FORMAL STYLE

Exercises from Swales and Feak’s Academic Writing for Graduate Students 

1. The six leading causes of death in the U.S. – coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – are mainly brought on by overeating, a lack of exercise, and cigarette smoking.

2. Scientists are looking into innovative ways to combat AIDS. 3. The purpose of this paper is to try to figure out what is lacking in our current understanding of

corrosion and corrosion protection in concrete. 4. Researchers have recently come up with hybrid vehicles that use a fuel-cell engine and a battery-

assisted power train. 5. Rice and aquatic products make up a major part of the diet of the people in the Mekong Delta,

Vietnam. 6. The use of touch-screen voting systems could get rid of many problems associated with traditional

paper-based ballots. 7. Worldwide consumption of pesticides has gone up to 2.6 million metric tons. 8. Although labour unions in the U.S. have been able to keep up their membership numbers over the

last two decades, they have been losing their political strength. 9. The number of mature female green turtles that return to their primary nesting beach has gone

down from 1,280 ten years ago to 145 today. 2. The U.S. Defence Threat Reduction Agency looks over nearly 25,000 export license applications to

make sure that no equipment or materials are sent to places where they could be used to make advanced weapons.

1. The six leading causes of death in the U.S. – coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – are mainly brought on by overeating, a lack of exercise, and cigarette smoking.

2. Scientists are looking into innovative ways to combat AIDS.  3. The purpose of this paper is to try to figure out what is lacking in our current understanding of

corrosion and corrosion protection in concrete. 4. Researchers have recently come up with hybrid vehicles that use a fuel-cell engine and a battery-

assisted power train. • Rice and aquatic products make up a major part of the diet of the people in the Mekong Delta,

Vietnam. 2. The use of touch-screen voting systems could get rid of many problems associated with traditional

paper-based ballots. 3. Worldwide consumption of pesticides has gone up to 2.6 million metric tons. 4. Although labour unions in the U.S. have been able to keep up their membership numbers over the

last two decades, they have been losing their political strength. • The number of mature female green turtles that return to their primary nesting beach has gone

down from 1,280 ten years ago to 145 today. 2. The U.S. Defence Threat Reduction Agency looks over nearly 25,000 export license applications to

make sure that no equipment or materials are sent to places where they could be used to make advanced weapons.

• review

• maintain

• develop

• cause

• eliminate

• reach

• determine

• investigate

• decrease

• constitute

 1. The six leading causes of death in the U.S. – coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – are mainly caused by overeating, a lack of exercise, and cigarette smoking.

2. Scientists are investigating innovative ways to combat AIDS.  3. The purpose of this paper is to try to determine what is lacking in our current understanding of

corrosion and corrosion protection in concrete. 4. Researchers have recently develop hybrid vehicles that use a fuel-cell engine and a battery-

assisted power train. 5. Rice and aquatic products constitute a major part of the diet of the people in the Mekong Delta,

Vietnam. • The use of touch-screen voting systems could eliminate many problems associated with traditional

paper-based ballots. 3. Worldwide consumption of pesticides has reached 2.6 million metric tons. 4. Although labour unions in the U.S. have been able to maintain their membership numbers over the

last two decades, they have been losing their political strength. 5. The number of mature female green turtles that return to their primary nesting beach has

decreased from 1,280 ten years ago to 145 today. • The U.S. Defence Threat Reduction Agency reviews nearly 25,000 export license applications to

make sure that no equipment or materials are sent to places where they could be used to make advanced weapons.

Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain beverages on dental enamel erosion.

Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain beverages on dental enamel erosion.

AIDS researchers have run into a variety of unexpected problems in their efforts to develop a vaccine.

Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain beverages on dental enamel erosion.

AIDS researchers have run into a variety of unexpected problems in their efforts to develop a vaccine.

Recent studies on car scrapping

have brought up the important question as to whether CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.

Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain beverages on dental enamel erosion.

AIDS researchers have run into a variety of unexpected problems in their efforts to develop a vaccine.

Recent studies on car scrapping

have brought up the important question as to whether CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.

Problems with this policy

showed up soon after its implementation.

Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain beverages on dental enamel erosion.

AIDS researchers have run into a variety of unexpected problems in their efforts to develop a vaccine.

Recent studies on car scrapping

have brought up the important question as to whether CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.

Problems with this policy

showed up soon after its implementation.

In the past five years many studies have

looked at the effect of different grassland management practices.

1. Crash test dummies are really important for automotive crash tests. 2. In Hong Kong there is one cell phone for just about every two people. 3. There has been a lot of interest in how background sounds such as music

affect an individual’s ability to concentrate. 4. We got encouraging results using structural bamboo rather than timber. 1. Consumer interest in electronic billing and payment is getting bigger and

bigger. 2. The competition faced by U.S. growers from imports of Mexican fresh

vegetables has gotten more intense. 3. Many urban areas do not have enough land to build new public schools. 4. Allergic reactions to local dental anaesthesia do not happen very often. 1. The doors on these ferries were made bigger to make it easier to load and

unload vehicles.

1. Crash test dummies are an integral part of automotive crash tests. 2. In Hong Kong there is one cell phone for nearly every two people. 3. There has been considerable interest in how background sounds such as

music affect an individual’s ability to concentrate. 4. We obtained encouraging results using structural bamboo rather than timber. 1. Consumer interest in electronic billing and payment is increasing. 2. The competition faced by U.S. growers from imports of Mexican fresh

vegetables has intensified. 3. Many urban areas have insufficient land to build new public schools. 4. Allergic reactions to local dental anaesthesia rarely occur. 1. The doors on these ferries were enlarged to facilitate the loading and

unloading of vehicles. 

Mark will now give you another task from Swales and Feak’s Academic Writing for Graduate Students 

TASK TWELVE : SUGGESTED ANSWERS

• This model can be used to analyze the effects of several parameter changes.

• Coffee prices have fallen for many reasons.

• The difference between these two approaches to designing underground subway stations can be seen clearly. / can clearly be seen.

• Recent research has shown that the arms are commonly used for protection during a fall to the ground.

• To date, no comprehensive study has examined the role of smiling in gaining the initial trust of individuals.

• Some studies have concluded that bamboo could be more widely used as a construction material than it is at present.

• These special tax laws have been enacted in several Midwestern states, such as Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio.

• Little research has been carried out on the use of oil palm shell as coarse aggregate in the production of concrete.

It’s difficult

I will let you decide on your own.

Right after I graduated

Thank God this is not the case

The students loved me

As you can see

Back in Saudi Arabia

I don’t think

My colleague is old - and I mean old

Finally, can you do anything to make these examples more formal?