Writing: B2+
You can also use the following combinations with adverbs:
is becoming increasingly important, has been extensively researched
Introducing the aim and the organization of the essay
You could use the following patterns:
This essay will attempts to examine whether …determine whether … The aims of this essay are to This essay examines whether …determines whether …argues that … In this essay I argue that …I will discuss …it will be argued that …Notice how ‘will’ and present tenses are used (will examine). ‘Will’ is used to announce what is to come. Present forms are used (examines) to state a fact about the organization of the essay.
There is a choice between passive forms (it will be argued that) or active forms with ‘I’ (I will argue that).
When you announce the structure of the essay, the form with ‘I’ is common. For example:
I will first discuss the reasons why Galen originally became popular. In the second section, I will offer explanations for his enduring popularity, after which I will explain the part that was played by the church and the state.
The main body: Organizational patterns
Essays can be organized in a variety of ways. Some examples of organizational patterns are: comparing/contrasting, problem/solution, chronological, description, exemplifying, classifying, themes, definition, process, cause/effect, advantages/disadvantages, strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT).
Glossary
chronological ADJ If things are described or shown in chronological order, they are described or shown in the order in which they happened
In shorter essays, it is more likely that a pattern is used throughout the whole essay. In longer essays, you are more likely to use a combination. For example, if you are writing an essay about the Cadbury Company, you could use a chronological pattern, in which you write events in the order in which they occurred. Within the different periods, you might use cause and effect, you could include extended definitions of different business models, you could recount a SWOT analysis that was carried out, etc.
Exercise 3
Match the language on the left with the functions on the right.
1 A good illustration of this is the study carried out by De Carvalho (2012). listing/classifying 2 There are three factors that can explain why the practice has not become more widespread. Firstly, … giving cause/effect 3 This demonstrated that a different perspective on the problem can give rise to alternative decisions being taken. exemplifying 4 Whereas in Western societies this is the most important factor in deciding attractiveness, in Eastern societies this is less so. comparing/contrastingGlossary
figure (figures) N-COUNT In books, journal articles, and essays, the diagrams which help to show or explain information are referred to as figures.
Using visuals
In your essays, you may not always need to include visuals, but when you do they will be in the main body. You always need to introduce the visual in your text before showing it. After the visual, you need to describe the most important information contained in it. This may be done by comparing or contrasting, describing change over time, interpreting statistics, etc.
The visuals could be either tables or figures. The title (also sometimes called ‘caption’ or ‘figure legend’) of a table needs to be put above the table, but it needs to be put underneath the information for a figure. You will need to indicate the source of the table or figure. If you have designed or compiled it yourself, then you need to indicate this in the text. For example:
Glossary
compile (compiles, compiling, compiled) VERB When you compile something such as a report, book, or table, you produce it by collecting and putting together many pieces of information.
The following figure shows an overview of the different opinions expressed in both studies. I have put the negative ones on the left and the positive ones on the right.
The language of conclusions
Look at the following conclusion:
The institute for health improvement has identified that an open visiting policy in intensive care units is an important aspect of quality improvement. (1) The aim of this paper was to evaluate and compare the benefits and risks of open and restricted visiting policies. (2) Although the advantages and benefits of visitors for patients have been reported in various studies, the risks and disadvantages have also been discussed.
(3) It is difficult to adapt the same visiting policy across intensive care units and every situation should be assessed on an individual basis. To avoid any adverse effects of visits on staff and patients, staff should be educated on visitor needs and behaviour, and also brochures should be developed and provided which outline the visiting policies.
Notice how the student repeats the aim of the paper in sentence (1). He also says what type of evidence has been discussed in the essay in sentence (2). The overall conclusion and recommendations come at the end (3).
Have a look at the tenses used in the underlined words in the conclusion above. The aim has now been fulfilled, so is referred to in the past simple. The essay itself is not completely finished yet, so the present perfect is used: this tense provides a link between the past and the present. In conclusions that refer to concrete facts, the present tense is used. Recommendations are often made by using ‘should’.
Exercise 4
Answer the following questions.
1 Fill in the correct verb forms in the following sentences, taken from conclusions.
1 This essay (to discuss)________________the economic factors that contributed to …
2 In this essay, I (argue)________________that globalization is not a recent phenomenon.
3 This essay (explore)________________the causes of the conflict …
1 What tense did you use in sentences a–c?
2 The following sentences summarize the evidence and give an indication of their importance. You need to use a different tense here. Which one and why?
1 These findings (to suggest)________________that …
2 The evidence (to seem)________________to indicate that …
3 A consequence of this (to be)________________that …
Remember
At the start of your essay, don’t give any details but say something meaningful.
The language you use (tenses, singular or plural, modal verbs, etc.) will depend on the situation you are describing, its time frame and the strength of your claims.
Define your concepts, indicate the importance of the topic, and state the aims and organization of the essay in the introduction.
Decide on the best organizational pattern for your essay and remember that most essays will use a combination of patterns.
Integrate visuals into your essay by introducing them before inserting them, labelling them correctly, and explaining the most significant information in them.
Use the correct tenses in conclusions to sum up what the essay discussed and comment on its importance.
4
Aims
understand formality in register and style
understand efficiency in register and style
understand modesty in register and style
understand clarity in register and style
Quiz
Self-evaluation
For each statement below, circle the word which is true for you.
1 I often use words like ‘big’, ‘good’, ‘a lot’ in my essays. agree | disagree | not sure 2 It is generally acceptable to use idioms and contractions in academic writing. agree | disagree | not sure 3 I always proofread my essays to make sure I haven’t repeated myself. agree | disagree | not sure 4 I know how to use cautious and impersonal language to make my writing modest. agree | disagree | not sure 5 It is acceptable to use words like ‘thing’, ‘kind of’, ‘stuff’ in academic writing. agree | disagree | not sure 6 I feel I need to write long and complex sentences to write in an academic style. agree | disagree | not sureFour principles of academic writing
In Chapter 2 we looked at what the person marking your work wants. One aspect of this is that you need to demonstrate that you understand the conventions of the academic genre.
In this chapter we will be looking at what all academic readers want, i.e. the type of register and style that is expected from all scholars.
We will look at four principles of academic writing: Formality, Efficiency, Modesty, and Clarity, and consider what they mean for the academic writer. For each principle, you will find examples of mistakes students have made, followed by explanations and corrections. Try to work out what the mistakes are and how you could correct them before you read on.
Glossary
genre (genres) N-COUNT A genre is a particular type of literature, painting, music, film, or other art form which people consider as a class because it has special characteristics.
Formality
Before starting university, students are already aware of the need for formal language in essays. The problem is that it can be difficult to know what is formal and what is not. You can try to think about it in this way: words that are used a lot when speaking (e.g. ‘big’, ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘a lot’), or a technique that is used a lot in speeches (e.g. asking the audience questions) are unlikely to be used in formal writing.
Glossary
formality N-UNCOUNT If you talk about the formality of a person’s language or writing style, you mean that they are using extremely formal academic language.
What else can we expect from the internet? The first thing which we expect and hope to have is an improvement of the services in the near future.
The student asks a question here and then answers it. This is a technique used in speeches to involve the audience. In academic writing, the writer does not address the audience. An improvement would be: ‘The future of the internet will be decided by the needs of its customers. One development is therefore likely to be service improvement.’ This takes out the question, the word ‘hope’, which is quite personal, and the need for ‘we’, which refers to internet customers.
Secondly, we need to reduce the internet service access fees. Moreover, there are always technological developments in the pipeline.
This follows on from the previous text about the internet, so we can avoid the ‘we’ by saying ‘Another customer requirement is a reduction in access fees.’ The second sentence contains an idiom, ‘in the pipeline’, which means ‘in the process of being completed, delivered, or produced’. Idioms are very rare in academic writing, and it is better if you don’t use them. The sentence could be improved as follows:
‘Technological advances can also be expected, as companies are always developing their systems in order to stay competitive.’
Analysis of annual financial reports is an art, which involves many complexities. Even when they are looking at the same natural beauty, amateur painters and great masters will have completely different interpretations. Different people might obtain different conclusions when reading the same report.
This student is using an analogy: financial analysis is compared to an art form with many complexities. It is not wrong to use an analogy, as it involves comparison, which is an academic skill. However, analogy and metaphor can be quite poetic in nature, in which case they are not academic. The student is going too far in the second sentence. An improvement would be: ‘The analysis of financial reports can be said to have more in common with art than with science, as it relies on interpretation and not just facts. This is why different analysts may reach different conclusions.’
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