Academic Writing Considerations Lecture 3 PDF

CONSIDERATIONS IN ACADEMIC WRITING Lecture 3 CONSIDERATIONS IN ACADEMIC WRITING  Contractions  Watch diction  Abbreviations  Avoid slang  Acronyms  Beware of gender-specific language  Capital...

CONSIDERATIONS IN ACADEMIC WRITING Lecture 3 CONSIDERATIONS IN ACADEMIC WRITING  Contractions  Watch diction  Abbreviations  Avoid slang  Acronyms  Beware of gender-specific language  Capitalization  Rhetorical questions  Active voice vs. Passive voice  Efficient use of words  Avoid direct address  Contractions—in which an apostrophe is used to “contract” two words into one by joining parts of them are considered to be informal, conversational expression. o e.g., “it’s,” “they’ve,” “who’s” In the formal writing that you do for your classes, or as you submit formal, you simply do not have the option of using contractions unless you are quoting something that contains contractions. If you use contractions in formal writing you may appear unprofessional.  The safest idea is to avoid them entirely. If you avoid contractions and the two words can and should be written out separately.  For example,  use “It cannot be said that …” instead of  “It can’t be said that …” This is a list of common contractions used in the English language. Contraction Meaning am not; are not; is ain't not; has not; have not aren't are not; am not can't cannot could've could have couldn't could not didn't did not doesn't does not don't do not hadn't had not hasn't has not haven't have not he'd he had / he would he'll he shall / he will he's he has / he is  Abbreviations and acronyms are shortened forms of words or phrases. Generally, abbreviations are not acceptable in academic writing (with some exceptions) and acronyms.  Some common ones to avoid  Avoid e.g. and i.e., instead use for example and for instance.  Avoid etc. There isn't really an alternative, so rewrite the sentence.  Avoid dept, govt. Use department, government.  Avoid NB, instead use note that.  Avoid vs or v, instead use versus or against (except in Law reports or cases) Use “Figure” instead of “Fig.” and “Table” instead of “Tab.” will spare the reader of having to translate the abbreviations while reading. If abbreviations were used, use them consistently throughout the report. For example, do not switch among “versus”, and “vs.”.  Limit the use of “run-on” expressions ( etc , so on) Example These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players, etc. Instead you can write These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players and other electronic devices.  Acronyms (words formed from the initial letters of a phrase)  Many engineers and scientists use acronyms in their writing without giving it a second thought. If the target audience were definitely people in the exact field, acronyms would present no difficulties.  Consider writing out the full name with acronym in parenthesis the first time that name appears in the report. Then use the acronym in any subsequent occurrences.  Example  Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a rapidly expanding field. GIS technology...  For example, “My corporate counsel wants to talk to you about your intellectual property (IP) violation.”  Following this convention will prevent any confusion that may arise when one acronym having more than one possible meanings, e.g., “intellectual property (IP)” versus “internet protocol (IP).”  The first word in a sentence is normally capitalized (capped).  Caps are also sometimes used for emphasis  as in a Good and Loyal subject.  When a complete sentence follows a colon, the first word is normally capped:  The mainspring was rusted: Excessive forces created the possibility of an equipment breakdown.  Capitalize all proper nouns (A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place or thing: Countries, names, street names, nationalities, …..)  American, Farouk, Fourier, Venice, Saturday, April.  However, when proper nouns are used to produce a common classification, the tendency is toward lowercase, and sometimes the distinction is not so easy to make:  afghan robe, dutch oven, italic (or roman) type, turkish food  The active voice is easier to read and understand than the passive voice. Whenever possible, choose the active voice in your sentences. In active voice, the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action.  Passive Example:  The electricity meter is read six times a year by a trained technician.  Active Example:  Most books on English writing will tell you not to use the passive voice because it makes text boring and dull. This is true, but in scientific style the passive voice is often essential.  In the phrase: "We detected the motion" (active), it is clear that the subject (we) did something (detected) to an object (the motion).  In the passive voice the object comes first and has something done to it by the subject: "The motion was detected by us.“  However, in the passive voice you can also say: "The motion was detected." You can leave out the subject and the sentence still makes sense. And that is why the passive is useful in scientific style. Because most of the time the subject is you, the writer.  The subject is not important. Readers do not need to be told that "you detected the motion". They already know that, because your name is on the title page of the paper.  Use the active voice where it fits, because it will add variety and interest to your writing. But you should only do it where the subject is important.  Example  ‘I/ we have verified that all the results are included in the report’. (active)  Instead you would write,  It has been verified that all the results are included in the report’. (passive)  You can see the results in Table 1.  The results can be seen in Table 1.  I think that something should be done about the environment.  Something should be done about the environment.  Think about the hardships of war. For instance, food is very scarce.  War comes with many hardships. For instance, food is very scarce.  The library has all sorts of stuff for everybody.  The library has many resources available for its patrons.  “Thing” and “stuff” are TOO VAGUE!!!  This paper addresses a hot topic.  The paper addresses an issue of current interest.  If a student needs advice, he should contact the Careers Office.  If students need advice, they should contact the Careers Office.  What can be done to lower costs? It can be written as  It is necessary to consider how costs may be lowered.  It may be difficult to make a decision about the method that we should choose. (15 words) (Wordy)  Choosing the proper method may be difficult. (7 words)  Use punctuation correctly  Use sentence connectors (linking words and phrases) to help guide your reader.  Use referents to keep your reader on track. This/these + noun  Consider the overall format of your written work.  Proofread for careless grammar mistakes.  Check for misspelled words, even if you have spell-checked your work.