English for Academic

Purposes CLASS
With Sir Jonathan
guess the meaning of these
colloquial/slang terms!
CHAKA
Not pretty
 Sikyo
Security Guard
ermat
mother
datung
money
olats
lose, loser
 awit
“ouch, it hurts”
Arat na!
Let’s go!
 plastic
Two-faced personality
Buzz off
go away
coke
cocaine
You’re nuts!
You’re crazy!
I wasn’t born yesterday.
I’m not gullible.
Knock yourself out.
Do whatever you like.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able tO:
Ø recognize the 10 features and aspects of
academic writing
 10 Features and
aspects of
Academic Writing
10 Features and aspects of Academic Writing
Ø FORMALITY Ø ACCURACY
Ø COMPLEXITY Ø HEDGING
Ø PRECISION Ø RESPONSIBILITY
Ø OBJECTIVITY Ø ORGANIZATION
Ø EXPLICITNESS Ø PLANNING
Formality
● The tone of academic language is usually formal,
meaning that it should not sound conversational or
casual.

● You should particularly avoid using colloquialisms,

idioms, slang, phrasal verbs or journalistic expressions
because they often lead to misinterpretation.
Formality
a. colloquial words and expressions; "stuff", "a lot of",
"thing", "sort of", “wicked”, “yeah”

b. contractions: "can't", "doesn't", "shouldn’t”, “how’s”

c. two-word verbs: "put off", "bring up”, ”stand by”

d. sub-headings, numbering and bullet-points in formal

essays - but use them in reports.
guess the meaning of these
Phrasal verbs!
He went on to win a gold medal.

proceed/proceeded
Hold up a minute. I want
to check something.
wait
I can’t simply stand by and
watch you ruin your life.
do nothing
the meeting was called off.
Cancel/cancelled
I promise, I won’t let you down.

disappoint
CONTRACTIONS FORMAL LANGUAGE
won’t will not
How’s How is
T’was It was
I’m I am
shouldn’t should not
They’re They are
POLITICALLY INCORRECT POLITICALLY CORRECT
autistic/mentally retarded intellectually challenged
poor financially challenged
squatters informal settlers
fireman/woman firefighter
seaman seafarer
geek/nerd socially challenged
POLITICALLY INCORRECT POLITICALLY CORRECT
bald follically challenged
handicapped physically challenged
lazy energetically declined
quiet conversational minimalist
larged nose nasally gifted
janitor sanitation engineer
Complexity
● Written language is relatively more complex than
spoken language.

● Written language has longer words, it is lexically

more dense and it has a more varied vocabulary.
Halliday (1989, p.79) compares a sentence from a spoken text:

You can control the trains this way and if you do that you can
be quite sure that they'll be able to run more safely and more
quickly than they would otherwise, no matter how bad the
weather gets.

with a typical written variant:

The use of this method of control unquestionably leads to safer

and faster train running in the most adverse weather conditions.
Precision
● In academic writing, facts and figures are given
precisely.

● We should not use "a lot of people" when you can

say "2 million people".
Objectivity
● Written language is in general objective rather than
personal.
● It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or
the reader.
● This means that the main emphasis should be on the
information that you want to give and the arguments
you want to make, rather than you.
Objectivity
Don't write: "In my opinion, this a very interesting study."
Write: "This is a very interesting study.”

Don't write: "You can easily forget how different life was
50 years ago."
Write: "It is easy to forget how difficult life was 50 years
ago."
Explicitness
Explicit means that something is stated clearly and in
detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

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.
THE COW/THE MILKMAID/MILKED/SITTING ON A STOOL.

The milkmaid sitting on a stool milked the cow.

The milkmaid milked the cow sitting on a stool .

The cow sitting on a stool milked the milkmaid.
FLYING PLANES CAN POSE DANGERS.

FLYING PLANES POSES DANGERS.

FLYING PLANES POSE DANGERS.
VISITING RELATIVES CAN BE ANNOYING.

VISITING RELATIVES IS ANNOYING.

VISITING RELATIVES ARE ANNOYING.
Accuracy
● It refers to how correct learners’ use of the language
system is, including their use of grammar,
pronunciation and vocabulary.
A PRIEST DELIVER HER HOMILY.
A PRIEST DELIVERS HIS HOMILY.
WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL
SLOWLY BUT SURE.
WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL
SLOWLY BUT SURELY.
IT WALK TO THE STORE AND I
BOUGHT MILK.
IT WALKED TO THE STORE AND I
BOUGHT MILK.
 THEIR THERE.
THEY ARE THERE.
Hedging
● In academic writing, it is prudent to be cautious in
one's statements so as to distinguish between facts
and claims. This is commonly known as “hedging.”

● It is the use of linguistic devices to express hesitation

or uncertainty as well as to demonstrate politeness
and indirectness.
Let’s compare the following sentences;
● In both cases, if the policy stipulates the use of either
English or Filipino, the faculty, staff, and students will
not support.

● In both cases, if the policy stipulates the use of either

English or Filipino, this might not gain a strong support
from the faculty, staff, and students.
Hedging
● It may be said that the commitment to some of the
social and economic concepts was less strong than it
is now.

● The commitment to some of the social and economic

concepts was less strong than it is now.
Hedging
● The lives they chose may seem overly ascetic and
self-denying to most women today.

● The lives they chose seem overly ascetic and self-

denying to most women today.
Responsibility
● In academic writing 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.
OrganiZation
● Academic writing is well-organized. It flows easily
from one section to the next in a logical fashion.

● A good place to start is the genre of your text.

● Once you have decided on the genre, the structure

is easily determined.
Planning
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

● Academic writing is well-planned.

● It usually takes place after research and evaluation,
according to a specific purpose and plan.
10 Features and aspects of Academic Writing
Ø FORMALITY Ø ACCURACY
Ø COMPLEXITY Ø HEDGING
Ø PRECISION Ø RESPONSIBILITY
Ø OBJECTIVITY Ø ORGANIZATION
Ø EXPLICITNESS Ø PLANNING
Do you have any Goodbye!
questions? See you all next week!