academic writing · writing the article tips on the english language student at unis. ... now you...

UNIS PhD Forum 21 January 2020

Janet Holmén 1

ACADEMIC WRITING

Janet Holmén

Freelance editor, linguistic editor and [email protected]

What can I teach you in 60 minutes?

Structure of a standard article

Writing the article

Tips on the English language

Student at UNIS


Janet Holmén 2

The original article

This is the basic currency of science

• Presents previously unpublished information

• Presents data the authors have generated themselves

Most original articles look pretty much alike Why?

Formal argument:

“a series of reasons, statements or facts intended to support or

establish a point of view”


Janet Holmén 3

Structure used in scientific writing:

I ntroduction

M aterials and methods

R esults

A nd

D iscussion

Sequence of a formal argument:

• State problem

• Present evidence

• Validate evidence

• Show implications

• Evaluate supporting and conflicting evidence

• Draw conclusions

I ntroduction

M ethods

R esults

D iscussion


Janet Holmén 4

Introduction – function

• Focus reader's attention

• Give necessary background

• Spark interest

Introduction – problems

• Too much background

• Too much peripheral information

• Too long


Janet Holmén 5

Methods – function

• Enable others to repeat experiments (if experimental)…or understand how the study was done (if not)

• Establish your scientific credibility

Methods – structure

The structure will depend on the study!

• Where did you do it?

• How did you gather data?

• If experiments were involved, how did you do them?

• If you use computer models, how are they constructed?

• etc, etc, etc...

Use headings to orient the reader


Janet Holmén 6

EXAMPLE

Plaster for broken finger bones

The problemBroken fingers is one of the most common injuries in hospital emergency rooms. Most broken fingers heal just fine in a cast and present no big problem. But some of them are highly dislocated and may be broken into many pieces, leaving the finger dislocated and without function. These fingers need surgery to heal properly. Today, the most common methods of fixing the bone fragments in the correct position consist of metal pins or small metal plates and mini screws. The biggest problem with this treatment is that tendons and other surrounding tissues easily grow attached to the metal and the finger gets stiff. Another problem is that it is very hard to get a good stability in all the pieces when there are a lot of tiny bone fragments that need to be fixed, no matter how small screws you use.

Stiff fingers affect the function of the whole hand and may become a permanent impairment.

The new treatmentIn my research, I try to find a new treatment for the complicated, multi fragmented broken finger using a kind of bone plaster which we have developed in collaboration with researchers at the School of Chemistry at KTH. The plaster consists of a kind of three or four different components – one adhesive layer that sticks to the bone, a matrix and a fiber which give stability and finally, in the next step a surface molecule that stops the tendon and other soft tissues from growing attached to the bone plaster. In this way we will solve the problem of fixing tiny fragments in a good position and in addition adress the problem with stiffness after surgery, due to soft tissues and tendons sticking to the surface of the plaster.

ProgressSo far our results in the lab have been promising, showing good stability and excellent ability to stick to the bone when testing the plaster technique on bones from pigs. The next step will be testing the bone plaster on living bone, in this case rats, to study the stability, the healing ability of the bone and the effect of the surrounding tissues.

Methods – problems

• Not enough detail

• Too much detail

• Sometimes too easy to write


Janet Holmén 7

Results – function

To show what you found

but not EVERYTHING you found

and not more than once

This is the heart of your paper!

Results – problems

• Inclusion of irrelevant detail

• Excess detail

What's irrelevant?

What's too much?


Janet Holmén 8

Discussion – function

• Show what your results mean

– or at least what you think they mean

• Set them in the context of previous knowledge

• Suggest what the next step should be

Discussion – structure

• Summarize your main findings first!

• Describe what others have found

• Compare these findings

• Explain discrepancies

• Mention limitations

• Draw conclusions ... and convince the reader you're right!

Why?How?


Janet Holmén 9

Discussion – problems

• Lack of a clear line of thought

• Unbalanced treatment of other's results

• Too much speculation . . . or too little

• Boring

Use of tense in scientific writing

Unpublished data are referred to in the PAST TENSE

Published data are referred to in the PRESENT TENSE

Use past tense for "the present data"

and present tense for "previous studies, earlier findings"


Janet Holmén 10

Use the past tense

in the Methods section, where you describe what you did:

• Species were identified under microscope by an expert entomologist.

in the Results section, when you present your findings:

• Of the 56 isolates, 26 showed enzyme activity.

when writing about something that happened in the past:

• This species was first described by Heath.

Use the present tense

whenever you refer the reader to your tables and figures:

• Table 3 summarizes the chemical composition of the samples.

when writing about previously published findings:

• We and others have previously reported that metal ions affect the activity and stability of these enzymes18,23-25.

when presenting accepted facts:

• Alfred Wegener’s theory is now called plate tectonics.


Janet Holmén 11

Why is tense so important?

Compare:

• Smith reports that these fungi produce cellulase (2005).

versus

• Smith reported that these fungi produced cellulase (2005).

What's the difference?

General advice

• To write precisely, you must first think precisely

• Know who you are writing for

• Treat verb tenses with care

• Avoid abbreviations and clearly define any you use

• Aim to inform, rather than impress


Janet Holmén 12

Now you know how the article should be organized.

But how do you actually write it?

The ideal paper

CLEAR AND CONCISE

? !


Janet Holmén 13

A typical scientific study

field note

field note

field notefield note

field note

field note

theory

theory

theory

measurement

measurement

observation

observation

observation

observation

observation

data

data

data

data

data

data

data

data

data

field note

First find out what you have to say:

And then:

What is the best question my results give an answer to?

...but isn't that cheating?

Ask yourself:

What do my results mean?


Janet Holmén 14

Go ahead! Rewrite history!

In a scientific paper AIMS ≠ AIMS

They focus the reader's attention on what you are actually going to say

A scientific paper is not a field logbook

A scientific paper is the most efficient way of presenting new information and fitting it into an intellectual contextwhere it makes sense

To do this, you need a structure


Janet Holmén 15

The IMRAD structure helps

• Introduction

• Methods

• Results

• Discussion

but not very much

...sometimes

Introduction – suggested structure

Brief general overview of your research topic

Specific aspect addressed in this study

Hypothesis/research question

Research approach

Key findings


Janet Holmén 16

Introduction – example

Broad overview:

Zooplankton play an important role in marine arctic food webs by recycling nutrients and transferring energy from the photic zone to greater depths.

Narrower view:

Copepods are central species in arctic food webs, but theirecological role is not fully understood.

Specific aim:

This study examined the vertical distribution of key arctic zooplankton species and assessed copepod feeding rates on auto- and heterotrophic prey, in order to clarify energy and nutrient transfer in the upper water column.

Sometimes there is no hypothesis...

• exploratory research

• method development

• baseline or long-term monitoring

Then at least formulate clear aims


Janet Holmén 17

To organize the Methods section

Chronological order usually works well

• When and where study was done

• Data gathering methods

• Data analysis

• Statistical analysis

To organize the Results section

• Prepare figures and tables

• Arrange them in a logical order


Janet Holmén 18

Structuring the Discussion

• Formulate your conclusions and construct suitable "aims"

• Think about what information is needed to support your conclusions

• Select relevant findings from your own study

• Arrange background, your own findings, and others' findings to make your line of reasoning clear and logical

Things to check about the structure

• Correct level of accuracy

• Internal consistency

• No repetition

• Completeness

• Logic and focus


Janet Holmén 19

What's wrong with this table?Species Average length (mm) ± s.d. n

Neoseiulus californicus

N. bedfordii

N. fallacis

Microseiulus microsus

Galendromus occidentalis

Mesoseiulus longipes

M. proboscissimus

Ornithonyssus sylviarum

Dermanyssus gallinae

Typhlodromus occidentalis

0.51235 ± 0.01479

1.23563 ± 0.14779

1.89901 ± 0.07323

0.22980 ± 0.02112

0.21908 ± 0.01764

1.01008 ± 0.05835

2.43912 ± 0.37096

0.22933 ± 0.02870

0.21853 ± 0.02653

0.32210 ± 0.04785

10

6

6

6

10

7

8

11

5

9

What's wrong here?

The tonnage landed by herring fisheries in the Norwegian Sea has been relatively stable with the exception of the years following the 2006 population collapse.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Total catch/year (tons)


Janet Holmén 20

When cells were treated with various doses of TCE (0, 0.125, 0.25, 1.0 and 2.0 mmol/L) for 24 h, the relative iNOSmRNA was 105.2±4.8%, 110.3±6.4%, 138.3±7.1%, 153.7±8.5%, 191.3±9.2%, and 228.1±12.4%, respectively (Fig. 6).

Repetition is most common

Repetition is most common• in figures and tables versus text

• in Introduction versus Discussion

How to decide where to present something?

The Introduction needs a sharp focus.

Unless a background fact inspired you to do the study in the first place, it can probably wait until the Discussion.


Janet Holmén 21

What's the problem here?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

MMC TRK-1 Biolic

Figure 5.Results from experiment 3.

Revision occurs at many levels

• self-critical re-reading (after some time)

• comments from thesis advisor

• comments from co-authors

• comments from other colleagues

• comments from journal reviewers and editors


Janet Holmén 22

Now you know how to write the article

Time for a few tips about language

Lack of coherence

7.9

103.6

(7.9 + 6.3 – 0.2) × 29.64

103.6


Janet Holmén 23

You must do the worknot your reader

Lack of coherence

Problem: isolated facts are presented

Stainless steel contains iron, chromium, and other elements.

Most metals corrode when exposed to air.

The rust that forms on stainless steel is very stable.

This film is thinner than the wavelength of light.

This is why we call it “stainless” steel.


Janet Holmén 24

Creating coherenceCure: find words that show how the facts are related

Stainless steel contains iron, chromium, and other metals.

Most metals corrode when exposed to air, and a film of rust is formed.

In many cases, the film is unstable and corrosion continues.

However, the film that forms on stainless steel is very stable, and it protects the metal from further corrosion.

This film is thinner than the wavelength of light and is therefore not visible to the unaided eye.

Thus, although stainless steel does in fact rust, the process is self-limiting and we cannot see the result.

This is why we call it “stainless” steel.

Be kind to your reader


Janet Holmén 25

Use headings for a clear structure

Use paragraphs – compareShy pfyvacyncy and vncvdyncy yf hyafm favcufy (HG) vs 3% and 0.5% fyspycmvvycy, lymh vncfyasvng wvmh agy. HG vs mhy cyadvng causy yf hyspvmacvzamvyn vn mhy ycdyfcy and accyunms fyf 1-2% yf hyacmh cafy yxpyndvmufys. Mydyfn dfug mhyfapy has vmpfyvyd pfygnysvs, lum 1-yyaf myfmacvmy vs smvcc 5-75% dypyndvng yn syvyfvmy. Gyf syvyfy HG, advancyd mhyfapy, vnccudvng hyafm pumps and hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn, afy assycvamyd wvmh pymynmvaccy dfamamvc physvycygvcac and ccvnvcac vmpfyvymynm. Hywyvyf, mhyfapvys gfyamcy fyducy myflvdvmy and myfmacvmy mhyy afy nym wvmhyum fvsk and havy syvyfac cynmfavndvcamvyns. HG vs assycvamyd wvmh wycc dyscfvlyd macadapmvvy acmvvamvyn yf mhy fynvn-angvymynsvn and camychycamvny sysmyms, lum acsy dysfygucamvyn yf analycvc/camalycvc hyfmynys. Wy havy shywn mham hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn vs assycvamyd wvmh dfamamvc, smyfyvd-vndypyndynm wyvghm gavn and hypymhysvzy mham mhvs vs assycvamyd wvmh fyvyfsac yf mhvs analycvc/camalycvc vmlacancy. Ghfycvn vs pfyducyd vn mhy smymach vn fyspynsy my wyvghm cyss and fasmvng. HG vs assycvamyd wvmh ycyvamyd ghfycvn lum cyw cacyfvc vnmaky, and afmyf hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn, ghfycvn faccs and cacyfvc vnmaky fvsys, suggysmvng fysycumvyn yf fysvsmancy my mhy appymvmy smvmucamvng yffycms yf ghfycvn. Ghfycvn appyafs my havy lynyfvcvac cafdvyvascucaf yffycms, vncfyasyd Cafdvac Oumpum (CO), vmpfyvyd cyfm vynmfvcucaf funcmvyn, dycfyasyd musccy wasmvng and vncfyasy yxyfcvsy capacvmy vn HG. Acmhyugh vm has lyyn shywn mham HG vs a smamy yf vncfyasyd ghfycvn, and a fysvsmancy my ghfycvn’s appymvmy smvmucamvng yffycms, yuf hypymhysvs vs luvcm yn mhy assumpmvyn mham mhvs vncfyasy vs cympynsamyfy my mhy cyw cafdvac yumpum and mham mhyfy vs ny fysvsmancy my ghfycvn’s cafdvyvascucaf yffycms. Shyfyfyfy yuf avm vs:Shvs wvcc ly a dyulcy lcvndyd, pcacyly-cynmfyccyd mfvac. Shyfy wvcc ly a mymac yf 2 vvsvms. Shyfy wvcc ly a mymac yf 30 pamvynms vnccudyd, wvmh 15 vn yach gfyup. Shvs vs accyfdvng my a pywyf caccucamvyn fyf a pywyf yf 80% and a svgnvfvcancy yf 0.05. Shy fandymvzamvyn wvcc ly dyny vn a lcyck fandymvzamvyn pfycydufy, wvmh 4 vn yach lcyck. Shy pfvmafy yumcymy vs a cymlvnamvyn yf changy vn any yf mhy fyccywvng: cafdvac yumpum, yjycmvyn ffacmvyn and gcylac smfavn. Shy changy musm ly am cyasm 10%. Shy pfvmafy yumcymys wvcc ly myasufyd ly vacvdamyd mychnvquys. Inccusvyn cfvmyfva afy: syvyfy hyafm favcufy wvmh EG < 40% and NYHA III-IV. On vvsvm yny: vnmfavynyus ghfycvn yf pcacyly wvcc ly gvvyn. Shy vnfusvyn wvcc cynmvnuy fyf am cyasm 3h and fypyamyd myasufymynms wvcc ly makyn: ychycafdvygfaphy, ECG, lcyyd sampcys, cafdvac yumpum, cafdvac vndyx, lcyyd pfyssufy, sympamhymvc nyfvy acmvvvmy, fcyw mydvamyd vasydvcamvyn, hand gfvp smfyngmh and sympmyms and appymvmy quysmvynnavfys. Shy pamvynm wvcc fycyvvy a smandafdvzyd lfyakfasm lyfyfy and a smandafdvzyd cunch afmyf mhy vnfusvyn. Shvs vvsvm wvcc fyquvfy a whycy day, lymwyyn 08.00 my alyum 17.00.Cafdvac yumpum and cafdvac vndyx wvcc ly myasufyd nyn-vnvasvvycy wvmh Innycyf, ly myans yf vnhacamvyn yf mwy vnyfm gasys, wvmh dvffyfynm syculvcvmy vn lcyyd, myasufvng mhy pucmynafy lcyyd fcyw ffym whvch cafdvac yumpum and vndyx can ly caccucamyd. Shvs mymhyd has lyyn yvacuamyd agavnsm mhy gycdyn smandafd. Sympamhymvc nyfvy acmvvvmy wvcc ly myasufyd mhfyugh a smacc nyydcy pcacyd vn a mymyfvc nyfvy fvlyf am mhy knyy. Gcyw-mydvamyd vasydvcamvyn, vs myasufyd ly cfyamvng a mychanvcac ycccusvyn, ly a lcyyd pfyssufy cuff, and myasufvng mhy vncfyasy vn lcyyd fcyw afmyf mhy ycccusvyn vs fymyvyd vs yvacuamyd ly ychy. Bcyyd pfyssufy vs myasufyd cynvynmvynaccy and acsy cynmvnuyuscy and nyn-vnvasvvycy ly myasufymynm yf pucsamvyns vn mhy fvngyf. On mhy casm vvsvm, alyum 2-3 days afmyf vnfusvyn: ychycafdvygfaphy, ECG, cafdvac yumpum, cafdvac vndyx and quysmvynnavfys.

Shy pfyvacyncy and vncvdyncy yf hyafm favcufy (HG) vs 3% and 0.5% fyspycmvvycy, lymh vncfyasvng wvmh agy. HG vs mhy cyadvng causy yf hyspvmacvzamvyn vn mhy ycdyfcy and accyunms fyf 1-2% yf hyacmh cafy yxpyndvmufys. Mydyfn dfug mhyfapy has vmpfyvyd pfygnysvs, lum 1-yyaf myfmacvmy vs smvcc 5-75% dypyndvng yn syvyfvmy.

Gyf syvyfy HG, advancyd mhyfapy, vnccudvng hyafm pumps and hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn, afy assycvamyd wvmh pymynmvaccy dfamamvc physvycygvcac and ccvnvcac vmpfyvymynm. Hywyvyf, mhyfapvys gfyamcy fyducy myflvdvmy and myfmacvmy mhyy afy nym wvmhyum fvsk and havy syvyfac cynmfavndvcamvyns.

HG vs assycvamyd wvmh wycc dyscfvlyd macadapmvvy acmvvamvyn yf mhy fynvn-angvymynsvn and camychycamvny sysmyms, lum acsy dysfygucamvyn yf analycvc/camalycvc hyfmynys. Wy havy shywn mham hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn vs assycvamyd wvmh dfamamvc, smyfyvd-vndypyndynm wyvghm gavn and hypymhysvzy mham mhvs vs assycvamyd wvmh fyvyfsac yf mhvs analycvc/camalycvc vmlacancy.

Ghfycvn vs pfyducyd vn mhy smymach vn fyspynsy my wyvghm cyss and fasmvng. HG vs assycvamyd wvmh ycyvamyd ghfycvn lum cyw cacyfvc vnmaky, and afmyf hyafm mfanspcanmamvyn, ghfycvn faccs and cacyfvc vnmaky fvsys, suggysmvng fysycumvyn yf fysvsmancy my mhy appymvmy smvmucamvng yffycms yf ghfycvn. Ghfycvn appyafs my havy lynyfvcvac cafdvyvascucaf yffycms, vncfyasyd Cafdvac Oumpum (CO), vmpfyvyd cyfm vynmfvcucaf funcmvyn, dycfyasyd musccy wasmvng and vncfyasy yxyfcvsy capacvmy vn HG.

Acmhyugh vm has lyyn shywn mham HG vs a smamy yf vncfyasyd ghfycvn, and a fysvsmancy my ghfycvn’s appymvmy smvmucamvng yffycms, yuf hypymhysvs vs luvcm yn mhy assumpmvyn mham mhvs vncfyasy vs cympynsamyfy my mhy cyw cafdvac yumpum and mham mhyfy vs ny fysvsmancy my ghfycvn’s cafdvyvascucaf yffycms. Shyfyfyfy yuf avm vs:

Shvs wvcc ly a dyulcy lcvndyd, pcacyly-cynmfyccyd mfvac. Shyfy wvcc ly a mymac yf 2 vvsvms. Shyfy wvcc ly a mymac yf 30 pamvynms vnccudyd, wvmh 15 vn yach gfyup. Shvs vs accyfdvng my a pywyf caccucamvyn fyf a pywyf yf 80% and a svgnvfvcancy yf 0.05. Shy fandymvzamvyn wvcc ly dyny vn a lcyck fandymvzamvyn pfycydufy, wvmh 4 vn yach lcyck.

• Shy pfvmafy yumcymy vs a cymlvnamvyn yf changy vn any yf mhy fyccywvng: cafdvac yumpum, yjycmvyn ffacmvyn and gcylac smfavn. Shy changy musm ly am cyasm 10%.

• Shy pfvmafy yumcymys wvcc ly myasufyd ly vacvdamyd mychnvquys.

Inccusvyn cfvmyfva afy: syvyfy hyafm favcufy wvmh EG < 40% and NYHA III-IV.

On vvsvm yny: vnmfavynyus ghfycvn yf pcacyly wvcc ly gvvyn. Shy vnfusvyn wvcc cynmvnuy fyf am cyasm 3h and fypyamyd myasufymynms wvcc ly makyn: ychycafdvygfaphy, ECG, lcyyd sampcys, cafdvac yumpum, cafdvac vndyx, lcyyd pfyssufy, sympamhymvc nyfvy acmvvvmy, fcyw mydvamyd vasydvcamvyn, hand gfvp smfyngmh and sympmyms and appymvmy quysmvynnavfys. Shy pamvynm wvcc fycyvvy a smandafdvzyd lfyakfasm lyfyfy and a smandafdvzyd cunch afmyf mhy vnfusvyn. Shvs vvsvm wvcc fyquvfy a whycy day, lymwyyn 08.00 my alyum 17.00.

Cafdvac yumpum and cafdvac vndyx wvcc ly myasufyd nyn-vnvasvvycy wvmh Innycyf, ly myans yf vnhacamvyn yf mwy vnyfm gasys, wvmh dvffyfynm syculvcvmy vn lcyyd, myasufvng mhy pucmynafy lcyyd fcyw ffym whvch cafdvac yumpum and vndyx can ly caccucamyd. Shvs mymhyd has lyyn yvacuamyd agavnsm mhy gycdyn smandafd. Sympamhymvc nyfvy acmvvvmy wvcc ly myasufyd mhfyugh a smacc nyydcy pcacyd vn a mymyfvc nyfvy fvlyf am mhy knyy. Gcyw-mydvamyd vasydvcamvyn, vs myasufyd ly cfyamvng a mychanvcac ycccusvyn, ly a lcyyd pfyssufy cuff, and myasufvng mhy vncfyasy vn lcyyd fcyw afmyf mhy ycccusvyn vs fymyvyd vs yvacuamyd ly ychy. Bcyyd pfyssufy vs myasufyd cynvynmvynaccy and acsy cynmvnuyuscy and nyn-vnvasvvycy ly myasufymynm yf pucsamvyns vn mhy fvngyf.

On mhy casm vvsvm, alyum 2-3 days afmyf vnfusvyn: ychycafdvygfaphy, ECG, cafdvac yumpum, cafdvac vndyx and quysmvynnavfys.


Janet Holmén 26

Paragraphs

• Signal shifts in topic

• Give readers a chance to breathe!

• Breaks are good, but the paragraphs must flow logically…

Connect paragraphs logically

According to the World Health Organization, the overall goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life in patients facing life-threatening illness, and it is thus important that side-effects of medical treatment do not outweigh beneficial effects.

One side-effect frequently seen in patients being treated for cancer is a lack of vitamin D.Vitamin D has well defined uses in medicine, but the role of vitamin D supplementation to patients with hypovitaminosis D in different clinical settings is not fully elucidated.

How are these two topics related?


Janet Holmén 27

Interrupted thoughts

You know what you’re going to write, but readers don’t know until they have read it.

Interrupted thoughts

One American (New York) and two Swedish (Lund and Umeå) cities are involved in the project.

One American city (New York) and two Swedish cities (Lund and Umeå) are involved in the project.

The project involves three cities, one in the US (New York) and two in Sweden (Lund and Umeå).


Janet Holmén 28

Repetition of words (or thoughts)

The binding sites were detected with a technique called receptor autoradiography. Receptor autoradiography is a method that involves…

(18 words)

The binding sites were detected with receptor autoradiography, a technique that involves…

(12 words)

To be or not to be?

There is a tendency for people to use more words than necessary.

This is a bad habit.

There are many authors who would benefit from avoiding it.

If a sentence uses is/are/was/were near the beginning –take a second look! Can any words be deleted?

People tend to use more words than necessary.

This is a bad habit.

Many authors would benefit from avoiding it.


This is a bad habit that many authors would

benefit from avoiding.


Many authors would benefit from avoiding this

bad habit.


Janet Holmén 29

Roundabout phrasing

With the aim of examining the possibility that the above-mentioned enhancing effects on forest regrowth could be achieved through prevention of grazing activity of reindeer, we . . .

To test whether forest regrowth could be enhanced by preventing reindeer grazing, we…

Roundabout phrasing

Evans and Griffiths (2001) tested the ability of two strains of bacteria to degrade diesel oil and reported that the most important difference is that strain A degrades diesel oil more efficiently than strain B, especially at 4°C.

(38 words)

Bacterial strain A degrades diesel oil more efficiently than strain B, especially at 4°C (Evans and Griffiths, 2001).

(18 words)


Janet Holmén 30

Eliminate unnecessary “filters”

We measured mRNA levels and the results indicate that…

The mRNA levels indicate that…

Organochlorines exerted an inhibitory effect on enzyme activity.

Organochlorines inhibited enzyme activity.

Abstract nouns – "nominalizations"

Noun:

A person, place, or thing that you can perceive with your senses(lamppost, moonlight, polar bear)

Abstract noun:

A "thing" you cannot percieve with your senses (creativity, intelligence, confusion)

Nominalization:

A verb turned a noun, usually by adding a suffix (-tion, -ence)create → creation

prefer → preference


Janet Holmén 31

But all sentences need verbs...

Nominalizations force you to use "helper verbs": • occurred• was brought about by• is achieved• can be accomplished through

Nominalizations lead to creation of wordiness so you should give preference to the verb forms.

Nominalizations create wordiness so you should prefer the verb forms.

Nominalizations are verbs in chains!

Identification of the ciliates was done under a microscope.

The ciliates were identified under a microscope.

In ringed seals, deterioration of immune responses was seen.

In ringed seals, immune responses deteriorated.

Deeper penetration of solar radiation led to enhancement of primary production.

Deeper penetration of solar radiation enhanced primary production.


Janet Holmén 32

Sesquipedalian circumlocutions (big words)

Slumbering mammals of the genus Canis should preferentially be allowed to remain in a recumbent position.

When the feline is remote from a locale, the murine biota engage in multifarious diversions of a recreational nature.

A single denizen of the air at one’s ready disposal is superior in value to two-fold as many such denizens if the latter are situated in a diminutive arboreal unit.

Writing is part of being a researcher

Focus on communicating

Embrace imperfection

Ask for help

Accept whatever help you can get…

… and return the favor

Good luck with your writing!

academic writing · writing the article tips on the english language student at unis. ... now you...

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