Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 8
University of Hertfordshire
Useful phrases for academic writing
Here are suggestions for using words and phrases which could improve your academic writing structure and style significantly.
1. INTRODUCTION
The aim of this essay/report is to…
This essay will deal with the following aspects of the question...
2. GIVING AN OVERVIEW OF THE ESSAY CONTENT
The first part of the analysis will outline....
The second part will consider... The final level of the analysis examines... In order to link.... with ...., the background to ... will be briefly outlined.
3. MAKING A POINT
It is clear/noticeable that... It is necessary/important/ useful/ interesting/to note/point out/emphasise that…
4. EMPHASIS MARKERS show clearly what you think is most important but avoiding personal language like "I think…"
Nouns: focus, element, concept, theory, aspect, part, idea, point, argument, discussion, debate Verbs: to emphasise, to summarise, to focus, to highlight
Examples: The key aspect of this argument is… The most crucial point made so far… It is worth noting that… Another relevant point is that…
5. INTRODUCING A NEW IDEA
With regard to…
1 As far as … is concerned… Turning now to the question of… Bearing in mind the previous points, … Having considered (X) …
6. HEDGING.
The group of 11 words called modals can help you avoid over-generalisation as they express degrees of certainty and possibility, thereby avoiding making statements which claim too much or suggest you know everything about a subject.
The 11 modals are: CAN, MAY, COULD, MIGHT, WILL, WOULD, SHALL, SHOULD, OUGHT TO, MUST, NEEDN'T. By far the most useful modal verbs are CAN, MAY, COULD and MIGHT.
If you say something IS true you may well be guilty of over-generalisation.
If you say something MAY or MIGHT be true you avoid this problem. It could/might be said that… It seems/appears … It is generally thought/considered … Some/many people think/believe …
7. CITING RESEARCH
It has been found that…
Research has shown that…
8. MAKING HYPOTHESES and STATING CONDITIONS
If…., then… Assuming that… Given/ Granted that… Provided that… If it is the case that… then,…
9. GIVING EXAMPLES
For example/instance… In this situation/case… To illustrate…
10. ADDING INFORMATION
Again, equally important, in addition, furthermore, moreover…
It must also be noted/remembered that…
2 11. DISCUSSION MARKERS
On the one hand,… on the other hand…
Although it may be true that…however… Whilst it is generally agreed that… There exists a contradiction between… and… Those in favour of/ Supporters/Advocates of… Those opposed to/ Critics of…
12. RE-PHRASING
In other words… To put it another way… That is to say…
13. EVALUATIVE LANGUAGE: to show more clearly what you think about different points. Do you already use these words? Could you use them more?
Examples: The UNO has published an interesting survey... It presents a useful concept... However, the study is limited in that...
15. REPEATING (in general, DON’T! Try to organise your writing so that you stick to one point at a time. But if you must…
To return to an earlier point…
As noted before/above…
16. SUMMING UP
Briefly, we can say…/it can be said that…
To sum up,… Hence/therefore/accordingly/consequently
3 The evidence suggests, therefore… In general what this means/suggests/indicates is… It is clear from the above that…
17. Recommendations
My second suggestion is that...
We should start to consider how best we can (introduce)... We should try to improve... Our chief recommendation is that... In order to respond to this, the company should/ must... It is essential that... There is a need for...
18. CONCLUSION
To conclude/In conclusion,… ...it can (therefore) be concluded that... For the reasons given above,...
Changing topic As for...,... Moving on to...,... Finally,... Firstly,... With regard to...,... NOT At first NOT At last
4 Effects/ Reasons/ Results (Expressions meaning because & so)
...resulted in... Consequently,... Due to the fact that...,... Effects on sales/... would be... In order to achieve this, we will need to... In order to obtain maximum benefit from this,... (Other) reasons for this include... The main/ most important reason for... is... This could help us to... This is (mainly) because... This is (also) having the effect that... This would benefit the company/... by... This would mean that... As a result,... For that reason,...
5 Essay/Report: Editing Checklist
INTRODUCTION
1. Does the opening sentence refer directly to the assignment question/title?
2. Does it provide relevant background information?
3. Does it outline the aim (and key points) of the essay/report?
4. Does it provide a clear aim/thesis statement?
CONCLUSION
1. Does it summarise the main points you made in the report?
2. Does it state again the thesis and directly ‘answer’ the assignment’s instructions?
3. Does it AVOID introducing new information?
COHERENCE AND COHESION
1. If required, have you used headings and sub-headings appropriately?
2. Have you created clear and logical topic sentences?
3. Are your paragraphs a suitable length focusing on one main idea, e.g. PEEL?
4. Have you used linking words to join some sentences and ideas?
5. Have you ensured cohesion between paragraphs?
6. If a report, have you included all required sections (i.e. Executive Summary and Table of Contents? (Check Module Guide or with lecturer, if necessary)
CONTENT & CRITICALITY
6 1. Have you fully answered the question?
2. Have you made the aim/thesis statement clear in the introduction and then offered support/evidence for this throughout each section of the report?
3. Have you clearly explained and fully developed the main arguments?
4. Have you supported your main arguments with enough relevant, up-to-date evidence and examples? 5. Have you presented a balanced and fair argument?
6. Have you ensured that your points do not contradict each other?
7. Is the argument presented in a logical order?
QUOTATIONS
1. Have you kept direct quotations to a minimum?
2. Are your direct quotations necessary? i.e. Do they add some new information or strongly emphasise the point you are making or should you paraphrase the information?
3. Have you incorporated the direct quote into the paragraph logically?
4. Do they fit grammatically into your sentences?
5. Have you used quotation marks and for longer quotes (not recommended), indented them?
6. Have you provided accurate in-text references for them, offering the surname, year and page number in brackets?
PARAPHRASES
1. Have your paraphrases retained the meaning of the original text?
2. Are your paraphrases significantly different in terms of vocabulary and structure from the original?
3. Have you provided an accurate in-text reference for them?
STYLE
1. Is your language precise (saying what you mean) and concise (not too wordy)?
2. Have you avoided informal language such as idioms?
3. Have you used the passive form appropriately (and not overused it)?
4. Have you avoided contractions and abbreviations?
ACCURACY & RANGE
7 1. Do the subjects and verbs agree in form (e.g. he considers; they consider)?
2. Are your verb tenses correct?
3. Is your spelling accurate?
4. Is your punctuation (incl. capital letters for names) accurate?
5. Have you demonstrated a good range of vocabulary and grammar?
REFERENCE LIST
1. Does your reference list contain all the sources mentioned in your essay?
2. Does it follow standard referencing conventions (e.g. the CASE Harvard Referencing Guide)?
3. Are your sources academic (e.g. NOT Wikipedia)?
4. Are most of your sources in English?
5. Is the list in alphabetical order according to surname or organisation’s name?
WORD COUNT, FORMATTING, APPENDICES AND PLAGIARISM
1. Does your essay respect the word count?
2. Do you use a sensible font, e.g. 12 point, Times New Roman or Arial?
3. Have you used 1.5 line spacing?
4. Have you included page numbers where needed?
5. Have you created an appendix to avoid putting unnecessary detailed information in the main body (check with lecturer if allowed)?
6. Have you referred to the information in the appendix in the main body?
7. Have you submitted your report through Turnitin to check for plagiarism?
