts and font sizes?

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Presentation - Recommendations

• Proofread for careless grammar mistakes

• Do subjects and verbs agree?


• Have the appropriate verb tenses been used?
• Have the articles a, an, and the been used when
necessary?
• Is the used too much?

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Presentation - Recommendations

• Check for misspelled words, even if you have spell-


checked your work

• Has the correct homophone been used?


• Did the spell-checker miss anything?

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Thanks!

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