English Academic Writing I: Introduction and Summary

 

Starting from Wednesday August 30 until Friday September 1, 2017, we have an interesting class which is called the English Academic Writing I. This class was conducted by Prof. Rick Lavin from Prefectural University of Kumamoto, belongs to Dept. of English Language & Literature. He came from UK and has been 30 years living in Japan.

INTRODUCTION

A. There are 3 Principles in Writing:

• Write frequently and fluently
• Deal with errors efficiently
• Learn how to transition from everyday to academic writing styles

B. Types of Writing:

• Writing a self-introduction
• everyday style
• Writing book reviews
• transitional style
• Academic writing
• academic style

SUMMARY

A. Use textbooks and other reference works:

• Academic Vocabulary in Use
• Abstracts and the Writing of Abstracts, etc.
• others

B. Use web resources and tools

     1. General web tools: 

• word lists
• phrase banks
• AWL exercises
• etc.

     2. Specific tools that enable us to make our own questions, example sentences

• AWL Highlighter
• AWL Gapmaker
• Compleat Lexical Tutor

C. Read a lot

• Native speakers build their (generally unconscious) knowledge of phrases through leisure reading
• Read papers in our field, fiction, magazines, etc.
• Sometimes shift us focus to form

Source:

• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B02hXKojBPJqTXhtWk83V3lBOUk
• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ydtfo5s3oXT1hUvWX5HuRImstbnVJCdOKsyPKcUn8dE/edit#slide=id.g2488c4437d_0_135

English Academic Writing I: Study and Learning

 

For the last theory, we learned about using the alternative collocations, which are:

A. Alternatives to do and get from the expressions do/get

• do an exam -> I have to sit/take an exam in biology at the end of term.
• do research, do a research project -> Our class carried out / conducted a research project into history of our school.
• do a course -> I decided to enrol on / take  a course in computer programming.
• do a degree/diploma -> She studied for / took  a degree engineering.
• do a subject (e.g law) -> I studied/took history and economics in high school.
• do an essay/assignment -> All students have to write an essay/assignment at the end of term.
• do a lecture/talk -> Professor Parkinson gave a lecture on the American Civil War.
• get a degree/diploma -> He obtained / was awarded a diploma in Town Planning in 1998.
• get a grade -> Her essay received / was given an A-grade.
• get a qualification -> You will need to obtain/acquire a qualification in social work.
• get an education -> The country is poor; only 27% of children receive a basic education.

B. More formal collocations to repeat in the conversations (Question/Answer Examples)

• Q: go to --- the lectures --- do the course 
• A: attend --- the lectures --- complete the course
• Q: class be
• A: class will be held
• Q: give --- our essays 
• A: hand in your essays 
• Q: send in our --- applications 
• A: submit your application
• Q: leave the course
• A: withdraw form the course

C. More collocations connected with study and learning

• keep --- notebook
• first draft --- final draft
• gives --- feedback
• continuous assessment
• provides training
• higher/tertiary education --- further education
• recognise --- qualifications

Source:

English Collocations in Use

English Academic Writing I: Structuring an Argument

 

Academic writing 2: structuring an argument

After learned about how to giving opinions, we learn and practice also how to structuring an argument for organising the context in the academic journals. 

A. Organising the text

• fall into --- categories
• make reference to
• draw a distinction between
• raises --- questions
• touchs on issues
• take into consideration
• makes a case for

B. Reinforcing arguments

• assess the significant
• lays emphasis on
• lend support to
• hold firmly to

C. More collocations for referring to arguments

• draws an analogy -> makes a comparison between things which have similar features, to help explain an idea
• draws parallels -> says that something is very similar to something else
• presents the case for
• puts forward the argument
• takes up / adopts the position
• states --- opinion
• argues convincingly -> argues in a way that makes people believe that something is true or right
• draws attention to --- research --- suggest
• briefly summarises
• disagrees profoundly -> disagrees very strongly or in an extreme way
• draws the conclusion 

Source:

English Collocations in Use

English Academic Writing I: Giving Opinions

 

Academic writing I: giving opinions

In the 3rd day of the class, we learn and practice also how to giving some opinions regarding the context in the academic journals. Some collocations that we could use are:

A. Reviewing the work of academics

• groundbreaking research
• makes a significant contribution
• sets out --- powerful arguments --- shape our thinking -> influence 
• gives an account of --- provides evidence --- support the claim
• concise summary -> short and clear
• strenuously defends --- come under attack
• played a central role --- goes into great detail
• establish a connection --- irrefutable proof (-> absolute proof, impossible to prove wrong) --- significant trends

B. Stating things strongly and less strongly

1. Strong expressions of opinion

• key factor
• perfect example
• clear illustration

2. Less strong expressions of opinion

• tentative explanation
• broadly support

C. Other general academic collocations

• strong tendency
• gather evidence --- carry out a --- study --- play a apart
• supporting evidence
• challenges the theory
• acknowledge your sources
• commit plagiarism

Source:

English Collocations in Use