1. Academic English iii
April 7, 2015

2. Today
Informal vs. Academic style and language

3. Academic Writing
Academic writing: - Aim is to present information as clearly and accurately as possible. Example: A lot of people think that the weather is getting worse. They say that this has been going on for quite a long time. I think that they are quite right. Research has shown that we now get storms etc all the time.

4. Academic Writing Passage Problem A lot of people think…
Imprecise – how many is ‘a lot’?
…the weather…
Imprecise – ‘weather’ is a short term concept
…getting worse…
Informal
They say…
Imprecise pronoun
…going on…
Informal phrasal verb
…quite a long time.
Imprecise – how long is this?
I think…
Informal - personal pronoun
Research…
Vague – whose research?
…we now get…
…storms, etc…
vague
…all the time.
Overgeneralized

5. Academic Writing
A lot of people think that the weather is getting worse. They say that this has been going on for quite a long time. I think that they are quite right. Research has shown that we now get storms etc all the time. Re-written: Experts widely believe that the climate is deteriorating. Climatologists claim that this process has been continuing for nearly 100 years. McKinley (1997) appears to support this belief, demonstrating a 55% increase in the frequency of severe winter gales since 1905.

6. Tips for Academic Style
1. Avoid idioms or colloquial vocabulary. i.e., “dad”, “guy”. Instead, use standard English  “father”, “man”

7. Tips for Academic Style
2. Be as precise as possible when discussing facts or figures. Avoid phrases such as “about a hundred years ago” or “thousands of years ago” If you must estimate numbers, use “approximately” not “about”  “approximately one hundred years ago…”

8. Tips for Academic Style
3. Avoid adverbs that show your personal attitude/opinion. i.e., “luckily”, “thankfully”, “happily”, “regrettably”

9. Tips for Academic Style
4. Do not use contractions. Don’t  do not Can’t  cannot Note: Possessives are not contractions. i.e., The school’s projector.

10. Tips for Academic Style
5. Avoid these words: “like” for introducing examples. Alternative: “such as, …” “for instance, …” “thing” and its combinations (i.e., “something” “nothing”) Alternative: “factor” “issue” “aspect”

11. Tips for Academic Style
5. Avoid these words: “lots of” Alternative: “a significant number” “a considerable number” “a considerable amount” “little/big” Alternative: “small” “large”

12. Tips for Academic Style
5. Avoid these words: “get” phrases, such as “get better” “get worse”. Alternative: “improve” “deteriorate” “good/bad” Alternative: “positive/negative” i.e., The changes had several positive aspects.

13. Tips for Academic Style
6. When writing lists, avoid “etc.” “and so on”. Instead, insert “and” before the final item in the list. i.e, Finding employment requires motivation, strong work ethic, and so on. Finding employment requires motivation, strong work ethic, and a positive attitude.

14. Tips for Academic Style
7. Avoid two-word verbs (phrasal verbs) IF there is a suitable synonym. i.e., “go on”, “bring up”.  “continue”, “raise”

15. Tips for Academic Style - Examples
Sadly, serious crime like murder is going up.  Serious crime, such as murder, is increasing. You can’t always trust the numbers in that report.  The figures in that report are not reliable. The second thing is that most kids in that district will become criminals.  The second factor is that the majority of children in that district may become criminals.

17. Speech registers
Different contexts/situations use different forms of language. = Speech register - In some languages, which register to use, and the difference between registers is obvious. e.g.,

18. Speech registers
Different contexts/situations use different forms of language. = Speech register - In some languages, which register to use, and the difference between registers is obvious. - In other languages, registers are not as obvious.

19. Speech registers
Examples: “Hey, how’s it hanging?” “Hello. How’s everything today?” “Good morning, sir. How are you doing today?”

20. Speech registers informal academic
Examples: Speech: Going to school everyday stresses people out and it’s a bit tough to juggle a rough schedule. Written: Attending school everyday is stressful and balancing a busy schedule is difficult.
informal
academic

21. Academic Language
Sometimes referred to as “Formal” language. Example: English is a little bit scary because it’s hard.  English is somewhat frightening because it is difficult.

22. Academic Language
Used when writing (and presenting) in an academic context. - While Korean has defined levels of speech (i.e., 반말 vs. 존댓말) that are differentiated by things like word endings (야 vs. 요)… …English levels of speech are differentiated by word use (i.e, hey vs. hello, hard vs. difficult). This demonstrates a similarity with Korean (i.e., 생일 vs. 생신).

23. Informal vs. Academic Language
The yPad is a good quality product. Stuff like headphones and styluses get lost a lot Chocolate is obviously the best flavor of ice cream
The yPad is a superior quality product.
The yPad is a product of superior quality.
Equipment such as headphones and styluses are frequently lost.
Equipment such as headphone and styluses frequently get misplaced.
It is evident that chocolate is the most desirable flavor of ice cream.

24. Sometimes, life can be totally unfair for college students
Sometimes, life can be totally unfair for college students. First, college students have to do a lot of stuff like homework. This can be a huge problem ‘cause college students hate stuff like homework, especially when there are other fun things to do. Students try to finish all their homework, but it’s hard sometimes, and sometimes there is no one to help out. Second, some college students have to figure out how to talk with professors. This is a little bit hard cause some students are scared of the professors. Professors have good language skills, which can make students feel bad. College students must try to speak better and even try to listen better when talking to professors. This is huge because many professors expect students to already have good language skills, too.

25. Sometimes, life can be totally unfair for college students
Sometimes, life can be totally unfair for college students. First, college students have to do a lot of stuff like homework. This can be a huge problem ‘cause college students hate stuff like homework, especially when there are other fun things to do. Students try to finish all their homework, but it’s hard sometimes, and sometimes there is no one to help out. Second, some college students have to figure out how to talk with professors. This is a little bit hard cause some students are scared of the professors. Professors have good language skills, which can make students feel bad. College students must try to speak better and even try to listen better when talking to professors. This is huge because many professors expect students to already have good language skills, too.

26. Sometimes, life can be completely unfair for college students
Sometimes, life can be completely unfair for college students. First, college students must complete many tasks such as homework. This can be a significant problem because college students despise things (tasks) such as homework, especially when there are other interesting activities to do. Students attempt to finish all their homework, however, it is difficult sometimes, and sometimes there is no one to assist them. Second, some college students must learn how to communicate with professors. This is slightly difficult because some students are afraid of the professors. Professors have excellent language skills, which can make students feel inferior. College students must strive to speak better and listen better when communicating with professors. This is significant because many professors expect students to already possess satisfactory language skills, as well.

28. A tablet computer is a good device cause it makes life easier
A tablet computer is a good device cause it makes life easier. All people are looking for a way to make life easier. So this makes a tablet a good thing. Tablets have tons of good features to do lots of different things. For instance, programs like financial applications are really useful. They let the user think about and keep track of money. This is really good for the user because money is a hard thing to manage. And, tablet computers are small and portable, so it's like having a computer with you always. This is good because computers are needed a lot these days. For example, a person who has a tablet computer can use the Internet any place there is wifi. For convenience, tablet computer are really, really good.

29. More Examples of Academic Style

31. Academic Writing Style – further examples
These examples are taken from: Uni Learning - Specific Words

32. Academic Writing Style – further examples
Phrasal verbs

33. Academic Writing Style – further examples
Specific vocabulary in descriptions

34. Avoiding “really”, “very”