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English Language SupportEnglish Language Support

Open Seminar

Academic Writing I

04/21/23Löwenadler/ed. Mondor, Mattsson, Andersson1

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OverviewOverview

SEMINAR I:

– Textual level– Quoting

SEMINAR II (22/11):– Paragraphs revisited– Vocabulary– Grammar– Punctuation– Spelling

04/21/23Löwenadler/ed. Mondor, Mattsson, Andersson2

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Why Do We Write?Why Do We Write? • Communication • Memory. But Socrates: ”this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls…”

• Developing ideas and making connections

• What is your experience with writing? What is difficult? What is rewarding?

• Can we learn how to write? How do we use writing to learn?

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Two different kinds of Two different kinds of writingwriting

• Writer-oriented

Audience: selfPurpose: personal, exploration of

ideasLanguage:Informal, lacking in

coherenceForms: journals, notes, rough

drafts

• Reader-oriented

Audience:othersPurpose:Communicating, convincing,

explainingLanguage: Formal, guiding the readerForms: essays, papers, theses,

business letters

(Björk & Räisänen 2003:16-19)

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Thomas Edison left 5 million sheets of notes, where he explores and evaluates his own methods and findings:

[…] ascertain if some magnetic arrangement might not be made so as to be included with the circuit to wor so that it would exactly neutralize the static charge in So many knots of Cable if these devices Could be put in the Cable & their Capacity would remain as Constant as the Capacity of the Cable = it would be valuable = Try two insulated disks of rubber on which is a strip of Zinc & of Copper Connected together= This stands still now another disk 100th of an inch from it revolves slowly & also with immense rapidity This disk has one Strip Copper. See if influence would generate E. & Connect to Sensitive Galvanometer= [Quoted in Art Young, from The Papers of Thomas A. Edison, Vol. 1, ed. Reese V. Jenkins et al. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, p. 613]

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What is academic writing?What is academic writing?

• Writing in an academic setting• By scholars for scholars, e.g. research articles• Logically structured• Objective• Combines theory and empirical data• Analytic and critical• Develops a central problem area• Draws conclusions• Argues in relation to what others have said/written• Includes references• Formal in style

(after Dysthe et al. 2002:19-20)

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Reader-oriented academic Reader-oriented academic writing:writing:Logically structuredLogically structured• Clear overall structure – Being predictable is a good thing!

– Introduction (Background, Aims, etc)– Method & Material (How was the study

done? Materials and methods used?)– Results (What did the study find?)– Discussion and Conclusion (Implications of

what the study found, further studies, etc.)

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The ParagraphThe Paragraph

”It is important to remember that your reader needs help in following your line of thinking. You can give such help by using explicit structural signals: one important such signal is the paragraph. In academic writing the paragraph signals a thought unit: i.e. a paragraph deals with one main idea or topic.” (Björk & Räisänen, 172)

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Paragraphs and Topic Paragraphs and Topic SentencesSentencesOne idea and its supporting arguments = one

paragraph.

A paragraph is a thought unit with a topic sentence.

The Topic Sentence:• Is more general than the other sentences in the paragraph

• Is often the first sentence of the paragraph• States the controlling idea of the paragraph, that the other sentences develop and specify

• Clear structural signal helping reader figuring out what to expect from the text.

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Example of a Paragraph: Topic Example of a Paragraph: Topic Sentence HighlightedSentence Highlighted

Hurricanes, which are also called cyclones, exert tremendous power. These violent storms are often a hundred miles in diameter, and their winds can reach velocities of seventy-five miles per hour or more. Furthermore, the strong winds and heavy rainfall that accompany them can completely destroy a small town in a couple of hours. The energy that is released by a hurricane in one day exceeds the total energy consumed by humankind throughout the world in one year. (Oshima & Hogue 1999)

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Butterflies attract by sight, and their brightly colored wings play an important role in courtship. Some female insects, flies among them, release chemicals called pheromones that attract male of the species. Male and female insects are attracted to each other by visual, auditory, and chemical means. Through its chirping call, the male cricket attracts a mate and drives other males out of its territory.

The topic sentence should state the main idea and be general enough to include the ideas of the body of the paragraph - can you find it?

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Why do you think the other sentences are placed in the order that they are in here?

Male and female insects are attracted to each other by visual, auditory, and chemical means. Butterflies attract by sight, and their brightly colored wings play an important role in courtship. Through its chirping call, the male cricket attracts a mate and drives other males out of its territory. Some female insects, flies among them, release chemicals called pheromones that attract male of the species.

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Can you find the topic sentence in this jumbled paragraph ?

The right side, on the other hand, seems to control artistic, musical and spatial skills. Logical reasoning and mathematics are left-brain skills. Interestingly, the left side of the brain controls the right hand, and vice versa. The human brain has two distinct halves, or hemispheres, and in most people, each one controls different functions. Emotion is also thought to be controlled by the right hemisphere. The left side of the brain controls spoken and written language.

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One suggestion of how the sentences might be organized, but are there any sentences that still do not seem to fit in? Why?The human brain has two distinct halves, or hemispheres, and in most people, each one controls different functions. The left side of the brain controls spoken and written language. Logical reasoning and mathematics are left-brain skills. The right side, on the other hand, seems to control artistic, musical and spatial skills. Emotion is also thought to be controlled by the right hemisphere. Interestingly, the left side of the brain controls the right hand, and vice versa.

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Is it better like this perhaps?The human brain has two distinct halves, or hemispheres, and in most people, each one controls different functions. The left side of the brain controls spoken and written language. The right side, on the other hand, seems to control artistic, musical and spatial skills. Emotion is also thought to be controlled by the right hemisphere, while logical reasoning and mathematics are left-brain skills. Interestingly, the left side of the brain controls the right hand, and vice versa. Because of this, some researchers believe that people who are left-handed also tend to have a more dominant left hemisphere and better-developed artistic and spatial abilities.

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”In the winter, charter flights from Scandinavia to warm climates are fully booked. In early spring, when it is too cold to sit outside, you can see many people standing with their faces turned towards the sun, their eyes closed and their facial features set in an expression of deep content. In late spring, people strip on the beaches long before the water is warm enough for swimming.” (Björk et al., 173)

• What could a possible topic sentence be?

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”Scandinavians appear to worship the sun. In the winter, charter flights from Scandinavia to warm climates are fully booked. In early spring, when it is too cold to sit outside, you can see many people standing with their faces turned towards the sun, their eyes closed and their facial features set in an expression of deep content. In late spring, people strip on the beaches long before the water is warm enough for swimming.” (Björk et al., 173)

• Deductive structure, from the general to the specific: Claim → supporting examples

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”In the winter, charter flights from Scandinavia to warm climates are fully booked. In early spring, when it is too cold to sit outside, you can see many people standing with their faces turned towards the sun, their eyes closed and their facial features set in an expression of deep content. In late spring, people strip on the beaches long before the water is warm enough for swimming. Scandinavians appear to worship the sun.” (Björk et al., 173)

• Inductive structure, from the specific to the general: Supporting examples → claim

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Achieving Coherence Between Achieving Coherence Between Sentences and ParagraphsSentences and Paragraphs

• Repetition of important words and pronoun substitution: “The family is an important unit in society. It is not, however, identical with society.”

• Substitution of synonyms or antonyms• Transitional expressions and cohesive

devices

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Substitution of Synonyms or Substitution of Synonyms or AntonymsAntonyms

• “The main building of Ellis Island in New York reopened as a museum in 1990. Millions of people visit the huge brick and limestone structure every year. From 1892 to 1954, this famous immigrant station was the first stop for millions of newcomers to America.”

• “Most families in Sweden used to be poor. Nowadays practically everyone is rich beyond the wildest dreams of a medieval lord.”

(Fawcett 2007: 57 & Björk et al 1992: 61)

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Transitional Expressions and Transitional Expressions and Cohesive DevicesCohesive Devices

• Words that signal the logical relationship between sentences and ideas, creating coherence and flow: however, although, nevertheless, whereas, moreover, above all, as a result, because, meanwhile, etc etc

• ”We thought the figures were correct. However, we have now discovered some errors.”

• ”No one inquired about the money found in the lobby. Therefore, it was given to charity.”

(Fawcett ch.4, p 60-63)

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How is Coherence Achived in this How is Coherence Achived in this Paragraph?Paragraph?

“Since readers all read differently it is important that you make the logical links between your sentences explicit. The more clearly you indicate such links concretely in the text, the greater the chance of helping your reader follow and understand your line of thought. Naturally, there is a limit, you are not writing academic papers for schoolchildren. However, the risk of oversimplification is a minor one. The vast majority of students fail to be explicit enough.”(Björk & Räisänen, 187)

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“Since readers all read differently it is important that you make the logical links between your sentences explicit. The more clearly you indicate such links concretely in the text, the greater the chance of helping your reader follow and understand your line of thought. Naturally, there is a limit, you are not writing academic papers for schoolchildren. However, the risk of oversimplification is a minor one. The vast majority of students fail to be explicit enough.”(Björk & Räisänen, 187)

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Fill in the blanks with a connective wordFill in the blanks with a connective word

1. The documents will be scrutinised by the police; ______ they will be sent back to the relevant authority.

2. The retailer has been making losses, ______ s/he intends to wind up his/her business.

3. Wash the potatoes first. ______ you can boil them.

4. We have been trying to contact Michael for the past few days. ______ we managed to trace him to a hotel in town.

5. Life in the country may not be as exciting as life in the city. ______ you are close to nature which provides peace and quietness.

6. Let us not be complacent with ourselves. ______ we may lose out in the final round.

Based on http://www.englishdaily626.com/sentence_connectors.php?005 (date of access 29 August 2011).

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KeyKey

1. The documents will be scrutinised by the police; then they will be sent back tot he relevant authority.

2. The retailer has been making losses, therefore s/he intends to wind up his/her business.

3. Wash the potatoes first. Afterwards you can boil them.

4. We have been trying to contact Michael for the past few days. Eventually we managed to trace him to a hotel in town.

5. Life in the country may not be as exciting as life in the city. Nevertheless, you are close to nature which provides peace and quietness.

6. Let us not be complacent with ourselves. Otherwise we may lose out in the final round.

Based on http://www.englishdaily626.com/sentence_connectors.php?005 (date of access 29 August 2011).

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Mix long and short sentencesMix long and short sentences

Primarily short sentences:

(1) There is one positive result of the rising crime rate. (2) This has been the growth of neighborhood crime prevention programs. (3) These programs really work. (4) They teach citizens to patrol their neighborhoods. (5) They teach citizens to work with the police. (6) They have dramatically reduced crime in cities and towns across the country. (7) The idea is catching on.

(Fawcett 2007:294)

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BETTER:BETTER:


(1) One cause of the falling crime rate in some cities is the growth of neighborhood crime prevention programs. (2) These programs really work. (3) By patrolling their neighborhoods and working with the police, citizens have shown that they can dramatically reduce crime. (4) The idea is catching on.

(Fawcett 2007:295)

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Avoid vaguenessAvoid vagueness

The president’s military spending increased the budget deficit

(Fawcett 2007:322)

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The president did things that caused problems

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Avoid wordinessAvoid wordiness

• In my opinion I think that the financial aid system at Ellensville Junior College is in need of reform

• The financial aid system at Ellensville Junior College needs reform

(Fawcett 2007:328)

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Let’s look at how to…Let’s look at how to…from MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2from MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2ndnd ed. 2007: writing ed. 2007: writing sectionsection

• Add information

• Compare and contrast

• Exemplify

• Express cause and effect

• Express personal opinion

• Express possibility and certainty

• Introduce a concession

• Introduce topics and related ideas

• List items

• Reformulate

• Quote and report

• Summarize and draw conclusions


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Adding InformationAdding Information

• in addition – moreover – furthermore – other – another

• “After the election, we asked whether the parties should change their leaders, their policies or both. In addition, we asked about voting preferences.”

MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2nd ed. 2007: writing section


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Comparing and ContrastingComparing and Contrasting

• resemblance – similarity – parallel – analogy

• “A useful analogy for understanding Piaget’s theory is to view the child as a scientist who is seeking a ‘theory’ to explain complex phenomena.”



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Comparing and Contrasting cont.Comparing and Contrasting cont.

• contrast – difference – distinction – the contrary – the opposite – the reverse – resemble – comparable – correspond

• “There is a sharp distinction between domestic politics and international politics.”



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ExemplificationExemplification• for example – as an illustration – a case in point –

for instance – such as – exemplify – e.g.

• “This is very much a generational problem. Consider, for example, the new students who begin courses at universities and polytechnics. They cannot remember when Britain was not part of the European Community.”



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Exemplification cont.Exemplification cont.


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ReformulationReformulation

i.e. – that is – that is to say – in other words – namely – viz.

“This was particularly so in areas with larger farms, namely Derbyshire, Leicestershire, South Wales, and Speyside.”



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Expressing Cause and EffectExpressing Cause and Effect

because – due to – the cause – the factor – therefore – thus – accordingly – consequently – hence – thus – the effect – the implication – the outcome – arise from – stem from

“Differences in performance can be measured. Employees can therefore be rewarded differently and appropriately.”



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Expressing Personal OpinionsExpressing Personal Opinions

it is reasonable – it is essential – it seems that – (in my opinion) – (in my view)



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RememberRemember

The writer is usually invisible

– RephraseI will write about the situation in my country.This essay will focus on the situation in Sweden.

– PassivizeWe carried out the investigation in 2006.The investigation was carried out in 2006.


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Expressing Possibility and CertaintyExpressing Possibility and Certainty

may – must – argue – claim – conclude – appear – suggest – tend – to some extent – possible – certain – assumption - likelihood

“One possible explanation for these findings is that people take time to adjust to living in residential homes.”



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Introducing a ConcessionIntroducing a Concession

however – nevertheless – nonetheless – although – though – even if – albeit – despite – in spite of

To concede a point adds trustworthiness!



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Listing ItemsListing Items

First/firstly/first of all – second – third –next - finally

AVOID: last but not least…



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Summarizing and Drawing Summarizing and Drawing ConclusionsConclusions

in summary – in sum – to summarize – in conclusion – it is reasonable to conclude

INFREQUENT: in a nutshell – in brief – all in all – we can conclude



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Quoting and ReportingQuoting and Reporting

X argues – notes – points out – states – finds – suggests – claims – insists – to quote X – in the words of X - according to X – argument – contention – hypothesis – view



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ReferencesReferences

• Use many relevant sources but indicate all of them!

• All sources mentioned in the text must occur in the list of references. Similarly, the list of references may only include works mentioned in the text.


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References in the textReferences in the text

• Respect for ideas and results

• Be selective

• Short quotations (1-3 lines):

”…….” (in the running text)

• Long quotations (more than 3 lines):

within a new paragraph with extra

indentation, often in a smaller fontsize

• Never change the content of a quotation!


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QuotationsQuotations

Name, year of publishing, page according to the format:

In this article, Goldberg (1995:210) argues that…

OR

Another view is that these facts cannot be determined without considering more data (Goldberg 1995:210).


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List of referencesList of references

Article in a journal:Sag, I. 1997. English relative clause constructions. Journal of Linguistics 33:431-483.

Article in a larger volume:Kenstowicz, M. 1989. The null subject parameter in Modern

Arabic dialects. The Null Subject Parameter, ed. by O. Jaeggli & K. Safir, 263-275. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Internet source:Peek, G. 2004. Crosslinguistic perspectives.http://www.tbs.com/cad/rac%20.htm. (date of access April 2, 2004).


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Number of authorsNumber of authors

• A single author: (Goldberg 1995)

• Two authors: (Goldberg & Johnson 2002)

• More than two authors: (Goldberg et al. 2003)

• Several works: (Goldberg 1995; Smith 2001)

• No official author: (2003:36)

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Page referencesPage references

A single page: (1995:34)Several pages: (1995:21-27)

Alternatively:

(1995:38f) = p. 38 and the following page(1995:38ff) = p. 38 and the following few pages


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Number of authorsNumber of authors

• A single author: (Goldberg 1995)

• Two authors: (Goldberg & Johnson 2002)

• More than two authors: (Goldberg et al. 2003)

• Several works: (Goldberg 1995; Smith 2001)

• No official author: (2003:36)


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THANK THANK YOU!YOU!

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[email protected]

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Academic writing seminar I & IIAcademic writing seminar I & IIWorks mentionedWorks mentioned

Bailey, S. 2006. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.

Björk, L. & C. Räisänen. 2003. Academic Writing. A University Writing Course, 3rd ed. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Dysthe, O., F. Hertzberg & T. Løkensgard Hoel. 2002. Skriva för att lära: skriva i högre utbildning. Lund : Studentlitteratur.

Fawcett, S. 2007. Evergreen. A Guide to Writing with Readings, 8th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2nd ed. 2007. Oxford: MacMillan.

Mesthrie, R., Swann, A., Deumert & W. L. Leap. 2000. Introducing Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Oshima A. & A. Hogue. 1999. Writing Academic English, 3rd ed. River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Aitchinson, J. 2007. The Word Weavers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


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