STUDY MATERIAL
Topics:
• Register
• Academic writing
• Structure of academic papers
• Abstracts
• Paraphrasing
• Discourse Markers
• Punctuation and language focus
Vocabulary
• From each topic
1. REGISTER
Register refers to the level of formality in language. Academic writing requires formal register throughout.
14 Features of Formal / Academic Register
− Formal vocabulary: use academic equivalents (e.g. "commences" not "starts")
− Conventions: indent paragraphs in essays; use headings in research papers
− No contracted forms: write "are not" not "aren't", "do not" not "don't"
− Impersonal writing: limit personal pronouns; prefer passive voice
− Passive voice: "Education needs to be invested in" rather than "We need to invest"
− Nominalisations: convert verbs/adjectives to nouns (analyse → analysis; require → requirement)
− Long noun phrases: use pre- and post-modifiers ("the limited unrepresentative sample")
− Long, complex sentences: avoid choppy writing; aim for two ideas per sentence
− Discourse markers: use linking expressions for coherence and cohesion
− Collocations & formulaic language: "research is conducted"; "a wide range of topics"; "a growing body of research
suggests that…"
− Standard grammar and punctuation: avoid ellipsis (…) and double negatives
− No figurative language: avoid metaphors/idioms (a few set academic ones are OK: "at the heart of", "pave the way
for")
− No direct questions: never address the reader directly
− No coordinating conjunctions at sentence start: avoid starting sentences with And, Or, But
Formal vs Informal: quick pairs
− a supporter → advocate
− to try to → to intend to
− hurtful → offensive
− useless → ineffective
− to buy → to purchase
− for a long time → longitudinal
− a drink → a beverage
− empty → barren
− knives, spoons and forks → cutlery
, − rulebreaker → miscreant
2. ACADEMIC WRITING
Academic writing requires specific stylistic choices to be clear, impersonal, and precise. Key skills include
nominalisation, reduced relative clauses, and participle clauses for dense writing.
Dense Writing Techniques (especially for abstracts)
− Reduced relative clause: remove "which/who is/are": "the study conducted by…" (not "the study which was
conducted by…")
− Participle clause: use –ing or –ed verb at start of clause: "Considering the institutional use of English… the
participants are regarded as comparable." / "…making these groups comparable"
− Nominalisation: convert a verb/clause to a noun phrase: "learners' pragmatic competence develops slowly" →
"the slow development of learners' pragmatic competence"
Punctuation Focus: Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions
− Use a comma before and/but/or in a compound sentence (two independent clauses): "The article was published,
and it garnered immediate attention."
− No comma needed when the second part is not an independent clause: "The article was published but garnered
little attention."
− Research is uncountable: say "a piece of research" or "a research project" (NEVER "a research"!)
− Compound adjectives need hyphens: a five-minute break, a fill-in-the-gap test
Easily Confused Words (selection)
alternate = every other vs alternative = other option
classic = of lasting value vs classical = referring to classical
tradition, e.g. music/mechanics
economic (relating to the vs economical = not wasteful vs financial = relating to money
economy) vs
complement = complete/enhance vs compliment = praise
everyday = adjective: ordinary vs every day = adverb: each day
disparate = very different vs desperate = in great need
eligible = qualified vs illegible = unreadable
elicit = draw out vs illicit = illegal/forbidden
imminent = about to happen vs eminent =
distinguished/famous
incredulous = disbelieving vs incredible = amazing
to critique = to analyse critically vs to criticize = to find fault
confound = confuse/baffle vs compound = make worse; a
substance/mixture
deduce = draw a conclusion vs deduct = subtract
imply = suggest indirectly vs infer = conclude form evidence
thereby = by that means vs hereby = by this
means/declaration
Topics:
• Register
• Academic writing
• Structure of academic papers
• Abstracts
• Paraphrasing
• Discourse Markers
• Punctuation and language focus
Vocabulary
• From each topic
1. REGISTER
Register refers to the level of formality in language. Academic writing requires formal register throughout.
14 Features of Formal / Academic Register
− Formal vocabulary: use academic equivalents (e.g. "commences" not "starts")
− Conventions: indent paragraphs in essays; use headings in research papers
− No contracted forms: write "are not" not "aren't", "do not" not "don't"
− Impersonal writing: limit personal pronouns; prefer passive voice
− Passive voice: "Education needs to be invested in" rather than "We need to invest"
− Nominalisations: convert verbs/adjectives to nouns (analyse → analysis; require → requirement)
− Long noun phrases: use pre- and post-modifiers ("the limited unrepresentative sample")
− Long, complex sentences: avoid choppy writing; aim for two ideas per sentence
− Discourse markers: use linking expressions for coherence and cohesion
− Collocations & formulaic language: "research is conducted"; "a wide range of topics"; "a growing body of research
suggests that…"
− Standard grammar and punctuation: avoid ellipsis (…) and double negatives
− No figurative language: avoid metaphors/idioms (a few set academic ones are OK: "at the heart of", "pave the way
for")
− No direct questions: never address the reader directly
− No coordinating conjunctions at sentence start: avoid starting sentences with And, Or, But
Formal vs Informal: quick pairs
− a supporter → advocate
− to try to → to intend to
− hurtful → offensive
− useless → ineffective
− to buy → to purchase
− for a long time → longitudinal
− a drink → a beverage
− empty → barren
− knives, spoons and forks → cutlery
, − rulebreaker → miscreant
2. ACADEMIC WRITING
Academic writing requires specific stylistic choices to be clear, impersonal, and precise. Key skills include
nominalisation, reduced relative clauses, and participle clauses for dense writing.
Dense Writing Techniques (especially for abstracts)
− Reduced relative clause: remove "which/who is/are": "the study conducted by…" (not "the study which was
conducted by…")
− Participle clause: use –ing or –ed verb at start of clause: "Considering the institutional use of English… the
participants are regarded as comparable." / "…making these groups comparable"
− Nominalisation: convert a verb/clause to a noun phrase: "learners' pragmatic competence develops slowly" →
"the slow development of learners' pragmatic competence"
Punctuation Focus: Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions
− Use a comma before and/but/or in a compound sentence (two independent clauses): "The article was published,
and it garnered immediate attention."
− No comma needed when the second part is not an independent clause: "The article was published but garnered
little attention."
− Research is uncountable: say "a piece of research" or "a research project" (NEVER "a research"!)
− Compound adjectives need hyphens: a five-minute break, a fill-in-the-gap test
Easily Confused Words (selection)
alternate = every other vs alternative = other option
classic = of lasting value vs classical = referring to classical
tradition, e.g. music/mechanics
economic (relating to the vs economical = not wasteful vs financial = relating to money
economy) vs
complement = complete/enhance vs compliment = praise
everyday = adjective: ordinary vs every day = adverb: each day
disparate = very different vs desperate = in great need
eligible = qualified vs illegible = unreadable
elicit = draw out vs illicit = illegal/forbidden
imminent = about to happen vs eminent =
distinguished/famous
incredulous = disbelieving vs incredible = amazing
to critique = to analyse critically vs to criticize = to find fault
confound = confuse/baffle vs compound = make worse; a
substance/mixture
deduce = draw a conclusion vs deduct = subtract
imply = suggest indirectly vs infer = conclude form evidence
thereby = by that means vs hereby = by this
means/declaration
