english writing for academic purposes
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Fang Ping (Amanda) YehAcademic Writing Education Center
English Writing for
Academic Purposes
Agenda for Today
03
01 02Basics of AW• Definitions &
rationale• Styles & features
Group Tasks
Introductionto 3MT
Presentation
What isAcademic ScientificWriting?
Definitions§ “Academic writing is
writing which communicates ideas, information and research to the wider academic community”. (EAP Foundation)
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Definitions§ “Academic writing refers
to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise”. (USC Libraries)
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Definitions§ “The term academic
writing refers to a specific form of prose used in an academic context for anumber of differentpurposes …”. (U of Edinburgh)
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Definitions“[S]cientific writing follows a well-defined structure that other scholars can easily recognise and identify. … These are reflected in a language that is accurate, specific, concise, clear, cautious, and objective”. (U of Edinburgh)
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Informed Disciplinary
Practice
Theory
Research
Theory
Research
FromAcademic
knowledgeto
Academic Writing
Factors to Consider
Organization
Audience Style Flow
Purpose Presentation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Supplementary Handout 1
1. Compare thedifferences between thetwo passages.
2. Identify the TA and intended purpose ineach passage?
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Across the globe, suicide is a serious public health issue (Mann et al, 2005). There are severe emotional costs for those affected by loss of an acquaintance or loved one in addition to significant economic costs through loss of income and medical treatment (Corso et al, 2007). In the last 45 years, worldwide suicide rates have increased by 60% (World Health Organization, 2008). Consequently, the development of suicide prevention initiatives has become a global public health priority.
Suicide is a serious problem. This is because if you lose somebody close to you, this can be very hard for you. It is also because suicide costs a lot of money to the economy due to losing members of workforce and the cost of treating people who have attempted suicide. The number of people committing suicide has gone up a lot by 60% over the last 45 years. This means that people who work in public health all over the world need to come up with ideas that will prevent people from committing suicide.
Key Features of Academic Scientific Writing
Clarity
Formality
1
2
3
4
Objectivity
Complexity
Levels of Formality
The level of formality in scientific writing should be determined by the expectations of audience and purpose in your discipline.
Adapting to Your TA (target audience)
Your audience may include:■Disciplinary experts/scientists■ Professors■ Peers■General public
Adapting to Your TA (target audience)
* What do the audience want to know and already know about the topic?
* Will the audience understand technical terms?
* Will the audience expect outside sources to be cited? What types of sources?
* Will the audience expect particular formats?
Common Academic Writing Purposes
o to explain or discuss about a given topic
Informative
o to establish and defend a point of view
Argumentative
Descriptive
Analytical
Narrative
1 3 5
42
o to identify
o to define, report or summarize
o to compare & contrast, or evaluate theories, methods or findings
o to tell stories of experiences
Clarity: Conciseness & Precision
§ Avoid redundancy or vague expressions
§ Use concrete language
§ Exclude unnecessary information
§ Avoid ambiguities
Complexity
Scientific writing have more noun-based phrases, nominalizations and more lexical variations.
Written texts are usually lexically dense compared to spoken language.
Written language is grammatically more complex than spoken language.
Scientific writing involves a lot of complex concepts and ideas.
1
2
3
4
Example: Nominal Groups
§ People must look after the environment because if they don’t, we will lose resources that are already becoming scarce.
§ Environmental care will prevent the loss of scarce resources.
Cited from S. Fan & J. Fielding-Wells (Eds.), What is Next in Educational Research? 341–352.
Example: Lexical Density
a. The company decided to expand its asset base.b. The decision to expand the asset base… (The
verb is nominalized)c. The decision to expand the asset base was a
significant shift in the company’s financial strategy (more information commenting upon the newly formed concept can now be added).
Cited from S. Fan & J. Fielding-Wells (Eds.), What is Next in Educational Research? 341–352.
Objectivity1
2
3
4
Using impersonal language
Evidence-based and logical reasoning
Avoiding emotive, biased language
Passive voice
5 Hedging/Cautious language
Other Academic
Conventions(AWGS, p.
22~25)
Conventions of Academic Style
1. Avoid contractions2. Use formal negative forms (no, little, few)3. Write impersonally (third-person pronouns)4. Avoid direct questions5. Mid-position adverbs
Conventions of Academic Style6. Limit the use of “and so forth” or “etc.”7. Avoid phrasal verbs (verb + particle or
preposition).9. Avoid using personal pronouns (I, we, you)10. Do not start a sentence with a coordinating
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Factors to Consider
Organization
Audience Style Flow
Purpose Presentation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Good academic writing must be cohesive and present a logically organized flow of ideas.
Organization in AW
Organization in AW
Introduction Method Result Discussion
§ In an academic scientific journal, IMRD is the most common organizational structure.
Establishing a clear connection of ideas is important in academic writing in order to help the reader follow the text.
Flow in AW
Sample Text: Gold
What strategies can be used toensure a good flow of writing (coherence)?
Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, this valuable material is suitable for jewelry, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was made 25 centuries ago. Second, gold has its practical usefulness to industry and science that is beneficial to civilization. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications, such as photography and dentistry. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts’ suits. Astronauts wear gold-plated heat shields for protection when they go outside spaceships in space. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility.
Strategies for Improving the Flow1. Repeating key words
2. Using synonyms
3. Using a consistent pronoun
4. Repeating a sentence structure
5. Use appropriate transition signals
Old-to-New Information Flow
§ this/there + a summary word (noun)“Consistent with previous findings, a trend for higher abnormal rates was noted in lower-limb nerves versus upper-limb nerves, and in sensory nerves versus motor nerves (Albers et al., 1996). Although this difference was small due to the small sample size, the findings indicated that the current study group was not a biased population.”
“Skin denervation in type 2 diabetes: correlations with diabetic duration and functional impairments”. Brain (2004), 127, 1600.
What Makes Good Academic ScientificWriting?
Be concise & precise
1. 2. 3.
Be evidence-based & critical
Be formal
& analytical
4.
Be logically structured
Group Task
Read passages (A-D) and answer the following questions
1. Who is the intended audience in each passage? What is the purpose?
2. Rank them from the most academic (1) to the least academic (4) in style.
3. Rewrite the least academic passage and make it more appropriate for academic journals.
1. Find at least 5 examples in your chosen article that follow or fail to adhere to the writing conventions discussed in class. Upload your choice of the article on NTU COOL Discussion Board.
2. AWGS Unit 1, Tasks 11~13 (p. 17~21), Tasks 20~23 (p. 43~48)
Assignment