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    LESSON 01 Date 9 MARCH 23

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    Gmal Nounou
    This document outlines the content and structure of a scientific English course for physics students at the University of Algiers. The course covers two main parts: scientific report writing and communication skills. The first part focuses on effective writing and the scientific method. The second part covers oral communication skills. The document also provides a detailed lesson on common technical writing errors to avoid, such as contractions, idioms, informal language, repetition, and passive voice. It emphasizes using formal, precise language and citing sources accurately. Exercises are included to practice writing in academic English.

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    LESSON 01 Date 9 MARCH 23

    Uploaded by

    Gmal Nounou
    19 views38 pages
    This document outlines the content and structure of a scientific English course for physics students at the University of Algiers. The course covers two main parts: scientific report writing and communication skills. The first part focuses on effective writing and the scientific method. The second part covers oral communication skills. The document also provides a detailed lesson on common technical writing errors to avoid, such as contractions, idioms, informal language, repetition, and passive voice. It emphasizes using formal, precise language and citing sources accurately. Exercises are included to practice writing in academic English.

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    This document outlines the content and structure of a scientific English course for physics students at the University of Algiers. The course covers two main parts: scientific report writing and communication skills. The first part focuses on effective writing and the scientific method. The second part covers oral communication skills. The document also provides a detailed lesson on common technical writing errors to avoid, such as contractions, idioms, informal language, repetition, and passive voice. It emphasizes using formal, precise language and citing sources accurately. Exercises are included to practice writing in academic English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    19 views38 pages

    LESSON 01 Date 9 MARCH 23

    Uploaded by

    Gmal Nounou
    This document outlines the content and structure of a scientific English course for physics students at the University of Algiers. The course covers two main parts: scientific report writing and communication skills. The first part focuses on effective writing and the scientific method. The second part covers oral communication skills. The document also provides a detailed lesson on common technical writing errors to avoid, such as contractions, idioms, informal language, repetition, and passive voice. It emphasizes using formal, precise language and citing sources accurately. Exercises are included to practice writing in academic English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 38

    SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH COURSE FOR L3 PF AND

    L2 PHYSICS STUDENTS
    University of Algiers 1
    Department of materials science

    Dr. BENAOUDA NOUREDDINE


    COURSE CONTENT
    • Part 1:
    Scientific report writing - effective writing
    1. Common technical writing errors
    2. Scientific method
    Part 2:
    Communication skills - oral communication
    1. Choosing a topic for oral communication
    2. Effective communication skills
    COMMON TECHNICAL WRITING ERRORS
    LESSON ONE, March 9,2023
    AVOID CONTRACTION

    Formal writing should have no contraction


    AREN'T → ARE NOT.
    THERE'S → THERE IS; THERE HAS.
    CAN'T → CAN NOT.
    THEY'D → THEY HAD; THEY WOULD.
    COULDN'T → COULD NOT.
    THEY'LL → THEY WILL; THEY SHALL.
    DIDN'T → DID NOT.
    THEY'RE → THEY ARE.

    However, a good collector doesn’t does not guarantee a


    good solar system.
    AVOID PHRASAL VERBS
    (AVOID THE MULTI-PART VERBS)

    REPLACE PHRASAL VERBS WITH MORE PRECISE WORDS


    • PRICES GO UP → PRICES INCREASE
    • TAKE AWAY → REMOVED

    • AUTHOR PUT DOWN REJECTED THE CONCLUSIONS IN LAST


    MONTH’S STUDY
    AVOID IDIOMS
    It was A1 → it was excellent
    Find fault with someone → criticize, complain about
    For the time being → for now, at this time
    In the same boat → in the same situation
    Keep in mind → consider, remember
    By and large → generally, more often than not, mostly
    In fact → actually, in reality
    LOL (laughing out loud)
    Usually, idioms are considered informal, and, thus, are not appropriate to use in our
    academic writing. To score high on writing, you need to know what words are
    appropriate and what words are not.
    AVOID USING SLANG WORDS AND
    PHRASES
    • Kids → children
    • Boss → director, executive
    • Stuff → items, group
    • Gonna, sorta, etc..
    • Everyone had a really cool time → the group had a enjoyable
    experience at the park.

    Slang refers to very informal language that people commonly use


    around their friends. While it's fine to use in conversations, do not
    use any slang language in formal writing.
    AVOID PRONOUNS
    WRITE IN THE THIRD PERSON IN MOST SITUATIONS
    You can see from the graph → The graph shows
    You might be tempted to agree without all the facts → one
    might be tempted to agree without all the facts.
    We analyzed the data → The data was analyzed
    This means avoiding terms like “I" or “We." Instead, refer to
    “the team” or “this company.” This language keeps your
    writing fact.
    One exception to this rule is in a cover letter or personal
    statement. In these documents, you should be writing about
    yourself specifically.
    AVOID NEGATIVES

    Something is not effective → it is ineffective


    Something is not positive →it is negative
    AVOID VAGUE LANGUAGE
    Use higher-level language
    be specific than vague

    A bit, a lot, sort of, a little bit → A considerable


    number, a considerable amount,
    Kids today spend too much time on the phone → in
    2017, children spent an average of 7 hours per day on
    their phones. The American medical association says that
    is an excessive amount.
    Use specific statements rather than general expression
    AVOID “CLICHÉS”

    When all is said and done → in conclusion


    The night was black as pitch → she walked
    outside and the dark fell over her like a blanket.

    Clichés are kind of idiom, basically – commonly


    use expressions.
    Avoid
    giving your personal opinion

    I think, I believe, in my view →


    according to so-and-so, according to
    this research study and you mention
    the particular research study.
    NO REPETITION 1
    Constant repeting some words

    Using grammatical substitutions


    The containers were cleaned using deionized water to
    remove any remaining salts from the containers. The
    containers were then dried in an oven at 60°C.
    • These sentences would be better if they were written as:
    • The containers were cleaned using deionised water to
    remove any remaining salts from them. They were then
    dried in an oven at 60°C.
    • Here, a noun (‘containers’) has been replaced with two
    different pronouns (‘them’ and ‘they’).
    NO REPETITION 2
    Using synonyms

    • For example, the word ‘transparent’ may have ‘crystal


    clear’ listed as one of its synonyms, but formally, they
    can mean very different things. Similarly, ‘see-through’
    may be given as another synonym for ‘transparent’, but
    in comparison, it is an informal and very imprecise
    term.
    NO REPETITION 3
    Removing redundancy
    • Both the steady-state rheological properties and
    dynamic rheological properties of the gas were
    examined.
    • In this sentence, deleting the first instance of
    ‘rheological properties’ would leave it with exactly
    the same meaning:
    • Both the steady-state and dynamic rheological
    properties of the gas were examined.
    NO REPETITION 4
    Similarly

    • Similarly, erasing the first two instances of ‘the


    experiment’ in the following sentence would make
    it much easier to read:
    • The blood pressure of each participant was
    measured before the experiment, during the
    experiment and after the experiment.
    NO REPETITION 5
    Reducing verbosity

    When you simply cannot avoid repetition, replacing it with the


    shortest possible word or phrase will make it stand out less.
    Often, there is a need to list several things that have either
    increased or decreased:
    An increase in the velocity was found to lead to a decrease in
    the oscillation.
    This sentence can be made to feel less repetitive with a simple
    rephrasing:
    The oscillation was found to decrease with increasing velocity.
    NO REPETITION 6
    same category
    Sometimes, authors also use words like ‘utilize’ when
    ‘use’ would be just fine, or they might write
    ‘advancements’ instead of ‘advances’. This falls in
    the same category as using ‘in order to’ when ‘to’
    would mean the same thing (as mentioned in this
    article).
    It is always worth considering whether there is
    a simpler way to express something complicated.
    NO BASIC LANGUAGE
    Like →for example
    Thing →factor
    Lots of →significant amount
    Little/big →Small/large
    Get →obtain
    Good/bad →positive negative
    Amazing/wonderful →important
    No personal adverbs

    Surprisingly → especially,
    exceptionally, notably, principally,
    specially, and unusually
    Fortunately → favorably, opportunely
    No questions

    So why did the project fail?


    YES FOR ACTIVE VOICE
    USING FORMAL LANGUAGE

    The light is absorbed by the plastics → the plastics


    absorb the light.
    Write in active voice, the active voice is when the
    subject of the sentences is doing the action. In the
    passive voice, the subject receives the action. Both
    have their role, but use the active voice for formal
    writing as much as possible.
    The active voice is clearer, more concise, and
    sounds more professional than the passive voice
    YES caution-tentative language

    Possibly/seems/appears/could
    May/tends to/ likely to/suggests
    Yes accurate vocabulary

    Difference between law/rule


    Yes precise facts/figures

    A few years ago/in 2023


    CITING SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
    Yes referencing systems
    How to write A bibliography
    For A book:
    1. Structure

    Author last name, first name. “Chapter title.” In book title: subtitle, edited by editor first
    name last name, page range. Place of publication: publisher, year.
    2. Example:
    Edited book:

    Nasta, S. And stein, M.U. (Eds) (2020) the cambridge history of black and asian british
    writing. Cambridge: cambridge university press.
    E-book:
    Prior, H. (2020) away with the penguins. Available
    at: https://www.Amazon.Co.Uk/away-penguins-hazel-prior-ebook (accessed: 20
    september 2021).
    FOR AN ENCYCLOPEDIA
    1. Structure
    Last name, F. M. (Publication year). Entry title. In
    encyclopedia title. (Vol. XX, pp. Xx-xx). Publisher.
    1. Example
    Mcghee, K., & Mckay, G. (2007). Insects. In encyclopedia
    of animals. (P.175). National geographic society.
    FOR THE WORLD WIDE WEB:

    1. Structure
    Author last name, first name. “Title of
    article.” Website name, day month year, URL.
    1. Example:
    Renewable energy development center, algeria
    website, accessed 9 march 2023,
    <https://www.Cder.Dz/>.
    Yes academic English
    Example
    Exercises
    write in academic English
    END

    Dr. BENAOUDA NOUREDDINE

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