Academic Writing

1. Writing an Introduction

Writing an introduction is often seen as a relatively straightforward element of the assignment writing process. The reason for this may be that we often find typical ‘ingredients’ in an introduction that we can use, regardless of the assignment we are writing. One of the challenges of writing a good introduction, however, is to be brief, and to stay focused. A rambling or unfocussed introduction, or one that is over-lengthy, will get the essay off to the wrong sort of start an will not create a good impression. In particular, you should avoid being 'anecdotal' in your introduction (i.e. writing as if you are telling a story) and you will also need to avoid wasting words by 'stating the obvious' and writing a series of over-generalised statements. Below you will find some helpful suggestions for writing introductions to essays and assignments.

What are the typical ‘ingredients’ of an essay introduction? 

Trzeciak and Mackay (1994) have identified a number of ‘ingredients’ of an introduction. It will not always be necessary or desirable to include all of them, but they will generally be used in some combination or other, in order to introduce an academic argument.

a statement of the importance of the subject

mention of previous work on the subject

a justification for dealing with the subject

a statement of your objectives

a statement of the limitations of the work

a mention of some of the differing viewpoints on the subject

a definition of the topic being discussed

Swales and Feak (2004), meanwhile, focus on the research paper in particular. They attempt to place introduction ingredients into a sequence. They identify the following series of ‘moves’ in a typical introduction to a research paper:

Move 1: Establishing a research territory

- by showing that the general research area is important, central, interesting, problematic, etc. (optional)

- by introducing and reviewing items of previous research in the area (obligatory)

Move 2: Establishing a niche

- by indicating a gap in the previous research or by extending previous knowledge in

some way (obligatory)

Move 3: Occupying the niche

- by outlining purposes or stating the nature of the present research (obligatory)

- by listing research questions of hypotheses

- by announcing principal findings

- by stating the value of the previous research

- by indicating the structure of the research paper

Should I follow introduction structures closely? 

The above-mentioned elements of an introduction are helpful, and could be followed quite systematically to produce a reasonably acceptable introduction. However, there might be several problems associated with an attempt to follow these introduction structures too closely and to include them in every assignment you write :

Your introductions might become too predictable and ‘formula-written’, and may lack a sense of enthusiasm and commitment;

Your introduction may become too lengthy in relation to the remainder of the essay (depending on the length of the paper);

Your introduction might become too ‘detailed’ and this may spoil the ‘surprise effect’ of what you go on to say next;

The existence of an ‘introduction’, as described above, is not self-evident or natural in all disciplines; and even within subjects that commonly require an introduction (typically, social sciences and humanities disciplines) there may be some types of question that do not especially need one (e.g. document commentaries, unseen commentaries on literary texts, business plans, some short law questions, etc.);

One of the key aspects of writing an introduction, in many disciplines, is to attract the interest of the reader – if you give the impression that your writing is ‘formula driven’, you may fail to make the sort of impact you want on your reader. Sometimes, of course, the reader is not looking for interesting introductions (especially in fact-based or mathematical work).

Dissertations and theses

In many respects, the procedure for writing an introduction remains the same for a longer piece of writing, such as a dissertation. In particular, it is still very important:

To write an ‘eye-catching’ opening sentence that will keep the reader’s attention focused;

Not to say everything you have to say in the introduction – save some of your good

material for later.

To try to keep the reader in ‘suspense’ and to make them read on;

To ensure that there is a direct relationship between the introduction and the remainder of the dissertation;

To ensure that you do not promise what cannot be fulfilled or what goes beyond what can reasonably be expected.

At the same time, there will also be some differences in your approach. Among these differences are the following:

As well as having an overall introduction to your dissertation or thesis, each chapter should also have an introduction (as well as a conclusion). The reason for this is that in a longer piece of writing, it becomes more important to ‘remind’ the reader of what you are doing and why you are doing it, before each chapter continues.

Because of its length, there will be more opportunity to introduce a sense of ‘debate’ into the introduction to a thesis; and you will have time to bring in a wider range of references from outside.

It is a good idea in a chapter introduction to remind the reader what happened in the previous chapter (e.g. In the previous chapter, the literature relating to the teaching of vocabulary was considered. From this discussion, it was seen that….).

2. Writing the Body of an Assignment

Most research in academic English writing tends to focus on aspects of an assignment that are easy for the researcher to analyse. Typically, introductions and conclusions have been considered in much more detail than the main body of an assignment. What comes between the introduction and conclusion (known as the main body) is often left up to the individual student, and less is known about the typical structures of the main body. On this page, you will find some helpful suggestions and practice activities for developing the body of your assignment, which we hope will 'de-mystify' the process of assignment writing somewhat.

What is the structure of the main body of an assignment? 

The structure of the main body of an assignment is dictated by at least two factors:

a) The title and wording of the assignment (whether it is your own, negotiated with the tutor- or one that has been given to you).

b) The statement of intent that you write in the introduction, based on the title.

Once you have dealt with the above two elements, the main body of the assignment probably then serves to do at least two things:

a) Demonstrate/show your knowledge of the topic, by including relevant evidence;

b) Analyse/evaluate the evidence you have gathered.

The material you use will usually be grouped into broad categories (assignment

sections). That is to say, it is strategically organised. Sometimes the broad categories are indicated by sub titles (as in published research). However, in some disciplines, particularly Arts and Humanities and Social Studies undergraduate courses, this is not always desirable or recommended. Scientists and Engineers, on the other hand, will often make their writing more 'user-friendly' by clearly indicating the different sections. Always check with your department to see exactly what the requirements are, and if possible, have a look at some assignments that have been written previously to get a feel for what is required.

General advice for writing the main body of an assignment

Here is some useful general advice for writing the main body of an assignment.

Plan you work properly before you write. Use brainstorming, mind maps or just a list of points you want to include; whatever works best for you.

Know your audience. Having a good idea of who will be reading your essay or assignment is helpful.

Know what the requirements are. Like any game of skill, in order to write an effective assignment, you have to know what is required. You can't play tennis without knowing the rules of the game. The same is true of writing assignments. The rules of the game are very subtle, of course, and vary from department to department. And unfortunately, even within departments, there may be differences of opinion as to how things should be done. If in doubt, ask your tutor.  

Don't expect your tutor to tell you what to say. In some cultures, critical thinking is not strongly encouraged and many assessments are simply a case of reproducing what the lecturer has told you in the lecture. This is not true of the British academic system. In Britain, you are expected to think critically and to react to (as well as simply describe) what you have learned. This is not an easy skill to develop and it usually gets easier over time. You are expected to formulate your own perspective with regard to the material you study. In some ways, it does not really matter so much what you say as how you say it. Whatever your point of view, it needs to be backed up with adequate evidence and material.

Keep the assignment title firmly in mind as you write. Keep looking back at your assignment title in order to remind yourself of what you are supposed to be doing. Keep referring to key words in the title; this is especially useful in examinations, to remind the reader that you are writing relevantly.

Don't 'rewrite' the question in your own words to make it more answerable. In strict terms, you must answer the question set, not the question that you want to answer. Titles will often be worded very specifically and it is your job to rise to the challenge of answering the question. If you rephrase the question and write your own essay, you may fail the assignment or examination.

Keep your essay balanced. Paragraphs should be more or less the same length. Don't write very lengthy paragraphs. If there are two parts to a question, spend about the same

time on each (unless of course the marks awarded, or your tutor, indicate differently). The main body should account for at least two thirds of the essay as a whole. If it is less than this, consider shortening the introduction and conclusion and lengthening the main body.

Avoid waffle. Try to write concisely and try to avoid being over-wordy in your style. It is easy to spend 3,000 words saying little or nothing at all. Get your point across as quickly and precisely as you can.

Think about the writing process: Your writing will go through several stages so make sure that you don't agonise too much about your early draft. It is much easier to revise something that is on paper than to revise something that is in your head.

Check your language: If you are worried about your English ask a friend or a writing tutor to help you. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Try to get some distance from your work by completing it a few days before submission. Go back to it a day or so before you submit and you will probably be able to adjust aspects of the language.

Use 'hinges' to structure your work: A door has a hinge to help it to open and close. The hinge cannot be seen when you look at the door but without it the door would not function. Similarly, an assignment needs to have hinges (sometimes referred to more commonly as 'signposts' to help the reader through the argument). Another way to think about this is the brake lights of a car. You can't see them when you are driving, but without them, no-one else on the road knows that you are stopping the car. This would be a nightmare for any driver!

Use feedback effectively: Don't just look at your marks when your assignment is returned. Read any comments carefully and act on them. You will not be able to produce a perfect essay first time round.

Writing the main body of an assignment is a major challenge. Why? 

From the above, writing the main body of an assignment probably sounds remarkably simple! But in fact, it is a major challenge, for a number of reasons:

It is very easy to wander off the point and to add anecdotal or irrelevant information (one of the biggest causes of examination failure in essay subjects);

Longer assignments can often become shapeless, drifting on with no apparent purpose or aim.

It is easy to end up by doing something completely different from what you said at the beginning of the assignment. Make sure that you stay 'on track'.

Too much time is often spent discussing one piece of literature, or one example, and the reader does not get any real sense of academic debate.

There may be no immediate sense of how one piece of research or writing

discussed in an assignment leads on to another. Links between different theories are not always apparent.

The correct items of literature may not be prioritised. Lots of time can be wasted discussing general textbooks instead of primary texts.

It is tempting to 'waffle' in order to 'use up' as many words as you can. This is unwise practice and can also lead to a reduction in marks.

The body of the essay can sometimes become a bit 'mechanical'; following predictable formats can be a reliable and safe, but rather boring way of writing.

Due attention needs to be given to referencing- by no means an easy task.

Use of quotations is often a problem; students often use quotations either because they think it is clever to do so, or because they do not understand the concepts very well. Make sure that your quotations do not simply serve as a decorative ornament, but that you introduce them and comment on them.

It goes without saying that you must always avoid lifting words and phrases from your reading and including them without due acknowledgement (plagiarism). Penalties are usually very severe for this kind of practice and you could even end up by failing your assignment.

 

Analysis vs description: a basic distinction

One of the most important requirements when writing many assignments (depending on the title) is to be analytical, rather than just descriptive. If your assignment title begins with words like these: 'How far do you agree that...?', 'To what extent do you consider that..., or 'Evaluate the success of..., etc, this means that you will need to analyse the topic, as well as describe it.There will obviously be some description: an essay without some descriptive detail would quickly become unreadable! However, the reader will usually be looking for more than description, and if you are looking to cut down on word length, reducing some of the more lengthy descriptions and examples is a useful strategy to adopt.

A key point to remember, then, is that very few assignment titles at university level will require pure description, and most will test your skills of analysis in some capacity. So try to look for the critical point in the essay title.

Unfortunately, it is not very easy to explain exactly what 'being analytical' means. Many tutors say that students need to be more analytical, but saying precisely how to be more analytical (and by implication, more critical) is tricky! The following list is a starting point in helping to build up a picture of what is required in 'analysis'.

Bringing out the importance of a given aspect of your reading (not just saying again what the writer says).

Getting the overview/bigger picture, rather than describing an example or case in

lots of detail.

Picking out the key or central aspect of a piece of literature you are reading, rather than describing it from start to finish and 'telling the story'.

Evaluating (that is, indicating the strengths and weaknesses of) what you are discussing. This is the highest order skill in Bloom's taxonomy of learning (1976), which continues to influence much assessment practice in universities. It requires you to 'stand back' and observe the topic at greater length.

Comparing different theories to show what they have in common and how they differ (not just saying what the theories are).

Showing a range of different interpretations of a given fact, detail, opinion or item of literature.

Adopting the approach that no single theory is the correct one and that there are aspects of all theories that are worth retaining.

Looking for new questions, as well as answering old ones.

Avoiding simplistic and passive agreement with the assignment title.

Adopting a challenging approach to what you read - that is, not just accepting other people's word for it.

Showing how theories fit in with each other;

Indicating different schools of thought, and developing your own perspective based on these.

Recognising the limitations of your own perspective as a writer, and the inevitable impact that your own values and beliefs will have on how you express your opinions.

3. About conclusion paragraphs

Conclusion paragraphs are about 5% of your essay word count (e.g. about 50 or so words per 1000 word essay). In clearly-written sentences, you restate the thesis from your introduction (but do not repeat the introduction too closely), make a brief summary of your evidence and finish with some sort of judgment about the topic. You can follow this basic pattern (recipe) for writing introduction paragraphs to help you get started.

It's a good idea to start your conclusion with transitional words (e.g. 'In summary', 'To conclude', 'In conclusion', 'Finally',) to help you to get the feel of wrapping up what you have said. The conclusion is not the place to present new facts (should be in the body of your essay), so conclusions don't usually have references unless you come up with a 'punchy' quote from someone special as a final word.

Writing pattern for conclusion paragraphs

The conclusion to an essay is rather like a formal social farewell. For example, if an ASO consultant does a guest presentation at a lecture, it would be good practice to conclude the session by tying up the key points of the lecture and leave the students with a final message about the subject of the lecture:

To conclude, students, you should now know how to apply the three main steps for analysing a question(restatement main idea). If you identify the instruction words, the topic words and the restricting words accurately, this will provide you with a framework for building your essay plan (summary of key points). Essays that are analysed accurately will have much greater success in answering the set question and assist you to get better marks (statement of benefit).

A conclusion paragraph is very much tied to the introduction paragraph and the question that has been set (see Question analysis workshop) and we use special terms to describe each stage of the conclusion.

4. Paragraphing

Paragraphing is part of the visual presentation of your essay or assignment along with punctuation, spelling, double spacing, page numbering etc. However, unlike all the above which are mechanical and fairly easily checked for problems (since simple rules can be applied to them), paragraphs can require a considerable amount of thought and effort to get right. However a well-paragraphed essay signals a careful, organised writer (a good way to pick up marks!) and so it is worth making sure that you have done everything you can to improve them.

Basic principles to paragraphing

There are some basic principles to paragraphing. Some of these apply to the visual impact on the reader, others to thecontent. Both aspects are important.

visual impact

1. A new paragraph is signalled by starting a new line AND either indenting slightly OR leaving a blank line. Choose one style and stick to it throughout your essay. See the diagrams below for examples of each type.

2. One sentence is not a paragraph in academic writing. It is possible to find one sentence paragraphs in magazine articles and novels but good academic style does not have one sentence paragraphs.

3. An average paragraph should be between 4 and 7 sentences long and should take up about 2/5 of the page (i.e. you should aim to have about 2 and a half paragraphs per page). This is an AVERAGE and so it will not matter if you occasionally have a slightly longer or shorter paragraph. Introductions and conclusions particularly tend to be shorter than the other paragraphs in an essay.

4. A consistent length to your paragraphs shows the effort you have made to make your essay easier for your reader to grasp. It is therefore another good way to pick up marks.

Content

1. A paragraph contains a 'packet of information'. Each paragraph in your essay should therefore have a different packet so that you are not repeating yourself.

2. The 'packet of information' is more than one sentence can contain, but is less than your total essay. It should have a single point that is developed with some or all of the following: examples, quotations, references, definitions, explanations or (more rarely in academic writing) anecdotes.

3. Ideally your paragraphs will build up, one upon the other, each packet of information helping to develop your argument one stage further.

4. Although it may be clear to you how two paragraphs are linked, it is important to make it clear to your reader what the connection is.

5. A guiding principle for both sentences and paragraphs is that shorter is better than longer. When a paragraph starts to take up more than half a page, stop and see how you could say what you want to say in two or may be three paragraphs instead.

6. Typical features of the average paragraph are: a topic sentence (usually the first one) which sums up what the paragraph will be about, often linking it to what has gone before; development sentences which explain or illustrate the point; a concluding sentence which hints at how the next paragraph will carry on.

5. Referencing Guidelines

When using sources in writing, the basic principles are:

any idea used in an essay which came from another source should be acknowledged

the reader should be given enough information to locate the exact text or paragraph if desired.

The following guidelines are based on the Harvard or Author / Date referencing system which is the system generally used in academic writing in the Arts and Social Sciences in Britain. Click on the links to learn different kinds of referencing.

Kinds of referencing

- In-text referencing (what you write IN your essay)- List of References (what you write AT THE END of your essay)- Internet References- Notes and Footnotes

6. Descriptive writing

This section of our web resources is parrticularly devoted to writing in language tests. In English language tests, you may be asked to write short descriptions. The exact question cannot be predicted in advance and it is not useful to remember or learn descriptions before you go and take the test. However, the following advice and examples on this page will be helpful to you.

Writing a description from a personal angle

When you are writing a description from a personal angle, it is very useful to consider the following ‘ingredients’ which make a description more enjoyable and informative.

Try to introduce some informal, colloquial expressions into your descriptive writing, to make it more colourful and to make it sound more natural.

It is useful to think of different adjectives that you can use that can replace some of the more well-used ones (e.g. it is better to try to replace ‘nice’, ‘interesting’ and ‘good’ with something more evocative).

It is good to start with a short, eye-catching first sentence, which attracts the reader.

Use different words instead of “he/she/they said” (e.g. “replied”, “retorted”, “conceded”, “snapped”, “barked”, “whispered”, etc).

You do not need to use very formal expressions in a description.

We usually try to avoid complex, lengthy sentences linked with ‘who’ and ‘which’.

Try using some negative inversions to create a sense of surprise. For example,

“No sooner had I arrived than…..” or “ Not only did they….but…”

Think of the story-line of your passage. Depending on the title of the essay, you may be able to introduce a conflict into the story and to show how the conflict was resolved at the end.

Writing a description from a more objective angle

When you are writing a description from a more objective angle, for example describing a system or aspect of culture of your country in a more academic style, you may find it useful to consider the following ‘ingredients’ which make the description useful and informative.

Plan your composition briefly before you start writing. Write only one copy of your composition – you will not have time to do a rough copy first.

Keep your ideas simple – remember that any test of written English is a test of langauge, first and foremost - not a test of philosophy.

Write what you know how to say, and what you feel confident with.

Always write about what you know and feel comfortable with.

Make your point of view clear.

It is always appreciated if you can write an introduction which outlines the importance of the topic and what you are going to discuss. Keep the introduction very brief, though.

Make sure that you group ideas into paragraphs, and try to avoid one or two line paragraphs!

Group all paragraphs along a similar theme, e.g. problems and solutions, in the same part of the composition, so that the essay has a shape and structure.

Use linking devices and connecting words where appropriate, but do not use too many of them.

Use suitable academic language for this kind of description.

7. Discursive writing

Is it useful to learn and memorise some ‘ready-made’ essay-type phrases for

this type of writing?

 

When preparing for a written test of English, a natural first strategy is to memorise a number of ‘ready-made’ phrases (for example: “The first aspect that I shall discuss is….”).

In some respects, learning set phrases can be positive, because:

Knowing a range of correctly written sentences can give you confidence in test conditions, when you might be feeling more nervous or anxious than usual.

Phrases of this kind can help you to organise your thoughts more quickly;

Incorporating essay-type phrases (if they are well-chosen) can make your writing sound more academic.

However, this method also has some disadvantages:

An essay with too many ‘ready-made’ expressions may appear unnatural to the reader.

It may be tempting to disguise poor English with a large number of ready-made expressions which ‘appear’ correct. An examiner will often see through this strategy.

Your writing may become too ‘clinical’ and formula-driven, and your own character and personality may not show through in your writing.

Our recommendation is to get a balanced view - do use set expressions here and there, but try to avoid over-using them. Otherwise, you writing may sound rather 'pompous' and 'over-bearing'. Remember to show something of your own personality, too, and do not be afraid to express yourself in your own words.

What are the qualities of a good discussion essay?

 

A basic level of competence is usually characterised by an ability on the part of the candidate to:

identify the task appropriately.

formulate a relevant response to the task.

provide a clear sense of organisation and purpose.

write reasonably accurately, though of course with some mistakes.

understand and use tenses appropriately.

choose words and phrases effectively to answer the question.

use at least some complex sentence structures, even if not always correctly.

use more than just simple, basic words and phrases.

show some awareness (even if not very developed) of academic style.

meet the language demands of their department with some help and assistance, perhaps at pre-sessional level.

A higher level of competence is indicated by the candidate’s ability, in addition to the above, to:

write with a good level of fluency.

write thoughtfully when formulating a response to the task.

write with a good sense of register and style.

write with a degree of persuasion.

write with a very high standard of accuracy.

evaluate the subject in a deeper and more critical fashion, given normal constraints of time.

use appropriate academic vocabulary

These qualities may be phrased in various ways within the assessment criteria and test specifications of different language tests.

A question of style – should the first person pronoun (“I”) be used in discussion essays?

 

Many researchers have spent considerable time examining the use of the personal pronoun (“I”) in academic writing. Most specialists agree that the use of “I” probably has little direct effect on the ‘academic’ nature of the writing. In other words, using “I” does not necessarily make the writing less formal, and avoiding “I’ does not automatically make it more academic. It is really your overall use of vocabulary and language, rather than your selection of the personal pronoun, which has a greater impact on the ‘academic’ tone of your writing.

It is useful to bear in mind the following general rules about the use of the first person:

“I” is often used in introductions and conclusions, to say what you are going to do before you do it, and what you have done afterwards.

Do not refer to yourself as “the researcher” or “the writer” – it sounds very artificial.

Some subject areas tend to favour the use of “I” more than others – for example, 'I' is used quite widely in social studies where the emphasis is on practical research - but in language tests, this distinction according to subject area is not very meaningful, and it is not necessary to take account of it.

When using the “I” form, it is helpful to try to vary the verb that comes

afterwards. For example, rather than simply putting “I think”, we can use “I feel”, “I would consider…”, “I tend to regard…”, etc. Look for some ways to 'soften' your language and make it less direct or categorical.

It is always useful to use “I” when relating a personal experience as an example, thereby distinguishing personal experience from aspects of your reading and research (e.g. when describing an event that emphasises a point you are making, you could say “I recently encountered this phenomenon in one of my classes, when….”). However, try to avoid becoming too anecdotal ("story-telling") when you are recounting examples. Keep to the point.

A useful mnemonic device for discussion essays

 When you are preparing for a test, it is useful to use mnemonic devices. Mnemonic devices are word systems that help you to remember key points. Below is an example of a mnemonic device for remembering important aspects in a discussion essay. You can remember it just by remembering the initial letters of each word in the phrase: “Good Students Read EveryChapter”.

Grammar - is your grammar correct and accurate?

Structure - is your essay well organised?

Relevance - have you answered the question asked of you?

Examples - have you included illustrations to reinforce your points?

Cohesion - have you used linking words and phrases (discourse markers)?

8. Writing style

Inductive and deductive styles

Good paragraphs usually contain just one idea which is developed through supporting information. In countries like Britain, there is a preference for the main point to be stated early in the paragraph and then developed. This kind of writing is called deductive. However, you might come from a culture that prefers to move from the general to the specific, from general principles to facts. This is style of writing is called inductive.

Of course, each of these two styles might also be preferred in different academic disciplines and topic areas; in law, for example, a case is usually built up inductively. Nevertheless, you should be aware that there is a preference in the UK for a more deductive style of writing, so if all of your paragraphs are inductive, then the reader might become impatient and may be thinking: ‘Get to the point!!!’

Here is an example of an inductive paragraph:

Years ago in a remote part of a Pacific island nation, an international aid agency donated a hospital. This was a brand new purpose built facility that would serve a large community that at that point had no health care. The architecture was of the highest modern standards and

the hospital was built on land well away from the river to avoid seasonal flooding. It was constructed of materials which were able to withstand the extremes of temperature and climate in the region. The opening was a great occasion. Officials and important people came from far and wide for the event. There were politicians who made speeches to praise the project. They said that it was a major development for the area and would radically change the lives of the people. Sadly, however, it was never used. The government lacked the funds to equip or staff the hospital. Moreover, the building itself was located far away from the river, which was the main means of transport for local people, so access was almost impossible. This health facility remained empty and unused. Many foreign aid projects fail because of poor planning, thereby wasting huge amounts of money.

Sentence length and complexity

1. Choppy writing

Look at the paragraph below and notice how many short sentences there are:

UK polling data throughout the 1950s shows that happiness levels were above what they are today. The proportion of people saying they are "very happy" has fallen from 52% in 1957 to just 36% today (GfK NOP, 2011). Survey results in Britain are similar to data from America. In the U.S., social scientists have done a great deal of research into levels of life satisfaction. Their survey findings reveal that happiness levels have gradually declined over the last quarter of a century. But Britain and America are wealthy countries. In fact,  in almost every developed country in the Western world, happiness levels have remained largely static over the past 50 years. This is despite huge increases in income. Britain, for example, is three times richer than in the 1950's.Clearly, happiness and well-being do not necessarily depend on material wealth.

Firstly, writing like this means that you take longer to express your ideas and the reader might get a bit impatient because there is a lack of flow in the writing.

Short sentences might convey the impression that you are not developing your ideas or connecting them in meaningful ways. It might just read like a series of unconnected facts and pieces of information. Your reader (your academic tutor) might consider that you are writing too simply, and therefore that your thinking is also simplistic.

Learners of English might write short sentences for a number of reasons and the main ones are:

- They haven’t yet developed the ability to write grammatically complex sentences

- Writing short sentences is easier and they feel more confident about their writing if they keep things simple

- In their own language, writing one-clause sentences is not considered inelegant as it is in English.

2. Combining sentences

Here is an exercise in combining sentences, which is a way of avoiding writing in a choppy style. Can you make ONE sentence? When you have written your answers, click here   to see possible combinations.

1. Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952. This was when her father King George VI died. He died of lung disease.

2. In Britain, the crown normally passes from monarch to eldest son. King George VI had no son. The crown passed to his eldest daughter, Elizabeth.

3. Queen Elizabeth II is a 'constitutional monarch'. This means that she is officially the head of the state. However, the country is actually run by the government.

4. In the British monarchy system, the husband of a female monarch does not have any recognized special status. This is why the present Queen’s husband is not called King Philip.

5. Every day, the Queen’s office receives official ‘red boxes’.. These boxes are full of documents and reports from government ministers and officials. They must all be read and signed by the Queen.

6. As Head of State, The Queen maintains close contact with the Prime Minister. She has a weekly audience with the Prime Minister when she is in London.

7. The Queen's public birthday is celebrated in June with Trooping of the Colours. The Queen's real birthday is on 21 April. She celebrates this privately.

8. The Queen makes her annual visit to Scotland during August and September. During this time, Buckingham Palace is open to visitors from the public. Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s main London residence and office.

3. Stringy and long sentences

Where possible, it is better to combine short sentences to create more grammatically complex sentences with a few clauses. However, sometimes sentences can be too long and the reader may therefore not follow the point being made. Here is an example of an overly complex, long sentence:

Issues of gender, like those associated with race, are often highly complex given that they arise in contexts of human interaction, which are often unpredictable and also determined, to a great extent, though not exclusively so, by emotional response, which makes people react in unexpected and unplanned ways.

There is a difference between complicated and complex writing. If you use long sentences which contain many ideas and qualifications, then the reader has to work harder to unravel the meaning. This kind of writing can be unnecessarily complicated. In academic English writing, you can still use grammatically complex sentences containing a number of clauses, but not too many. The key thing is to put yourself into the shoes of your reader and ask yourself 'is this sentence becoming overloaded'?

Here are some examples of understandable, yet complex sentences from this section:

Having traced the history of nationalism in Europe, which was the recurring political theme of the 20th century, this essay will now address the question as to why certain countries have experienced it more overtly than others.

In earlier decades, theory about development, including both ideology and strategy, prioritized economic growth and the application of modern scientific and technical knowledge as the best way to create wealth in the underdeveloped world.

4. Varying sentence length

One common piece of advice about improving writing style is to try and use sentences of differing lengths; this will make your writing more reader-friendly and lively. This doesn't mean writing overly long sentences   , nor does it mean including lots of short and choppy sentences.

As a writer, you need to do a balancing act and try to produce pieces of writing in which you consciously try to use a mixture of sentence lengths. Try this exercise below.

Here is a paragraph which contains a series of sentences which are all around 10 words long. Can you re-write it by

joining two sentences to make them longer 

keeping one short sentence

Many people take a coffee break while at work. They believe that this will ease their stress. Research has been conflicting on the effects of caffeine. Some studies suggest that it can worsen anxiety and trigger stress. However, others show it boosts confidence and alertness. Recently, however, a study was done by psychologists at Bristol University in the UK. Their

research suggests that taking coffee breaks while working may actually negatively affect employees' ability to do their jobs. It also undermines, rather than boosts, teamwork. So this raises the question: do the classic American coffee breaks hurt more than help?

AVOIDING REPETITION AND REDUNDANCY

1. REPETITIVE USE OF VOCABULARY

If you are writing an academic text, it is not appropriate to keep repeating the same words and phrases because this is poor style. Of course, it is inevitable that you will repeat key nouns, as you are focussing on a particular topic when you write. If you are writing about Google's marketing strategies, then those words will recur in your text. However, even key words like these can be substituted. This section will focus on how.

Example 1

Look at the following text and notice how many times certain words and phrases are repeated: 

The owners of small businesses claim that there is no way that small businesses can compete with massive companies like Wal-Mart. There are many reasons why they cannot compete with these companies, such as the fact that small businesses do not have as much access to advertising as large businesses like Wal-Mart. Small businesses also have limited hours of operation compared to large businesses. Also, small businesses have fewer staff and a lack of specialized staff. Small businesses also have a smaller inventory, and having a small inventory means that they cannot lower prices to the extent that large businesses like Wal-Mart reduce their prices. Small businesses are also usually not given the opportunity to experiment with new retailing methods. Finally, small businesses also often suffer from a lack of building space.

 

2. FINDING SYNONYMS

Clearly, one way to avoid using the same words and expressions too often within the same text is to use synonyms (similar vocabulary). The longer you learn and are exposed to a language, the wider your range of vocabulary will be. When you learn words, it's always good to learn a few synonyms at the same time as this will enable you to express yourself more flexibly, explain and reformulate ideas better, and of course, improve your writing style.

You can help build a stronger vocabulary by being an active reader - when you come across useful words and expressions as you read, do you check them in the dictionary and find out about their usage? Do your record these new items so as to learn them?

ANother way to widen your vocabulary is by using the Thesaurus. This is a synonyms dictionary and you can find a number of these online:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

http://thesaurus.com/

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/about_thesaurus.html

3. GRAMMATICAL SUBSTITUTION

You can avoid repeating words and improve your writing style by using grammatical substitution; this just means replacing one grammatical item for another.

Here are just a few examples:

1. You can replace a noun with a pronoun:

There is always a safe way to do something, but the more dangerous one is usually more fun. 

2. You can replace a noun phrase with a pronoun:

Climbing a mountain without a rope sounds foolish, but this is just what some extreme climbers do.

3. You can replace a verb with the appropriate form of the verb 'do' and the word 'so':

By law, people have to wear seatbelts. Failing to do so will incur a heavy fine.

4. You can replace a whole clause by using the word 'so':

Everyone seems to think he’s guilty. If so, he will have to resign.

4. LABOURING A POINT

Another example of poor style is when a writer spends too long explaining something and adding unnecessary detail - this is what we call 'labouring a point' (I think I just did it!)

Look at an example of this. What could be deleted?

Example one

A number of recent studies (Brudney, 1993; Clary & Snyder, 1991; Davis et al., 2003) have found that young people volunteer to serve their community mainly because they are motivated by the desire to help others. This kind of motivation is altruistic; in other words, volunteers are considering and responding to the needs of others. Given this humanistic motivation of volunteers, youth organizations should promote volunteering as an avenue to make a difference in the lives of others.

Click here   to check.

Example two

Again, here is another example in which the writer is labouring a point.

What would you delete?

It is commonly believed that English is the dominant language in the world today. However, there is growing evidence that English will not remain in that dominant position in the future. Instead, experts in linguistics predict that multilingualism will be the key trend in the years to come. A multilingual population is already the case in much of the world and is becoming more common in the United States. One in five Americans speak a language other than English at home. The notion that English will take over the world and that we will all be speaking it as a first language is now considered out-dated and erroneous. In most of the world multilingualism is and will continue to be the norm, with English perhaps as just one language among others of equal importance.