1. While you are waiting…
Go to this link on your mobile/tablet/laptop: todaysmeet.com/dlscompsci Type your name and click join. Read the questions there, discuss with your partner and add your own ideas.

2. Academic Reading and Writing
Explain the focus for today, a few things to do first
Lesson Two: Academic Style

3. Goals for today… By the end of the class you’ll be able to….
Identify the key qualities of academic style
Remove unnecessary text from your writing
Use key common academic phrases in your writing
Use Microsoft Word or browser extension to quickly add common expressions to your writing.
Explain the goals for today, go through briefly

4. What is academic Style?
Talk to your partner and discuss what you think academic style is. Compare these two texts to help you decide:
Text Message:
Hiya..how’s it going? Saw you in class 2day. Wot’s wrong? U not well? Gotta go now, bw David 
Academic Text:
It is difficult to offer a comprehensive explanation for the growing trend of marital breakdown; and it is even more difficult to find solutions that might ameliorate the problems created by it. Clearly though, as I have argued in this essay, the most useful answers are to be found not within a narrow legal framework, but within a broader socio-economic one.

5. How is the style of academic writing different from, say, writing a text message or writing an to a friend?
Longer sentences, choice of vocabulary different, complete sentences, no contractions, paragraphing, objective, precise, not personal, uses hedging (it’s difficult to offer…), no emoticons.

6. Unnecessary words…
A. One problem that both native and non-native speakers have when writing academic English is using unnecessary words. To see how this works, look at the text below and decide which words/phrases could be removed/replaced to make the text shorter but to keep the meaning the same:

7. 'Thus, with regard to introductions, the general consensus of opinions is that a number of factors have to be included. Questions still remain, however, as to what the appropriate length of an introduction should be. Yet, taking all this into account, despite the fact that students are often able to use language well, until such a point as they are able to avoid using an excessive number of words, they will in no way be able to write good introductions.'  (adapted from Sowton, C. 50 Steps to Improve Your Academic Writing)

8. 'Thus, with regard to regarding introductions, the general consensus of opinions is that a number of several factors have to be included. Questions still remain, however, as to what the appropriate length how long an introduction should be. Yet, taking all this into account, despite the fact that although students are often able to use language well, until such a point as they are able to avoid using an excessive number of they can use fewer words, they will in no way not be able to write good introductions.'

9. ahead of schedule almost all at all times conduct a review of
give consideration to
in advance of
in possession of
is able to
a total of three reasons
end result
first began
true fact
completely destroyed
brief in duration

10. ahead of schedule early most, the majority always to review consider
almost all
most, the majority
at all times
always
conduct a review of
to review
give consideration to
consider
in advance of
reservation/before
in possession of
 has/have
is able to
can
a total of three reasons
in sum
end result
ending
first began
firstly
true fact
fact / truth
completely destroyed
ruined
brief in duration
briefly

11. High Frequency phrases..
One way to make sure our academic style is correct and our language is accurate and concise is to use commonly used Academic phrases. In what circumstance would you use the following phrases in academic writing:
In contrast to..
It was found that…
According to….
In the following section…
Little research has been done in this area..

12. Adapted from: Sowton, C. 50 Steps to Improve Your Academic Writing
Take a look at the following text and identify any common academic phrases, one has been done as an example:
Academic phrases, also known as 'lexical bundles', are an important feature of academic discourse. One of the most important reasons that you should use these short, formulaic phrases is that that they are a common feature of academic writing. As well as this, academic phrases can lessen certain grammatical problems which you might face. It should be noted that academic phrases are not a a complete solution to grammatical problems; at the same time, they may offer a partial solution. As a result, it is clear that a good understanding of these three-, four- and five-word phrases is one of the key ways you can make your writing sound more 'academic'
Adapted from: Sowton, C. 50 Steps to Improve Your Academic Writing

13. Take a look at the following text and identify any common academic phrases, one has been done as an example:
Academic phrases, also known as 'lexical bundles', are an important feature of academic discourse. One of the most important reasons that you should use these short, formulaic phrases is that that they are a common feature of academic writing. As well as this, academic phrases can lessen certain grammatical problems which you might face. It should be noted that academic phrases are not a a complete solution to grammatical problems; at the same time, they may offer a partial solution. As a result, it is clear that a good understanding of these three-, four- and five-word phrases is one of the key ways you can make your writing sound more 'academic' Adapted from: Sowton, C. 50 Steps to Improve Your Academic Writing

14. Useful tech tools
A couple of tools you can use to give yourself quick access to these phrases… Microsoft Word’s autotext Chrome browser extension Papercuts More information about these are available on the Course Syllabus page.
Demonstrate these tools

15. Questions….? Please remember that all slides/links will be available
on the Google Classroom about page.