English Week 16. Academic Style. Complexity. Introduction Academic

English Week 16. Academic Style. Complexity

Introduction Academic writing in English is linear, which means it has one central point or theme with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or repetitions. Its objective is to inform rather than entertain. As well as this it is in the standard written form of the language.There are eight main features of academic writing that are often discussed. Academic writing is to some extent: complex, formal, objective, explicit, hedged, and responsible. It uses language precisely and accurately.

Complexity noun phrases Premack used a set of plastic chips to teach a chimpanzee named Sarah the meaning of a set of symbols. Premack used a set of plastic chips to teach a chimpanzee named Sarah what a set of symbols mean. clauses There are several factors which help to prolong this period to perhaps three or four times that in the male. The family establishes a variety of bases for refuges which seem to be used at different times of the year. passive verbs They're installing the new computer system next month. The new computer system is being installed next month.

Common errors Passives Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using 'people', 'somebody', or 'they', write a passive sentence with an appropriate verb form. Example: We can solve the problem. The problem can be solved. Someone had reported the theft to the police. Someone has given �1,000 to the charity. Someone will demonstrate the program to the students. Someone explained the procedure to me. People are destroying large areas of forest every day. Somebody has bought the land next to the university. I hope they will have completed all the marking by tomorrow. They should have finished the library by the time you arrive. People expect better results soon. Students should send their complaints to the head of department. They had to postpone the lecture because of illness. An electrical fault could have caused the fire. They are going to hold next year's conference in Birmingham. Everyone knows this fact very well. They opened the new lecture theatre only last month. You must write the answers on the examination paper in black ink. They are now manufacturing this type of computer in Korea. Someone should investigate the problem.

Common errors Passives The theft had been reported to the police. �1,000 has been given to the charity. The program will be demonstrated to the students. The procedure was explained to me. Large areas of forest are being destroyed every day. The land next to the university has been bought. I hope the marking will all have been completed by tomorrow. The library should be finished by the time you arrive. Better results are expected soon. Complaints should be sent to the head of department. The lecture had to be postponed because of illness. The fire could have been caused bt an electrical fault . Next year's conference is going to be held in Birmingham. This fact is very well known. The new lecture theatre was opened only last month. The answers on the examination paper must be written in black ink. This type of computer is now being manufactured in Korea. The problem should be investigated.

Complexity nominalisation Formal written English uses nouns more than verbs. For example, "judgement" rather than "judge", "development" rather than "develop", "admiration" rather than "admire". Instead of: This information enables us to formulate precise questions.we would write: This information enables the formulation of precise questions. More examples are: There appeared to be evidence of differential treatment of children. This is reflected in our admiration for people who have made something of their lives, sometimes against great odds, and in our somewhat disappointed judgment of those who merely drift through life. All airfields in the country would be nationalised, and the government would continue with the development of new aircraft as recommended by the Brabazon Committee.

Complexity attributive adjectives Adjectives can be used either attributively (e.g. the big house) or predicatively (e.g. the house is big). Attributive adjectives are common in academic English. With economic specialisation and the development of external economic linkages, division of labour intensifies, a merchant class is added to the political elite, and selective migration streams add to the social and ethnic complexities of cities.

Compare the two texts Reproduction with variation is a major characteristic of life. Without reproduction, life would quickly come to an end. The earliest single-celled organisms reproduced by duplicating their genetic material and then dividing in two. The two resulting daughter cells were identical to each other and to the parent cell, except for mutations that occurred during the process of gene duplication. Such errors, although rare, provided the raw material for biological evolution. The combination of reproduction and errors in the duplication of genetic material results in biological evolution, a change in the genetic composition of a population of organisms over time. All organisms reproduce and sometimes when they reproduce, the children vary. This is an important characteristic of life. If organisms did nor reproduce, life would quickly come to an end. How did the earliest single-celled organisms reproduce? They duplicated their genetic material and then they divided in two. Two daughter cells resulted from this process; they were identical to each other and to the parent cell. But sometimes as the genes duplicated, they changed or mutated. These errors are not very common but they provide the basic material for life to evolve. So when the genetic material duplicates, they reproduce and they make errors. As a result, there is a change in what the genes are composed of. When these processes combine, life evolve.

Complexity http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/complex_intro.htm

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Homework Read the information at http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/complex_intro.htm Do the exercises http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/pasex2.htm http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/pasex3.htm http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/written1.htm http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/feature/written2.htm Write an essay (p.247 Task 2 Focus on IELTS)