Academic Writing A practical guide for students Stephen Bailey RoutledgeFalmer Tavior 6 Francis Grour LONDON AND NEW YORK
Academic Writing A practical guide for students Stephen Bailey
Contents Introduction Part 1: The Writing Process Student introduction 1 1.Background to writing Writing Foundations 2.Developing plans from titles 3.Evaluating a text Reading and Note-Making 9 4.Understanding purpose and register 12 5.Selecting key points 6.No e-making 7.Paraphrasing 8.Summary writing 9.Combining sources 26 10.Planning a text Writing Stages 29 11.Organising paragraphs 12.Organising the main body 36 13.Introductions 14.Conclusion 15.Re-reading and re-writing 5 16.Proof-reading Student introduction 51 1.Cause and effect Flooding results from heavy rain 53 2.Cohesion The former/the latter 3.Comparisons His work is more interesting than hers 4.Definitions An assignment is a task given to students. 60 5.Discussior Benefits and drawbacks 6.Examples Many departments,for instance medicine, 7.Generalisations Computers are useful machines 8.Numbers The figures in the report. 9.Referencesand quotations As Donner(1997)pointed out 7 10.Style It is generally agreed that . 11.Synonyms Interpretation/explanation 9 12.Visual information Graphs,charts and tables
Introduction vi Part 1: The Writing Process 1 Student introduction 1 1. Background to writing Writing Foundations 3 2. Developing plans from titles 6 3. Evaluating a text Reading and Note-Making 9 4. Understanding purpose and register 12 5. Selecting key points 15 6. Note-making 18 7. Paraphrasing 21 8. Summary writing 23 9. Combining sources 26 10. Planning a text Writing Stages 29 11. Organising paragraphs 32 12. Organising the main body 36 13. Introductions 39 14. Conclusions 42 15. Re-reading and re-writing 45 16. Proof-reading 48 Part 2: Elements of Writing 51 Student introduction 51 1. Cause and effect Flooding results from heavy rain 53 2. Cohesion The former/the latter 55 3. Comparisons His work is more interesting than hers 57 4. Definitions An assignment is a task given to students . 60 5. Discussion Benefits and drawbacks 62 6. Examples Many departments, for instance medicine, 65 7. Generalisations Computers are useful machines 67 8. Numbers The figures in the report . 70 9. References and quotations As Donner (1997) pointed out 73 10. Style It is generally agreed that . 76 11. Synonyms Interpretation/e xpl anati on 79 12. Visual information Graphs, charts and tables 81 Contents
Contents Part 3: Accuracy in Writing s Student introduction 1.Abbreviations i.e./WTO 8 2.Adverbs currently/eventually 3.Articles a/an/the 4.Caution Poor education tends to lead to crime 93 5.Conjunctions furthermore/however 6.Formality in verbs speed up/accelerate 5 7.Modal verbs may/could/should 100 8.Nationality language Spain/Spanish 102 9.Nouns and adjectives efficiency/efficient 104 10.Nouns:countable and uncountable business/businesses 106 11.Passives The gases were discovered 108 12.Prefixesand suffixes undergraduate/graduate 110 13.Prepositions The purpose of this paper. 14.Prepositions after verbs concentrate on 115 15.Punctuation 117 16.Referring verbs Martins(1975)claimed that. 119 17.Relative pronouns that/which 18.Singular/plural The team is/are 19.Tenses Few scientists dispute/have disputed 125 20.Time words and phrases since the nineteenth century 128 Part 4: Writing Models 131 Student introduction 131 1. Formal letters Letter layout and letters of application 133 2 CVs Layout and phrasing of a curriculum vitae 135 Designingand reportingsurveys Survey reportsand questionnaire design 137 4 Comparison essay A comparison of classroom learning with internet-based teaching 139 5.Discursive essay Education is the most important factor in national development-Discuss 141 Writing Tests 143 Answers 146 Sources
vi Contents Part 3: Accuracy in Writing Student introduction 85 85 1. Abbreviations i.e./WTO 87 2. Adverbs currently/eventually 89 3. Articles a/an/the 91 4. Caution Poor education tends to lead to crime 93 5. Conjunctions furthermore/however 95 6. Formality in verbs speed up/accelerate 98 7. Modal verbs may/could/should 100 8. Nationality language Spain/Spanish 102 9. Nouns and adjectives efficiency/efficient 104 10. Nouns: countable and uncountable business/businesses 106 11. Passives The gases were discovered 108 12. Prefixes and suffixes undergraduate/graduate 110 13. Prepositions The purpose of this paper . 113 14. Prepositions after verbs concentrate on 115 15. Punctuation ‘ ? : 117 16. Referring verbs Martins (1975) claimed that . 119 17. Relative pronouns that/which 121 18. Singular/ plural The team is/are 123 19. Tenses Few scientists dispute/have disputed 125 20. Time words and phrases since the nineteenth century 128 Part 4: Writing Models 131 Student introduction 131 1. Formal letters Letter layout and letters of application 133 2. CVs Layout and phrasing of a curriculum vitae 135 3. Designing and reporting surveys Survey reports and questionnaire design 137 4. Comparison essay A comparison of classroom learning with internet-based teaching 139 5. Discursive essay Education is the most important factor in national development – Discuss 141 Writing Tests 143 Answers 146 Sources 191
Introduction Academic Writing is designed for anybody who is studying (or planning to study)at English-medium colleges and universities and has to write essays and oth er assignments for exams or co rsework.Internation students ofhdhewmite emands of neir courses extremel challenging. e 00 ary of a conventions in style,referencing and organisation Academic Writing is a flexible course that allows students to work either with a teacher or by themselves,to practise those areas which are most important for master.I s been made as simple as possible to allow The course is organised to provide maximum hands-on practice for students Skills are developed from writing at the paragraph level,through organising the various sections of an essay,to discussingstatistics and describing charts. This book is divided into four parts: 1)The Writing Process guides students from the initial stage of ndersta an oceau titlo thr oading and note making to the organisation of an essay and the final stage of proof-reading Elements of Writing deals with the key skills tha tare needed for all types s making definitions and giving references,and is 3)Accuracy in Writing gives remedial practice in those areas that students tend to find most confusing such as definite articles and relative pronouns.again in alphabetical order. 4)Writing Models gives examples of the types of writing that students commonly need,including letters and survey reports. All units are cross-referenced and a comprehensive key is provided at the end. There is also a Writing Tests section for assessing level and progress. Although every effort has been made to make academtic writing as useful and accurate as p ossible,if students orteachers have any comments,criticisms or suggestions I would be very pleased to hear from them. nc@beeb.net Instructions to students are printed like this: Complete the sentences with suitable words from the box below. Cross-references in margins look like this: 2.11 Synonyms This means:refer to the unit on synonyms in Part 2(Unit 11)
Instructions to students are printed like this: Complete the sentences with suitable words from the box below. Cross-references in margins look like this: This means: refer to the unit on synonyms in Part 2 (Unit 11). Academic Writing is designed for anybody who is studying (or planning to study) at English-medium colleges and universities and has to write essays and other assignments for exams or coursework. International students especially find the written demands of their courses extremely challenging. On top of the complexity of the vocabulary of academic English they have to learn a series of conventions in style, referencing and organisation. Academic Writing is aflexible course that allows students to work either with a teacher orby themselves, to practise those areas which are most important for their studies. Many students find that they have very limited time to prepare for their courses, and that writing is only one of several skills they need to master. The structure of the book has been made as simple as possible to allow users to find what they want quickly. The course is organised to provide maximum hands-on practice for students. Skills are developed from writing at the paragraph lev el, through organising the various sections of anessay, to discussing statistics and describing charts. This book is divided into four parts: 1) The Writing Process guides students from the initial stage of understanding an essay title, through reading and note-making, to the organisation of an essay and the final stage of proof-reading. 2) Elements of Writing deals with the key skills that are needed for all types of assignments, such as making definitions and giving references, and is organised alphabetically. 3) Accuracy inWriting gives remedial practice inthose areas that students tend to find most confusing, such as definite articles and relative pronouns, again in alphabetical order. 4) Writing Models gives examples of the types of writing that students commonly need, including letters and survey reports. All units are cross-referenced and a comprehensive key is provided at the end. There is also a Writing Tests section for assessing level and progress. Although every effort has been made to make Academic Writing as useful and accurate as possible, if students or teachers have any comments, criticisms or suggestions I would be very pleased to hear from them. Stephen Bailey academicwriting@beeb.net Introduction cross reference 2.11 Synonyms
1. The Writing Process Student Introduction Most academic courses in English-medium colleges and universities use essays to assess students both as coursework,for which a dead hCifwniagtsysorcousewotsigmenscanbeshown Understand essay title/requirements Assess reading texts-choose most appropriate Select relevant areasoftexts Keep record for reference Make notes on relevant areas, using paraphrasing&summarising skills Combine a variety of sources where necessary Select appropriate structure for esay/plan Organise&write main body Organise&rite Organise&write conclusion Critically read&re-write where necessary Final proof-reading Part 1,The Writing Process,examines each of these stages in turn.If y have epreferably in the ordergven.o 8股heR6so2】 academic writing.When practising making,for exar ple,it is should use the cross-reference boxes to look at the unit on References and Quotations in Part 2
Student Introduction Most academic courses in English-medium colleges and universities use essays to assess students’ work, both as coursework, for which a deadline one or two months ahead may be given, and in exams, when an essay often has to be completed in an hour. The process of writing essays for coursework assignments can be shown in a flowchart: Understand essay title/requirements Assess reading texts – choose most appropriate Select relevant areas oftexts Keep record for references Make notes on relevant areas, using paraphrasing & summarising skills Co m bine a varie ty of sources where necessary Select appropri ate structu re for essay/pl an Organise & write main body Organise & write introductio n Organise & write conclusion Critically read & re-write where necessary Final proof-reading Part 1, The Writing Process, examines each of these stages in turn. If students are concerned only with preparing for exam writing they could omit the reading and note-making stages, but if they have sufficient time they should work through every unit, preferably in the order given, for each stage builds on the previous one. Although it is essential to understand the basic writing process, at the same time it will be useful to be aware of the elements which contribute to good academic writing. When practising note-making, for example, it is helpful to be aware of the conventions of referencing, and so students should use the cross-reference boxes to look at the unit on References and Quotations in Part 2. 1. The Writing Process