词组 | academic writing |
释义 | Contents overview academic writingacademic writingacademic writing 28810020288 academic writingThe writing found in academic journals and similar contexts (for example research reports, theoretical discussion and debate, historical accounts) is normally formal in tone, and follows the conventions of formal writing discussed in other parts of this Section. In particular:1vocabularyInformal wording is usually avoided. Contractions are not used, and 'general-purpose' words like do, have and get are replaced by more specific terminology.Further research will be carried out. (better than … will be done)The team experienced a number of problems. (better than … had a lot of problems)Early investigators obtained ambiguous results. (better than … got ambiguous results)2impersonal writingAcademic writing is most often impersonal, so for example the authors or researchers may not often appear as subjects of sentences.This report questions the conclusions of earlier researchers. (rather than We question …)Passives are common.All well-dated Neanderthal sites have been found to be at least 39,000 years old.Impersonal structures with it are frequently used.It is clear that …It is likely that …It is important to …And academic writers may avoid presenting over-definite conclusions, by using verbs such as may, suggest, or adjectives such as possible, arguable.Preliminary results suggest that …It is possible that …3nominalisationNominalisation (expressing actions by nouns, 285.3) can help to make writing impersonal.The discovery of penicillin transformed the treatment of bacterial infections. (rather than When Fleming discovered penicillin …)Chemical analysis of their bones shows that their diets differed from those of modern humans.4pre- and post-modifiersComplex noun phrases may be used to package information, with several pre-modifiers and/or post-modifiers ( 285.1–2).accelerating climate changeimportant survival informationa clear evolutionary pathwayongoing hydrothermal activitythe divergence of the species from its apelike cousinslaws of motion and gravitation that connected everything in the cosmosevidence for the way in which mirror cells workbrain areas associated with rewardchemical reactions between rock and water5discourse markersAcademic writers use discourse markers (284) to make the structure of their text clear, for instance by signalling points which add to or contrast with what has come before.In addition, MRI scans consistently showed tissue abnormalities.These results, however, must be regarded as provisional pending further investigation.Note the use of furthermore and what is more to strengthen an argument. Compare:Participants completed tests of endurance. In addition, their lung capacity was measured. (simply adding information)A clear relationship was found between lung capacity and endurance. Furthermore / What is more, training which increased endurance was shown to have a positive effect on lung capacity. (adding another piece of evidence for the writer's claims)Note also the use of on the other hand to emphasise a contrast. Compare:Several studies have provided evidence that playing classical music to cows increases their milk yield. However, no similar studies to date have been carried out on goats. (a different point, but not an emphatic contrast)Playing classical music to cows has been shown to increase their milk production. Rock music, on the other hand, is found to result in significantly reduced yields. (a more emphatic contrast)6collocations and formulaic languageAcademic writing involves two kinds of formulaic language (332). One type consists of the fixed expressions that are commonly used in the particular area of study concerned, and which anyone writing academic material in that area needs to be familiar with.to take a blood sample (medicine)to draw out / trace out a floor plan (architecture)communicative competence (linguistics)The other kind of fixed expressions are those that are used, in any subject of study, when discussing research, evaluating evidence, developing an argument, agreeing and disagreeing with published views, and so on. A few examples:to conduct / carry out researchto compile/analyse/present datato raise an issueto put forward / question / take issue with / challenge / contest / dismiss: a view / an argument / a theory / a hypothesis / a claimto make/reject a claim / an assumptionto claim that …to assert that …to suggest that …to draw a conclusionto prove/disprovesolid theoretical reasoningproof/evidence for/thatpowerful/persuasive/compelling evidencesound empirical evidencelack of evidencelittle evidence for …research findingsa strong implicationa logical conclusionon both theoretical and practical groundsbased on unproved hypothesesbroad agreementto take something into accountEnglish, like any language, contains a very large number of formulaic expressions. The most important thing for students of academic writing is to note, and learn, those that are commonly used for their subject matter, but to understand that they cannot realistically expect to master all of the formulaic vocabulary of English in a limited time.Previous Next |
随便看 |
|
英语用法大全包含1354条英语用法指南,基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法,是英语学习的有利工具。