Routes to excellence Academic Teaching Excellence English

Issues of Academic Writing
Introduction: academic writing challenges
Key points in writing papers and abstracts
Making language of our research paper clear
Available digital resources in academic writing

Introduction
What are our expectations and aims of writing a research paper in English?

Introduction
What are the main challenges of writing a research paper in English?
Lack of confidence
Lack of motivation
Perfectionism
Poor vocabulary
“Bad” writing style
…

Key points in writing research papers and abstracts
General features of academic writing:
complexity, formality, precision, objectivity, accuracy, responsibility, hedging, explicitness
Recommendations that are helpful in writing papers:
Focused analysis. Choose your level and unit of analysis.
Integration.
Simpler sentences; logical paragraphs.
Active voice in English grammar.
References and bibliography.
Native speakers of English as your co-authors or editors of your paper.

Key points in writing research papers and abstracts
In order to fulfil these recommendations we need to take practical steps and solve several tasks:
Introduce a work
Give a brief synopsis of literature, bibliography
Describe our methods
Report and discuss results
Write conclusions
Organize a list of references.
Write an abstract (see the hand-out).

6 C’s
Coherent
Concise
Clear
Courteous
Correct
Complete
logically organised
flows well
straight to the point
easy to understand
Use of modern vocabulary
Positive language
Personal tone
grammar, spelling
punctuation, vocabulary
facts
includes all information

Making language of our research paper clear
Giving a brief synopsis of the relevant literature in English can help to enrich our topic specific vocabulary.
The first thing that all researchers agree upon is that time spent reading is the single most important factor in increased word knowledge. There are times when it is necessary to learn content vocabulary explicitly.

Making the language of our research paper clear
Signposting language: starting, ending, linking parts of text
The aim of this study is to …
The main questions addressed in this paper are …
Finally, …
In conclusion, …
Listing: First(ly),… Second(ly),… Finally,…
Adding: In addition,… Furthermore,…
Showing contrast: However,… Nevertheless,… On the other hand,…
Giving a reason: For this reason,… because… because of… due to…
Indicating result or consequence: Therefore,… Thus,… As a result,…
Consequently,…
Giving examples: For example,… For instance,… To exemplify,…

Making language of our research paper clear
Some general guidelines for academic writing
Avoid using contractions in academic English writing.
Avoid the use of personal pronouns to refer to a reader.
The use of the passive voice is very common in academic texts and
makes it easier to avoid the use of personal pronouns.
Use the more formal single word instead of the multi-word verb.
Avoid using slang expressions, colloquial language and subjective adjectives and adverbs in an academic context.
Use more formal vocabulary of French or Latin origin. It is longer, with more syllables.
Nominalisation: formal written English uses nouns more than verbs.

Making language of our research paper clear
Some general guidelines for academic writing

Complex noun phrases
Head nouns preceded by adjectives or other nouns
Helps the text be concise and precise
E.g. Statistically significant emissions
emissions that are non-negligible from a statistical perspective
Potentially toxic chemicals
chemicals that may have a toxic effect

Complex noun phrases
Multiple nouns can modify the head noun
E.g. University staff pension scheme
In phrases with two nouns, the first is singular even when referring to something plural
E.g.
staff rights (the rights of staff)
resource use (the use of resources)

Avoid nominalisations(?)
Nominalisation is the use of the noun form of the word rather than the verb.
It makes sentences overly long and seem less human.
Often easy to identify by a noun sandwiched between ‘the’ and ‘of’
E.g. ‘the avoidance of’ instead of ‘to avoid’ or ‘the use of’ instead of ‘to use’

Avoid nominalisations
The solution is to replace the noun with the verb
E.g.
“We ensured the engagement of students in the experiment with the use of lunchtime meetings.” to
“We used lunchtime meetings to engage students.”

Shorten when possible
On account of the fact of
At the present time
In the majority of instances
On the part of
Remove altogether
Regular weekly meetings
Because
Now
Mostly
By
Remove
Weekly meetings

Available digital resources in academic writing
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/ The Academic Phrasebank. University of Manchester
www.uefap.net Using English for Academic Purposes.
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice - Advice on Academic Writing. University of Toronto.
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd edition. 2005.
https://translate.google.com.ua/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/