Learning Unit 2: Language study skills

At the end of the learning unit, students should be able to

• Identify academic vocabulary and phrases
• Use academic vocabulary and phrases
• Identify different types of academic writing
• Define plagiarism and ways to avoid it
• Find different sources for essay and report writing

A. FORMAL vs INFORMAL WRITING

Formal and informal language serve different purposes. The tone, the choice of
words and the way the words are put together vary between the two styles. Formal
language is less personal than informal language. It is used when writing for
professional or academic purposes like university assignments.
Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first person
pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’. Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It
is used when communicating with friends or family either in writing or in
conversation. It is used when writing personal emails, text messages and in some
business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more personal than
formal language. Examples of formal and informal language are shown below:
Activity 1: Language features of Formal and Informal Writing

Tick the appropriate column.

Language features Formal Informal

writing writing
1. Contractions, e.g. I’d, He’s

2. Phrasal verbs, e.g. get on with

3. Passive voice, e.g. The price has been increased

4. Adjectives, intensifiers, extreme language e.g.

absolutely unbelievable
Using a lot of the following punctuation
5. marks: !!!, ???

6. Linking words like, e.g. nevertheless, furthermore,

conversely, at present
7. Leaving out words in short phrases, e.g. Just read
your note
8. Linking words like, e.g. I mean, so, by the way, at
any rate, talking about, and, but…
9. Single word verbs e.g. to retain, to depart

10. Starting a sentence with ‘And’ or ‘But’ or ‘Because’

Colourful language for expressing opinions

11. and
emotions e.g. To be quite honest, Believe it or not,
Guess what?
12. Phrases for shared knowledge, e.g. as you know,
Just like you said, If you know what I mean
13. Personal pronouns, e.g. I, you, me, they

14. Complex sentences, i.e. sentences using a number

of clauses linked by linking words
Vague language, e.g. thing, stuff, it, this,
15. those

Rhetorical questions, e.g. Did you know

16. that…?

Expressing ideas strongly, e.g. Nuclear power is

17. the
only way forward.
Using tentative / hedging language e.g. It is
18. possible
that nuclear power… / It seems that…
Activity 2: Formal / Informal Language

Fold this piece of paper in half longways so that you cannot see the right hand
column. Now read the informal statement in the left hand column and try to
think of a formal alternative.

Informal Statement A possible formal alternative

I think that… from the evidence presented above,
it seems that… OR
Tip: Be tentative (soft language) when it could be argued that…
giving your judgement.
Finding enough water for everyone in Finding sufficient water for the global
the world is still a huge problem... population remains a significant
challenge.
Tip: Use formal nouns and adjectives
not
emotional or extreme language.

Nobody can say how climate change It is impossible to predict how climate
will affect water supply. change will affect water supply.

Tip: Don’t use words which refer to

people informally (I, you, them,
everyone, nobody)

They did a survey on the way people A survey on water usage was
use conducted.
water.

Tip: Try the passive voice.

And us? We should use water more Domestic water usage should be more
carefully at home. carefully monitored.

Tip: Don’t start the sentence with ‘and’,

don’t ask the reader questions and take
the personal pronoun out (we).
Because the world’s water supply is Due to the fact that the world’s water
finite… supply is finite

Tip: Don’t start a sentence with ‘and’,

‘but’ or because. Use formal linking
words instead.

In this essay, I will look at..... In this essay, x y z will be discussed /

analysed / evaluated etc.
Tip: Get rid of ‘I’, formal verb for ‘look
at’
B. ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Academic Vocabulary refers to words that are traditionally used in academic
dialogue and text. These types of words are used to explain a concept; they are not
necessarily common or frequently encountered in informal conversation.
Academic language (e.g., analyze, contract, factor, structure, minor) is used in
classroom lessons, books, assignments, and tests, and students must become
proficient in it to learn effectively in school and academic programs. It is central
to building knowledge and conceptual understanding in specific domains such as
science and math. Students need to understand the teacher’s explanations, discuss
what they are learning, read academic texts, and write about their learning.
Academic language also gives students the knowledge and skills to successfully
navigate school policies and expectations.
***Note: Refer to Academic List uploaded in eLEAP

Activity 3: Academic vocabulary

Put these words in the correct form into the gaps

Research / Economic / Contract / analysis /Factor /

Legal / Period / Available / Similar / Indicate

1. _______________ of water is vital to all plant and animal life.

2. We need to find a more _______________ way to manufacture our products
because our profit margin is too low.
3. Warmer than average weather was the deciding _______________ in our
decision to postpone our ski trip.
4. Interest in the planet Mars has greatly increased since _______________
of water raised the possibility that life in some form may have evolved
there.
5. Music downloaders are questioning the _______________ of file sharing,
claiming the law is unclear on the matter.
6. Meetings will be held _______________ for the members of the project to
discuss their progress.
7. Jane Goodall's _______________ into chimpanzees has greatly
increased our knowledge of these animals.
 8. We are _______________ obliged to deal with this firm.
9. The DNA of chimpanzees shows a remarkable _______________ to that of
humans
10. At the end of a research project, the researcher is normally faced
with lots of observations which need to be _______________.

Activity 4: Academic vocabulary

Put these words in the correct form into the gaps

Policy / Approach / Source / Individual /

Environment / Benefit / Financial / Legislation /
Response / Create

1. The government is offering more programs which _______________ low

income families.
2. She _______________ her boss about getting a raise.
3. Celebrities generally receive so much fan mail that it is impossible to
_______________ to each and every letter personally.
4. Victoria is generally a safe and friendly _______________ for foreign
students to study in.
5. My father's company has been experiencing some _______________
difficulties, so they are going to have to lay off some staff.
6. Many people the world over are urging governments to pass
_______________
limiting the development of new cloning technologies.
7. In the past 5 years, this government has _______________ 15 new major
parks in the province.
8. The refund _______________ at this store allows you to return items for a
credit, but not for cash.
9. The main _______________ of jobs for teenagers in Victoria during the
summertime is the tourist industry.
 10. Do you believe that _______________ rights are more important than the
collective rights of society?

Activity 5: Academic vocabulary

Put these words in the correct form into the gaps

Categories / Cultural / Investment / Conclusion / Purchase / Feature /

Acquisition / Resources / Strategies / Participation

1. The students did an exercise in which they had to _______________

the new vocabulary according to the part of speech.
2. From the Queen's _______________ of $6,000 in Columbus's first voyage,
Spain had a return of $1,750,000 in gold after only one century.
3. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson were _______________ in four
novels and 56 short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
4. Keith Folse has observed that second language learners see
_______________ of vocabulary as their greatest source of problems.
5. My mom was an amazingly _______________ person who could make
almost anything we kids needed while we were growing up.
6. The former U.S.S.R. was made up of 15 republics with strong
_______________ differences.
7. The first animal _______________ for the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago was
a bear cub, bought for $10 in 1874.
8. Luxembourg is _______________ located between France, Germany and
Belgium.
9. In 1920, the first meeting of the Council of the League of Nations took
place in Paris, but without the _______________ of the United States.
10. Brent and I both looked at the same information, but came up with very
different _______________ about how to solve the problem.

Adapted from: Vocabulary Exercises for the academic word list

Activity 6: Academic vocabulary
Put these words in the correct form into the gaps

Range / Items / Final / Chapter / Survey / Perceived / Administration /

Design / Restricted / conduct

1. The local _______________ of Greenpeace is protesting against water

pollution in our area.
2. The Nike swoosh was created by an American _______________ in 1971 for
$35.
3. Male Siberian tigers have home _______________ extending up to
1,000 square kilometres.
4. The short-term memory capacity for most people is between five and nine
_______________ or numbers.
5. _______________ teams working in China have spent the past three years
searching for signs of giant pandas in the wild.
6. The _______________ has decided that the only way to cut costs is by
reducing the number of employees.
7. We hope to _______________ details of the agreement over the next couple of
days.
8. The most important process in socialization is learning to _______________
one's acts from the standpoint of other people.
9. _______________ on tobacco advertising and sponsorship are key parts of
a global treaty being organized by the World Health Organization to
reduce smoking.
10. Only the most rigorously _______________ research can produce results
which are truly meaningful.
C. TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING
The four main types of academic writing are descriptive, analytical, persuasive
and critical. Each of these types of writing has specific language features and
purposes.

In many academic texts you will need to use more than one type. For example, in
an empirical thesis:

• you will use critical writing in the literature review to show where there is
a gap or opportunity in the existing research
• the methods section will be mostly descriptive to summarise the methods
used to collect and analyse information
• the results section will be mostly descriptive and analytical as you report
on the data you collected
• the discussion section is more analytical, as you relate your findings back
to your research questions, and also persuasive, as you propose your
interpretations of the findings.

Descriptive

The simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. Its purpose is to provide

facts or information. An example would be a summary of an article or a report of
the results of an experiment.

The kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include: identify,

report, record, summarise and define.

Analytical

It’s rare for a university-level text to be purely descriptive. Most academic

writing is also analytical. Analytical writing includes descriptive writing, but you
also re-organise the facts and information you describe into categories, groups,
parts, types or relationships.

Sometimes, these categories or relationships are already part of the discipline,

sometimes you will create them specifically for your text. For example, if you’re
comparing two theories, you might break your comparison into several parts, for
example: how each theory deals with social context, how each theory deals with
language learning, and how each theory can be used in practice.

The kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment include: analyse, compare,

contrast, relate, examine.
To make your writing more analytical:

• spend plenty of time planning. Brainstorm the facts and ideas, and try
different ways of grouping them, according to patterns, parts, similarities
and differences. You could use colour-coding, flow charts, tree diagrams or
tables.
• create a name for the relationships and categories you find. For example,
advantages and disadvantages.
• build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical categories.
• make the structure of your paper clear to your reader, by using topic
sentences and a clear introduction.

Persuasive

In most academic writing, you are required to go at least one step further than
analytical writing, to persuasive writing. Persuasive writing has all the features
of analytical writing (that is, information plus re-organising the information),
with the addition of your own point of view. Most essays are persuasive, and
there is a persuasive element in at least the discussion and conclusion of a
research article.

Points of view in academic writing can include an argument, a recommendation,

interpretation of findings or evaluation of the work of others. In persuasive
writing, each claim you make needs to be supported by some evidence, for
example a reference to research findings or published sources.

The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: argue, evaluate,

discuss, take a position.

To help reach your own point of view on the facts or ideas:

• read some other researchers' points of view on the topic. Who do you feel is
the most convincing?
• look for patterns in the data or references. Where is the evidence
strongest?
• list several different interpretations. What are the real-life implications of
each one? Which ones are likely to be most useful or beneficial? Which
ones have some problems?
• discuss the facts and ideas with someone else. Do you agree with their
point of view?
To develop your argument:

• list the different reasons for your point of view

 • think about the different types and sources of evidence which you can use
to support your point of view
• consider different ways that your point of view is similar to, and different
from, the points of view of other researchers
• look for various ways to break your point of view into parts. For example,
cost effectiveness, environmental sustainability, scope of real-world
application.
To present your argument, make sure:

• your text develops a coherent argument where all the individual claims
work together to support your overall point of view
• your reasoning for each claim is clear to the reader
• your assumptions are valid
• you have evidence for every claim you make
• you use evidence that is convincing and directly relevant.

Critical

Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced

undergraduate writing. It has all the features of persuasive writing, with the
added feature of at least one other point of view. While persuasive writing
requires you to have your own point of view on an issue or topic, critical writing
requires you to consider at least two points of view, including your own.

For example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or argument and

then evaluate the merits of the argument, or give your own alternative
interpretation.

Examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal article, or

a literature review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of existing
research. The kinds of instructions for critical writing include: critique, debate,
disagree, evaluate.

You need to:

• accurately summarise all or part of the work. This could include

identifying the main interpretations, assumptions or methodology.
• have an opinion about the work. Appropriate types of opinion could
include pointing out some problems with it, proposing an alternative
approach that would be better, and/or defending the work against the
critiques of others
 • provide evidence for your point of view. Depending on the specific
assignment and the discipline, different types of evidence may be
appropriate, such as logical reasoning, reference to authoritative sources
and/or research data.
Critical writing requires strong writing skills. You need to thoroughly
understand the topic and the issues. You need develop an essay structure and
paragraph structure that allows you to analyse different interpretations and
develop your own argument, supported by evidence.

D. PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is using someone else’s work as if it were your own. It is a type of
academic dishonesty. Even if you do this unintentionally, it may still be
considered ‘negligent plagiarism’.

How to avoid plagiarism?

To avoid plagiarism, you need to be aware of what falls into that category, as
well as have good writing skills and referencing knowledge. You need to be able
to:

• paraphrase and summarise

• know when to quote a source and when to paraphrase it
• link information from sources with your own ideas
• correctly use referencing conventions