Rita Pacheco Communication Service October 2012 ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH
Dec 11, 2015
Rita Pacheco
Communication Service
October 2012
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
TOPICS COVERED
Prepositions
Writing numbers
Choosing British or American English
Relative Clauses
Being Succinct
Making your writing more formal
Taking the “you” out of your work
The Active and Passive Voice
End Focus
Using Grammar to Argue a Point
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
PREPOSITIONS
TriMARES is on the water
TriMARES is at the river
TriMARES is in the water
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
PREPOSITIONSUse ON with surfacese.g. ON the ceiling/table/wall
Use ON with directionse.g. On the left
Use ON with days of the weeke.g. On Monday
Use AT with placese.g. AT the bus stop/door/cinema
Use AT with places on a pagee.g. AT the top of the page
Use AT with timese.g. At midday/3.00pm
Use IN with spacese.g. IN a room/building/garden
Use IN with watere.g. IN the water/river/sea
Use IN with linese.g. IN a line/queue
Use In with parts of the daye.g. In the afternoon/morning
Use IN with months and yearse.g. In 2001/June
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
PREPOSITIONS
Using grid services on software applications
Using values on a database
This programme is available in the internet
The use of rule induction algorithms on real world
problems
At the proxy field tick the box
Insert the following text at the box below
in
in
on
in
In
in
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
PREPOSITIONS
Considered as Considered
Composed by Composed of
Consists in Consist of
Compared with Compared to
According with In accordance with OR according to
Based in Based on
Focus in Focus on
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
WRITING NUMBERS
The comma and the decimal point is different to other European
languages in British and American English :
One hundred = 100
One thousand = 1,000
One million = 1,000,000
One hundred and two pounds and fifty pence = £102.50
NOT 102,50 £
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
CHOOSE AMERICAN OR BRITISH ENGLISH?
Vs
DO NOT MIX THEM
International Journals – American English European projects – British English INESC Porto Website – British English Spell check
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
RELATIVE CLAUSES
We use relative clauses to give additional
information about something without starting
another sentence.
By combining sentences with a relative clause,
your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid
repeating certain words.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
HOW TO FORM RELATIVE CLAUSES
A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?
Do you know the girl…?
Do you know the girl is talking to Tom?who
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
HOW TO FORM RELATIVE CLAUSES
RELATIVE PRONOUN USE EXAMPLE
Who subject or object pronoun for people
I told you about the researcher who works at INESC TEC.
Which subject or object pronoun for animals and things
Do you see the robot which is on the floor?
Which referring to a whole sentence He couldn’t read which surprised me.
Whose possession for people, animals and things
Do you know the professor whose work has been awarded?
Whom object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative
clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer
who)
I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
That subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in
defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)
I don’t like the article that you wrote.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
HOW TO FORM RELATIVE CLAUSES
RELATIVE ADVERB MEANING USE EXAMPLE
When in/on which refers to a time expression
the day when we met him
Where in/at which refers to a place the place where we met him
Why for which refers to a reason the reason why we met him
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
RELATIVE CLAUSES – TWO TYPES
Defining Relative Clauses give detailed information
defining a general term or expression. Defining relative
clauses are not put in commas and are often used in
definitions.
Example: Do you know the student who is talking to
professor Tom?
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
RELATIVE CLAUSES – TWO TYPES
Non-Defining Relative Clauses give additional information
on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative
clauses are put in commas.
Example: The researcher, who/whom we met yesterday,
is very good.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
RELATIVE CLAUSES
Relative clauses with who, which, that as the subject
pronoun can be replaced with a participle:
Example:
I told you about the researcher who works at INESC TEC. I
told you about the researcher working at INESC TEC.
Examples:
To carry out the verification on which method To verify which
method…
A system that can realize estimations… A system that can
estimate…
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
BE SUCCINCT
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
CONNECTING WORDS
Connecting word Use
However Introduce a contrasting idea
On the other hand* Introduce a contrasting idea
Furthermore Introduce additional information
In addition Introduce additional information
Nevertheless Introduce a contrasting idea
Consequently/subsequently/hence Introduce a result/consequence
Thus/therefore Introduce a result/consequence
* too informal for published works
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
LINKING PARAGRAPHS AND SENTENCES
Use a topic sentence to begin each paragraph
Eliminate very short paragraphs
Repeat key words for cohesion
Repeat sentence structure for cohesion
The results clearly show that the tests successfully revealed the
results that the team had expected, that the charge would gradually
increase as the time decreased, which is what occurred, although it
did not occur consistently and did not show a clear repetitive pattern.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
Splitting Sentences:Techniques
The charge was expected to
However, this result
Technique1: RepetitionTechnique 2: Connecting words
Get information Obtain information
Do a study Conduct a study
It seems to be It appears to be
To show To demonstrate
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
MAKE YOUR WRITING MORE FORMAL
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
MAKE YOUR WRITING MORE FORMAL
Informal FormalHelp AssistStop CeaseBegin CommenceShow DemonstrateTell InformGet ObtainNeed RequireWrong IncorrectIn charge ResponsiblePoint out Highlight
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
PHRASES TO AVOID
Be precise and where possible use dates and figures
Etc Too informal – use “such as”
Among others Too informal – use “such as”
i.e. Too informal
So Too informal
Like Too informal “such as”
Research work Redundant
A lot of Vague
Many Vague
A few Vague
Some Vague
Why?
• More credible
• Less biased
• More formal
Examples:
The authors used two methods to verify the results
Two methods were used to verify the results
I believe that this result will greatly contribute to the area.
This result will greatly contribute to the area.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
TECNIQUES TO REMOVE THE AUTHOR
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
TECNIQUES TO REMOVE THE “YOU”
Most people take drug overdoses because they find that it's difficult to sort out their problems clearly. That's why you should treat your patients in a clear way. That means you should treat your patients in a way that helps them to tell the difference between their problems and find ways to deal with them.
Most overdoses are taken when individuals are finding it difficult to resolve their life problems in a clear way. For this reason, the approach to treatment must, above all else, be a clear one; that is, one which helps the patients separate out each of their problems and plan ways of dealing with them.
TechniquesThe passive voice – but be carefulFocus on the research not the researcher e.g. “The results indicate…”
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Although the passive voice is more common in scientific writing,
sentences in the active voice can be more concise.
Using the active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your
meaning clear for readers.
Overuse of the passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences .
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
CHANGING PASSIVE TO ACTIVE
Examples from INESC TECOriginal: In this paper it is proposed the introduction of sensory feedback (force and torque sensing) in a robotic framework. Revised: This paper proposes the introduction of sensory feedback (force and torque sensing) within a robotic framework. Original: The effectiveness of the proposed approach was proved through the experiments, showing that force control improves significantly robot performance, making robots more human-like, flexible and with capacity to make decisions. Revised: The experiments show that the proposed approach is effective. They have demonstrated that force control can significantly improve the robot’s performance, making it more human-like, flexible and giving it the ability to make decisions.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
WHICH ONE? AND WHEN?
Use the Passive Voice to write without using personal pronouns or the
names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences - the focus is
on the action and not on the agent.
BUT
Use the Active Voice when the agent is more important than the action
itself.
Use the Active Voice to make your message clearer.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
In each of your sentences place the most vital word or part at the end of each clause / sentence.
Compare these three sentences (the most important information is underlined):
“The result may be catastrophic, as shown by this study” “As shown by this study, the result may be catastrophic” “This study shows that the result may be catastrophic”
The final two sentences have much more impact.
END FOCUS
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
USING GRAMMAR TO ARGUE A POINT
Compare these two sentences:
1. Smith claims that language is innate; however, it is clear that this is not the case. 2. Smith has claimed that language is innate; however, it is clear that this is not the case.
By putting Smith in the past tense, the new information is automatically considered more up to date.
HOW IT’S DONE
• Composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) are among the most effective
solutions for high pressure storage of compressible liquid and gaseous fluids.
Their characteristic high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios make
them suitable for both static and mobile applications. However, since operating
higher pressures are continually sought to achieve higher energy densities in
storage systems, safety aspects become critical.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
HOW IT’S DONE
• The next sections will present an overview of such developments
according to specific concepts and sensing platforms (…).
• The next sections review the progress in optical sensing based on PCF (…).
• The COPV typically consist of an inner liner and an outer composite
overwrapped layer.
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH | SCOM 2012
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Final Worksheet
See if you can spot any errors