What Is Special About Academic English?: A Everyday Words and Academic Uses
What Is Special About Academic English?: A Everyday Words and Academic Uses
What Is Special About Academic English?: A Everyday Words and Academic Uses
However, very informal vocabulary may be used in spoken academic sryles in classcs and
lecrures. Learn ro undersrand such language when you hear it but be careful not ro use ir in
essays and wrirten assignrnenrs, Here are some examples of reachers using informallanguage.
'OK. Have a shot at doing task number 3.' [more formal: Try/Attempt ro do ... J
'There's no way schools can be held responsible for failures of government policy.' [more
formal: Schools cannot in any way be held ...]
Academic language tries to be c1ear and precise, so ir is irnportanr ro kcep a vocabulary
notebook (see page 8) and learn the differenees berween similar words, as well as typical
word cornbinarions (underlincd here).
The building is a prime example of 19205 archirecrure. [excellenr in quality or value]
The group's primary concern is ro prorect human rights. [rnain / rnosr imporranr]
e Noun phrases
Academic languagc puts a lot of inforrnation inro noun phrases rather than spreading it out
over a whole sentence. For exarnple, instead of saying Radiation was accidentaLly released
over a 24-hour period, damaging a wide area [or a long time, an acadernic might say The
accidental release o( radiation ouer a 24-hour period caused widespread long-term damage.
It is therefore irnportanr ro learn the different forms of a word, for exarnple:
noun verb adjeetive(s) adverb(s)
accldent accidental accidentally
quantiry/quantflcation quantify quantitative/quantifiable quantitatively/quantifiably
Finally, be aware of 'ehunks' or phrases which occur frequenrly, and learn them as whole
units. Exarnples: in terms 0(, in addition, [or the most part, in the case 0(, etc. (See Unir 16.)
IO AcademieVocabulary in Use
Exercises
1.1 Each word in the box can be used in two ways, one an everyday way, the orher a typically
academic way. Complete each pair of sentences using the same word for borh sentences and
making any necessary grarnrnatical changes.
generare turn solid confirm identify underline character pose nature focus
2 Almost every school in the county had reponed problems wirh the new sysrem.
4 Basically, we believe we have dernonsrrated a significant link berween the rwo events.
6 The study is a really good example of rhe way sociologists collect their data.
7 The reaction is typical of thc way large corporations kcep control of their rnarkers.
8 There's no way London can be compared ro Sydney as a place ro live and work .
The produdion of plastics depends heavily on petroleum, but a novel way of making
plastics out of sugar could reduce our reliance on oil. The discovery that a chemical
in sugar can be converted relatively easily into a substance similar in strudure to the
material obtained from petroleum has led to the c1aim that plastics could soon be
produced cheaply using the new method.
1 Underline two verbs wirh adverbs afrer them which it would be useful ro learn as pairs.
2 Underline two adverbs next to each other which it would be useful to learn together.
3 What are the noun forms of the verbs produce, re/y, discover and claim?
Research ls uncountable. Don't say They carried out sorne interesting researches. To make it
plural you can just say 'st udles', or 'research studies' or 'pieces of research'.
The study showed that local police can play an important role in
crime prevention. It makes a strong case of boosting the numbers of
community police officers although it warns against increasing police
presence on the streets at an alarming degree. Its methodological was
based on a range of interviews asking mernbers of the public for their
views in how best to prevent crime. Unfortunately, how to implernent
this recommendation was out of the scope of the study but at least it
serves a useful purpose in raising awareness to the issue.
2.3 Look at these titles of academic books (A-H). Then match them to their subject areas (1-8).
A The Nature of Oemocracy 1 econormcs
2.4 Match the beginning of each sentence with the most appropriate cnding.
1 The study revealed a regular scope of your research.
Look ar these tasks which students have been given. Note the key verbs .
Discuss some of the problems lnvolved' in investigating attitudes to diet and health.Write a critical r
review of an investigation you have read about, or describe an investigaton you you rself could conduct/,
Consider me advanrages and disadvantages of different methods. I
Starting from rest, an aircraft accelerates to its take-off speed of 60 m s-I in a distance of 900 metres.
lIIustrate3 this with a velocity-tlme graph. Assuming" constant acceleration, find s how long me take-off
run lasts, Hence calculat the acceleration.
'The fact that nat ions agree to follow international law demonstrates/ that we can identify8 ideals that
are trans-national and trans-cultural.' How far is this staternent true? Critically analyse any recent event
which supports or challenges 9 the statement.
Examine IO how industrial growth has affected any two developing countries. Provide 1I statistcal
evidence where necessary and include a dscussion of likely future trends.
I which are pan oflincluded in 2 organise and do 3 draw something in order to explain
sornething "accepcing something to be true s dscover by calculating (see 6) 6 judge che
number or amount of somerhing and adding, multiplying, subtracting or dividing numbers
7 show, make c1ear 8 recognise someone or sornething and say or prove who or whar they are
9 questions whether ir is true 10 look ar or consider carefully and in detail 1I give
I divide rhings into groups according to their type 2 discover or get proof of 3 explain "sce is
often used in che passive in academic sryle 5 given 6 proved 7 (formal) tries
The verbs affect and effect are different. To affect means to inf1uence, to effect means to
make something happen I to bring about, The buming of fossil fuels has negative/y affeeted
me global c/imate. The procedure has been success(ul and has effected o return to normal
(unetioning of me engine. See Unit 30 for more on offect and effect.
J.I Match eaeh verb from A in the box on the left with its synonym from the box on the right.
J.2 Choose the best verb from B or C to complete these sentences. Put the verb into the correet
formo
1 As can . ...." from Table II, participation figures have been steadily faIling since 1970.
2 Differem authors have ". ..... ' ..... ".... ... for the President's actions in different ways.
3 Mendel atrernpred to devise a syst em for , ".. the many different types of pea
plant that he grew.
5 The data we have collected .. ,... . that there has been a downward trend with
6 The aim of the research is a new software application which wll help
7 The archaeologists should be a blc to use carbon dating techniques ,, ' ... ,,, ... . ". exactly
8 Charles Darwin atternpted " the exi stence of different species in terrns of
evolution .
2 Describe the new tax regulations. Discuss the new tax regularions .
4 Titova conducted four sets of experiments. Titova examned four sets of experiments.
5 Lee established why such changes occur. Lee investigated why such changes occur.
6 Okaz assumed that the data were reliable. Okaz proved that the data were reliable.
7 Illustrate the magnrude of the deceleration . Find the magnrude of the deceleration.
8 The events effected econornic developrnenr. The events afEected economc development.
3.4 Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets and make any necessary changes to other
words.
1 Erikson's theory explains the fluctuarions in rhe figures for rhis periodo (PROVIDES)
2 Bevan explored the relationship between family background and political ambtion.
(EXPLORATION)
3 The book describes the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. (DESCRIPTION)
4 Cheng's theory emphasises the importance of exrensive reading in language acquisition.
(PlITs)
3.5 In academic style, noun phrases can often be used instead of sorne of the key verbs.
I
Complete eaeh phrase with the appropriate noun, Use a dictionary if necessary,
investigare = conduct, carry out an 4 affect = have an on
.. ... ..... . into/of 5 atternpt = make an .... . ro/at
. Using the tasks in A as a model, prepare some assignment topies for students studying any
For any adjective ir is useful ro know whether it is typieally followed by a specific preposition
and whether it has any synonyms (adjcctives with a similar meaning) or anronyms (adjectives
of opposite meaning).
I true to a particular degree when it IS being compared with other rhings 2 connected with whar
is happening or being discussed ) (rather formal) typical of 4 only found in 5 belonging ro or
shared by two or more people or things 6 suitable or righr for a particular situation or occasion
We cannot discu ss drug abuse as an abst raer ' problem without considering concrete examples
of abuse and their social consequences. Abuse is rarely a simple2 issue; it usually results from a
complex set of circumstances. Both quanttatlve' and qualita tive research is necessary to gajn
a full picture of the situation. By combining research methods, we may obtain an aceurate picture
of the causes and results of abuse, in contrast with the inaccurate assessments which often
result frorn purely quantitative studies. A siqnificant" amount of fear and prejudice surrounds the
notion of abuse, and the media have a role which is also not insignificant in promoting such tears.
The dissertation concludes that rough S estimates of the number of drug addicts need to be made
more precise by properly defining addiction.
I existing as an idea, not as a material object; opposire: existing in a form thar can be seen or felt
2 having or rnade of only one or a few parts ) based on numbers and statisrics, opposite: usually
research using non-number-based merhods such as inrerviews, focus groups, etc. 4 important or
noticeable s fairly correet bur not exact or detailed; opposite: exact and aecurate
We noted a potentiaP problem with the experimental design which we had te deal with first.
The research used a rigorous o4 methodology which had been tested on many occas ions.
I seeming to exist or be true 1 possible when the necessary conditions exisr ) first in order of
importance 4 careful te look ar or consider every part of sornething ro make certain it is correet
,
V
~
Remember to say typical 0(. NOT typical (&. Learn adjectives with the prepositions that
often follow thern, as in A.
6 The dark hair and eyes are common for all people from the region.
4.2 Rcwrite each sentence using the opposite of the adjective in italies.
1 Karlsson eheeked the figures and agreed with me that they were accurate.
4.3 Match the adjective on the left with the noun ir often combines with on thc right.
1 apparent methodology
2 ngorous problern
3 principal discrepancy
4 potential cause
4.4 Now use one of the combinations from 4.3 lO complete these sentences.
1 There is an in your figures.
2 Managernent's refusal to listen ro the workers' demands was rhe of the riots.
3 Lamaque devised a . . ... ... ... .. .... which has since been used successfully by many other
1 The plant is difficult ro grow and needs very ,..... ' . conditions to survive.
2 His tutor was critica! of his work for not being enough.
3 In the past the northern tri bes Iooked on che tribes of the south as . '" enemies.
ti
When you come across any of the key adjectives from this unit in your reading, note it down in a
phrase so you build up a set of useful phrases using the adjective.
AcademicVacabu/ary in Use 17
Keyadverbs
This unir deals with just sorne of rhe adverbs that are parricularly frequenr in an acadernic
contextoYou will find more in other units throughout this book.
We eventually obrained the resulrs we were hoping foro[in the end, after sorne time]
Ulrimately we plan ro repeat the experimento[finally, after other th ings have been completed]
I referring ca irs main characteristics; also basically 2 openly 3 usually, also 00 the whole
" not directly, suggesred or implied rather rhan stated
Eventually [in the end], we were able to interview all 20 children involved in me test
5. I Look ar A and B. Explain [he difference between [he sentences in each pairo
1 Heinrich's experiments were mostly successful.
Heinrich's experirnenrs were most successful.
2 The results were somewhat surprising given rhe circumstances.
Th e results were especially surprising given the circumstances.
3 First-year studenrs are directly affected by the new rules relaring to tuition fees.
First-year studenrs are particularly affected by rhe new rules relaring ro tuirion Iees.
4 The study is primarily concerned with urban alienation .
The study is ultimately concerned with urban alienation.
5 The tearn evenrually obrained unpredicred resulrs.
The tearn frequently obtained unpredicted results .
5.2 Choosc the more appropriate adverb from the options.
What you are saying is essentially / merely true. 1'0 put it basically / simply, there is
specially / basically no significant difference between the two writers' theories. However,
one of thern writes in a simply / precisely dreadful style while rhe other has euentually /
possib/ya more impressive srylc than any other conternporary scientist.
5.3 Change the sentences using adverbs which mean the opposite of the underlined ones.
1 There were roughly 350 people living in the village in 1958.
2 Parents seldom camplained thar the school authoriries faled to inform them of changes.
3 We investigated the problem and initially found sorne small errors in thc calculations.
4 The rernperarure was exactly half a degree lower than the average.
7 Senior citizens almost a lways use the internet ro communicate with one another.
5.4 Underline rhe advcrbs in these texts. Then answer rhe questions.
Marine conservationists are currently attempting Scientists have recently discovered that ants
to save the world's coral reefs. One plan is to can remember how many steps they have
Iiterally glue the damaged reefs back together, taken. By carefully shortening or lengthening
using coral artificially raised in underwater the /egs of ants, the team observed that
labs. Reefs are increasingly under attack from short-legged ants apparently became /ost and
human activity as well as from events occurring could not easily find their way home to the
naturally, sueh as hurricanes and tsunamis . nest. Similarly, ants with longer legs typically
A recent UN report warns that 30% of the travelled 50% further than they needed to and
world's coral reefs have been completely were also temporarily unable to find the nest.
It seems ants can definitely count their steps.
destroyed or are severely damaged.
,.
5 Which adverb could be substitured by serioustyt
1
Find an article of interese to you in your discipline and underline all the key adverbs.Then check
. !
,
that you understand their meaning.
Alrhough phrasal verbs occur rno sr frequenrly in more informal spoken and written English,
they are also not uncornmon in an academic contexto You will hcar them used in lectures and
will read them in serious journals. From this unit only go/look back over and work out are
not appropriate for a formal wrirten assignmenr.
.. Revise is the BrE synonym and reuieu/ the AmE synonym. (Revise in AmE only means to edit
or change sornething to make it better; reuieui is not used in BrE in the context of preparing for
a test as focused on here.)
I do something after doing somerhing else 2 srudy, work in the field of 3 prepared, arranged
4 come ro a conclusion about s no! be in agreement with 6 (of an irnporranr docurnenr) write in
a final form
I
Consult a good dictionary when you use phrasal verbs in your writing. For exarnple, a good
. dictionary tells you when the object can be used before the particle (e.g. write your resu/rs uP) and
when it cannot (e.g. this goes against curren[ rheories).
6.1 Rewrire the sentences replacing the underlined word in each sentence with a phrasal verb
from A. Note that both versions of each sentence are equally appropriate.
1 We eonducred a series of experirnents ro test out our hypothesis.
2 Before rhe test you should revise Chaprers 7 and 8 of your textbooks.
3 In his article on the American Civil War Kingsron discusses the rcasons why the situation
As part of my MA l've been doing sorne research on language acquisition. I've been
working C1) .. . how young children learn thor mother tongue. I've becn
carrying (2) . . . sorne experments to see how rnuch readng to young
children affects their language developrnent. I've had a grcat supervisor who has
helped me set (3) my experiments and she's also pointed (4)
lots of nteresting thngs in my data that ) hadn't noticed myseJf. I'rn busy wrting my
work (5) ... . now and 1 think J should be able to put (6) sorne
useful ideas. lt 's been really fascinating and 1 hope 1 may be able 10 go (7)
to do a dnctorate in the same field aJthough 1 certainly never set (8) .. to do
a PIll).
6.3 Match the beginning of eaeh sentence with the rnost appropriate ending.
1 Feudal sociery was made forward a convincing rheory wirh regard ro rhis quesrioo.
2 Carlson was the first ro pur up rhe flaws in the school's testing methods.
4 The invesrigation pointed out a lor of basic informarion about al! the world's
6 The geography book sets againsr what she had found in her earlier srudies.
The size of our survey was relatively small-scale. We sent out 2,500 questionnaires
in total Although a couple- of people did not respond, the bulk! of those sent
'.
questionnaires have eompleted them. The survey showsthat, as a whole", the
population is becoming more aware ofthe importance of reeyeling. Only one of s our
respondents said that he recycled less than he used to.
I in all 2 rwo or three, a few 3 che maor ity '" considered as a group rather than individually
s notice how respondents is in the plural; it is a common error ro write a singular noun after one
of .. (respondents/surveyslcondusions, etc)
more and
less and less interested in polities.
There is more and more interest in the top ic. a steadily increasing amount of,
more People are becoming more and more aware of the increasingly
environment,
more or less The experiment was more or less a success. (slightly informal) means
mostly or approximately
,._- -_._
no fewer than No fewer than 200 people responded. used to suggest the number
was unexpectedly large
.__.....
~ --
Note the significant difference between few and a few and between little and a Iittle.
Few [Not many] people enjoy Xs music. A few [Some] people enjoy ie. We hod Uttle [not
much] response ro our survey. We hod a litt/e [some] response to oursurvey. In other words,
few/little has a more negative tone than a few / a little.
7.1 Complete the sentences usng the correct forms of the words in italies.
1
In a ". . . ... number of cases, there was no reaction at all to the drug. surprtse
2
The analysis demanded an ". arnount of computer time. exceed
."3 " numbers of birds inha bt the lake during the winrer. consider
4
The course requires a " . . amount of prior knowledge of computers. reason
5
The survey took a . amount of research time and costs were high. substance
6
The rwo dams can hold in . . of two cubic kilometres of water. exceed
7
In. , 12 areas of the Southern Indian Occan are now closed ro deep-sea
fishing. totality
8 Groups ..... .. ... Iour people were considered too large for the experimento exceed
9 No.. . '. than 2,000 new computer viruses are created every year, few
10 In a number of cases, surface damage was noticed. signfy
7.2 The sentcnces below are typical of spoken English. Replace the underlned words to make
them sound more appropriate for a written assignment.
1 The buIk of our work is concerned with carbon emissions.
2 We have noticed that fewer and fewer students are joining the course,
3 Our team spent a fair amount of time getting funding for the research.
4 In a coupte of cases, we couId not find any reason for the outbreak.
6 As you repeat the experirnent, use less and Iess water each time.
For some years now, scientists have been using a powerful new machine to recreate the
conditions that existed at the birth of the universe. The machine generates a massive number
of hot, dense, bursts of matter and energy, simulating what happened in the first few
microseconds of the beginning of the universe. After no more than ten m icroseconds, the
particles of matter joined together, like water freezing into ice, forming the origin of more or
less everyth ing we see in the universe today.
1 Which expression explains how long scienrisrs have been using this machine?
2 Which expression tells us how many bursts of matter and energy the machine generates?
4 Which expression states how long it was before the particles of matter joined rogether?
7.4 Rewrite the paragraph using the opposites of the underlined words or expressions.
There have been a small nurnber of studies investigating the impact of emaiJ on interpersonal
communications. None of the studies has been large-scale but they suggest some interesting
trends in patterns of emai l use. From one of the older studies it seems that more and more
people send in excess of 50 emails daily. Moreover, it appears that a substantial number of senior
citizens use email a lot more frequently than younger people do.
111
Find five quantifying expressions from one of your textbooks and write your own sentences
using them.
word with a particularly large number of distinctly different meanings. As our focus is
academic English, sorne key uses of ser are illustrared by these examples.
a) Ser the insrrurnenrs ro zero . [get something ready so it can be opera red]
b) 1 would like ro set sorne ground rules for the course. [establish]
fl The students entered the room and irnrnediately set to work. [srarred work]
h) We have a number of ser books ro srudy in our literature class, [thar musr be studied]
exarnple, has specific meanings in electronics, linguisrics, biology, physics and geography.
So you wiJl, of course, need a specialisr dicrionary for your own subjecr.
Orher words, e.g. issue and point have severa! generally imporrant academic meanings.
The writer takes issue wirh Kwarne's interpretarion. [raises argurnents againsr]
Have you seen the latest issue of the Malaysian Medical [ournal? [edition]
jackson raises some interesring points in his anide. [opinions, ideas, inforrnation]
The writer takes a long time ro get ro the point. [mase significant pan]
I
lf you come across a word that you think you know bu! it does not seem to make sen se in that
. contexto check to see whether it has another distlnct meaning.lf so, write it down with both (or all)
its meanings in your vocabulary notebook.
2 Befare we start I'd like everyone to set their watches to precisely the same time.
3 Professors will set a date for the submission of assignments relating to rheir own courses.
4 We expected the mixture to set quickly but it had not hardened by the morning.
5 Before leaving the area, the retreating army set the farm buildings on fire.
7 During the first semester, music students have to study a number of set pieces.
8.2 Choose a word from B to complete each sentence. Change the forrn if necessary,
1 When you are doing research it is sensible to keep good record s of al! your; .
as it can be difficult to locate sources latero
2 This medical condition is most likely to ... ~. . .. ..... ',. in air-skinned people.
3 In first gear the engine makes ten for every of the wheels.
4 Wealth, the theme of the anthology, is general enough to .. . a wide variety of
approaches.
5 The .. . .. ..... ...... of society in Ancient Rorne can be said to resemble thar of the modern USA.
6 They carried out an experiment to check whcther the gold or expanded
under a range of different conditions.
8.3 Which word could fit in each of these sets of phrases?
1 discuss the following 3 take with
underline the key .. the latest of the New Scientist
make sorne thoughtful .. a controversial _..
2 to a precedent 4 a .. .. .. of communication
a. .. .. .. . of exercises the English .
a. . book to one's energies into
8.4 Read this text about sorne new medical software. For each underlined word give the
meaning in the text and one other meaning. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.
A smulator showing how outbreaks of infection might spread around the world would be
of great assistance in the struggle to contain such diseases. Researchers at the World Health
Organization maintain that to effectively contront emerging infectious dseases. they need
a significant amount of computing power. A global epidemic simulator would mmc climate
simulators which monitor the movement 01. weather systems. It would record where disease
outbreaks occur. where they are heading ando crucally, would allow scientists to test out
virtual mitigation measures to see which might work best on the ground.
8.5 Jokes are ofren based on words having several meanings. Explain this joke.
A neutron goes into a bar, orders a drink and asks hOLV much it will be.
The barman replies: 'For you, sir, no charge.'
I
Look at a textbook on an academic subject of special interest to you. Look for some of the
words in thls unit and decide wh ich meaning they have in your texto
Views on deprcssion have changed in (the) lighr ofl recen e srudies of the brain.
Novelists, poets and essayisrs afeen use hisrory to illurninate' rheir understanding
of human behaviour, The book provides an illurninaring discussion of how languages change.
Animal models can be used to elucidare'! basic principIes of the developrnental origins of
adult diseases.
Thc report revealed the glaring" discrepancy berween patients' needs and whar the health
service can offer them, and highlighted" the need for a new approach.
The report shines a light on 7 che questions surrounding child care and provides crucial data.
Substancc abuse continues to destroy individuals and communities, and researchers remain in
the dark" about what can ensure successful recovery from addiction.
The book dealr wirh eeonomic poliey in che shadow of 9 the Civil War of 1994-1999.
I provide an explanation for it which makes it easer to undersrand. We can also say cast or
throio light on 2 because of 3 show more clearly somerhing thar is difficult to understand
4 explain 01' make clear (from the Latin lucidus meaning 'clear') s something bad thar is very
obvious (to giare means to shine too brightly) 6 ernphasised something important 7 focuses
on 8 continue in a state of not knowing something 9 in a situation where sornething bad has
happened or is happening
'Critics opposed to D. H. Lawrence 'In the last two poems 'Parents and teachers
attacked his novels on various we see the poet becoming need to maintain a
grounds, both trivial and important. increasingly dctached united fronf on the
But despite the apparent dlverslty from the material world.
of opinin, Lawrence's critics were retreatlng' more into his question of bad conduct
united an what they saw as severa! own mind than befare: at school'
serious prablems.'
I going back 2 a very powerful attack 3 remain united in their opinions and agree on how ro act
4 foreed ro experience, subjected to
1 The results of rhe investigarion ... a light on the pressures of the global
economy on farrners in developing counrries,
2 Unril recenrly, scientists have " in the dark as ro the causes of the disease, but
a recent breakrhrough promises ro new light on rhe prohlem.
3 Our whole notion of time and space h as changed in the of recent
developmenrs in physics.
4 These communities have lived for decades in rhe ..... ..... of poverry and social
deprivation .
5 The collapse of the bridge __the need for a more rigorous analysis of rhe
effects of constant traffic movements.
6 The team carried out a series of experiments in an atrernpt to. ......... the mysterious
processes ar wo rk in rhe organismo
7 The arcicle helps ro . : for the ordinary reader sorne of the more difficult
references in Shakespeare's plays.
8 The professor found sorne errors in one srudent's calcularions.
9.2 Rewrite these sentences using metaphors of conflict instead of the underlined words.
1 Scientisrs who don't agree with this theory have recently attacked its basic assumptions.
2 Governmems need ro rcmain in complete agreement on the issue of economic migrants.
3 Nowadays, we get a huge number of advertisemenrs every rime we watch TV oc open a
magazine.
4 G . J. Frankin has recently moved aWa,J from the view rhar economic processes cannot be
alrered, a nd is now moving towards a different approach.
5 The dforrs against crime will fal wirhout police and cornmuniry cooperation .
6 The protests were a response ro the devastaring sudd~n Jarge number of trade rcsrrictions
on small producers.
9.3 Look at this text and underline key words and phrases which construct the rnain metaphor:
'the human brain is a computer'.
(neurons], with 100 trillion connections among them.
l
Look at so me of the textbooks you use . Can you find any examples of metaphors or idioms
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