English for Academic Purposes

- focuses instruction on skills required to perform in an English-speaking academic context

across core subject areas generally encountered in a university setting
Structure of academic texts
 -three-part essay structure 
 the reader is introduced to the topic that will be discussed and to the argument that will be
presented
 the discussion/analysis is carried out and the results are presented
 the argument is summed up and conclusions are drawn

THREE STRUCTURES OF AN ACADEMIC TEXT

Introduction
 where the hook (attention getter/dramatic opener) is located
 to provide the reader with a clear idea of the focus and aim of the text
  the topic of the essay/article will be presented in the introduction,
 often accompanied by a thesis statement (the claim that the writer wishes to make)
 provides the context/background of the argument
 introduces the theoretical perspectives, terminology, etc. that will be used
 explains how the writing will be organized

Body
 where the essay's (or article's) argument, ideas and results are developed and discussed
 Supporting details are located,

Conclusion
 should not contain any new facts or ideas, but rather function as a brief restatement of the
main arguments and facts that have been treated in the essay
Academic Writing
Process that starts with:
 Posing a question
 Problematizing a concept
 Evaluating an opinion
 Answering the question/questions posed or
 Clarifying the problem or
 Arguing for a stand
Purposes for Academic Writing
 To inform, to persuade, to argue a specific point

Features of Academic Texts

COMPLEX
 Written language has longer words, it is lexically more dense and it has a more varied
vocabulary.
 Written texts are shorter and the language has more grammatical complexity, including more
subordinate clauses and more passives.

FORMAL
 Avoid the use of colloquial words, slang, jargons, street language and any other informal words

PRECISE
 Facts are given accurately and precisely
OBJECTIVE
 objective rather than personal
 has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader
 main emphasis should be on the information th at you want to give and the arguments you
want to make, rather than you

EXPLICIT
 it is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various
parts of the text are related

ACCURATE
 uses vocabulary accurately
 most subjects have words with narrow specific meanings

HEDGING
 it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular subject, or the strength of
the claims you are making

RESPONSIBLE
 You must be responsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and justification for, any
claims you make.
 You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use

ACADEMIC WRITING TIPS

Make it formal
Use specific language
• Avoid strong emotive language
• Avoid slang (including text language)
• Avoid abbreviations and contractions

Take Care with pronouns

• The article provides a different perspective on the subject of literary fraud an hoaxes because the
author considers it to be an act of literary criticism
• What does it refer to?
• Make sure you do not do this in your writing

Avoid redundant words

• Because of the fact / due to the fact

• Basically, generally, kind of, actually
• Each and every
• The end result / the final outcome

Use simple and direct language

• Acquiesce / agree
• Ascertain / discover
• To expedite / to hasten
• To facilitate / to simplify
• To utilize / to use

Write in an active voice

Active Voice: The students conducted many experiments to demonstrate the truth of the hypothesis
Passive Voice: Many experiments were conducted by the students to demonstrate the truth of the
hypothesis

Use words to show not tell

 Connectives
 Synonyms

Write a list of synonyms

use this for your thesis statement in your critical reflection

Get some feedback

 Ideas (does it have ideas discussed initially)

 Structure (does it follow the essay structure hand out)
 Meaning (does it make sense?)
 Length (is it too long or too short? Good?)
 Referencing (have you referenced correctly?)

Ensure you proofread

- Ensure you proofread (asking someone to read your work for correction and
suggestions) your work

Cliché
-A phrase or expression that has been used so often that is no longer original or interesting
(Merriam Dictionary)

- A cliché is an expression (such as a metaphor) that has been used so often it loses its
freshness and meaning.

 1. A trite or overused expression or idea: "Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in
ordinary public use . . . scholars were giving it increasing attention" (Anthony Brandt).
 2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: "There is a young
explorer . . . who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected" (John Crowley).
 HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY
Structure of an Essay
Every essay has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In a five-paragraph essay, the first paragraph is
called the introduction. The next three paragraphs consist of the body of the essay. The fifth and
final paragraph is the conclusion. This structure is not written in stone, however. Look in a
newspaper or magazine; you'll rarely see an essay that follows this exact formula. On the other hand,
it's a good place for beginners to start. When you feel more confident, you can get more creative and
break free of the five paragraph formula
 WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism is the act of presenting the work of another as your own. If you use the work of someone
else and either knowingly or inadvertently claim it as your own creation you are committing an act of
plagiarism.

What Forms Can Plagiarism Take?

 Word-for-word copying of another’s work without properly acknowledging the source of the
information
 Paraphrasing the work of another without acknowledgement
 Failing to properly cite your source, even if that failure is inadvertent
 Attributing information to a source from which it did not come
 Submitting material created by another under your name
 Submitting material created by yourself and others but claiming the work entirely as your own

Why Students Plagiarize

 Not enough time to complete the assignment (procrastination, poor time management skills, or
a busy schedule outside of school can all contribute to this)
 Laziness
 Lack of fundamental research skills (be aware that some plagiarism is inadvertent)
 Careless research methods (e.g. failing to document sources used during the research
process)
 A fear that one’s own academic abilities are not adequate, leading one to seek a superior
product
 Perceived pressure from external forces (parents, friends, scholarship committees, etc.) to
maintain high grades
 Cultural differences. In many non-Western societies, the idea of “owning” text or material is
perplexing
 Because cheating is perceived as acceptable in today’s society, as a way to ‘get ahead’
 A perceived lack of punishment by the instructor or the institution
 Because it’s easy to do

Why is it Wrong?

Plagiarism is a form of theft. According to United States copyright law, the legal copyright owner has
the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, and make derivative copies of the work.
Using the copyrighted material of another person without first obtaining permission to do so or without
properly identifying your source is essentially stealing someone else's property.
 SUMMARY SKILLS
Writing a good summary demonstrates that you clearly understand a text
and that you can make your readers understand what you are trying to say.
A summary can be tough to write at first as you might include too much or
too little information. However, with the help of this 8-step method, you will
be able to summarize texts quickly and successfully for any class or
subject.

STEP 1: BREAK DOWN & DIGEST

First, skim through the text you are required to summarize
and divide it into sections. Be sure to focus on any headings
and subheadings. Also, you should take note of terms in
bold and make sure you understand them before you read. 

STEP 2: READ
Now that you have prepared, go ahead and read the selection.
Read straight through. At this point of time, you do not need to
stop to look up anything that gives you trouble — just get a feel
for the author’s tone, style, and main idea.

STEP 3: RE-READING
Rereading should be active reading. Make sure that you
underline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that you
want to refer to as you write your summary. Also, label areas
that should be avoided because the details — although they
may be interesting — are too specific or unrelated. Identify
areas that you do not understand and try to clarify those
points. 

STEP 4: ONE SENTENCE AT A TIME

You should now have a firm grasp on the text that you will be
summarising. In the previous steps, you have divided the
selection into sections and located the author’s main ideas
and points. Now, write down the main idea of each section in
one well-developed sentence. Make sure that what you
include in your sentences are key points, not minor details.  
STEP 5: WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT [HYPOTHESIS]
This is the key to any well-written summary. Review the
sentences that you wrote in STEP 4. From the sentences, you
should be able to create a thesis statement that clearly
communicates what the entire text was trying to achieve. If you
find that you are unable to do this step, then you should return
to STEP 4 and make sure your sentences actually addressed
key points.

STEP 6: READY TO WRITE

At this point, your first draft is done. You can use the thesis
statement as the introductory sentence of your summary,
and your other sentences can make up the body. Make sure
that they are in order. Add some transition words (for
example: then, however, also, moreover) that help with the
overall structure and flow of the summary. Once you start
writing, take note of these points…(Continued on the next
slide)

STEP 6: READY TO WRITE [SOME POINTERS]

Write in the present or past tense, depending on the
context of the question (i.e., how the question is phrased) and
what tense the first few words that are given to help you
begin are in.
Make sure to include the author and title of the work.
Be concise: a summary should not be equal in length to the
original text.
If you must use the words of the author, cite them.
Otherwise, USE YOUR OWN WORDS (for example, instead
of “in actual fact”, write “actually”)!
Do not add in your own opinions, ideas, or interpretations
into the summary. The purpose of writing a summary is to
accurately represent what the author wanted to say, not to
provide a critique.
 STEP 7: CHECK FOR ACCURACY
Reread your summary and make sure that you have
accurately represented the author’s ideas and key
points. Be sure that you have correctly cited anything
directly quoted from the text. Also, check to make sure
that your text does not contain your own commentary
on the selection.

STEP 8: REVISE
Once you are certain that your summary is accurate, you
should (as with any piece of writing) revise it for style,
grammar, and punctuation. You should be able to
understand the main text based on your summary alone.
If you do not, you may have focused too much on one
area of the piece and not enough on the author’s main
idea.