University of Burundi

IPA/ English Department

Subject : ACADEMIC WRITING
Class : BAC II -2023
SEM. :I

KINDS OF SENTENCES

A sentence is a group of words that you use to communicate your ideas. Every sentence is
formed from one or more clauses and expresses a complete thought. The four basic kinds of
sentences in English are Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-complex. The

Clauses

There are two kinds of clauses: independent and dependent.

kind of sentence is determined by the kind of clauses used to form it.

 1. Simple Sentences

• A simple sentence is one independent clause.

1. Freshwater boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

2. Freshwater boils at 100 degrees and freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.

3. Freshwater and salt water do not boil and do not freeze at the same -
temperatures.

Notice that the second sentence has two verbs, boils and freezes. This is called a compound
verb. The third sentence has both a compound subject and a compound verb. All three
examples are simple sentences because they have only one clause.

Compound Sentence

• A compound sentence is two or more independent clauses joined together. There are
three ways to join the clauses:

1. With a coordinator

Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater, so food cooks faster in salt water.

2. With a conjunctive adverb

 Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; therefore, food cooks faster in salt
water.

3. With a semicolon

Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; food cooks faster in salt water.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clause(s).
In a complex sentence, one idea is generally more important than the other. We place the
more important idea in the independent clause and the less important idea in the dependent
clause.

• There are three kinds of dependent clauses: adverb, adjective, and noun.

Complex Sentences with Adverb Clauses

• An adverb clause acts like an adverb; that is, it tells where, when, why, and how. An
adverb clause begins with a subordinator, such as when, while, because, although, if,
so, or that. It can come before or after an independent clause.

E.g: Although women in the United States could own property, they could not vote until
1920.

A citizen can vote in the United States when he or she is 18 years old.

Complex Sentences with Adjective Clauses

• An adjective clause acts like an adjective; that is, it describes a noun or pronoun. An
adjective clause begins with a relative pronoun, such as who, whom, which, whose, or
that, or with a relative adverb, such as where or when. It follows the noun or pronoun
it describes.

• Men who are not married are called bachelors.

Last summer we vacationed in Mugamba, which features excellent temperatures

• Complex Sentences with Noun Clauses

• A noun clause begins with a WH- question word, that, whether, and sometimes if.

• A noun clause acts like a noun; it can be either the subject or an object of the
independent clause.

• That there is a hole in the ozone layer of Earth's atmosphere is well known.

• Scientists know what causes .

In the first example, That there is a hole in the ozone layer of Earth's atmosphere is the
subject of the verb is. In the second example, what caused it is the object of the verb know.

Compound-Complex Sentences

A Compound-complex sentence has at least three clauses, at least two of which are
independent. You can use almost any combination of dependent and independent clauses.
Just be sure that there is at least one independent clause.

• I wanted to travel after I graduated from college; however, I had to go to work

immediately.

After I graduated from college I wanted to travel, but I had to go to work immediately

In the following examples, independent clauses are underlined with a solid line and
dependent clauses with a dotted line.

II. WRITING A PARAGRAPH

A paragraph is a group of related sentences that discuss one (and usually only one) main idea.
A paragraph should be long enough to develop the main idea clearly. A paragraph may stand
by itself. It has both a unit in itself and part of a larger whole. A paragraph help to indicate
the structure of a composition, and it is a conventional sign that one point is complete, and
the next point is about to begin.

Unity in a paragraph

As a unit in itself, each paragraph should deal with a single topic or aspect of the topic. It
should have a central idea or purpose, and each sentence in the paragraph should aid in
developing this central idea and making it clear.
The Three Parts of a Paragraph

• All paragraphs have a topic sentence and supporting sentences, and a concluding
sentence. The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. It not only names
the topic of the paragraph, but it also limits the topic to one specific area that can be
discussed completely in the space of a single paragraph.

• The part of the topic sentence that announces the specific area to be discussed is
called the controlling idea. Notice how the topic sentence of the model states both
the topic and the controlling idea:

e.g.: Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics.

The Topic Sentence

• Every good paragraph has a topic sentence, which clearly states the topic and the
controlling idea of the paragraph.

• A topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. A topic sentence is

the most general statement in the paragraph because it gives only the main idea.
It briefly indicates what the paragraph is going to discuss. For this reason, the topic
sentence is a helpful guide to both the writer and the reader. The writer can see what
information to include (and what information to exclude). The reader can see what the
paragraph is going to be about and is therefore better prepared to understand it. For
example, in a model paragraph on gold, the topic sentence alerts the reader to look for
two characteristics.

Important points to remember about a topic sentence

1. A topic sentence is a complete sentence; that is, it contains at least one subject and
one verb. The following are not complete sentences because they do not have verbs:

• Driving on freeways.

• How to register for college classes.

• The rise of indie films!

1. A topic sentence contains both a topic and a controlling idea. It names the topic and
then limits the topic to a specific area to be discussed in the space of a single
paragraph.

• Driving on freeways requires skill and alertness.

• Registering for college classes can be a frustrating experience for new students.

• The rise of indie film is due to several factors.

The two Parts of a Topic Sentence

• As noted earlier a topic sentence has two essential parts: the topic and the
controlling idea. The topic names the subject of the paragraph. The controlling idea
limits or controls the topic to a specific area that you can discuss in the space of a
single paragraph.

• Convenience foods are easy to prepare.

• The reader immediately knows that this paragraph will discuss how easy it is to
prepare convenience foods and perhaps give some examples (canned soup, frozen
dinners, and so on).

A topic sentence should not have controlling ideas that are unrelated

EXAMPLES

• TOO MANY IDEAS: Indie films are characterized by experimental

techniques, low production costs, and provocative themes.

• GOOD: Indie films are characterized by experimental techniques.

Position of Topic Sentences

• The topic sentence is usually (but not always) the first sentence in a paragraph.
Experienced writers sometimes put topic sentences in other locations, but the best
spot is usually right at the beginning. Readers who are used to the English way of
writing want to know what they will read about as soon as they begin reading.

Sometimes a topic sentence comes at the end. In this case, the paragraph often begins with a
series of examples. Other paragraphs may begin with a series of facts, and the topic sentence
at the end is the conclusion from these facts.

Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences explain or prove the topic sentence. One of the biggest problems in
student writing is that student writers often fail to support their ideas adequately. They need
to use specific details to be thorough and convincing.

• There are several kinds of specific supporting details: examples, statistics, and
quotations.

The Concluding Sentence

A concluding sentence serves two purposes:

1. It signals the end of the paragraph.

2. It leaves the reader with the most important ideas to remember. It can do this in two ways:
 • By summarizing the main points of the paragraph OR

By repeating the topic sentence in different words

End-of-Paragraph Signals

• End-of-Paragraph Signals Followed by a Comma

• Finally, In brief, In conclusion, Indeed, In short,

Lastly, Therefore, Thus, To sum up,

• End-of-Paragraph Signals Not Followed by a Comma

• The evidence suggests that…

• There can be no doubt that…

• These examples show that…

• We can see that..

PRACTICES

I. Circle the topic and underline the controlling idea in each of the following
sentences.

1. Driving on freeways requires an aggressive attitude

2. The Caribbean island of Trinidad attracts tourists because of its calypso music.

3. Spectacular beaches make Puerto Rico a tourist paradise.

4. Moving away from home can be a stressful experience for young people.

5. Many religious rules arose from the health needs of ancient times.

6. A major problem for many students is the high cost of tuition and books.

7. In my opinion, television commercials is a problem for several different groups of

students.

8. It is an expensive luxury to own automobile in a large city.

II. Give two or three controlling ideas for each of the following.

1. Elementary Education in Burundi

2. Your home town

FROM PARAGRAPH TO ESSAY

An essay is a piece of writing several paragraphs long. It is about one topic, just as a
paragraph is. However, because the topic of an essay is too complex to discuss in one
paragraph, you need to divide it into several paragraphs, one for each major point.
Then you need to tie the paragraphs together by adding an introduction and a
conclusion. Writing an essay is no more difficult than writing a paragraph except that an
essay is longer. The principles of organization are the same for both, so if you can write a
good paragraph, you can write a good essay.

EXAMPLE OF A PARAGRAPH

Canada is one of the best countries in the world to live in. First, Canada has an excellent
health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.
Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well‐trained teachers
and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and
efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As
a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Purpose of Academic Writing (paragraph/Essay/Report)

• Inform

• Describe

• Entertain

• Write clearly your intention

• Inform about a job vacancy.

Common types of academic writing (paragraph/Essay/Report)

• Descriptive

• Analytical

• Persuasive

• Critical

The features of academic writing

• Formality (avoid colloquial expressions)

• Precision(don’t complicate the writing)

• Objective (avoid subjectivity)

• Explicitness
 • Transitions

• Accuracy

• Simplicity

FEATURES OF MATURE WRITING

1. Coordination: Connect grammatically equal elements

(Coordinating conjunctions are sometimes called the "Fan Boys" conjunctions)

Conjunction Function Example

For Connects a reason to a I am a little hungry, for I didn't eat

result breakfast this morning.

And Connects equal similar John likes to fish and hunt.

ideas

Nor Connects two negative She does not eat meat, nor does she drink
sentences milk.

But Connects equal different I like to eat fish but not to catch them.
ideas

Or Connects two equal Do you prefer coffee or tea?

choices

Yet Connects equal It is sunny yet cold.

contrasting ideas

So Connects a result to a I did not eat breakfast this morning, so I am

reason a little hungry.

Paired (Correlative) conjunctions Correlative conjunctions are always in pairs. Like

coordinating conjunctions, they connect grammatically equal elements.

Conjunction Example
Pairs

Both ... and Both San Francisco and Sydney have beautiful harbors

not only … but Japanese food is not only delicious to eat but also beautiful to look
also at.

Either ... or Bring either a raincoat or an umbrella when you visit Seattle.

Neither ... nor My grandfather could neither read nor write, but he was a very
 wise person.

whether ... or The newlyweds could not decide whether to live with her parents
or to rent an apartment.

2. Subordination

A subordinating word is the first word in a dependent clause. There are many other
conjunctions that have not mentioned here. Subordinating words include the
following.

1. Subordinating Conjunctions for Adverb Clauses

Time (When?)
after After we ate lunch, we decided to go shopping.
as, just as Just as we left the house, it started to rain.
as long as We waited as long as we could.
as soon as As soon as the front door closed, I looked for my
house key.
before
I thought I had put it in my coat pocket before we
since left.
until. I have not locked myself out of the house since I was
10 years old.
whenever
Until I was almost 12, my mother pinned the key to
when
my coat.
while
I usually put the key in the same place whenever I
come home.
When I turned 12, my mother let me keep the key in
my pocket.
While I searched for the key, it rained harder and
harder.

Place (Where?)

where I like to shop where prices are low.

wherever I try to shop wherever there is a sale.
anywhere You can find bargains anywhere you shop.
everywhere I use my credit card everywhere I shop.
 Manner (How?)
as, just as as I love to get flowers(,) as most women do.
if/ as though You look as if you didn't sleep at all last night.
She acts as though she doesn't know us.

as I can't take evening classes(,) as I work at

night.
because since
I can't take evening classes because I work at
night.

I can't take evening classes since I work at

night.

Partial Contrast

Although I love my brother although we disagree about

almost everything.
Even though
I love my brother even though we disagree
though about almost everything.

I love my brother though we disagree about

almost everything.

Question Clauses

who, whoever, whom Whoever arrives at the bus station first should
buy the tickets.
which, what, where
Do you know where the bus station is?
when, why, how
We should ask when the bus arrives
how long, how often, etc.
Do not worry about how much they cost.
how much, how many
He didn't care how long he had to wait.

Conciseness

Waste in writing, as in anything else, dilutes, weakens, demoralizes. A sentence that spills
more words on the page than its sense justifies pollutes a reading environment that is already
littered by verbiage. There is anyway difference between brevity and conciseness. Brevity is
not always a virtue, conciseness always is. Brevity deletes details that can be essential and
then included. Concise writing states the necessary details without wasting words.

EXAMPLE:

 Brief : The market dropped

 Wordy : By the time trading stopped on Wall Street, the stock market had fallen
down fifteen points, which was significant because it was the sharpest decline since a
similar drop seven years ago.

 Concise: The stock market fell fifteen points today, the sharpest decline in
seven years.

Six Principals of Concision

To edit a sentence, try to follow these principles:

1. Delete words that mean little or nothing

2. Delete words that repeat the meaning of other words.

3. Delete words implied by other words

4. Replace a phrase with a word

5. Change negatives to affirmatives

6. Delete useless adjectives and adverbs

Delete meaningless words. Some words are verbal tics that we use as unconsciously
as we clear our throats.

Example:

Wordy: Productivity actually depends on certain factors that basically involve

psychology more than any particular technology.

Concise: Productivity depends on psychology more than on technology.

Most paired words today are just redundant. Among the common ones are:

• Full and complete

• hope and trust

• any and all

• True and accurate

• each and every

• basic and fundamental

• Hope and desire

• first and foremost

Replace a phrase with a word

This redundancy is especially difficult to fix, because you need a big vocabulary and
the wit to use it.

• Example

Wordy: As you carefully read what you have written to improve wording and catch
errors of spelling and punctuation, the thing to do before anything else is to see
whether you can use sequences of subjects and verbs instead of the same ideas
expressed in nouns.

Concise: As you edit, first replace nominalisation with clause.

Change negatives to affirmatives

• When you express an idea in a negative form, not only must you use an extra word:
same no different, but you also force readers to do a kind of algebraic calculation.
These two sentences, for example, mean much the same thing, but the affirmative is
more direct:

THE PARAGRAPH AND THE SHORT ESSAY

A short essay is longer than a paragraph, but like a paragraph it has three basic parts:
An Introduction, a Body, and a Conclusion.

 Introduction: the introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of a short essay. It

contains a topic sentence and a Thesis Statement.

 Body paragraph: A short essay has at least one or two body paragraphs. These
develop the idea developed in the introduction.

 Conclusion: The concluding paragraph is the final paragraph and summarizes the
idea(s) presented in the short essay.

Paragraph Short Essay

The topic sentence states the The introductory paragraph states the topic
topic

The topic sentence states the The thesis statement states the controlling idea
controlling idea

The supporting sentences of the The body paragraphs support the idea in the
paragraph support the idea in the thesis statement. Each body paragraph has a
topic sentence topic sentence

The concluding sentence The essay conclusion summarizes the idea in the
summarizes the idea in the topic thesis statement.
sentence
 The Introduction

There is no such thing as a standard introduction, and much depends on the nature of
the research and the length of the essay. However, for a relatively short essay written
under exam conditions, the following are worth including, in this order:

• a) Definitions of any terms in the title that are unclear

• b) Some background information

• c) Reference to other writers who have discussed this topic

• d) Your purpose in writing and the importance of the subject

• e) Any limitations, e.g. geographical or chronological, that you set yourself

• f) A summary of the main points you intend to cover

The Main Body

• The structure of the main body depends on the length of the essay and the subject of
study. Shorter essays (in exams, for example) tend to have simpler structures:
Description/ ABCD development, for and against, Comparison/evaluation.

• Inside the main body, ideas need to be presented in the most logical fashion, linked
together to form a coherent argument.

• The body of longer essays may include the following sections:

 Literature review: a summary of the main authorities on this topic

 Experimental set-up: a technical description of the organisation of an experiment

Methods (how the research was carried out).

 Findings/results: what was discovered by the research/experiment

 Case study : a description of an example of the topic being researched

 Discussion : an examination of the issues and the writer’s verdict

While writing the body, special phrases can be used to mark the beginning of new
paragraphs, or the introduction of new topics. To introduce a new paragraph/topic,
such words can be used: The main/chief factor/issue is . . . Turning to the subject of . .
. Moving on to the question of . . . Another important area is . . . . . . . . . . . . . should
also be examined.

The Conclusion
 In some cases the Conclusion may be linked to the discussion section, or it may be
called ‘concluding remarks’, or ‘summary’. However, in most cases it is helpful for
the reader to have a section which (quite briefly) looks back at what has been said and
makes some comments about the main part.

As already illustrated, the following components may be found in conclusions:

• Implications of the findings

• Proposals for further research

• Limitations of the research

• Reference to how these findings compare with other studies

• Summary of main findings

Thesis Statements

The thesis statement establishes the overall point of your essay, and it fulfills two main
objectives:

 First, the thesis must state your topic.

 Second, the thesis must convey what you will prove about your topic (your opinion
about that topic)

 The thesis statement is embedded in the introductory paragraph, usually at the end of
that paragraph.

The basic requirements for a thesis statement include the following:

 the essay’s subject—the topic that you discuss

 the essay’s purpose—either informative or persuasive

 your focus—the assertion that presents your point of view

• specific language—not vague words

• brief overview of the topic’s subdivisions

 To write an effective thesis statement, start with a general idea and then sharpen your
focus

An argumentative thesis statement will:

1. state your main claim, which is debatable (or arguable)

 2. the reasons/evidence that support this claim

3. the order in which you will present your support (organization)

An informative (or expository) thesis statement will:

1. state what you are going to explain

2. outline the organization of your explanation

Example: The lifestyles of barn owls include hunting for insects and animals,
building nests, and raising their young shape a clear and effective thesis
statement.

1. A thesis cannot be a fragment; it must express a complete thought.

Unacceptable: how students learn to write

Acceptable: The best means for teaching students to write is to have them focus on
the steps of the writing process rather than the end product.

2. A thesis must not be worded as a question. (Sometimes the answer to the question
can be the thesis.)

• Unacceptable: Do Americans really need large refrigerators?

Acceptable: If Americans did their marketing daily, as do some Europeans, they

could save energy and money because they could use smaller refrigerators

3. A thesis must not be too broad

Unacceptable: The literature of mythology contains many journeys.

Acceptable: In Greek mythology, the motif of the journey represents the internal
struggles and eventual perseverance of mortals

4. A thesis should not contain unrelated elements.

Unacceptable: All novelists seek the truth, and some novelists are good
psychologists.

Acceptable: In their attempt to probe human nature, many novelists strive to reveal
the intricacies of human relations.

5. A thesis should not contain phrases like “I think” or “in my opinion” because they
weaken the writer’s argument.

Unacceptable: In my opinion, all cigarette smoking in public places should be banned

because of the adverse effects of ―passive smoking‖ on non-smokers.
Acceptable: All cigarette smoking in public places should be banned because of the
adverse effects of ―passive smoking‖ on non-smokers.

6. A thesis should not be expressed in vague language.

Unacceptable: Religion as part of the school curriculum should be avoided because it

can cause trouble.

Acceptable: Religion should not be part of the public school curriculum because it is a
highly personal commitment and can cause conflict with those who hold alternative
beliefs.