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cautious ADJ If you describe someone’s attitude, language, or reaction as cautious, you mean that it is limited or careful.
Definitions
Definitions can occur in the introduction or the main part of the essay. Key concepts are most likely to be defined in the introduction.
It is normal practice to define your key terms, but it becomes especially important to include definitions if you use the words in a meaning which is different from the usual interpretation, or if you are using one meaning when there are many.
Look at the following ways to define an important concept:
Notice how the passive form is often used (is defined, can be described, is called, is known, is referred to). Typical mistakes that are made with the passive are forgetting the form of ‘to be’ and not using the past participle (e.g. writing define where it should be defined). Remember that passive forms have a form of ‘to be’ followed by the past participle of the verb.
Study the tables above. Then try to do Exercise 1 without looking back at the tables.
Exercise 1
Define the word ‘comprehension’ (= the act or ability to understand) in two ways: once starting the sentence with the word, and once ending the sentence with the word. Use passive forms of the verb each time.
Definitions often use relative clauses after a noun to indicate which person or which thing we are talking about, for example:
Notation is a method of recording music,which is based on naming the notes by letters and also includes ways of distinguishing the value of notes in terms of duration.
The relative pronoun that is used here is ‘which’. Other relative pronouns that are often used after a noun in this way are who, whose (which expresses possession), and that.
Exercise 2
Fill in the missing relative pronouns in the following definitions. Choose from that, which, whose and who.
1 The wings of a bird or insect are the two parts of its body________________it uses for flying.
2 A wing of an organization, especially a political organization, is a group________________is part of it and________________has a particular function or particular beliefs.
3 In a theatre, the wings are the sides of the stage________________are hidden from the audience by curtains or scenery.
4 A choir is an organized group of singers________________usually sing in church services.
5 A long, thin container________________you squeeze in order to force paste out is referred to as a tube.
If you are using a particular definition or interpretation, perhaps from a choice of many, you will need to use longer structures to explain this, and may need to include a justification of your choice. Some examples are:
Using definitions
For the purposes of this essay, I will be using Kotler’s definition of societal marketing, because of its focus on the organization’s task to meet the need of the clients and to ‘… deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors, in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and the society’s well-being.’
Although many different definitions of marketing have been suggested over the years, I will be using the one by Kotler (1994), because of.…
Throughout this essay, I will be using the word ‘cognitive’ to refer to the different types of intellectual behaviour.
In this essay, the term ‘reliability’ is used to mean …
Indicating the importance of the topic
Superlatives can be useful to indicate that the topic is a relevant one:
The following adjective and noun combinations can also be useful:
Adjective and noun combinations
an important part, a key role/factor, a great/major problem, a central area of, a common problem, an increasing need/concern, heightened awareness, rapid development, a dramatic increase, renewed/unprecedented interest, a serious effect/impact on, increasing concern
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:
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.
Glossary
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
Formality, efficiency, modesty and clarity (#ulink_a8c4069a-a2b4-5879-aed1-8808e094c9f3)
Aims
understand formality in register and style (#litres_trial_promo)
understand efficiency in register and style (#litres_trial_promo)
understand modesty in register and style (#litres_trial_promo)
understand clarity in register and style (#litres_trial_promo)
Quiz
Self-evaluation
For each statement below, circle the word which is true for you.
Four principles of academic writing
In Chapter 2 (#u63bb1971-0049-52bd-ac42-bffb734aff4d) 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.
