Academic Style (Academic Writing)
Summary
TLDRIn the 'Academic English UK' video, the focus is on the conventions of academic style in writing. The presenter outlines key 'do's' and 'don'ts', emphasizing the use of academic vocabulary and passive structures, while avoiding colloquialisms, personal pronouns, contractions, and vague language. The video also touches on the importance of referencing, hedging language, and specificity. Exercises are provided to practice rewriting sentences into an academic style, and resources for further learning are recommended, including a worksheet and Stephen Bailey's book on academic writing.
Takeaways
- 📘 Academic style refers to the conventions associated with academic writing, with key elements that are generally agreed upon among academic English teachers.
- 🚫 Avoid using idiomatic or colloquial language; instead, utilize academic vocabulary, such as terms from the Academic Word List.
- 🙅♂️ Limit the use of phrasal verbs, personal pronouns (like 'I'), contractions, and questions in academic essays as they are considered informal.
- 💬 Omit personal adverbs that create a narrative feel, such as 'surprisingly' or 'unfortunately', to maintain an objective tone.
- 📋 Avoid using numbering and bullet points in paragraphing, as well as vague language like 'and so on' or 'etc.'; be specific.
- 🔄 Refrain from repetition, which can indicate a lack of vocabulary or an inability to use synonyms effectively.
- 📚 Use more passive structures and nominalization to formalize your writing, for example, 'The data was analyzed' or 'An analysis of the data showed'.
- 🔗 Incorporate referencing systems to give credibility and context to your academic writing.
- 🤔 Employ cautious or tentative hedging language to express uncertainty or to qualify statements in academic writing.
- 🔍 Be precise with vocabulary, differentiate between keywords, and use specific figures to convey accuracy in academic writing.
- 🖊️ Practice rewriting sentences to make them more academic by identifying and replacing informal words with their academic counterparts.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is the academic style in academic writing, focusing on the conventions and elements that should or should not be included.
What is the definition of academic style according to the video?
-Academic style is the set of conventions often associated with academic writing, which includes a general agreement among academic English teachers on the key elements to include or avoid.
What are some 'do nots' in academic writing as mentioned in the video?
-Some 'do nots' in academic writing include using phrasal verbs, personal pronouns (like 'I', 'we'), contractions, questions forms, personal adverbs, numbering and bullet points in paragraphing, vague language, repetition, and basic language used in spoken English.
What are some 'dos' in academic writing according to the video?
-Some 'dos' in academic writing include using academic vocabulary, passive structures, referencing systems, cautious or tentative hedging language, accurate vocabulary, and being specific with figures and synonyms.
Why should idiomatic or colloquial language be avoided in academic writing?
-Idiomatic or colloquial language should be avoided in academic writing because it is seen as informal and not suitable for the formal tone required in scholarly work.
How can one find alternatives to informal words in academic writing?
-One can find alternatives to informal words by using resources like thesaurus.com or by using Google with the '+' operator to find synonyms that are appropriate in the given context.
What is the significance of using passive structures in academic writing?
-Passive structures are significant in academic writing as they can make the writing more formal and objective, which is preferred in scholarly work.
What is the role of hedging language in academic writing?
-Hedging language is used in academic writing to show that the writer is not 100% certain of the facts stated, adding a level of caution and tentativeness to the claims made.
Why is it important to be specific in academic writing?
-Being specific in academic writing is important to demonstrate precision, accuracy, and a clear understanding of the subject matter, as well as to avoid ambiguity.
What is the recommended approach to rewrite a sentence to make it more academic according to the video?
-The recommended approach includes identifying informal or non-academic words, finding synonyms using resources like thesaurus.com, and considering changes to sentence structure, such as using passive voice or nominalization.
What resource is suggested in the video for practicing academic writing style?
-The video suggests using a worksheet available on the Academic English UK website under the 'academic style' section, which requires a small fee of 50 pence.
Which book is recommended in the video for further understanding of academic writing?
-The book recommended in the video is 'Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students' by Stephen Bailey, published in 2014.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Academic Writing Style
The video script begins with an introduction to the topic of academic style in writing, emphasizing the importance of adhering to certain conventions. The speaker invites viewers to consider what should and should not be included in academic writing. Key elements of academic style are listed, including the use of academic vocabulary, avoidance of idiomatic or colloquial language, phrasal verbs, personal pronouns, contractions, questions, personal adverbs, numbering and bullet points, vague language, and repetition. The speaker also highlights the need for using more passive structures, referencing systems, cautious language, and being precise with vocabulary and figures. Examples of both incorrect and correct academic language use are provided to illustrate the points made.
🔍 Enhancing Academic Writing with Hedging and Nominalization
In the second paragraph, the focus shifts to improving academic writing through the use of hedging language and nominalization. The speaker explains how to rewrite sentences to make them more academic by using synonyms and cautious language to express uncertainty. The process of finding appropriate synonyms is discussed, suggesting the use of online thesauruses and Google to identify suitable alternatives. The script provides examples of how to transform a verb into a noun to create a more formal structure, such as changing 'consider' to 'consideration.' The speaker also encourages viewers to practice rewriting sentences to enhance their academic writing skills, offering exercises and resources for further learning, including a worksheet and a recommended book titled 'Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students' by Stephen Bailey.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Academic Style
💡Phrasal Verbs
💡Personal Pronouns
💡Contractions
💡Questions
💡Personal Adverbs
💡Numbering and Bullet Points
💡Vague Language
💡Repetition
💡Basic Language
💡Passive Voice
💡Nominalization
💡Referencing Systems
💡Hedging Language
💡Precision
Highlights
Definition of academic style in academic writing as conventions often associated with it.
Agreement on key elements of academic style among most academic English teachers.
List of dos and don'ts in academic writing style.
Avoidance of idiomatic or colloquial language in favor of academic vocabulary.
Limitation on the use of phrasal verbs due to their informal nature.
Restriction on personal pronouns like 'I' and 'we' in academic essays.
Full form writing of contractions to maintain formality in academic writing.
Use of positive statements instead of questions in academic essays.
Omission of personal adverbs to avoid a narrative feel in academic writing.
Avoidance of numbering and bullet points in paragraphing for academic formality.
Specificity over vague language in academic writing to maintain clarity.
Repetition seen as a lack of vocabulary; use of synonyms is encouraged.
Avoidance of basic spoken English in academic writing for higher formality.
Use of passive structures for a more formal academic tone.
Incorporation of nominalization to increase complexity and formality.
Importance of using referencing systems in academic writing.
Use of cautious or hedging language to show uncertainty in statements.
Precision in vocabulary and the use of specific figures for accuracy.
Exercises provided to practice rewriting sentences with an academic style.
Use of online resources like thesaurus.com for finding academic synonyms.
Google's utility in finding synonyms and appropriate words in context.
Rewriting examples to demonstrate the transformation of informal to academic language.
Availability of a worksheet for further practice on the academic English UK website.
Recommendation of the book 'Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students' by Stephen Bailey.
Transcripts
hello and welcome to academic English UK
today's video is on academic style in
academic writing all the links are below
but if you want further information then
go to our website forward slash writing
okay we're going to start with a
definition of academic style so academic
style is the conventions often
associated with academic writing now
although there is much debate over what
exactly academic style is generally
there is an agreement among most
academic English teachers to the key
elements that should or should not be
included the following is a list of the
do's and the don'ts so before we begin
I'd like you to think about what you
should not do in academic writing and
what you should do considering academic
writing style so to give you an example
know idiomatic or colloquial language
should be used and the yes would be
academic vocabulary should be used such
as the academic word list pause this
slide and see if you can think of four
or five knows and four and five yeses
okay so the knows no phrasal verbs
phrasal verbs are seen as informal these
are verbs plus prepositions and there
you should be limited and alternatives
should be found personal pronouns i we
in my opinion again these are seen as
informal they create informal structures
and there you should be limited some
universities and departments do not
accept I in written academic essays
contractions
it'll should be written in full form for
example questions is not common to use
questions forms in academic essays and
positive statements should be written
personal adverbs again personalizing
language creates a more narrative feel
so words like surprising unfortunately
should be omitted numbering and bullet
points in paragraphing is not common
vague language such as and so on etc is
also not normally accepted and we should
be more specific
repetition repeating the same words
constantly is seen as lack of vocabulary
and an inability to use synonyms finally
basic language that we use in spoken
English should be avoided in academic
writing here are some examples with
possible alternatives ok the yes is yes
we should be using more passive
structures so for example language like
we analyze the data could be changed
into a more formal structure the data
was analyzed we can also take this one
step further and make it more complex by
using nominalization or now structures
by taking the verb analyzed and using it
as a noun an analysis of the data showed
we should be using referencing systems
we should be using cautious or tentative
hedging language these kind of words
these adverbs and verbs are used just to
show that we are not a hundred percent
certain of the facts that we state we
should be accurate in our vocabulary and
show the differences between keywords
and we should be precise and show the
exact specific figures so being specific
is a key part of academic writing right
if you would like to test yourself here
is the same slide with the words omitted
please pause this and see if you can
name some of the nose and the yeses okay
academics
I'll practice so see if you can rewrite
this sentence so it's more academic
another thing to think about is the
chance of crying getting worse so pause
this slide and see if you can rewrite it
please answer so the first thing you
should do really is look at the sentence
and see if you can highlight the
informal or non academic words so here
we have thing think about phrasal verb
chance and getting our informal words
from here you should perhaps go to the
Internet something like the Saurus comm
is a good website to go to to check
synonyms so if I put anything for Soros
calm highlights the key words that are
specific to that one word and the
brighter orange the key more frequent
words and the lighter orange the less
frequent where's connected to that word
you can also use Google and Google you
can put anything plus in and this will
highlight a whole list too and you can
pick words that you feel are appropriate
to the word in context so through that I
come up with a list so I could use thing
area aspect feature point or think about
I could change to consider note
understand acknowledge chance
possibility probability situation and
getting them the most common similar
word to this is becoming I then choose
which word I'd like to use or which is
the most appropriate so here I'm
choosing aspect consider possibilities
becoming and then I rewrite the sentence
so another aspect to consider is the
possibility of crime becoming worse I
can take this to a further step which is
binominal izing it so here I'm changing
main verb into a noun form so I take
consider and I turn it into the noun of
consideration consideration with a
preposition and it's done and it's more
academic so I would like you to do these
exercises your first one please pause
this slide and see if you can rewrite
this using some of the information
you've learned from today on sir
currently the rates of unemployment is
at an unprecedented level see pause this
slide see if you can rewrite it answer
it has been proposed that by 2017 a
vaccine for malaria will have possibly
been discovered notice hedging cautious
language next pause the slide answer
after 2013 the Japanese property market
in-house value fell dramatically or
since 2013 the price of property fell
dramatically in Japan for all of these
exercises there are a variety of answers
and these are just some of the possible
answers you could use if you want more
then please go here academic English UK
/ academic style where there's a
worksheet and everything I've talked
about today you can download
unfortunately it will cost you 50 pence
but it's a good investment and there's
lots more on our website a lot of what
I've done today has been taken from this
book
academic writing a handbook for
international students this is stephen
bailey 2014 it costs about 25 pounds and
here's the link here
connected to the publisher thank you for
watching my video today if you would
like more information on academic style
or academic writing please go to our
website forward slash writing thank you
Посмотреть больше похожих видео
Features of Academic Writing
5 Dos and Don’ts for Academic Writing
What is Nominalisation? How to nominalise a sentence in academic writing.
Shifting to a formal style in writing
An Introduction to Cohesion in Academic Writing
Lesson 1: Introduction to English for Academic and Professional Purposes | EAPP
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)