P1-S WEEK 1

Academic Writing Spring 2023

USEFUL STRUCTURES for ESSAY WRITING

 In this chapter you are going to learn some structures that may be useful when writing
academic paragraphs or essays. Read the example paragraph below and focus on the phrases in bold.
We are going to focus on them one by one.

There are various important reasons for traffic accidents. The first factor which leads to
traffic accidents is carelessness. Unfortunately, many drivers talk on the phone or text
behind the wheel. Some drivers even eat or drink in traffic. All these activities are very
dangerous because they are serious distractions for drivers, and accidents happen when
a driver is not fully focused. Another cause of traffic accidents is not obeying traffic rules. Traffic rules
protect people in traffic. However, some drivers ignore these rules and put everyone at risk. For
example, a driver who tries to overtake in a narrow, windy road may give rise to a traffic collision.
Finally, traffic accidents may occur due to unfavorable weather and road conditions.
Factors such as heavy rain, foggy weather, icy roads, or lack of street lights
contribute to traffic accidents. Even very experienced drivers may cause accidents if
their brakes do not work on an icy road, or if they cannot see the road properly. In
short, there are numerous essential reasons why people have traffic accidents.

COMMONLY USED VERBS IN ESSAY WRITING

cause lead to give rise to bring about result in

Sentence structure: Noun + Verb + Noun

Carelessness causes mistakes in writing.

noun noun

Lack of vitamin D leads to serious health problems, especially among children and young people.
The new education system may give rise to higher success rates in exams.
The vehicle’s high speed brought about the death of 3 passengers.
Her rude behavior resulted in her dismissal.

Exercise 1. Complete the following sentences in your own words.

1. Lack of sleep causes __________________________________________________________________

2. High CO2 emissions may lead to _________________________________________________________
3. An inactive lifestyle brings about ________________________________________________________
4. High caffeine intake may result in _______________________________________________________

1
 Sentence structure: Ving + Verb + Ving / Noun

Careless driving causes (having) accidents.

Ving Ving

Not getting enough vitamin D leads to getting ill.

Designing a new education system may give rise to providing the youth with better education.
Eating too much junk food and not sleeping enough bring about gaining weight.
Lifting up heavy objects might result in (experiencing) back injuries.

Exercise 2. Complete the following sentences in your own words.

1. Not attending classes regularly may result in ______________________________________________

2. Leading an inactive life leads to _________________________________________________________
3. Spending too much time on the internet causes ____________________________________________
4. Cooking with organic ingredients may lead to ______________________________________________

The Ving form is called GERUND, and gerunds can be used as SUBJECTS or OBJECTS in
sentences, just like nouns. You may also add possessive adjectives or possessive ’s to gerunds
to give more specific information.

Her acting rude caused her dismissal.

His driving carelessly led to the death of 3 passengers in the bus.
Jake’s eating too much junk food gave rise to his getting ill.
Politician’s taking precautions on time brought about positive outcomes.
Students’ cheating in the exam resulted in severe punishment for them.

cause somebody/something to do something / cause ___________ to verb

lead somebody/something to do something / lead ____________ to verb

Bad weather CAUSED / LED the authorities TO cancel the game.

Heavy rain CAUSED / LED many houses in our neighborhood TO get flooded.

2
Exercise 3. Write sentences with the verbs and prompts given.

1. The driver’s carelessness / the passengers / panic.

_____________________________________________________________________________ (cause)
2. His acting rude / the coach / exclude him from the team.
_____________________________________________________________________________ (lead to)
3. The sunny and warm weather / many people / spend time outdoors during the weekend.
_____________________________________________________________________________ (cause)
4. The ongoing war / many people / leave their homes every day.
_____________________________________________________________________________ (cause)
5. Overuse of pesticides in agriculture / the soil / become polluted, which is extremely unhealthy for
human beings.
_____________________________________________________________________________ (lead to)

COMMON VERBS IN THE PASSIVE FORM

Active: Carelessness causes mistakes in writing.

Passive: Mistakes in writing ARE CAUSED BY carelessness.

Active: The vehicle’s high speed brought about the death of 3 passengers.
Passive: The death of 3 passengers WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY the vehicle’s high speed.

Exercise 4. Write the following sentences in the passive form.

1. The new education system may bring about higher success rates in exams.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Lack of vitamin D causes serious health problems, especially among children and young people.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Her rude behavior caused her dismissal.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Harmful agricultural practices bring about the dramatic decrease in the number of bees.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3
 OTHER STRUCTURES to GIVE REASON or STATE THE CAUSE

1. be responsible for: to be the person or thing that makes something happen

She was responsible for the project’s failure.
The driver’s carelessness was responsible for the crash.
The ongoing road construction is responsible for the noise in our neighborhood.

2. be the result of: to happen because of something else that happened or was done
He said the success of his company was the result of hard work by all the staff.
Greenhouse gases are the direct result of pollution from cars and factories.
The accident was the result of an engine failure.

3. be a factor in: to be one of several things that affect something

The parents’ attitude towards education is a major factor in a child's progress at school.
Genes are an important factor in a person’s tendency to have diabetes.
Her carelessness was a factor in the project’s failure.

4. play a part in: if something plays a part, it is one of several things that causes something to happen
Genes play a part in a person’s tendency to have diabetes.
Her carelessness played a part in the project’s failure.
The riots in the capital played a major part in the collapse of the government.

5. contribute to: if something contributes to a situation, it is one of the things that cause that situation
to happen or become worse, but it is not one of the main causes
Methane gas contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Passive smoking may contribute to the development of respiratory diseases among nonsmokers.
High cholesterol contributes to a higher risk or cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease
and stroke.

6. be the cause of: to be the reason for something that happens, to bring about something
The drunk driver was the cause of the fatal accident.
Polluted water is one of the major causes of death among young children in some countries.
High cholesterol is one of the causes of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.

7. be the reason for: to be the cause of something that happens, to give rise to something
The drunk driver was the reason for the fatal accident.
Polluted water is one of the major reasons for death among young children in some countries.
High cholesterol is one of the reasons for cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.

4
Exercise 5. Write sentences with the prompts given.

1. fast-fashion industry / air and water pollution around the globe (responsible for)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. high unemployment rate in the country / the current economic crisis (result of)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. the current economic crisis / rising unemployment rates (play a part)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. a sedentary lifestyle / weight gain and obesity (contribute to)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. passive smoking / respiratory diseases among nonsmokers (one – cause)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. unfavorable weather conditions / road accidents (one – reason)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. financial difficulties / students’ dropping out of university (factor)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 6. The pictures below have a cause & effect relationship with each other. Look at each pair
and try to build meaningful sentences about the photos using the words given and the structures you
have learnt so far.

1.

a. responsible for _____________________________________________________________________

b. caused by _________________________________________________________________________
c. bring about ________________________________________________________________________

5
2.

a. cause sb to + verb ___________________________________________________________________

b. contribute to _______________________________________________________________________
c. as a result of ________________________________________________________________________

3.

a. cause ______________________________________________________________________________
b. be the result of ______________________________________________________________________
c. because of __________________________________________________________________________

USEFUL ADJECTIVES and QUANTIFIERS

Here are some adjectives that are commonly used in essay writing.
 important  essential
 significant  major
 vital  crucial
 fundamental

Here are some quantifiers that may be useful in essay writing.

 a number of  one (of the)

 several  another
 numerous  various
 many

6
There are several significant causes of air pollution.
Fast-fashion industry is one of the major factors in the rising rates of water pollution around the globe.
There are numerous important reasons for the increase in the CO2 emissions in the world.
Deforestation has various fundamental causes.
One essential reason for cyberbullying is the lack of severe punishment for bullies.
There are a number of vital factors in economic growth.
Company’s failure is the result of several crucial reasons.
One vital factor that leads to success in life is having self-confidence.
Another significant factor in being successful in life is a good education.

Exercise 7. Put the words in order to make meaningful sentences.

1. important / There / several / lung / causes / of / cancer / are

_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. One / cancer / smoking / reason / significant / lung / is / for
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. that / lung cancer / leads to / Another / is / harmful substances / exposure to / /factor
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. has / failure / a number / fundamental / Academic / of / reasons
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. learning disorders / in / major / academic / One / the / factors / of / failure / is
_____________________________________________________________________________________

USING “OCCUR” or “HAPPEN” to STATE REASON/CAUSE

 “Occur” and “happen” are verbs that mean “to take place”. They CANNOT be used in the passive
form. Read the example sentences below.

Deforestation occurs as a result of several significant causes.

Traffic accidents happen due to the carelessness of drivers.
The disease occurs mostly in children under the age of five as a result of three fundamental factors.
The crash occurred because of an engine failure.
Yesterday’s cyber-attack happened as a result of a security flaw in the company’s servers.
Civil unrest happens when governments fail to meet the needs of their citizens.

7
Exercise 8. Put the words in order to make meaningful sentences.

1. weather / climate / Extreme / occur / events / due to / change

_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. happen / heavy / Floods / as / rainfall / a result / and / rapid snowmelt / of
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. because of / Droughts / over / occur / a lack of / a period of / rainfall / time
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. due to / disasters / climate / occur / Famine / and / may / natural /change.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 9. Complete the following sentences in your own words.

1. Global warming happens as a result of __________________________________________________

2. Animal extinction occurs because of ____________________________________________________
3. Success in life happens when __________________________________________________________
4. Sleeping disorders may occur when _____________________________________________________

THE REASON WHY + SVO IS THAT + SVO

 Sentences with “because/as/since” can be rewritten using the form “the reason why…. is that…”
Read the example sentences below.

1. Students drop out of university because they have financial problems.

The reason why students drop out of university is that they have financial problems.

2. Traffic accidents happen since people do not obey the traffic rules.
The reason why traffic accidents happen is that people do not obey the traffic rules.

3. Some people suffer from sleeping disorders as they lead stressful lives.
The reason why some people suffer from sleeping disorders is that they lead stressful lives.

4. Young, educated people want to move to more developed countries because they want to have
better life standards.
The reason why young, educated people want to move to more developed countries is that
they want to have better life standards.

 You may also use other structures and phrases that you have learned in this unit to extend your
sentences. Read the examples below:

One significant reason why people move abroad is that they want to have a better education.
Another important reason why animals go extinct is that humans destroy their habitats.
The first reason why some people cannot have active lives is that their workload does not leave
them enough time to exercise.

8
 THE REASON WHY + SVO IS + NOUN

 Sentences with “because of/as a result of/due to” can be rewritten using the form
“the reason why…. is.…” Read the example sentences below.

1. Students drop out of university because of financial problems.

The reason why students drop out of university is financial problems.
noun

2. Traffic accidents happen as a result of careless drivers.

The reason why traffic accidents happen is careless drivers.
noun

3. Some people suffer from sleeping disorders due to their highly stressful lives.
The reason why some people suffer from sleeping disorders is their highly stressful lives.
noun

Exercise 10. Work with a partner. For each question below try to come up with at least TWO answers.
Use “the reason why” structures for your answers.

1. Why do people wear shoes?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. Why do dogs bark?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3. Why do people love junk food?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

9
 WRITING SAMPLE and IN-CLASS WRITING ACTIVITY

As mentioned before, all of the structures that you have covered so far can be used when writing
academic paragraphs or essays. Read the sample paragraph below to see these structures in use.

There are various important reasons for heart attacks. The first factor which leads to heart
attacks is heavy smoking. Smoking too much lowers the oxygen content in the blood. Low oxygen levels
in the blood may bring about shortness of breath, and this may cause the heart to beat faster.
As a result, heavy smokers can have heart attacks. Another cause of heart attacks is poor eating habits.
Due to unhealthy foods with high amounts of cholesterol and fat, blood vessels get blocked. When
blood cannot move around the body easily, our hearts suffer. Finally, heart attacks may occur due to
stress. Life is difficult for everyone in the world, but especially for the people who live in big cities.
Factors such as spending too much time in traffic, not having a regular job, or suffering from financial
difficulties all contribute to high stress levels for individuals. The body, especially the heart, cannot stay
healthy under too much stress. In short, there are numerous essential reasons why people have heart
attacks.

Exercise 11. With a partner, discuss the reasons for academic failure for university students. Then
write at least 6 sentences using the structures and phrases that you have learnt so far.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

6. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

10